Lions' Matt Patrica says he's on same page with Darius Slay following 'puzzle piece' criticism

Allen Park — Following Darius Slay's postgame comments, where he appeared to be questioning the team's defensive scheme, Lions coach Matt Patricia said he talked to the Pro Bowl corner and feels the comments may have been blown out of proportion. 

“I think some of that is not really accurate, as far as how the comments were taken and what he said," Patricia said during a Tuesday conference call. "I talked to Darius afterwards and we have a great relationship with that and where we are defensively.

After a 31-24 loss to Oakland on Sunday, Slay suggested the defense wasn't maximizing the talent of the players. 

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“We just got to figure out a way how to put all this stuff together, man," Slay said. "We got a great team, we got all the right pieces, but it just ain’t sticking together. Like, I don’t know, we might be putting the pieces to the puzzle in the wrong spot. That’s what it is. We’re putting the puzzles in the wrong spot right now.”

Slay went on to say that opponents are beating Detroit with the same plays every week and Patricia said there's truth to that observation. 

"I think what he said, some of that is true," Patricia said. "There are plays that we see every week that have hurt us, and plays that through a copycat league, there are going to be things in there that come up that we have to do a great job of trying to stop."

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For Patricia, the defense's breakdowns aren't personnel, and they're not scheme. The coach continues to believe it's an inability to consistently execute.

"We have a lot of great players and a lot of great scheme, and sometimes we make good plays and sometimes we don’t," Patricia said.

"For us, it’s about time to put some consistency together to do that every single play. It’s not an easy task, but it’s something we have to do."

jdrogers@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @Justin_Rogers