Jamo in his interview just made this statement. He spoke to the fact that Ben shares with his receivers the “reasons” for the routes they run (not completely unusual). Since Ben is one of the best at tying plays together as a playcaller, he is able to put thoughts in to the guys heads that help down the road. Jamo said that while receivers are running every route to “win,” understanding the goal of the route is important. So he knows on one play he might be a decoy and his goal for the play is to grab the safety and take him in a particular direction to free up a particular target. Apparently Ben shares future playcalls and let’s the guys know that when teams know the decoy routes…be ready…because he is going to call the play to hit the decoy. So take the decoy seriously and run it the same way you are going to run it later in the year as the target.
That is really awesome and Jamo is confirming a lot of what we’ve seen with Ben Johnson and his play calling. What interview was this?
Also just to add, I can’t imagine this is totally different from most modern nfl offenses. I would think all teams develop a game plan that builds throughout the year based on what the team does well, player availability, etc. I think the important thing is the teams ability to execute, and also for the coaching staff to communicate the intention and purpose of what they run.
I love what the Lions are doing on offense and it’s so awesome seeing them execute so well, they make every play they run look “easy”.
Yup - goes deeper than that too…leaving film behind for other teams to study… his “progressive play calling” not only runs throughout the game to set things up…it sets things up for later games too.
Just this week charger defense reported we literally executed in a totally different way than they had prepared for based on film study
You know, its time Jamo. Two cupcakes at home, right.
Seriously, hope he gets worked in more in the short game. He has shown to me he is a good down field blocker. Heard he was a threat down field also, now is the time.
That’s the difference with Ben. There is a rhyme and reason for everything he does. And he studies what we have done and is aware of how defenses are going to adjust to it. So he adjusts to the adjustment, staying one step ahead.
Another thing Jamo said is that its motivating as a receiver to block because they go into every run knowing it could be a touchdown. Jamo said the offensive line is going to give the backs the first 3 yards. So if the back can make the second level defender miss, the receivers blocking could be the only thing standing in the way of a touchdown.
Love all that man. And I know we are going to see a bunch more mind blowing plays coming up. You know this is just the warm up because we have been planning to play January football!
Yeah they totally both suck. Can’t believe what Holmes must’ve been thinking. We should fire him. Also consequently, how does our coaching staff not know how to use these guys with all their talent? They should be fired too.
Non paywalled article on Jamo from the Detroitnews.
Few notable items:
Williams played a career-high 51.5% of offensive snaps in the 41-38 win at LA, caught both passes thrown his way and made arguably the game’s biggest block. But, that first stat is key. Generally speaking, the big frustration regarding Williams’ development wasn’t with how he’s playing — it was how much he’s playing, and the fact it seemed to emphasize that lack of trust.
It seems to be turning a corner now.
Williams, who’s caught eight total passes for 89 yards and a touchdown this season, said the most noticeable aspect of his growth is being able to slow the game down, which started back when he was suspended four games to start the season.
“Coming in, I tried to stay moving on the fast track and everything didn’t go well going that way, I would say,” Williams said. “But, as I understood and slowed things down and really tried to figure things out, that helped me a lot.”
“I really don’t focus on targets; that’s not my thing anymore. I really don’t know what to say on the targets, because I don’t focus on that,” Williams said. “I’m focused on winning.”
…
“I think it’s just coming. It’s just a matter of time, because he’s getting better, he’s excited about not just catching the ball, he’s excited about being where he’s supposed to be, when he’s supposed to be there, blocks for his teammates and stuff like that,” Randle El said.
This is 100% common. I remember when Stafford hit Kupp (I think) for a long gainer in maybe the Super Bowl or the NFC Champ game he said that Kupp was running a team route meant to clear out the deep middle to open it up for the TE or slot but that the Safety was pealing off trying to jump down so Stafford hit Kupp instead.
Listen the best guys are playing 4D chess out there. I think the issue you get with many teams is that until everyone is executing on their assignment and such it does not work like it is supposed to. But when a team is executing it is a thing of beauty.
I would suggest that the Lions Offense grades out very high on executing the assignments given to each player. And that the Defense is just not as consistent yet. Is that due to the teacher or the students? Not really sure but I kind of get that vibe from MCDC when he talks about the Defense and when they falter. He clearly suggests that it is more executing your assignment rather than individual skill set.
This is another reason why losing Johnson is going to hurt. He’s special. The suckiest part of that is HC is a VERY different job than OC. That’s why so many great coordinators are bad HCs. So, we could lose a star OC just so he can have a crappy experience as the top guy.
Solution - PAY BEN handsomely and let him stick around long enough to develop a coaching tree. Or, maybe MCDC is a better OC himself than any of us realize and we’ll be all good. I still remember that 1st year where none of us were sure who was actually calling the O.
