Author: Paula Pasche

The Detroit Lions offense was a disappointment in the first six games. Plain and simple.

Injuries played a role along the offensive line but that is not the only reason the offense has not found a consistent rhythm.

The offense is ranked 26th in the NFL, averaging just 298 yards per game.

After a bye week, a little reflection and much needed rest for the players, the offense will be tested big-time by the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night. The Steelers’ defense ranks second in the NFL overall and first against the pass.

There’s no head-hanging among the Lions, just a renewed determination.

“I don’t know all the stats and stuff but we have potential to be a whole lot better than we are right now. Yeah, I see us being a much bigger part of our team winning ball games as we move forward,’’ Offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter said. “The goal here is to win. I think we’ve won three and lost three. We’re not as successful offensively helping our team win as I and we would like us to be at this moment, and I do see us improving, and really becoming a big factor in that thing.”

Five thoughts about the offensive woes and how to fix them.

1. Cooter said he learned a “bunch” through self-scouting. “It’s good to have time to sort of spend diving deep on what we’ve done this year, what we’ve done well, what we need to do better, and hopefully improve those things and maybe throw away some of the stuff we don’t do as well,’’ Cooter said. “Throw away is probably a little bit strong, but you see certain things that maybe aren’t working great and you maybe push them to the back for a little while. Doesn’t mean they don’t come back up one of these days. But yeah, sometimes when a certain things not working and you figure out there’s maybe a reason for that with our guys, or our scheme, or our people or whatever. Sometimes a play is just not very hot, so you shove it away for a couple of weeks and maybe bring it back down the road.”

2. Matthew Stafford, who has been sacked 17 times in the last three games, needs to step up too. It would be easier if he had better protection but the Lions have to make it work with the personnel that they have. Stafford said his play was like the team’s a little up and down. “I wish it was probably a little bit more consistent like everybody does in this league. You wish you’d go out every week and play great and an extremely high level, and don’t make mistakes. But they happen, and we got to learn from them and make sure they don’t happen again,’’ Stafford said. So far he’s completed 60.4 percent of his passes for 1,428 yards, thrown a dozen touchdown passes and four interceptions.

3. Cooter is not concerned that the offense is too predictable. “We’re aware of tendencies. Sometimes it’s best to run a certain play a certain way and that’s the best way to run it. We’ve looked at all the alternatives, let’s run that play this way. Maybe it’s in the shotgun or whatever. Defenses know that as well. You might set some tendencies,’’ Cooter said. “Sometimes you have to counteract those tendencies. Sometimes you go, ‘Boy, let’s just let our guys do what’s the absolute best thing to do.’ So, sometimes you set tendencies. You got to have the ability to counteract those things as you see fit. I don’t think it’s exactly a 50/50 thing and I know it’s not 100/0 thing, and so you just kind of go out there and try to play your best game and sometimes switch things up.”

4. The run game — or lack of it — continues to be an issue. “I think we have a good running game but we have a lot of negative to no yardage runs. but we’ll also have a 60-yarder and so statistically you look at that average is OK but it could be a lot better,’’ wide receiver Golden Tate said. “I want to see every time we put the ball in the running back’s hands in the backfield we get three (yards). That’s the goal when you’re doing that it makes it tough on the defense to know if you’re going to pass or throw, it makes it more manageable on third down. I think those are all huge points to be a successful offense.’’ The Lions average 84 rushing yards a game which ranks 26th in the NFL. Ameer Abdullah leads with 342 rushing yards and Stafford is the second leading rusher with 57 yards.

— They are confident but know there is work to be done. “Just really knowing the personality that this offense has and seeing the trend in the past, just keep working, we know that we can do it, we know we have the personnel to do it, we just need to have all 11 men on each play to be on the same page,’’ Tate said. “As we’ve seen may many times in the past if one guy doesn’t do his job correctly that can mess up the whole play it’s not on Jim Bob by any means it’s a collective effort.’’

ALLEN PARK — A monster was unleashed when the NFL loosened up the touchdown celebrations for this season.

It’s a fun thing and the Lions have been taking advantage of it.

Wide receiver Golden Tate has been having some fun in the first six weeks after his two touchdowns.

“Maybe I’m a little biased but I think our celebrations have been amazing. In my mind some of the ones in the past were OK but could be better. We’re just having fun we’re enjoying the new celebration rule and having fun,’’ Tate said on Thursday. “I think it’s drawing more attention to our league, I think we’re drawing more fans.’’

Coach Jim Caldwell said he misses most of them when they happen live, because he’s moving on to the next phase of the game.

Five things to know about the Lions and celebrations:

1. While you will never see coach Jim Caldwell involved (he barely cracks a smile during a game), he’s well aware and has no problem with it. “Coach Caldwell after the bye, after the meeting, he’s standing over me and I’m like, ‘Oh crap, what did I do? Am i in trouble? …  He showed me a video of his grandson catching a touchdown and running up to the camera and blowing a kiss.’’ That was one of Tate’s celebrations from 2016. Tate told Caldwell to make sure his grandson doesn’t practice the “Peoples Elbow” — a Tate special from the Saints game — unless he’s on a bed. Word is the 2-year-old has been practicing in his bed every night. “(The players) enjoy it and any time you can add enjoyment for them it’s good,’’ Caldwell said.

