The Lions under Schwartz were undisciplined, constantly committing boneheaded penalties, cheap shots and fines. He was a hothead who couldn't control his emotions and the locker reflected his personality. Their 575 penalties 2009-2013 were second only to the Raiders.To say he was a better HC than Caldwell is unsupported by reality. He exceeded Coach Caldwell's worst season exactly once in the five years he was in Detroit. In his last two seasons the Lions finished 0-8 and 1-6down the stretch. How anyone looks back at that wistfully defies explanation. In the 4th quarter of 2013, Stafford had acompletion percentage of 36.9, five interceptions and a 31.5 passer rating.
2011 was a terrific accomplishment - the first winning season in 11 years. By the time he was done only three players remained from the 0-16 team, which was a good thing. Think about taking over an 0-16 team that had been run into the ground for 8 years by Matt Millen. Who wants that job? Nobody. He changed the culture of a team that had no clue how to be competitive. While 29-51 is lousy no matter how you slice it, overall Schwartz left the Lions in better shape than the team that draft Matthew Stafford in his first season as HC.
What areas of the Lions going into 2018 are better off than four years ago? Not too many.
Quarterback- Stafford is a better player today than he was when Caldwell arrived, but let's not forget what a terrible OC Joe Lombardi was. Since mid-2015 Stafford is much more efficient. With slightly lower volume - but still averaging 600 PA and 4300 yards - he has topped 65% completion percentage, and in virtually every category he's post 3 of his best 4 season 2015-17. There is one notable exception: every season 2014-2017 resulted in more sacks than his three full seasons as a starter under Schwartz. All that said, the play calling is conservative, particularly early in games. It's only when they've fallen behind they unshackle him. Or, in another common scenario played out often the last four seasons, the Lions come out aggressive but turtle up once they are up by two scores. Stafford is the team's best weapon. Why let the other team off the hook? Keep the pressure up. Hopefully the next coach will find a way to bring back a bit of the gunslinger.
Running Back- obviously the team has regressed; no back under Caldwell has ever had a 100 yard rusher or 1,000 yard season, bottom 5 every season. But Stafford is ending season number nine having only had 7 100 yard rushers and 1 1K season RB. Schwartz's Lions were bottom ten all but his last season (17th), but this is an area that Caldwell and his staff have failed at despite repeated promises they were committed to improvement. Seems like they left their best one cut runner (Tion Green) in street clothes most weeks.
Wide Receivers & Tight End- Megatron, Burleson, Pettigrew, et al versus Tate, MJJ, Ebron, et al. Considering how great of a player Calvin was, we're not actually in that bad fo shape here. Golladay was strictly go routes the first 3/4s of the season (and dealt with lingering injuries) but they've expanded his route tree. Can't say we're better but this isn't really an area of weakness.
Offensive Line- 100% turnover from Reiff - Sims - Raiola - Warford - Waddle to Decker - Dahl - Glasgow - Lang - Wagner. Every one fo those guys ranks 30th or worse at their position according to PFF. Worst run blocking unit in the league and only Jacoby Brissett got sacked more than Stafford. It's not a talent issue IMO. Decker is a legit 1st round pick who will have that job as long as he's healthy. Quinn invested two Day 2 picks and two pricey FA contracts to build this line. Swanson likely won't play another down in the NFL. Need some depth but I think with a different scheme this group could be decent. But as of today, we're a lot worse off than we were four years ago.
Defensive Line-muchworse off. Fairly was inconsistent but so is Robinson. Suh was a thug but he was a good player; our run D fell apart when Ngata went down, and he's probably done.. Young and Ansah were raw, and today we have Zettel (good in spurts) and Ansah (2-3 good games, invisible the rest of the year.) The number one area which needs to be addressed in the offseason iMO.
Linebackers- Levy was just coming into his own four years ago, Like Tulloch he wasn't the same after he got hurt. Davis improved in run defense but along with Reeves-Maybin was often out of position. Both rookies were below average and disappointing.Whitehead bounced back this year after being terrible in 2016. I can't remember Worrilow making a play all year. Last year they were the worst LB group in the NFL, and there's not much to be hopeful about in 2018 unless the young guys get coached up.
Defensive Backs- This is the strength of the team. Slay had an amazing year, leading the league in interceptions and passes defended. He's not perfect but that was a great long term deal to get done. Quinn should have been a Pro Bowler. Diggs was decent in the slot but has been outstanding as a SS since Wilson got hurt. Killebrew regressed a lot this year, Tabor has been coming on. This should be a good group again in 2018. Definitely a better group than Houston-Matthis-Delmas IMO.
Special Teams- Prater is great, as was Agnew. Martin had too many bad punts after he came off IR. I know statistically the latter is one of the best in Lions history, but I don't know if I'll ever forgive him for the 10 yard shank after the flag was picked up in the Cowboys playoff game. And last week after the non-challenge on the incompletion to Tate, he had poor 30 yarder. You just can't choke when the team needs you. Anyway, this area is much improved IMO.
Intangibles - In summary, after four years we are getting better play (but less playmaking?) from the franchise QB, the DBs are better, the Special Teams have improved to become one of the league's best. The offensive skill positions, both lines and the linebacking corps are all worse. Most disturbing to me is Coach Caldwell has not changed the fragility of the franchises psyche. It's impossible trying to explain to fans from other cities how snake bit thisteam is, and it is incomprehensible it continues. These are not the same men who choked away game after game in the 70s, 80s, and 90s, but here we are. We lead Dallas 20-7 in a playoff game and never score again. We lead the Packers at home 23-3 and get beat on a ridiculous Hail Mary. The Detroit Lionshave taught an entire generation numerousobscure rules:The Schwartz challenge on Thanksgiving (unchallengeable, play stands), completing the process (8 full seasons of the Calvin Johnson rule and nobody knows what a catch is anymore), the batted ball rule (oh! NOW everyone knows the rule), ten second runoffs. It's amazing how we never catch a break.Fans refer to this amazing history as "same old Lions." I hate that phrase. The guy that buries that one forever is going to have streets named after him and they'll put his statue outside Ford Field.
Now, I give Coach Caldwellcredit for doing a great job at things that most (virtually all) NFL fans don't appreciate. He is a great administrator, he brought in a capable DC, he eventually found an OC who was competent - though the bloom is definitely off JBC these days. Teams take on the personality of their coach, and this Lions team is calm under pressure. Probably too calm, but the playersmake fewer dumb mistakes. In terms of yards penalized, they had the 11th fewest on offense and 9th fewest on defense. Can't fault the players for things like giving up the most important TD of the season with 10 men on the field (& a crucial first down the following week with 9 on D.)But you do have to question how strong the staff is when it comes to positional coaches and scheme. There's a talent deficit on the front 7, but honestly, it seems like they have enough talent on the O-line but they don't have a clue how to block effectively to get a single yard. They don't need Todd Gurley; a one cut guy with decent size/speed combo (Collins/Hunt type player) who doesn't go down on first contact will suffice.
TL; DR
We should hire a new coach.
