Detroit Lions offense expects to have some fun in 2018

In an offseason of change, a lot has remained the same for the Detroit Lions offense. They expect that should lead to big things in 2018.

The Detroit Lions are sure to look different next season with the firing of Jim Caldwell and the hiring of Matt Patricia as head coach. One area where they may not look so different is on offense. Patricia, formerly the defensive coordinator of the New England Patriots, will bring a new philosophy on defense but he chose to retain Jim Bob Cooter as the team’s offensive coordinator.

If there is any worry about a slow start on defense as the players adapt to what the new coaching staff asks them to do, that shouldn’t be the case on offense. Continuity between the coordinator and much of the offensive personnel should mean the Lions’ offense can hit the ground running to be the team’s strength until the defense gets up to speed.

Matthew Stafford has flourished since Jim Bob Cooter took over for Joe Lombardi midway through the 2015 season. While the passing offense has been among the ten best in the league, the rushing attack ranked dead last in 2017.

On paper, the Lions’ offensive line looked just fine but the running game never came together, bothered by a lack of room for the running backs to maneuver and a pedestrian group of backs unable to create some magic on their own.

Offensive line coach Ron Prince became a major fall guy when he was the only assistant coach fired along head coach Jim Caldwell at the conclusion of last season. With the offensive line personnel just fine on paper, plus the addition of Frank Ragnow and running backs LeGarrette Blount and Kerryon Johnson to add to the mix, the Lions running game should be much better under Cooter and new offensive line coach Jeff Davidson.

Rather than wholesale personnel changes, this offseason has brought just a sprinkling of new talent to mix in with the personnel that was already in place. So far, Cooter seems to like what he sees and his expectations are high.

It makes sense that Cooter would feel that way given all that the Lions have returning in 2018. Matthew Stafford has largely silenced the doubters over the last couple years and the Lions boast a nice trio of receivers with Golden Tate, Marvin Jones and Kenny Golladay. What the Lions get out of their ground game remains to be seen but adding Johnson and Blount is enough to add some excitement to the possibilities.

Along with some upgrades in personnel and a new offensive line coach, Cooter also brings another year of experience to the 2018 season. Just like young players sometimes need time to grow and develop, it’s not unreasonable to see the same from a young coordinator.

A former college quarterback at Tennessee and quarterbacks coach prior to getting the Lions’ offensive coordinator job, Cooter has much more experience in the passing game than the running game. That undoubtedly has contributed to the Lions’ run game problems in his tenure.

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It’s OK to have a deficiency in a resume but Cooter and Davidson will have to quickly work together to turn around the Lions’ poor results on the ground. If they can, then the Lions’ offense will really have some fun.