TAMPA, Fla. -- The football hasn't been great lately. For those who are gluttons for punishment, here are 2,000 words about the Lions' struggles, especially up front and in the trenches. How much is coaching to blame? What exactly was Golden Tate referring to this week when he said he knew what was wrong?
Why should anybody keep catching this team?
All that and more in the latest installment of the weekly mailbag. Once more, evermore, thanks so much to all who participated.
Q:It's driving me crazy thinking about who Golden Tate was talking about. What do you think? My money's on Stafford. -- mik
A: Listen, as my mother would tell you, I don't know much. And when it comes to Tate's comments -- that he knows what's wrong with Detroit, but won't say it -- I know even less about to whom or what he's referring. I don't know.
But I do know who he wasn't referring to, and that's Matthew Stafford. In that same interview, Tate called his quarterback one of the best in the league. He's made similar comments before. He told me earlier this year that Stafford is one of the biggest reasons he signed here in the first place. He believed he was better than the numbers he put up in Seattle, and Stafford would help him show it.
Since putting pen to paper, he leads all receivers in yards after the catch. He's closing in on his fourth straight 90-catch season. So, yeah. I don't think he was talking about the guy who made him a star.
Having said that, I do have an educated guess what he thinks is wrong. I think the likeliest possibility is the offensive line, and by extension, the running game. That has to be so frustrating for a receiver, to run all those routes only to see your quarterback go down the second most times in the game. Tate also talked earlier this season about breaking off routes because the offensive line couldn't hold its protection long enough for the plays to develop.
And of course, there is no running game whatsoever, which allows defenses to cheat against the pass. And that obviously makes life more difficult for a receiver.
There are other possibilities, but if I were betting man, that's where I'd make my bed.
Q:How can the run game truly be fixed? Besides a new coach we all want but they won't. So what can be done? -- @gokupantera
A: People want a new running back, and I get that. They're frustrated. They watch Detroit go without drafting one, then see Kareem Hunt blow up in Kansas City and Alvin Kamara blow up in New Orleans and Dalvin Cook blow up in Minnesota.
And the odds are good -- very, very good -- Detroit does take one in the next draft, by the way.
But that alone won't fix this running game. Look, they already have Alvin Kamara on this team. His name is Theo Riddick. They are virtually the same player. And I know the temptation is to say Kamara is better, because he's playing better as a rookie than Riddick ever has, but I'm not convinced of it. Have those guys switch jerseys, then see what Riddick does in New Orleans, and see just how good Kamara is here. I bet he's not averaging 8.4 yards a touch, I'll tell you that.
Point is, this running game has sucked for a long time, and it's not because of who is in the backfield. Ameer Abdullah is fine. He's an elusive player who is averaging the 11th most yards after contact among running backs. The problem is, that contact is coming in the backfield way too often. The holes just aren't there.
Consider the Baltimore game. People are fired up about Tion Green, and with good reason. But look at his big plays. On the 33-yard run, he wasn't even touched until he was 25 yards downfield. That thing was blocked so well that I could have hit that hole. And then on the touchdown, it was more of the same. He got excellent seals from Kenny Golladay pinching inside and Taylor Decker pulling outside. With nice second-level blocks from Don Barclay and Golden Tate, all he had to do was barrel into the end zone. The play was so well-blocked, he had time to run into Tate and still score.
With more blocking like that, the Lions running game wouldn't be a cluster you-know-what. Simply put, the Lions need better run blocking. And at this point, I'm not even convinced personnel is the issue. Taylor Decker is a good player. Rick Wagner and T.J. Lang were great players before signing here, and both rank among the 15 best players at their position in Detroit. Travis Swanson has had a down year, but otherwise the Lions have talent up front.
Yet Detroit is poised to be a bottom-five running team for the fourth straight time under Jim Caldwell. And the numbers get even uglier the more you keep peeling. Negative plays are what kill drives, and the Lions are dropped for a loss or no gain more than anyone else in the run game (31 percent).
Third-and-1 and fourth-and-1 should be gimmes. But the Lions are 2 for 7 on those plays when they rush the football. Throw in their runs on third-and-2, and they're 2 for 9 in those short-yardage situations. That's worse than the Justin Bieber movie, and the Justin Bieber movie was really, really bad. (My friends have kids. Kids like Bieber. Please don't think less of me.)
The bottom line is this: Blame the personnel if you want, but I won't. They've spent two years stockpiling talent up front, and the running game is still in the pits. At this point, Detroit must consider whether the problem is coaching or scheme. Offensive line coach Ron Prince is beloved by Jim Caldwell, but I think he has to face some scrutiny for the lack of development up front.
Q: When does Ron Prince get axed? -- @BDHOF
A: I think coaches get too much blame sometimes, but the offensive line continues to underwhelm despite all the resources poured into it. Sure, there have been injuries. But every team has them, and Detroit hasn't exactly been knocking the ball out of the park since the return of Taylor Decker either.
