I hadn’t read this one before. Interesting read and reflects our sentiments of the play calling being predictable
Also interesting is the authors premise that Cooter kept it simplistic on purpose due to Staffords limitations
https://www.footballoutsiders.com/quick-reads/2017/film-room-matthew-stafford
Ha…football outsiders, like…really on the outside.
“With a middling offensive line and an average set of backs and receivers, Stafford was not good enough to handle being the focal point of the offense.”
“Middling” and “average” are understatements when this was written.
“The idea is that the less Stafford has to think, the fewer interceptions he will throw, allowing the offense to remain on schedule and on the field.”
That’s writer’s opinion passed off as possible fact.
I’ll defer to the Vic Fangio comments and also what I have seen from Stafford over his career. The last two OC’s have not game planned to Staffords strengths.
Who was the color announcer this year that mentioned the Lion’s receivers stand still pre snap, way too much? Very little if any pre snap motion. That’s not because Stafford can’t handle that. That’s an OC weakness.
There is not one QB in the league that can’t handle his receivers moving presnap or looking one way and then directing the play in another direction.
On a side note, make sure you guys follow Snacks on Twitter. He states some funny and also solid thoughts at times.
The irony of the article is that 2017 (when it was written) Stafford went on to be one of the better deep passers.
Football Outsiders is an excellent site, but this writer got out a bit over his skies in that one.
In addition to the inaccurate conclusions he reached on deep passing, he dug himself even deeper by ragging on Stafford’s tight window throws, where he also ranked highly in 2017.
Whatever. Se la vie.
Kinda funny how the two guys the writer complains about in his article are the two guys who lead the league in the category he complains they suck at… lol
Caldwell was all about conservative turnover free play. He isn’t wrong on it either. The fewer the turnovers the more teams win. He coached to win two things. Turnover margin and starting field position.
I also think the Lions OL and lack of run game are a large reason why the Lions offense has been inconsistent over the years.
I am hoping to see a consistent run game and better blocking this year. If we can get that I believe our offense will look much improved.
Was trying to find rate of downfield splits and came across this article from 2017
Alex Smith was number 6 in downfield accuracy
Stafford didn’t fare too well by these metrics
The number one deep ball passer: Jacoby Brissett
Brees#7
Rodgers#8
Wow!
Hopefully, Bevell will bring a far less predictable offense.
I do think our limitations at TE had more of an impact than Stafford’s limitations on playcalling, which led to predictability last year. Although, that’s a tough sell because the offense was always quite predictable while Cooter was here so…hard to say for sure.
All I know is that there’s a new OC in town and the past is the past.