The Detroit Lions had their struggles defensively in the preseason, but nothing that happened has caused first-year coordinator Paul Pasqualoni to sour on a unit that he said still should be "pretty solid" overall.

"I’m looking forward to that," Pasqualoni said Monday, in his first comments since the start of training camp. "And I think we feel that we've got guys who are good players and we get started and we’ll see exactly how it goes."

The Lions are transitioning from a base 4-3 defense to a more amorphous one under Matt Patricia, and the change hasn't come without its hiccups.

The Lions gave up 111 points in four preseason games, more than everyone but a Chicago Bears team that allowed 118 points in five exhibition games. They struggled to generate a consistent pass rush, recording just two sacks. And they showed little of the turnover-causing ability that kept their defense afloat much of last year.

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Patricia has warned repeatedly not to draw any conclusions from August football, saying the Lions were using the preseason to evaluate individual talent and work on the fundamentals of their new system.

But other teams take the same approach, and some of the Lions' defensive struggles seem baked into the pie.

The team is thin in its front seven without a proven pass rusher beyond the injury-prone Ziggy Ansah, stopping the run has been a problem dating back to the middle of last season, and the second cornerback spot opposite Darius Slay remains in question with Nevin Lawson and Teez Tabor the top candidates to fill the job.

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"We didn’t go into preseason with a goal of how many sacks we had to get," Pasqualoni said. "It’s been more about technique, learning technique and fundamentals and trying to get better in those areas. So we haven’t focused on any one particular deal like the sack or any of that stuff. We’re just trying to learn our personnel and have the personnel learn the positions and the techniques they’re playing."

Slay, who tied for the league lead in interceptions last year, is perhaps the biggest reason for optimism on the Lions defense this year.

He's a legitimate shut-down corner who quarterbacks have been wary of throwing at this preseason, and he's flanked by a good group of safeties in Glover Quin, Tavon Wilson and the recently-extended Quandre Diggs.

Ansah, also, has stayed healthy since missing the start of camp with a hamstring injury.

"I think you guys are going to be in for a big treat this year just because this is probably the most healthy I’ve seen him," Diggs said.

And of course the Lions are counting on a bounce from Patricia's ability to scheme.

"I think you guys can evaluate what you’ve seen out on the field from practice and some of the different looks maybe that we’ve had," Patricia said Monday. "But for me, the defense will change. Whatever it looks like this week, it’ll be I’m sure much different than it will be midway through the year. That’s kind of how the NFL works, whether it’s roster or scheme or players, whatever it may be. It all kind of changes. So I think the good thing is that what we try to do is lay a good foundation so that we can build on that as we go."

The Lions certainly have plenty of building left to do, and with the season opener less than a week away, Pasqualoni is confident his defense is better than its shown so far.

"It’s a work in progress and we’ll get better," Pasqualoni said. "I think we’ve had some spots where we’ve done well and we’ve had some other spots where we’ve got to be more consistent. So we’ll just keep working at it and keep getting better.”

Contact Dave Birkett: dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett. Download our Lions Xtra app for free on Apple and Android!