What's wrong, I can't tell you. But I think Bob Quinn needs to weigh all his options this offseason, and that should include scrutiny of the scheme and coaching up front. Because this thing has been too bad for too long to be much else.
With that said, I can tell you Jim Caldwell has respect for and loyalty to Prince. I'm not sure he's going anywhere, for better or worse. I can tell you what players have told me over the years though. Some like him, and like I said, I know Caldwell does. Others aren't so sure. He's an old-school coach, which works for some but not others. The Lions have to determine whether his message is still getting through, or if the problem lies elsewhere.
Q: Seriously, why should anyone bother tuning in for the final few games? The season is basically over. What is left to watch? -- @mdurr84
A: Do you ever stare at your ceiling, unable to sleep? Do you wake up in the middle of the night, lying awake for hours? If this describes you, try the Detroit Lions. Nine out of 10 doctors agree a small dose every Sunday can help placate even the worst symptoms of insomnia.
Warning: Consult your healthcare professional before trying the Lions. If you experience any pain or discomfort, stop and consult your healthcare provider. And for the love god, don't take more than is prescribed. Side effects could include depression, irritability and a sudden loss of appetite.
Q: Now we just need a couple of jedis on the team to protect Stafford because he's going to need the force to protect him come Sunday. -- @azar1980
A:
Q: Should Tampa win and there are GLARING coaching errors, hammer falls Sunday night or Monday on staff? -- @GridironMast
A: Barring something cataclysmic, Jim Caldwell is finishing this season at the helm. Hell, barring something cataclysmic, Jim Caldwell probably will still be at the helm next year too. Detroit just gave him a multi-year extension. Ownership loves him. Bob Quinn likes working with him. As long as they feel like the program isn't regressing, I think he's back.
Remember, the public is always faster to kill a coach than ownership. That's true almost everywhere, and nowhere is it more so than in Allen Park. I really believe the only way Detroit cans him is if disaster strikes.
And even if things do to terribly awry, Caldwell isn't going anywhere until the season is over. I'll eat my shoe -- hey, I'll eat Justin Rogers' shoe -- if the Lions can him in-season. It's not like firing him after a loss Sunday will change anything, you know?. They'll miss the playoffs either way. So the only point in doing it Monday would be to score points with fans, and that's not how this franchise operates. Caldwell has been here four years, and say what you will about his coaching, but he's beloved within the walls of Allen Park. They're not going to ax him just to get on the good side of talk radio.
Q: If the Lions could be classified as a food, what would they be? Swiss Cheese? Meatloaf? -- @MichaelPopiel
A: They need to win all four games to have a shot at the postseason. I'm not sure they can win more than two. And even if they do sweep all four games -- something they haven't done all year, mind you -- they'd still need at least two teams in front of them to lose two more games.
So barring a miracle, they're toast.
Q:Hate to beat a dead horse...but let the whipping commence. I think the 9 men on the field was because there was confusion re red flag possibly being thrown to contest the fumble recovery by Lions. And Caldwell didn't throw flag. Defense was just not ready. Do you agree? -- @bhymother
A: I agree the defense wasn't ready, and was thrown off by the previous play. Anthony Zettel ran off the field after knocking the living daylights out of Joe Flacco, forcing the errant pass. Zettel did not speak to reporters this week, but dollars to doughnuts he thought that was a fumble. Because he almost certainly was supposed to be on the field for the next play.
I mean, he took only six plays off all day, including that one. And he was in the dime defense the rest of the day, which is what Detroit was trying to get into. Facing a third-and-7, that would make sense.
You know who else is supposed to be on the field for the dime defense? Teez Tabor. And he wasn't on the field for that play either.
We don't know definitively who was at fault, because Jim Caldwell and Teryl Austin each took sole responsibility while offering no explanations for what actually happened. As you'd expect. They're not going to truck a couple of young players publicly you know? But I'll eat my shoe if I'm wrong here.
But ultimately Jim Caldwell is the one responsible. He's not personally shuttling guys in and out of the game, but he has to ensure mechanisms are in place for getting 11 guys on the field. Messing up once could happen to anyone. (Hey, even Baltimore played defense with 12 guys.) But playing with nine games, and eventually allowing a touchdown because of it, just one week after you allowed a touchdown with 10 guys on the field? That falls squarely on the head coach.
Why can't they just designate one of their assistants to be the count-to-11 guy? Why does this have to be so hard? We're not talking about advanced calculus here.
Q:Will there be 11 players on the field on defense this week? -- @Folsoms_Finest
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Q: Give us 3 reasons to keep watching this dumpster fire. -- @cerevisi
A: You aren't out of it yet. With Marvin Jones and Kenny Golladay flourishing, Matthew Stafford has become the best deep passer in the game. And at least you aren't the Browns.
Q:And saying at least we arent the Browns doesn't count. -- @cerevisi
A: ... Oh.
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