One of the consistent critiques of Detroit Lions offensive coordinator John Morton was his inability to get running back David Montgomery the football. It reached a bit of a boiling point with head coach Dan Campbell stepping in and making it clear that the punishing back would have a bigger role moving forward. With this in mind, it made sense when Campbell took over play-calling to expect Montgomery to get a far bigger role in the offense.
In Campbell's first week calling plays, this translated into 15 carries for 71 yards. Fast forward to a tough loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, and Montgomery disappeared from the offensive game plan, getting only six carries after three straight weeks of double-digit touches. It isn't as if the production majorly dipped, even facing a great Eagles defensive line; the back was still averaging 4.5 yards per carry in his limited touches.
This led to some obvious questions for Campbell, with ESPN's Eric Woodyard reporting that he'd "always" like to get Montgomery more carries. This is an odd sentiment to offer when you're the one who created the problem against a team where you clearly needed help offensively. Campbell, using Montgomery so sparingly after previously pointing out the need to have him more involved, remains odd.
Lions HC Dan Campbell Is Setting Himself Up for More David Montgomery Headaches
Choosing to address one of the issues that contributed to the demotion of Morton is eyebrow-raising when you look back at the game against the Eagles. As much as the Lions ' offense struggled, the defense put together an incredible effort that always kept the team within reach and allowed the Lions the chance to establish the run.
Campbell choosing not to use this opportunity to put the ball into the hands of his back more often falls squarely on the shoulders of the head coach. While this may not have altered the results, it at least gave you a chance to find a surprise contributor in a game where you badly needed to find an additional playmaker.
Opting to only hand the ball to the veteran six times a week after setting a season-high in carries is questionable at best. The last thing that Detroit needs is to put too much on Jahmyr Gibbs' plate as well, potentially overloading him to the point of injury. Still, at least Campbell is willing to call himself out and note that the Lions want to get the ball to the back more often.
This doesn't take away the oddity or frustration of the previous week, but it at least suggests a level of self-awareness that hopefully will prevent the mistake from being repeated. The Lions are 5-2 when Montgomery gets 10-plus carries this season, whereas their record sits at 1-2 when he doesn't. Hopefully, the Lions realize this to start a turnaround is ahead after a season of offensive frustrations has left the team on the fringes of wild-card contention.
For the Lions to get back to who they need to be, Montgomery must be an offensive focal point moving forward. That would take a ton of pressure off the likes of Gibbs and QB Jared Goff, allowing Detroit to finally reach its offensive ceiling.