My name is TL Redman. Having been a Lion fan for over 50 years. I am sure
you can share in my frustration.
My question is very simple, what is up with Steve Mariucci? He seems
to be an intelligent man and an above average football coach. He has
coached on winning teams in college and the NFL. His first coaching
job in college was with California in 1996. His team went
6-5, but get this, his team averaged over 450 yds per game, 321yds
per game passing.
Obviously he knows how to generate passing yardage, so what could
possible dictate, this conservative, predictable, pointless offense
he continues to try and run? What would possibly possess him to
continue to believe that if they "work a little on this and
work a little on that and "those types of things" we will
get better. NO NO NO!! Has he watched film of the
Lions offense this year, it is non-existent. Does he really believe
he can continue in this manner with a team that is on the verge of
collapse. You can see the frustration in the body language of the
offensive team. They are exasperated, they have lost confidence in
the offensive scheme and Joey Harrington.
We have drafted 3 wideouts in 3 consectutive years and we run an
offense in which they touch the ball less than 25% of the time. That
is ridiculous!! We drafted these guys to be playmakers, so lets see
if they can actually make some plays, we won't know until we get
them the ball! These guys are high strung athletes, they are like
thoroughbred horses, they need to "GET IN THE GAME",
they need to be involved. They need to feel that at any
time they will make a play that will make a difference, none of them
feel that way, because they are never involved in the game.
Don't you find it hard to believe that we have a dozen coaches
making millions of dollars and there seems to be no game plan
designed to get the ball to your playmakers? Lets face it Joey
Harrington is having problems, but the problems are not all of his
making, he is saddled with a predictable offense that allows all
defenses to suffocate us. You talk about defenses that are
suffocating, we have an offense that suffocates itself. There is an
old saying that goes like this KISS..Keep It Simple Stupid!
Lets begin the game with short slants to the Williams boys, quick
5-8 yd slants which gives Joey time to throw, keep throwing them
until the defense STOPS it! We seem to run a good play and
NEVER RUN IT AGAIN! Tollner and Mooch seem to think they
have to outsmart the defense by calling numerous plays, when in
reality you need to find 2 or 3 that actually work and keep running
them.
Quick slants, hitches, screens to get Harrington and the playmakers
INTO the GAME! Also we need to start running some
power sweeps with Kevin Jones. We ran this play twice in pre-season
and gained some good yardage, it has not been run since.
WHY! We have an o-line that is more athletic than physical
so why not play to their strengths? Get some guys on the corner, hit
somebody and let Kevin find a crease. They never run him outside,
everything is up the middle, why not try some thing different? Could
it get any worse? Power sweeps set up counters and reverses and
quick screens to the opposite side. It is mind boggling to me that
we are even discussing this. This is the highest level of football
and we have an offensive scheme that is OFFENSIVE!
So my question once again, what is up with Mooch? Why would he
continue in this manner? Is is trying to get fired? Does he want out
of Detroit like so many others? Does he just want his 5 mill for the
next two years? It sure seems that way.
I had to get this off my chest and know that if will find its way to
some competent football people who might understand my frustration.
I can't for the life of me understand how Mooch keeps getting a pass
for this pathetic offense. I guess 5 mill a year will do that for
you.
Thanks for letting me have my say.
TL Redman
