Detroit Lions Weblog

The Running Game

The Lions total lack of a running game is a major concern. They have yet to really establish the run with any authority in their three games. Now with injuries to Kevin Jones and Corey Schlesinger it will be even more difficult for them to establish the most important element of any football game.

The causes for the lack of a running game are multi-faceted. The offensive line has been a disappointment. Dom Raiola, Jeff Backus, and Stockar McDougle are no longer rookies. They can no longer earn a free pass. They have to get some movement and push off the ball or the Lions will never improve.

The lack of experience in the Lions backfield may be another reason for the lack of success in their running game. Kevin Jones runs hard, but seems to have difficulty in recognizing where his running lanes are. He also has a tendency to want to try and get to the edge by taking the ball outside of the “box” around the line of scrimmage. In college, he may have had the quickness to turn these runs into positive gains but with the pursuit speed and knowledge of pursuit angles among NFL defenses this is a difficult task. Artose Pinner runs hard, but he has not exhibited the ability to run with any consistency.

The team itself has to play well in order for the Lions to establish any sort of running game. So often in games, the Lions fall behind early and have to abandon their ground attack. The Lions need to get off to good starts in games and not be forced to enter into a “circle the wagons” mode from the onset.

Most puzzling, the Lions offensive coordinators often seem to get away from the ground game, even when it has been moderately succesful. It may be my midwestern-bred, Big Ten football-sensibility speaking here but I think the most important element of a succesful football team is its running attack. The West Coast offense when run properly is supposed to create opportunities for the running game. Often though, it seems that the proponents of the offense get so caught up in showing how intelligent they are with their game planning they often lose sight of the beauty and savagery of “three yards and a cloud of dust”!