The Detroit Lions have looked like the Detroit Lions of old through three games this season. That is by no means a compliment. Matthew Stafford has already thrown three interceptions, and Golden Tate believes he has an idea of why Detroit’s offense has struggled.
During his weekly appearance on 105.1 Detroit Sports on Tuesday, Tate was asked about Denver Broncos cornerback Bradley Roby claiming his team knew what the Lions were going to run before they ran it on Sunday night. Tate didn’t seem surprised.
“You know, I haven’t heard that yet from that player. I didn’t read anything about it,” he said, as transcribed by Michael Rothstein of ESPN.com. “But that’s not the first time this year that another player said that. I’ve had a couple occasions in literally each game where they’ve called out our play, for one, and then afterwards been like, ‘Hey, we knew what you guys were doing.’
“All three weeks, a player has come up to me and said ‘we knew what you’re going to do.’ That’s bad.”
Play-calling has been a major issue for the Lions, and head coach Jim Caldwell stated emphatically after a 24-12 loss to the Broncos that he has no intention of taking play-calling duties away from offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi. Tate said it is important to stay within the offensive scheme that is in place, but he hinted that Stafford needs to do a better job of being a leader.
“I think it’s a little bit of both, man,” he said. “At some point, as a quarterback, this is your offense, this is really your team and you kind of got to take it over. In the game, in the heat of the battle, you’re the guy that has to make the key call or make the key throw or make the game-winning play.”
It hasn’t helped that Stafford has been banged up. He has already been sacked six times, and the Lions rank last in the league in rushing. That should tell you all you need to know about their offensive line play thus far.
Tate is not the first player this season to say opposing defenses know what plays his team is going to run. Imagine if people were saying this about the Patriots? Oh, wait…
