{"id":34945,"date":"2025-10-08T23:26:22","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T23:26:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=34945"},"modified":"2025-10-08T23:26:22","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T23:26:22","slug":"breaking-lions-defender-off-to-career-best-start-under-new-position-coach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=34945","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING :  Lions defender off to career-best start under new position coach"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<nav aria-label=\"articleLabel\">\n<ol id=\"articleLabel__list\"><\/ol>\n<\/nav>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\">\n<article id=\"arc-4UHW5G45DBEDPBVEP664ONALTY\" data-type=\"article\">\n<div>\n<figure>\n<div>\n<div><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mlive.com\/resizer\/v2\/YSCQN6FFOFC4DHYWAKA23FHORM.JPG?auth=a8b68a420ae122ddbc42e254b6389a30c0cc6fb14880851563219069f6dac60f&amp;width=500&amp;smart=true&amp;quality=90 500w\" media=\"(max-width: 500px)\" sizes=\"100vw\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mlive.com\/resizer\/v2\/YSCQN6FFOFC4DHYWAKA23FHORM.JPG?auth=a8b68a420ae122ddbc42e254b6389a30c0cc6fb14880851563219069f6dac60f&amp;width=800&amp;smart=true&amp;quality=90 800w\" media=\"(max-width: 800px)\" sizes=\"80vw\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mlive.com\/resizer\/v2\/YSCQN6FFOFC4DHYWAKA23FHORM.JPG?auth=a8b68a420ae122ddbc42e254b6389a30c0cc6fb14880851563219069f6dac60f&amp;width=1280&amp;smart=true&amp;quality=90 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, (max-width: 800px) 80vw, 60vw\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mlive.com\/resizer\/v2\/YSCQN6FFOFC4DHYWAKA23FHORM.JPG?auth=a8b68a420ae122ddbc42e254b6389a30c0cc6fb14880851563219069f6dac60f&amp;width=1280&amp;smart=true&amp;quality=90\" alt=\"Lions defender off to career-best start under new position coach\" \/><\/picture><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p id=\"NPTHY5NHLVAOTPC634CCQQRW3Y\">ALLEN PARK &#8211;Through five games this season, Detroit Lions pass rusher Al-Quadin Muhammad is off to the best start of his eight-year NFL career.<\/p>\n<p id=\"D5QY3FRQAFEK3AIDRTACNL4GDU\">Muhammad has recorded 10 tackles &#8212; three for loss &#8212; 3.5 sacks (which ranks in the league\u2019s top 15), 17 pressures, and eight quarterback hits. According to Pro Football Focus, he holds an 88.2 overall grade, ninth among all edge rushers.<\/p>\n<p id=\"X7RCXWRBOJCFDAE46G4VBFACCY\">If he stays healthy, ESPN projects Muhammad will finish the season with 34 tackles and an impressive 12 sacks &#8212; music to the ears of the Lions organization and its fan base.<\/p>\n<p id=\"W7DE2XDMCVGNFOIK3XTDDGQO5E\">While Muhammad showed flashes last season reminiscent of his 2021 campaign with the Indianapolis Colts, he\u2019s on pace to display his best version yet under new defensive line coach Kacy Rodgers.<\/p>\n<p id=\"BPEC3HDENBHOPEIYNAUAFMI3EE\">After six seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers &#8212; serving under both Bruce Arians and Todd Bowles &#8212; Rodgers joined the Lions to replace Terrell Williams, who left to become the New England Patriots\u2019 defensive coordinator.<\/p>\n<p id=\"OLFAA4LJJFEGNBMGQOE6ZIBY74\">When speaking to MLive about Rodgers\u2019 impact, Muhammad pointed to the coach\u2019s wealth of experience.<\/p>\n<p id=\"E6Q5CZLSMVEMXHSVU6ZU5BTE7Q\">\u201cHuge information. I mean, he\u2019s been around the league a long time, so he knows and has a lot of information that he shares with us to give us the opportunity to go out there and make plays and play faster,\u201d Muhammad said.<\/p>\n<p id=\"UH3G2MVGNVAARK5RY5T2AO5UDE\">Muhammad declined to go into detail about how Rodgers has specifically influenced his development, but he offered one insight.<\/p>\n<p id=\"OGJQZLWPMFEG5AZMLNWC2FMSUY\">\u201cReally mentally &#8212; just understanding the game better, and that allows you to make plays fast and make plays,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd also, he just corrects the little things day to day to give us that edge to add on to our game.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"WNG2BXPKVRAKLFQNOALJY5V4J4\">While Rodgers\u2019 guidance has sharpened Muhammad\u2019s approach, success as a defensive lineman &#8212; or at any position &#8212; still comes down to effort and mentality. Through five games, it\u2019s clear Muhammad has both.<\/p>\n<p id=\"BVPV3T4NOBBW5EED6225C4NADQ\">His versatility to line up inside and outside has been a nightmare for opposing offensive fronts, helping turn a once-questioned Lions defensive line into one of the league\u2019s most productive units.<\/p>\n<p id=\"LDQPVDE3DJCZDO5SIZYWQELSFQ\">\u201cIt\u2019s a lot that goes into it,\u201d Muhammad said. \u201cSome things are technique. Things that help the team are simply doing your job, and other things are you making plays out there. But I think the biggest thing is really just playing with a motor, high energy. It\u2019s one of those positions where you\u2019ve got to play fast.<\/p>\n<p id=\"GL5JEA3EL5GURF6KBUL3XUKAUY\">\u201cYou\u2019ve got to have that mentality that wherever the ball\u2019s at, I\u2019m going to get to it &#8212; whether it\u2019s the quarterback, running back, whoever\u2019s got the ball. So just having that dog, that grit, that mindset.\u201d<\/p>\n<section data-gaid=\":Rduaa6:\"><\/section>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lions&#8217; Al-Quadin Muhammad credits defensive line coach Kacy Rodgers with helping him better understand the mental aspects of the game.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":34946,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-detroit-lions"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>BREAKING : Lions defender off to career-best start under new position coach - Breaking News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=34945\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING : Lions defender off to career-best start under new position coach - 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