Detroit Lions hoping to get 'soul' of defense back in safety Louis Delmas
Published: Tuesday, January 03, 2012, 8:00 PM Updated: Tuesday, January 03, 2012, 8:15 PM
By Philip Zaroo | MLive.com

ALLEN PARK - The statistic may not take into consideration all of the factors influencing Detroit's pass defense, but the Lions have surrendered 211 yards per game through the air in the 10 games Louis Delmas started and finished at safety.

In six games Delmas missed with a sprained MCL - including the game in which he was injured - the figure ballooned to 332 yards per game.

Sure, it's important to look at which teams Detroit was facing, who else may have been injured, how many points the Lions offense scored. Still, there's no denying what Delmas brings to the defense.

"He just brings personality," said head coach Jim Schwartz. "Personality, intensity - I mean, it's a combination of a lot of things. Football's obviously very important to him, but he has fun playing it. (He) comes to work, you know, it's not a job to him. Football is in him, it's what he likes to do and it shows on game day, it shows on practice days. I think that has some contagious nature to it."

Needless to say, the Lions were happy to see the "soul" of their defense back on the field for a second consecutive practice. Though Delmas was inactive against Green Bay, he was listed as a limited participant on Friday and showed some bounce in his step

"Well, it's easy to have bounce. He's fresh," Schwartz said of Delmas, who hasn't played since the Thanksgiving Day game against the Packers. "We obviously miss him on the field. He's a guy that we drafted to be one of the cornerstones defensively. He's right in the middle of our defense, does a good job of communication."

But it's not just the plays Delmas makes that Detroit misses, said Schwartz. The way he helps raise his teammates' intensity and level of play is just as critical to the Lions.

"He's a very good player, run and pass, covers a lot of ground," Schwartz said, "but more than that - brings a lot of soul to our defense. I think that's one of the things that we miss, not schematically, but we miss when a player like that is not on the field. He's trending in the right direction and we hope we'll be able to get him out there."