Golden Tate Quietly Cracks 1,000 Yards
By Matt Urben
Golden Tate: 1st Lion to 1,000 Yards After Johnson’s departure.
In a post-Calvin Johnson world, Detroit Lions receiver Golden Tate was expected to become the top receiving threat for QB Matthew Stafford. Instead, Tate had a very rocky start to the 2016 season. In fact, he didn’t crack 45 yards once until his Week 6 explosion for 165 yards and a TD.
It was Marvin Jones leading the team in receiving through the first half of the season. Jones slowed down, however, and in Monday Night’s loss to the Cowboys, Tate notched the second 1,000-yard season of his career. It’s also his second in three years as a Detroit Lion.
It’s not easy going from formidable sidekick to having to fill some of the biggest shoes in NFL history. Tate, to his credit, has figured things out. Now he looks capable of being the threat he was in 2014 — where he totaled 1,331 yards.
Tate is currently ranked 9th in the league in catches with 85. His 562 YAC (Yards After Catch) ranks first among all receivers and third in the NFL. His overall numbers of 85 catches, for 1,000 yards, and 3 TDs is already the second best season of his career.
Why it took so long for Tate to become his explosive self is anyone’s guess. This offense was built around Calvin Johnson for nine seasons. And Johnson happens to be a top-5 receiver of all-time and possibly the most physically dominant to ever wear an NFL uniform.
It’s not easy going from formidable sidekick to having to fill some of the biggest shoes in NFL history. Tate, to his credit, has figured things out. Now he looks capable of being the threat he was in 2014 — where he totaled 1,331 yards.
Marvin Jones has obviously hit a bit of a wall, but it that will happen when teams make an effort to take you away. He hasn’t been great at adapting to the physical, press-heavy way defenses have been playing him since leading the NFL in receiving yards through five weeks.
This Lions team will tell you it’s all about finding the open man, not a particular player. That might be true, but Tate is certainly making the most of his chances. They will need him to secure the division against the Packers this weekend.
Last time, at Lambeau field in Week 3, it was Jones who went off for 205 yards receiving. There’s no guarantee the Lions will get anywhere near that kind of effort from Jones this time. Plus, Detroit may be without Theo Riddick (ranked14th in YAC) for this game as well.
Regardless of what happens, Tate has helped the transition of the Lions after losing one of the best to ever play. His 1,000-yard season, along with Jones’ 854 yards kept Detroit from falling off of the same cliff they did in 2015. After losing Ndamukong Suh they went from 11-5 to 7-9. Nobody expected this team to be in this position, yet here they are, days away from their biggest regular season game in years.
It’s safe to say the Lions feel pretty good about their investment in Tate to this point.
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