Shorter, Quicker Passes Could Be Key To Helping Detroit Lions’ Offense Hum Again

The Detroit Lions pulled out a clutch come from behind victory against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday afternoon, scoring two touchdowns in the final four minutes of the game to win 24-23.

Lost in the afterglow, however, was the fact that for the better part of 55 minutes of the game, the Lions’ offense disappointed once again. They tried, often to their detriment, to establish a running game, but failed. At times, the passing game was erratic, with Matthew Stafford making a pair of mistake interceptions.

“Look at the statistics, you’re not going to see anything pretty, but nevertheless I think it shows you a little bit about the character of this team,” Jim Caldwell said after the gut-check win.

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He didn’t back down on that assessment when meeting with the media during his press conference on Monday afternoon.

“You look at the stats, it shows you we have a lot of work to do in a lot of different areas,” Caldwell said on the effort as a whole.

Certainly, nobody is looking for glamour. However, throughout, the most troubling thing offensively remains Detroit’s stubbornness with the run. At times, they slammed Joique Bell into a struggling line with no success and continued to do so even after the plays failed multiple times. As a result, Detroit was often in long downs, making success in the vertical passing game nearly impossible at times.

“We ended up running the ball well at times when we did so, finding creases, but we haven’t been as consistent as we like,” Caldwell commented. “We haven’t blocked consistently enough. All of it, we are constantly in an evaluation mode to find out what suits us best, so we just have to stay after it.”

Having a functioning running game is important, but run plays don’t always contribute to the health of the offense, nor do anything but keep the clock moving at times when Detroit needs time to be an allied force considering the score of the game. As a whole, that means the quarterback, receivers and running backs aren’t set up for success individually, and the offense slows down.

One thing that worked though, showed up a few times Sunday and should be duplicated in later weeks within the playbook. In times when the running game isn’t working, teams should always default to quick passes on the outside with speed receivers. With Golden Tate and Jeremy Ross, the Lions have two receivers capable of getting six yards on a quick throw to the outside, and possibly more given their ability.

In times when the running game isn’t working, teams should always default to a few quick passes on the outside with speed receivers. With Golden Tate and Jeremy Ross, the Lions have two receivers capable of getting six yards on a quick throw on the outside, and possibly more given their ability.

Tate proved his danger in this role on his scoring play in the fourth. When Stafford fired him the ball near the sideline, he made a great catch and forced a few Saints to miss immediately, then nearly outran the entire New Orleans secondary for a long score.

“Obviously Golden has been called upon to do more and he’s obviously up to the task,” Caldwell said Monday regarding Tate’s effort. “When the lights go on, this guy can really make a difference for you.”

“The young guys, (Corey) Fuller, and really he’s just barely scratching the surface. I think you’re just going to see him get better. (Jeremy) Ross has made some plays for us,” Caldwell said.

With so many speedy receivers, Joe Lombardi should put all in a position to succeed and soften up the opposing defense with a new game plan. If teams are thinking about quicker spread passes, that could even help the running game get on track as a result, and put everyone, including Stafford, in a position to do better.

If not, the passes could at least net a handful of yards, which would be as good as a decent run up the middle on first or second down.

“We haven’t reached (our potential) yet (with the run game), but we’re striving to do so, but we just gotta keep working,” Caldwell added.

Part of working is also managing what works and what doesn’t. Hopefully, that includes a plan to best showcase the talents of a very impressive wide receiving core while trying to help the running game along.