Maybe Heath Evans was right.
Evans, the former fullback and current NFL Network analyst, caught plenty of flack two years ago when he said at the Super Bowl that he didn't believe Jim Bob Cooter's offense was capable of long-term success.
"It'll get figured out," Evans said at the time.
And, "The point-and-shoot offense of just ball in, ball out, you're going to beat the bad teams. ... When you play the good ones, the playoff-caliber teams, you're going to go home in tears."
Evans, of course, was defending his friend, Joe Lombardi, who had been fired a few months earlier as offensive coordinator. And his comments at the time shocked many who saw the Detroit Lions go from one of the NFL's most dysfunctional units under Lombardi to one of the best under Cooter.
But nearly two seasons later, despite some clear improvements from Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford _ and some evolution from Cooter as coordinator _ there's seems to be something prescient about Evans' comments.
The Lions, five games into the season, rank 2th in the NFL in total offense and 30th in yards per play.
They have a top-10 scoring offense at 24.6 points per game, but one that's been propped up by good defense and great special teams.
And despite the presence of one of the league's best quarterbacks in Matthew Stafford, they've struggled to score touchdowns and haven't been able to sustain drives early in games.
In Sunday's 27-24 loss to the Carolina Panthers, the Lions had just 10 points before Stafford threw two late touchdowns to Darren Fells.
A week earlier, they managed one touchdown in a 14-7 win over the Minnesota Vikings.
And a week before that, they had just one offensive touchdown in a 30-26 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, when they settled for four field goals and got a 37-yard interception return from Glover Quin.
"The thing I'm interested in most is winning," Lions coach Jim Caldwell said. "I'm not interested in window dressing and what the numbers say and what they look like and all that stuff. It's never mattered to me. I'm interested in scoring defense and obviously winning games. And all the other stuff, it's great to talk about. I think it brings about fan interest, which is super. But for us, we're talking about winning, and winning's the key."
Caldwell is 100 percent right that the Lions' focus is and should be on winning. And in the NFL, it's a fact that teams win in a myriad of ways.
But playing good defense and taking care of the football doesn't preclude teams from fielding a dynamic offense, and if the Lions are going to make good on their potential for an extended playoff run, they need to be significantly better on that side of the ball.
The Lions have an average collection of skill players. Their running game with Ameer Abdullah is functional, but not special. Their receiving corps with Golden Tate, Marvin Jones and Kenny Golladay is solid, but not scary. And their offensive line, at least until Taylor Decker returns _ and given the way its played through five games _ is average or a tick below when compared to its peers.
But the one thing the Lions have that few NFL teams can match is a quarterback in Stafford who can do special things on the field.
By confining Stafford to a "point-and-shoot offense," to borrow Evans' term, the Lions are doing both their offense and their $135-million quarterback a disservice.
Now, the Lions are somewhat hamstrung by their personnel, and that surely has impacted Cooter's watered-down play-calling.
Stafford has taken a whopping 12 sacks the last two weeks, and the Lions don't want to overexpose him to opposing pass rushers. Beyond that, their receiving corps, especially with Golladay out the last two weeks, has struggled to get separation at times.
Caldwell said it's "debatable" whether the Lions have taken enough shots downfield, something they showed some welcome proclivity to do in their Week 1 win over the Arizona Cardinals.
By confining Stafford to a "point-and-shoot offense," to borrow Evans' term, the Lions are doing both their offense and their $135-million quarterback a disservice.
Now, the Lions are somewhat hamstrung by their personnel, and that surely has impacted Cooter's watered-down play-calling.
Stafford has taken a whopping 12 sacks the last two weeks, and the Lions don't want to overexpose him to opposing pass rushers. Beyond that, their receiving corps, especially with Golladay out the last two weeks, has struggled to get separation at times.
Caldwell said it's "debatable" whether the Lions have taken enough shots downfield, something they showed some welcome proclivity to do in their Week 1 win over the Arizona Cardinals.
