Detroit Lions Learn Lesson from Week 1, Let Stafford Loose in 2nd Half

In Week 1 I, like most other Lions fans, was surprised by what I saw.

No, it wasn't that this Detroit Lions team could compete and win against a borderline playoff team from a year ago. That I expected.

What surprised me was that the offensive game plan strayed so much in the second half from what was successful in the first half. The Lions need to put the ball in quarterback Matthew Stafford's hands and just get out of the way and let the young man play.

Perhaps it was a desire to run out the clock a little bit on a very talented offensive unit. Perhaps they wanted to switch up the game plan to guard against defensive adjustments that seemingly always come. Perhaps they just wanted a few million Lions fans to down more social lubricant in order to help sustain the beer economy in Michigan.

Whatever the reason, they only allowed Stafford to throw the ball eight times in the second half and just barely held on against an overwhelmed Tampa Bay team.

Luckily, the Lions recognized their mistake this week, and once they got a big lead on Kansas City in the first half, they kept their foot on the gas and took the Chiefs' will from them.

For me, I could not have been happier.

Watching with some fellow displaced Detroiters in, of all places, a Buffalo Bills bar in Portland, Oregon, we were treated to a showing that could not have been more fitting. The Lions came out swinging in the second half, and in one quarter, Stafford had more passes than he did in the whole second half last week.

Personally, I think that this offense is even more explosive than the coaches will acknowledge.

They have one of the top 10 quarterbacks in the league, and one that is poised to crack the top five before the season is over.

They have the most dynamic receiver in football, and arguably the most talented.

They have a tight end that, when he decides to hold onto the ball, is nearly as freakish as Calvin Johnson is as a receiver.

They have some secondary receivers that are so eager to take pressure off of the big guy, that they are playing out of their minds.

They have an explosive running back that can score in a myriad of ways and is just now scratching the surface of his talent.

And they have an offensive line that is so underrated in pass protection that they might as well all remove their nameplates from the back of their jerseys.

This is an offense that is scary good, and luckily for Lions fans around the world, the coaches are starting to allow them to play unchained.

Next week the Lions will get an opportunity to exorcise some demons in their own personal Hell, Minnesota, and if I were the coaching staff, I would allow the offense every opportunity to get back every point we have lost in the past 15 years from the Metrodome.

Strap yourselves in Lions fans, this is only the beginning of a wild ride!