The Detroit Lions offensive success starts on the line

One of Matt Patricia’s first moves following their disappointing season last year was to relieve Jim Bob Cooter of his duties as the Lions offensive coordinator. It wasn’t really a big surprise since the offense was almost blatantly inconsistent. Between poor play calling and a system that lacked creativity and diversity, it was the right move to make.

I admit that when Patricia took the job, I felt like keeping Cooter was the best bet at that time because Patricia had no head coaching experience on any level. By retaining Cooter, Patricia could come in and oversee the installation of his defense while the offense would keep its continuity.

Not that Patricia wasn’t going to add his input on the offensive side of the ball, but it allowed him more of an opportunity to ease into the position rather than just being tossed into the deep end. Unfortunately, it would seem that all the improvement we had previously seen from Matthew Stafford must have been more from Jim Caldwell’s tutelage than Cooter.

Suffice it to say that mistake has been remedied. Darrell Bevell has a proven track record as an offensive coordinator for playoff teams and even a Super Bowl champion. His philosophy also happens to mesh with what Patricia wants from his offense.

Bevell has a proven track record of creating productive running games while still employing a diverse passing attack. Both of which match what Patricia wants. Probably the one plain and clear truth that Matt Patricia and general manager Bob Quinn have said this offseason is that they want their offense to have the versatility to run the ball well when the match-up favors doing so and the same for the passing game.

In other words, he wants a match-up offense, which is ironically the core value of his defensive system. A system that can not only make adjustments at halftime but from series to series if needed.

The upgrade of personnel is most evident at the tight end position. The backfield depth is adequate if unspectacular and the receiving corps is still a little thin. The hope is that one or two of the young receivers will step up and give them the depth they need.

All of which has the opportunity to combine for a much better season offensively, but only if the offensive line does their job.