(Photo courtesy of Detroit Lions)

2. Anything that can draw more young fans to the NFL is a positive. “It’s getting our young fans more involved, I think that’s what makes these celebrations more powerful — it’s things we’ve all done,’ Tate said.  “We’ve all played hide go seek, we’ve all watched The Rock at some point, we’ve all played hopscotch, duck-duck-goose and jump rope that’s what makes it so amazing.’’

3. The Lions have a players ad hoc celebration committee comprised of the usual suspects. They discuss celebrations on group texts. “And maybe on a Monday or something we’ll throw some ideas out there and see if there’s something. If it’s something that needs to be rehearsed we’ll do it once and be done with it,’’ Tate said. They are not crazy. The key to all their hard work is winning and scoring more touchdowns. The bulk of their time goes to that goal.

4. A celebration has to be short and impactful without lasting for three acts. “It happens so quick that there’s a lot of things you have to think about. That clock is still going. You’d hate to be penalized or leave (Matt) Prater with 1 second because we’re out there messing around after a touchdown we have to manage our time,’’ Tate said. “We’re just having fun, enjoying what we do.’’

5. Quarterback Matthew Stafford is more of a bystander during these celebrations. “I think he’ll get there at some point when the time is right for him. He’s so focused during the game, he’ll come and give you a high-five and he keeps it moving. … I don’t think it’s his personality. If he wants we’d love to have him,’’ Tate said.

BONUS — “This is something fun. I remember when I grew up and would see different players celebrating i thought it was the coolest thing ever. I think about our young crowd, I understand where we are in 2017, everything is about social media. … A lot of fans miss some of those things. It’s something that’s relevant right now,’’ said Tate who uses social media to send links to celebration videos.

ALLEN PARK — Matt Prater has proven his worth since he joined the Lions early in the 2014 season. The kicker been rewarded with a three-year contract extension worth $11.4 million.

“It kind of happened quick, management came up, wanted to get a deal done and I was excited —  I’m all about staying in Detroit and hopefully retiring here at the end of the day,’’ Prater said on Wednesday.

He said when he first signed the one-year deal he was thinking maybe he could stick around, but it was tough to tell.

Turns out he loves it in Detroit.

“Just everything from top to bottom, from ownership, the Ford Family, Bob Quinn upstairs, Matt Harriss, coach (Jim) Caldwell, the team, fans, everything,’’ Prater said. “There’s no place I’d rather be than in Detroit.”

(Photo courtesy of Detroit Lions)

Obviously, Quinn values special teams players. Punter Sam Martin signed a four-year extension 13 months ago worth $13.6 million. Martin is the holder for Prater’s field goal attempts.

“We have good chemistry together and work well together,’’ Prater said. “I’m excited to be with him for another three years.’’

Martin has been out injured since the start of training camp but is back in the fold this week.

“He’s great I don’t think we’ll miss a beat,’’ Prater said. “He’s working hard and doing really well.’’

Prater, 33, accounts for 45 of the Lions’ 161 points scored through the first six games this season. He’s a perfect 15 of 15 on extra points and 10-of -12 on field goals.

What makes him better than most of the rest is his distance and consistency.

His teammates love what he brings to the team.

“It’s awesome. Every time we touch the ball we want to score a touchdown, but we know we got a pretty good option if we don’t,’’ quarterback Matthew Stafford said. “He’s shown the ability to make all sorts of kicks, in all sorts of environments in all sorts of climates. So, he’s made some big time clutch kicks for us, I think he relishes that moment, which is pretty fun to see. Some kickers maybe don’t, and he’s a gamer and does a great job for us.”

In his 11-year NFL career Prater has made 40 of 51 field goals from 50 yards or longer (78.4 percent) which ranks as the highest in NFL history. His 40 50-yard or more field goals are tied for fourth all-time in NFL history.

In fact, Prater made a dozen straight 50-yard or longer field goals from Jan. 3, 2016, through Sept. 24, 2017. He averaged 54.7 yards per field goal during that stretch.

When he kicked a pair of 55-yard plus field goals in the loss to Atlanta on Sept. 24, he became the second kicker in NFL history to kick 10 field goals of 55 yards or more.

He is first in the NFL to kick four 55-yard plus field goals in a single season. This occurred during the first three games this season. Chances are he could add to that in the next 10 games.

Prater was named the NFC special teams player of the week after the first week of the season.

When punter Kasey Redfern injured his knee early in the win over the Cardinals, Prater then became the punter too which was a first in his career. He had four punts averaging 34.8 yards.

He kicked a 58-yard field goal — his only attempt of the day. It was the longest field goal in team history at home and tied for the second longest ever.

Prater was signed as a free agent on Oct. 7, 2014, after the Lions struggled in the kicking game with Nate Freese and Alex Henery. He had been suspended for four games by the NFL and when he returned the Denver Broncos cut him, opening the door for Detroit.

Oddly enough, Prater was originally signed by the Lions in 2006 as the backup during training camp to Jason Hanson. He was cut before the season started.