2015 Detroit Lions: A Slappy’s Guide
By Kent Platte
Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
The Second Year in Lombardi’s Scheme Should be Improved
Did you even watch Matthew Stafford this preseason? No, I’m not talking just about his stats. Stafford finished an impressive 19 of 25 for 308 yards and 3 TDs this preseason. He completed more than 75% of his passes and had a nearly perfect passer rating. No, that’s not what I’m talking about. What I’m talking about is how Stafford the Gunslinger looked gone.
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Stafford still took a few shots downfield, to be certain. His beautiful bomb to
Golden Tatecould run on a loop forever and no one would be disappointed. He wasn’t forcing passes, he wasn’t lobbing off his back foot with no pressure, and he looked poised and confident in the offense. Yes, we saw that briefly in 2014, where it only lasted week 1. Offensive line issues caused that to fall apart pretty quick, but as I’ve already mentioned that area should be better.
Joe Lombardi had moments of ineptitude as a rookie playcaller. He also had some moments of brilliance, calling plays that helped lead comeback after comeback. He showed better promise reacting to games as they progressed than he did game planning from the start, like a reverse Scot Linehan. With another year together and an off-season working with his targets, who’s to say Stafford can’t become that efficient, Drew Brees like passer? Not I, for sure.
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