Allen Park — DeAndre Levy had just one sack during his first five NFL seasons.
With a stout defensive line and a porous secondary, the Lions rarely blitzed with their linebackers under defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham from 2009-13. Levy followed directions and played his role in the scheme, but he’s glad to have a few more opportunities to hit the quarterback now.
“We used to joke about it all the time as linebackers, but that was just the (old) scheme,” Levy said. “I think any linebacker wants to blitz. You can get back there, get some sacks, get some hits on the quarterback, but it was part of the scheme, so you just do what’s required of you.