The Detroit Lions need to utilize rookie Ty Johnson
By Bob Heyrman
The Detroit Lions need to find a way to utilize rookie Ty Johnson more moving forward. The Lions run game needs a jolt of energy, and perhaps it’s Johnson who can provide it.
Incredibly, C.J. Anderson remains second on the Detroit Lions with 16 rushing attempts. He hasn’t been a member of the Lions for weeks now, yet he is second on the team in carries? Something doesn’t seem right with that. It tells me Darrell Bevell needs to distribute the football more effectively.
Get this, the third leading ball carrier on the Lions is quarterback Matthew Stafford. Kerryon Johnson remains the bell-cow for Detroit with 87 carries totaling 285 yards, accounting for 2 rushing touchdowns. Anderson carried the rock 16 times, and Stafford has scrambled 15 times, as the Lions don’t use him at all with any type of designed run.
For a guy in Kerryon Johnson who averaged 5.4 yards per carry last season in his ten games before being injured, it’s a drastic downward swing this season as he’s only rumbling for 3.3 on average in 2019. The all-purpose back is struggling to hit the hole and get North & South. Johnson needs to find a sliver and turn it into a significant gain. It’s so important for a back to be able to make a tackler miss in the hole. If a back can shed one unblocked tackler, he’ll always have an opportunity to break a big gain.
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To this point in the season, the Detroit Lions haven’t been able to break a big gain on the ground other than once when J.D McKissic took an end-around for 44 yards. That one carry accounts for more than half of McKissic’s 80 total rushing yards on the season.
Amazingly, Kerryon’s longest rush of ’19 is a mere 14-yard dash. The Detroit Lions are trying to run the football; in fact, they run a very balanced offense. Thus far, in 2019, the Lions have attempted to run the football 44% of the time on offense.
It’s time Darrell Bevell starts to dial up some regular looks for the explosive rookie tailback Ty Johnson. He’s only carried the football 13 times, yet he’s totaled 54 yards. It’s a small sample size, but the Lions should make it a point to get him the football.
He’s averaging 4.2 yards per carry, nearly a full yard more than Kerryon. I’d like to see the Lions move into a 60/40 split until someone emerges with the hot hand. I also expected Ty Johnson to be more efficient in the passing game. He’s only caught 4 balls for 7 yards on 5 targets. Kerryon is enjoying an excellent start catching the football; he’s recorded 9 grabs for 126 yards and a score. The average of 14 yards per reception for a back is very respectable; he’s been targeted 14 times.
As the season wears on, 107.6 yards per game rushing will remain as a middle of the road rushing team. The Lions currently sit 16th in the league in that department. Not nearly enough for a unit that was expected to be a run-first offense. Or an offense that the run will set up the play-action pass.
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It’s been Matthew Stafford enjoying a fantastic start to the season, the Lions rank 9th in the NFL in total passing.