Detroit Lions: Fumbling and turnover issues need to be addressed

So far this preseason, turnovers (specifically fumbles) have been plaguing the Detroit Lions and the team must address it quickly.

Turnovers are a problem that every team deals with. The good ones are great at avoiding them, but the bad ones can’t seem to escape them. The Detroit Lions are no exception to this rule.

The Lions’ bad start in their 30-28 loss to the New England Patriots was largely due to the plague of turnovers. Down a touchdown early, the Lions received the ball and and immediately turned it over when wide receiver Golden Tate fumbled on the first offensive play, putting Motor City’s own in a really tough spot.

After the miscue, the defending world champs promptly scored again. Two quick three-and-outs, and the Lions found themselves in a 24-0 hole, and Lions Twitter was ready to explode. This could have been avoided, had Golden Tate been able to hold on to the football.

Head coach Jim Caldwell was not happy with the team’s performance, especially the rough start from the first unit. Caldwell said that the start simply “wasn’t pretty” and that because of the turnovers, the team “just didn’t look sharp from the beginning.”

This wasn’t the first time this preseason the Lions offense has stalled because of turnovers. Quarterback Matthew Stafford got picked off in the exhibition game against the Indianapolis Colts, on a ball that hit Marvin Jones in the hands. Jake Rudock also fumbled in one of his first attempts against the New York Jets, but he was lucky to recover it quickly.

Quarterbacks have not been the only ones that appear to have the turnover curse. Rookie tight end Michael Roberts fumbled against the Colts as well. He was stripped by linebacker Akeem Ayers on a crossing route and the Colts recovered, but luckily the officials ruled Roberts’ forward progress was stopped on the play, and the rookie was bailed out.

Roberts almost fumbled again in that same game, as the ball was jarred loose as he tried to stiff arm a defender. Thankfully for Roberts, the ball landed out of bounds. These two plays earned Roberts some major criticism from tight ends coach Al Golden on the sidelines afterwards

Turnovers are not by any means a new problem for this Lions squad by any means. The team turned the ball over the ball 15 times last year, and had a turnover differential of -1, which was only good enough for 20th in the league. Turnover differential is often a predictor for team success. Limiting the number of times they give the ball away is crucial if this Lions team wants to return to the playoff promise land.

Bottom line, this turnover issue is something that has plagued Detroit for a while now. Like a good carpenter, the Lions need to be able to work better with their hands, limiting the amount of fumbles they have and improving upon the 28 drops from last years’ receivers.

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As Michael Roberts said when asked about his previous fumbles, “It’s all a mindset”. For good teams, its “inexcusable to put the ball on the ground”, as the number one focus for ball carriers should be to simply hold onto the ball. Sometimes they can not be helped, but often times, like with Golden Tate’s fumble Friday night, it all comes down to focus and fundamentals.  For the Lions to have any chance at returning to the playoffs, they need to take care of this problem and take care of it fast.