The Lions are retaining Cooter as their offensive coordinator. Many of
the fans are good with this and think its a smart play. Many of them
believe this because that is what the media tells them to believe. One
thing I have learned through the years is that the majority of sports
fans dont truly think for themselves. If the guys on the radio or guys
in big websites writing articles say something, the majority of the fans
will start repeating it. This time the media points out how under
Cooter, Matthew Stafford's interceptions have gone down and his
completion percentage has gone up. Some other media guys have said that
the Lions having the 7th highest scoring offense will benefit from the
continuity. This is why they are wrong.
First lets address the misleading stats they pointed out. Look at the
offensive coordinators before Cooter. Linehan and Lombardi. Linehan ran a
scheme that was built to live and die by the big play. In 2011 they got
a lot of them too. Stafford in his first full season took the NFL by
storm with his big plays to Calvin. The next year the consensus was that
the Lions would win 11 or 12 games. Before the season started I warned
people it would be a down year for one big reason. The Lions offense had
no short game. They had no run game and they didnt have any receivers
who could run short routes and make a living. The play calling was based
on the big play and they would live and die by it.
In 2012, the defenses did something different. They began dropping both
safeties back deep. They would put their best CB on Johnson and one of
the safeties would always double him up. Sometimes both safeties would.
Defenses came facing the Lions with one thing in mind. Take away the big
play. Linehan and crew never designed anything to take advantage of
that. They had no answer for it because they didnt have a short game.
When you face a defense trying to take away the long ball, and all you
do is throw it down field, you will throw more picks and complete fewer
passes.
Lombardi came in and did the same thing but far worse. Not only did he
continue to call down field passes, but he got his offensive line so
confused as to what their assignments were, the receivers did not have
time to get down field. Stafford on many plays was running for his life
and either having to throw it away, run for yards, take a chance with
passing it or get sacked. So you can imagine this would only lead a QB
to throw more picks and complete fewer passes.
Then came in Cooter. Did he develop Stafford into a great QB? No. He
took a bunch of the down field passes out and called plays to get rid of
the ball quicker. By default this allowed Stafford's completion
percentage to rise and his pick rate to drop. So Cooter did not develop
Matt into a better QB, he simply put him in a better situation.
Unfortunately he didn't put the offense in a better situation.
In 2017 I saw something in the play calling that scared the hell out of
me. The Lions had almost beat the Falcons and were looking like they
would win a lot of games. The media and fans were high on the Lions at
the time. I began telling people that the Lions were going to start
losing games soon because Cooter was telegraphing his plays. He was
running from big sets and passing from spread sets. I was laughed at
mostly.
The next game I took pen and paper and kept track of the offensive
plays. If there were two or fewer WRs lined up wide of the offensive
line, I would write down R for run. If there were three or more lined up
wide, I would write down P for pass. Now the thing to understand here
is that I was not some guy who was just talking out his ass and saying
the Lions run on first down every time. They actually didn't. It was
about 60 to 65% of the time. Which isn't so bad really. I was not some
chump who was drinking and guessed a few plays right and started saying I
can call the plays. I didn't use guess work in the least. I watched
for how many receivers were lined up wide. I looked at a real 'Tell',
and I kept track of it for an entire game. Against the Vikings I called
the play correctly 91% of the time. Let that sink in. 91% of the plays
were tipped off as to whether it was a run or a pass. Do you know what
kind of advantage that gives the opposing defense?
Now to be fair, I decided it could have been a bad game for Cooter. I
was right. It was his worst game of the season. For the next few games
in a row I kept track and never reached that 91% rate again. However, I
never got less than 80% either. I am talking for no less than four games
consecutively, I was able to call whether it was a pass or run by
counting how many receivers were lined up wide, and I was never less
than 80% accurate.
Just telling the defense whether you are running or passing already
gives the opponent a huge advantage. For this reason alone, Cooter
should have been fired. Yet it only continues to get worse from here.
Every game until the last game of the season, Cooter called only short
passes and run plays to start games. Yes I kept watch for this as well.
He would only call short passes and runs until the Lions were two scores
down, and then he would start calling passes down field. Now you may
think this would have a minor effect on an offense, but that's not true.
Think about what this causes a defense to do. Safeties especially will
begin to lean toward the line of scrimmage. Their first tendency will be
to run in and try to beat that short route. This makes it harder for
receivers running short routes to get open as it is, but you know what
else it does? It makes the safeties and line backers one step quicker to
fill running lanes and stop the run. Far more often than people
realize, the offensive line actually did open a small run lane, but it
was usually filled by a linebacker or safety before the RB could get
through. All because he would not call for down field passes to keep the
safeties on their heels.
