I pumped Cephus from day 1, he was a huge add. Too bad the guys that drafted him didn’t give him more chances, but it’s just another reason why they are gone and Cephus is still here. At 15.5 ypc over his shortened career he leads the Lions in that category.
Cephus basically didn’t play in the 1st half of the San Fran game in week 1… most of his snaps were in the 4th quarter (and all 6 of his targets were in 4th).
He then played 3 full games before getting hurt 1/2 way thru the 2nd quarter against the Vikings in week 5.
He basically played about 4 games… and had 15 catches for 204 yards.
That eqautes to a 64 catch and 825 yard pace for a full season.
Whoa,whoa, whoa…you’re saying that he got better when he got real NFL players to throw to and it wasn’t because he finally got it? Hmm, how weird is that?
The other guys wee literally running the wrong routes. We could have done better with them, if they knew the playbook.
I’m sure they put plays in that were timing routes they had already run together, and that worked out beautifully…and set up more space for AR.St.B to do his thing. as well.
Many things happened around the same time though. Reynolds helped for sure… but was only 1 factor in the offensive turnaround.
Anthony Lynn was no longer running the offense. MC/DC was calling plays with the help of Ben Johnson.
Decker returns. Sewell goes from LT to RT. O-line was now much stronger overall.
The offense began featuring St. Brown, and using him all over the field, including at RB.
And we claimed Reynonds on waivers, which gave Goff a familiar face and someone he trusts on the field.
And we started calling a bunch of trick plays.
This one is the biggest, most significant and it’s not even close, IMO. A QB needs to feel confident he’ll get the time to focus on his target. If he’s hearing footsteps and looking over his shoulder, it’s disruptive even if it’s a fraction of a second.
I think one of the keys for Cephus is not having to be WR1 or even WR2. Having a legit #1 on the field with him, plays to his strengths and will allow him to shine. I think he will be a great complimentary receiver willl do some damage this year if he stays healthy.
I think you’re underestimating the impact of removing Lynn from the picture. MCDC became Goffs personal QB whisperer. BJ created the right plays for Goff and to use Reynolds and the Sun God in a Goff friendly way.
For sure the return of Decker was an important factor as well for the reasons you state.
I still have the image of Goff going over to MCDC after maybe the Cardinal win, and the feeling was as if he was completely grateful toward MCDC.
Getting Lynn out of the picture was a huge and risky move on the part of MCDC. And he took some heat for his play calling in Pittsburg.
No doubt it was a combination of factors, but I’d call MCDC taking over the OC role as being the most important move last year.
I’d be curious how others here see it.
What was THE most important move last year that resulted in the 3-3 finish?