Lions wide receiver Golden Tate’s comments this week about players from other teams telling him that they knew what was coming when the Lions were on offense have drawn a lot of attention, but neither those comments nor the prospect of defenses knowing what’s coming is causing much concern inside the team.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford said he didn’t think it was “a problem at all” and safety Glover Quin said that there are times each game when he knows what’s coming as a result of the studying that goes on in the week leading up to a game. Coach Jim Caldwell pointed to that work as well and said that execution ultimately takes precedence.
“Let me put it that way,” Caldwell said, via ESPN.com. “All teams study and work hard. There’s always some tips here and there, but often times what you find out is, much like from my days, remember back in the old days when Bo [Schembechler] and Woody [Hayes] ran all the same plays all the time? You knew they were coming. But the fact of the matter is could you stop it because they could execute it so well. I think there’s something to be said about that as well.”
Caldwell said this week that he won’t take offensive play calling duties away from offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and added that he won’t ask Lombardi to move from the field to the booth, both of which underline his belief that it is the execution and not the imagination that’s lacking for Detroit.