Then you consider that the Lions refused to use a lead blocker. Now when
I say "Lead Blocker", do not assume I mean Fullback. I mean exactly as
I say. A lead blocker. This can be a fullback, but it can be an
offensive lineman who checks in to play the FB position or it could be a
TE who does the job. Cooter called for a lead blocker probably less
than half a dozen times all season. Though they usually netted fair
yards when he did use them, he never would use it as part of the normal
game.
On top of that, Cooter liked to run with Abdullah and Riddick. The two
RBs on the Lions who have no power. What did he use the guys who had
power for? Only short yardage downs in big sets when the defense knew
there was no chance they would pass it. Cooter didn't want to use any
power. Not in the run blocker and not in the running back. Instead he
would run the powerless RB and expect him to fight through the safeties
or linebackers who were filling holes because he only called for short
passes, and do it without a lead blocker. And dont forget the defense
knew it was a run on over 80% of the plays as well.
And he couldnt figure out why they had no run game? Really? Really!
Sounds pretty bad when you put it all together doesn't it? Its not done
yet. Now ask yourself, how many times did you see the linemen block in
one direction and the running back take off the other direction? This is
what is called a Counter Run play. I was always watching for these and I
only remember one. Zenner (I think it was) scored an 11 yard touchdown
on it. And they never used it again. Every run play, it wasn't bad enough
to use under powered RBs, with no lead blocker and tell the defense you
were running the ball by having 2 or fewer receivers lined up wide, but
they didn't even try to make the defense guess by running a counter
play. No. Every run play was peewee level design where the offensive
linemen blocked one direction and the RB got the ball and followed them.
The defense, already knowing it was a run, only had to follow the
blockers and fill the lanes and they stopped the run.
And Cooter couldn't figure out why they couldn't run the ball.
The media says the offensive line was terrible blocking. Yes it was, but
mainly because they were placed in a position to fail by their
offensive coordinators scheme and play calling.
The common belief right now is that Caldwell was holding Cooter back.
No it wasn't! Lombardi had his OL so screwed up that there was not
enough time for the receivers to get down field. Yet when he continued
to call down field passes for a season and a half, did Caldwell hold him
back? Did he force him to change anything? No. When Austin wanted to
start dialing blitzes at times, did Caldwell stop him? People think
Caldwell was conservative and so they tend to believe he forced Cooter
to be conservative, but the fact is, Caldwell's history has proven that
he was not going to interfere with his coordinators. Not to mention
that after Cooter got the promotion to OC, in the first off-season, he
said himself that he tore up the playbook and designed a whole new one
with some input from Stafford. So in his own words, he said it was his
scheme and his play designs and his play calling.
The media and many fans hated Caldwell, so it is understandable to want
to blame him for the bad offense. In a round about way it was his
fault. He hired Lombardi and promoted Cooter. He didn't force changes. So
for that it was his fault. But the fact still remains, this was Cooters
offense. It was Cooters play designs and his play calling. And he could
not have possibly called things worse to stop us from having a run game
if he was trying to kill the Lions run game on purpose.
Cooter did not develop Stafford as the media would have you believe.
Cooter only called more short quick passes. But Cooter did everything
he possibly could do wrong and made our offense one dimensional in doing
it. And even that one dimension of passing was only good for one half
every game.
And that is what Patrica has decided to retain at the advisement of Bob
Quinn. And that is why Cooter should have been the first coach fired,
right along side of Prince, instead of being given another year as the
coordinator.
Welcome to Analyzing Lions. Where the Detroit Lions will be analyzed from an unbiased viewpoint, using logic, statistics, and common sense knowledge.
Sorry, there will be no stat keeping here, and there will be no pre or post game articles. Analyzing Lions will strictly be a place where the many interesting subjects and debates surrounding the team with the greatest fan-base in the NFL.
Our Detroit Lions!
Sorry, there will be no stat keeping here, and there will be no pre or post game articles. Analyzing Lions will strictly be a place where the many interesting subjects and debates surrounding the team with the greatest fan-base in the NFL.
Our Detroit Lions!
Be Warned however! I often do not think the same as most fans. I don't just follow what they say on the radio shows or what I hear from other fans. I use my own brain, I analyze the subject, and I use logic to decide what to believe. Often I find this leads to a conclusion that doesn't match what the main stream media is pushing.
Wednesday, February 14, 2018
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