John Clayton, ESPN Senior Writer 16y

Detroit changeup throws off Tampa Bay

Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Detroit Lions

DETROIT -- They ran the Detroit Marathon through downtown Sunday, and many wondered whether Lions offensive coordinator Mike Martz got stuck in traffic.

Although he was visible on the sideline in a white Lions sweater, Martz didn't air it out like he usually does. Detroit, which normally throws about 70 percent of the time, opened Sunday's game against Tampa Bay with four running plays to Kevin Jones, who made his first start of the season.

And Martz kept running -- Detroit finished with more runs than passes for the second time this season -- as the Lions defeated the Bucs 23-16.

"We're going to run the football, I've been telling you that all year,'' Lions quarterback Jon Kitna said. "But we've gotten ourselves in situation where we couldn't run the football in some games. We're not going to run it just for the sake of running. We'll run it when the situation dictates that we can. That was the case today.''

To contain Detroit big-play threats Roy Williams and rookie Calvin Johnson, defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin kept his safeties back in a two-deep zone in the Bucs' Cover 2 defense. That normally doesn't faze Martz, who is bold enough to throw into a Cover Everybody defense.

During the bye week, the Lions (4-2) finally went back to Jones as starting running back, infuriating temporary starter Tatum Bell, who had his agent suggest a trade. Bell might not have liked the move, but veteran Lions offensive players loved it.

"Having Kevin back there -- just with his understanding of the system -- helps us,'' Kitna said of Jones, who finished with 76 yards rushing on 15 carries. "He just understands the system."

Let's not get confused here. The Lions are a passing team, particularly now that Johnson has recovered from a back injury that virtually shut him down recently. Kitna is still on pace to throw for more than 4,000 yards. It might not be the Greatest Show on Turf that Martz had in St. Louis, but the Motor City is looking to the skies.

Jones' return brings some balance to the offense, though. Last season, he suffered a Lisfranc injury, a painful foot ailment that can turn a runner into a walker or a limper unless it's treated.

"I thought I would be back by this game,'' said Jones, who had offseason surgery to repair his left foot. "… I had limited reps in practice, but I had reps. I ran a whole lot in training camp. In fact, I was getting bored. Early on, I just ran straight ahead. I wasn't able to cut.''

This figured to be a weird game because each team knew the other so well. Detroit head coach Rob Marinelli is the former Bucs defensive line coach who raised Tampa Bay's defensive line when its members were pups. To turn around the Lions, Marinelli persuaded general manager Matt Millen to sign as many former Bucs as he could. Former Bucs defensive end Dewayne White had three sacks against the team that didn't re-sign him.

Quarterback Jeff Garcia, a former Lion, and coach Jon Gruden devised a game plan to keep Detroit's explosive offense on the sideline. With Garcia making countless plays on the run and Earnest Graham looking like a legitimate NFL running back, the Bucs pounded out 77 plays to the Lions' 47.

But two Garcia fumbles in Bucs territory killed scoring opportunities created by Garcia's efficiency. At one point, Garcia had a team-record 18 consecutive completions. He was 19-for-20 for 197 yards in the first half, but the Bucs trailed 13-7. He finished with 37 completions in 45 attempts for 316 yards.

"Fumbles and penalties at the wrong time,'' Garcia lamented. "Just unfortunate breaks. I give credit to their defense for not necessarily breaking throughout the game. It was a kind of bend-but don't-break type of situation.

As a playcaller, Martz has an amazing ability to go for the jugular. And unlike the West Coast offense coaches, Martz doesn't work by a script.

"Script?'' Jones said. "He don't use no script. He just goes.''

On the second possession of the second half, Martz just went with the running game. With Detroit leading 13-7, he opened a drive from the Lions' 20 with a run and a short pass to Jones, who then needed a breather. In went 250-pound-plus T.J. Duckett. Martz called four consecutive running plays for him that netted 30 yards, highlighting an 80-yard drive that led to a field goal and a 16-7 lead.

In the next series, Martz kept feeding Jones. Bell averaged only nine carries a game as a starting running back. Jones might not get 20 carries a game, but he ended any running back controversy. He understands that Martz wants his backs smart enough to switch from runner to receiver depending on the defensive alignments. He could get four carries in a row or four carries in a half.

Two runs by other players sealed the victory. On a 93-yard drive in the fourth quarter, Kitna did a flying whirlybird to convert a third-and-1 when he was hit by two Buc defenders.

"That play was a one-man [pass] route, and the second option was to run,'' Kitna said. "I felt like that was the only chance I had to still be heading forward after I was hit.''

Kitna sealed the deal with an incredible 32-yard end around by Johnson, who stiff-armed a defender before getting into the end zone.

"With the addition of Megatron [Johnson] and [receiver] Shaun McDonald, it makes our offense 10 times better than last year,'' Williams said. "With the four wide receivers, you don't know who's going to have that big day.''

On the day of the Detroit Marathon, the star was a runner, Kevin Jones, and the threat of the run. It was fitting.

John Clayton, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame writers' wing, is a senior writer for ESPN.com.

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