5 Stats Detroit Lions Must Improve Upon in 2015
The Detroit Lions compiled some impressive stats on their way to 11 wins and finishing with the second-ranked defense. But this article isn't about those.
Here, we're going to dive into the five worst numbers that kept Detroit from winning the NFC North or earning a home playoff game. We're going to look at the stats that forced Matthew Stafford to lead crazy comeback wins three weeks in a row to keep the ship pointed in the right direction.
Yes, the season itself was a success. However, if the Lions are going to take that next step toward being a bona fide contender, they must improve on the following five numbers.
Yards Per Carry
1 of 5
The running game shot out of the starting gates like a newborn waking up from a midday nap. A 4-2 record covered the crying until the Lions started making miracle comebacks to improve that mark to seven wins.
But if you look closely at those three straight last-minute victories, a disturbing pattern lies just below the surface.
| Week | Opponent | Rushing Yards | Score |
| 7 | New Orleans Saints | 59 | 24-23 |
| 8 | Atlanta Falcons | 60 | 22-21 |
| 10 | Miami Dolphins | 63 | 20-16 |
That's downright pathetic. You knew the Lions didn't deserve to win those games before, and this should drive home the offensive ineptitude of those three weeks. Granted, Detroit wasn't leading until late in two of those contests, but had the Lions been able to run the ball, perhaps the offense could have sustained a few drives and taken control earlier.
For the year, Joique Bell and company averaged an almost inconceivable 3.6 yards per carry, besting only the Chargers and Cardinals. There's plenty of blame to go around. Some falls on Reggie Bush's failing health, but the chief culprits were offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and the offensive line.
Lombardi brought in the stretch play and other zone-blocking schemes that were ill suited to his offensive line. The lack of athleticism at left guard and center resulted in a jumbled sideways-moving mess that left little room to maneuver. Sometimes a coach needs to adjust to the players he has instead of stubbornly jamming the large men up front into holes better suited for Kate Moss (she's still a thing, right?).
The Lions have already switched out the center and are currently rocking a big hole at left guard. If LaAdrian Waddle can stay healthy and Detroit finds someone a bit more athletic inside, this average should rise dramatically.
Sacks Allowed
2 of 5
Not every issue will be as complex as the running game. Sometimes it's as simple as staying in front of your man, or at least slowing him down enough to give the quarterback time to get rid of the ball.
Perhaps no play exemplified this problem as well as Detroit's final play of the season, pictured above. Down four with precious little time left, the line was beaten for a pair of sacks that resulted in fumbles, effectively ending the season on the team's collective back.
It was a theme that ran throughout the season. Detroit gave up 45 sacks on the year, the highest such number among the playoff teams, despite Stafford's noted ability to avoid going down.
"Stafford is sneaky hard to sack
— Stephen White (@sgw94) January 5, 2015"
The fix will likely come with health and stability. The Lions were forced to start Garrett Reynolds at both right guard and tackle. And at best, he would have been Detroit's third-best option on the outside and possibly fourth behind undrafted free agent Cornelius Lucas and former backup Corey Hilliard.
Yet the fact remains that both starter LaAdrian Waddle and Lucas gave up five sacks apiece, per Pro Football Focus. Rob Sims joined them at five, while center Dominic Raiola was responsible for four.
Yards Per Attempt
3 of 5
The Lions added Golden Tate last offseason, and the former Seahawk led the league with 709 yards after the catch. He's a great complement to Calvin Johnson because he can take the shorter passes to the house, as he did against Dallas.
However, Detroit can't forget about Johnson's ability to make plays downfield. Remember what he did against the Miami Dolphins after coming back from a three-game absence?
"Calvin Johnson just scored a 49-yard touchdown catch on a deep post pattern that beat Brent Grimes, who had no safety help.
— Omar Kelly (@OmarKelly) November 9, 2014"
That was vintage Matthew Stafford-to-Johnson football. It's how these two have handled business since the former Yellow Jacket teamed up with the former Bulldog.
Some of the offense's best successes came on crosses that were run about 15 yards deep. With a healthy Joseph Fauria and hopefully a developed Eric Ebron attacking the seams, the Lions will have deeper routes available to them because those two and Johnson can stress out any secondary.
Last year's 7.1 yards per attempt tied Stafford with Alex Smith, a player who doesn't have the ability to throw a deep ball anywhere near as well. Detroit needs to trust Stafford's superior arm to hit the deep targets when they're there, and trust him to find Tate on crossing routes that guarantee first downs as opposed to quick three-yard outs to tight ends.
The logic is simple. Finding deeper, talented targets will force opposing defenses to stretch, opening up rushing lanes and giving the receivers more room to shake their coverage. The talent is there; now comes the trust.
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Passer Rating
4 of 5
Head coach Jim Caldwell asked Matthew Stafford to play within himself and limit mistakes. The task bore fruit in the form of 11 wins that banked on tough defense and few turnovers.
However, the prior three slides all bleed into this section. With increased trust in the coming-into-his-prime signal-caller's ability to make the smart play, Stafford needs to be let loose on defenses that have forgotten he can sling the rock.
Obviously, a better running game will set up shorter third-down situations, but the inverse is true too. The proof is in the late-game pudding. When Stafford knows he needs to make plays, he often does, as evidenced by the previously discussed three straight comeback wins.
That was all a long way of saying it's time for Stafford to elevate his game to the level of his draft status and talent. The Pro Bowl is a glorified scrimmage, but it gave him a platform to show off his accuracy and velocity when handed a chance to throw the ball.
We've seen Stafford put up video game numbers (42 TDs in 2011). We've also seen him adjust to coaching and put the team above stats. Now, it's time for him to take his 21st-ranked passer rating from 2014 (85.9) to a level worthy of a playoff contender by trusting his instincts, coaches and arm in equal measure.
Ezekiel Ansah's Sack Total
5 of 5
By just about any measure, Ezekiel "Ziggy" Ansah has been a solid fifth overall pick.
He's proven himself to be a very capable run defender. He graded out as the seventh-best 4-3 defensive end against the ground game in 2014.
He's also shown that he can disrupt a quarterback. He had the fifth-most quarterback pressures with 65, giving him a pass-rushing productivity score of 12.1, which was one-tenth off the lead.
However, all of those pressures have not resulted in the type of sack production that Detroit's front office hoped for. And without Ndamukong Suh, the pressure is already being ramped up on Twitter:
"@brian_bartell I'm interested in seeing how good people think Ansah is when Suh isn't drawing an offenses full attention
— Redruckus81 (@Redruckus81) March 25, 2015"
As good as Ansah has been, he's never reached double-digit sacks. Granted, it's only been two years and he's learning the game, so there's no need for major concern. But—and it's a big but—the Lions need him to convert some of those quarterback pressures into sacks, or the defense will be hard-pressed to come anywhere near last year's performance. Defending a 3rd-and-16 is a lot easier than a 3rd-and-8.
All advanced stats, grades and positional rankings are sourced from Pro Football Focus.
Brandon Alisoglu is a Detroit Lions Featured Columnist who has written about the Lions on multiple sites. He also co-hosts a Lions-centric podcast, Lions Central Radio. Yell at him on Twitter about how wrong he is @BrandonAlisoglu.
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