Caldwell: Timing Of Lombardi's Move Upstairs Made Sense 'Because It Did'
By Ashley Scoby
@AshleyScoby
The Lions had, without question, their best offensive game this season on Sunday – 37 points, 546 yards, a season-high 155 rushing yards.
And there are probably several reasons why, from playing against a poorer defense to reconnecting with the deep ball. But something else Detroit changed up this weekend was the location of its offensive coordinator. Joe Lombardi called plays from upstairs rather than on the field, the first time he's done so this season.
"It's actually one of those things, Joe had really wanted to go up there previously and it just happened that it made sense this particular time and just to change his vantage point," said head coach Jim Caldwell.
Fans had been clamoring for a change in relation to the team's play-calling all season. Some have wanted Caldwell to take over play-calling completely; others have lobbied for the exact change that was instituted.
But when asked why Sunday's game against Chicago, a 37-34 overtime win, was the best time to move Lombardi, Caldwell pulled out the parent-talking-to-a-disobedient-kid card.
"Because it did," he said. "I'm not going to go into any detailed reasons, but it made sense to us at this time."
Caldwell has previously expressed support for Lombardi and faith in his system, while also denying that he's thinking about making coaching changes in the wake of what was an 0-5 start. He's also stuck by his reasoning that it's the players' execution – not which plays were being called – that was the cause of the Lions' woes. Before Sunday, Detroit was averaging a league-worst 45 yards on the ground per game.
But the run game got going against Chicago, even as the running back corps was decimated by injuries. Joique Bell never played, Zach Zenner was knocked out early with a chest injury and Ameer Abdullah sat most of the second half because of what Caldwell said was a "stinger," although he was holding his left wrist coming off the field after a fumble, and returned during the overtime period. Theo Riddick, in everyone's absence, rushed seven times for 28 yards and caught three balls for 50 yards.
It helps that Detroit was playing one of the worst defenses it's played all year. Through Week 6, only the Chargers were worse than Chicago in total defense allowed, in terms of the Lions' opponents this season.
But it could also be said that the offense finally starting to click had something to do with how its play-caller was seeing it. A view from the press box can allow a coach to see more of what's developing on the field, from a wider perspective.
Lombardi was not available for comment after the game, and won't be available to the media until Thursday.
"We played well before," Caldwell said, brushing off the idea that Lombardi's vantage point had much to do with the Lions' success. "It's not the first time. It's the first time this year, but he was down on the field all those times we had a lot of big games. But nevertheless, it happened and it's not like it's a monumental feat. That wasn't the key to it. The key was what happened on that field. Our guys played well, played hard and they executed better. That was the key. If it was that easy to do that, we certainly wouldn't be in the situation we're in if it was that simple."