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Stock Up: Theo Riddick
Any time the Detroit Lions are down by more than one score, they start the old Lombardi special. Two minute drills with Theo Riddick as the featured piece. The fact he caught a whopping 10 passes against the Cardinals is a testament to how bad Joe Lombardi is as much as it is how good Theo Riddick is. And that’s why I want to draw that very clear distinction right now. Throwing to Theo Riddick isn’t bad.
The situation the Lions tend to throw to Riddick is bad, though. He was able to show early in the game how he can be used as a regular staple, scoring their sole meaningful TD on a nice route where he faked outside and slipped inside for an easy catch, then fought for the extra yards he needed for the TD. Riddick can make all the catches you ask him to if you want to throw to him every down on a two minute drill, but man, you can do so much more with him.
There are still a lot of situations where the Lions are using Riddick where they should be using Abdullah. That isn’t a knock on Riddick, however, as he’s good in his own right. There are plenty of things the team can use him for. If you want to know just how badly he’s being used, Riddick had 13 targets against the Cardinals. 0 rush attempts. Guess what play the Lions are calling when he’s in the backfield?
Next: Starting Receivers
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