The bye week is over and the Lions are back at practice. In prepping for the Green Bay Packers in Week 6 and the subsequent opponents, there are some areas where the Detroit offense can get better.
Here are three facets the Lions offense needs to improve as they come out of the bye week.
Getting the RBs involved in the passing game
For a team that doesn’t have a lot of depth at wide receiver and boasts a diversely skilled running back corps, the Lions steadfast refusal to get the RBs involved in the passing game is curious. Kerryon Johnson and Ty Johnson have both proven capable receivers who can create after the catch, but that’s just not something coordinator Darrell Bevell utilizes often.
The Lions have thrown targeted passes (not throwaways) to the running backs just 18 times in the first four games. Only the San Francisco 49ers throw passes to the running backs less often than the 2019 Lions thus far.
From NFL Inside Edge:
If they’re seldom used throughout the passing game, the RBs are completely ignored in the red zone. Matthew Stafford has not thrown a single pass to any running back in the red zone yet this season.
Detroit’s target total here is skewed a little by having the bye week, but averaging just 4.5 passes towards RBs is still well below the league average of just over six per game. It’s an added wrinkle the Lions can unleash after the bye on unsuspecting defenses and they have the personnel to make it work well.
Stop the offensive guard rotation
Graham Glasgow has proven himself one of the NFL’s better right guards almost immediately since switching from center last year. He’s graded out consistently as a top-5 guard in the first four games.
Despite Glasgow’s strong play, the Lions maddeningly swap him out for a series or two in every game. Last year’s end-of-season starter, Kenny Wiggins, replaces him for a handful of plays every week. He also has spelled left guard Joe Dahl for a handful of series.
It’s a pattern that began in the preseason. And while it does seem to be working so far, the only real benefit is to get Wiggins some live-action reps so he’s more prepared in case of injury. To be fair to Wiggins, he’s played reasonably well in his sporadic reps.
However, Glasgow is handily the Lions’ best people-mover as a run blocker. The offense runs better with him in the lineup. He and center Frank Ragnow are a nasty tandem for defenders to play against. That’s not something anyone has ever said about Wiggins.
It’s time to stop the tinkering and let the best players play as often as possible.
Open up the playbook in short-yardage situations
The Lions have been too predictable and easy to stop in short-yardage situations. They’ve been stuffed — defined as a run play that gains 0 or loses yards — more than any team in the league on plays with 3 or fewer yards to go.
It gets worse. The Lions also have been stuffed more frequently than any other team in late-game and crunchtime situations.
Keep in mind the Lions have played one fewer game than all but four other teams.
The short-yardage run game simply isn’t working. This is where T.J. Hockenson can really help. The tight end is a big, sure-handed target who can create space quickly. Matthew Stafford has been accurate on quick, short throws. It’s time to scale back on the predictable runs against stacked boxes and break out the play action or quick-hit passing game when the Lions get 3rd-and-2 or 4th-and-1.
