Jim Bob Cooter Has Matthew Stafford, Lions Offense Living Up to Potential

This was how the Detroit Lions were supposed to work in 2015: Matthew Stafford with an almost flawless performance, the Lions' stable of tailbacks ripping off great plays on the ground and out of the backfield, and an aggressive defense doing just enough in the fourth quarter to protect the lead the offense built in the first.

In what was supposed to be a climactic late-season Monday Night Football tilt that could decide the NFC's wild-card race (if not one or two NFC divisional races!), Stafford and the Lions beat Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints at their own game, in their own house, in prime time...and it doesn't matter.

When the schedule-makers drew this one up, they likely envisioned a great storyline, with since-deposed Lions offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi returning to face the quarterback he used to coach, Brees. With a few ex-Saints peppering the Lions roster, most notably receiver Lance Moore, the potential for a revenge storyline enriching a key late-season matchup was high.

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Instead, Lombardi has long since been axed, and the Lions and Saints are long since out of contention.

The only people to whom Stafford's superlative performance and the Lions' dramatic 35-27 win at the Superdome really matter are the players and coaches to whom the victory belongs: Stafford, yes, and head coach Jim Caldwell, but none more so than Lombardi's replacement, Jim Bob Cooter.

Cooter, whose time with Caldwell and Peyton Manning in Indianapolis led to a gig working with Manning in Denver, is a 31-year-old assistant who's had some buzz about him. But after Cooter's disastrous London debut against the Kansas City Chiefs defense, Stafford has been a completely different quarterback:

OC	GS	Cmp	Att	Cmp%	Yds	TD	Int	Rate	Y/A	Y/C	AY/A
Lombardi	7	171	263	65.02	1866	12	9	86.8	7.1	10.9	6.47
Cooter*	5	126	192	65.63	1326	11	2	100.3	6.91	10.5	7.58

Stafford's stat line against the Saints was otherworldly: 22-of-25 for 254 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. He threw less than half as often as Brees, because Ameer Abdullah, Joique Bell and Theo Riddick rushed 19 times for a whopping 7.95 yards-per-carry average.

There weren't many signs of this outburst early on; the Lions' first possession was a three-and-out. But on the second drive, Stafford hit Calvin Johnson deep down the middle for a 19-yard gain; cornerback Brandon Browner's flying shoulder-to-helmet hit on Johnson wasn't enough to dislodge the ball but was enough to draw a personal foul.

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Incredibly, that was Johnson's only target of the night.

"We obviously had a great plan going in," Stafford told ESPN's broadcast analysts after the game. "We had some mismatches. You have Calvin Johnson on the football field; he's a nightmare for other people. Whether they double him and we let other people go win, or we just throw the ball to him."

"Let other people go win" was exactly what the Lions did. That drive ended with a Golden Tate touchdown catch. The next drive consisted mostly of a 45-yard catch-and-run by tight end Eric Ebron, the second-year first-round tight end who continues to flash tantalizing athleticism. Fullback Michael Burton then hit paydirt on a four-yard screen pass.

The beginning of the third quarter was Abdullah's turn to shine; he capped a six-play, 78-yard drive with a 15-yard display of pure outside speed. That's when New Orleans finally answered, with a beautiful 27-yard touchdown strike to Brandin Cooks. A Lions punt, a Saints field goal and an Abdullah kickoff muff later, Brees hit Marques Colston to help make it a one-score game, 28-20.

Stafford and Co. answered. The quarterback hit Riddick, Tate and Ebron for decent gains; Abdullah redeemed himself with a 27-yard run; and Bell plunged in from one yard out. Brees and the Saints put another touchdown on the board, but Johnson recovered their onside-kick attempt—and a 36-yard run by Bell put the game out of reach.

Kicker Matt Prater's missed field-goal attempt at the end of the game was the Lions' only red-zone failure: They'd scored five touchdowns on five appearances until Prater missed.

In the end, though, what does it mean? Isn't this a hollow victory?

"It's not hollow at all," Stafford told ESPN. "If you're an NFL football player, it doesn't matter what your record is. Your competitive juices are always going. Tonight was no different for us. It's a great team win, and we're happy to get it."

Asked if he'll have input on what happens to Caldwell, Cooter and the rest of the coaching staff—and who, if anyone, will replace them—Stafford's reply was interesting.

"I don't know," he said. "We'll see. My head's to the grindstone right now; all I'm trying to do is win the next two and finish the game strong. When that time comes, I feel like I've had some experience in this league, and I've played a lot of football, so hopefully they'll pick my brain a little bit. But that's above my pay grade."

In fact, with Ndamukong Suh gone and Johnson likely facing some sort of contract restructure, that won't be true: Stafford will be the guy to whom the Lions are financially bound—and as has been the reality ever since they drafted him No. 1 overall in 2009, they'll go as far as he goes.

Whoever's coaching the Lions in 2016 will need to be the person the Lions organization thinks can get the most out of Stafford and the raft of high draft picks and pricey free agents who make up their offense. Over the last five games, with little hope of it meaning anything, Cooter has gotten the kind of play out of Stafford Lions fans have waited seven years to see.

Whoever's drawing the big-money paycheck to make football decisions for Detroit this spring will have to think long and hard about letting anyone else in Stafford's ear.