There is a newfound sense of optimism surrounding the Detroit Lions organization going into the 2018 NFL season with the addition of head coach Matt Patricia. Needless to say, cornerback Darius Slay has already started to feel its effects.

Patricia's arrival undoubtedly means changes are on the horizon for Detroit's defense. According to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, Slay is hoping they can become similar to what Patricia had with the New England Patriots.

At Lions’ first minicamp under Matt Patricia. Star CB Darius Slay on what the defense will look like: “Y’all seen the Patriots play.” Described it as aggressive. Makes you compete.

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It goes without saying that mirroring New England's defense would be a step in the right direction. Detroit was ranked in the bottom tier of defenses against the pass to go along with its middling run defense. In terms of yards given up per game, both the Lions and Patriots were very generous.

However, where the teams differed was the number of points they allowed. New England gave up just 18.5 points per game as opposed to Detroit, who allowed 23.5 points per game. Needless to say, the five-point difference can have a major impact on whether or not a team makes the playoffs.

It appears the team is hoping Patricia can bring his bend-but-don't-break approach to Detroit. Fortunately, he will have a bonafide shutdown corner in Slay to work with. He is coming off the best year of his five-year career thus far after registering a league-leading eight interceptions in 2017.