NFL teams
Michael Rothstein, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Lions OC to limit types of plays

NFL, Detroit Lions, New England Patriots

ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- In an effort to limit mistakes during games and give his players a chance to see more details in certain formations during the week, Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi is going to limit his team's call sheet Sunday against the New England Patriots.

How much? Lombardi said the Lions would have 15 to 20 percent fewer calls on his sheet for New England than in prior weeks.

"I don't know if you would say the playbook, just the number of calls that we're going to put on the call sheet," Lombardi said. "You kind of overplan and have more offense than maybe what you need, being prepared for different situations. So it's just being a little bit more precise during the week. Maybe having a little less insecurity as a coach. Sometimes you'll go, 'Hey, I want all these plays in case,' and we don't need them.

"Listen, it's not this huge deal. It's just limiting a little bit somewhat around the perimeter, where we are practicing the things that we know we are going to do with a little more precision."

That precision has been lacking for Detroit over the past few weeks -- even in the Lions' three straight come-from-behind wins in the fourth quarter. The Lions had three or more offensive penalties called, not necessarily accepted, the past three games.

Last week against Arizona, the Lions dipped under 5 yards per play for the first time since Week 6.

Typically, Lombardi said Detroit gets north of 200 offensive reps during a week of practice. While he wouldn't say how many plays are typically on the call sheet and how many times those plays get worked on, the plan is to lessen the number of plays during the week for more effectiveness on Sundays.

"If you have less calls, you can kind of show them more situations and not just talking about them," Lombardi said. "It's just a matter of practicing fewer plays and they are able to handle all the different looks that come up."

Detroit is 21st in the league in yards per game (332.3), 30th in rushing (79.8 yards a game) and 12th in passing (252.5).

Lombardi said the problem has not been with quarterback Matthew Stafford, who sometimes goes to the line of scrimmage with two potential plays and then chooses one based on the look. That, Lombardi said, has been fine.

Making these tweaks is easier for Detroit because of its record, 7-3 and leading the NFC North, than if it had a losing record and was trying to save the season. It helps make the changes more manageable as well.

All of this came after multiple Lions players, including Stafford and receiver Calvin Johnson, said Detroit didn't execute well enough against Arizona. The Lions were held without an offensive touchdown for the first time since 2009 against the Cardinals.

"It's more so than anything else, it's game planning," Lions coach Jim Caldwell said. "It's who you're looking at. It's what you have to get accomplished.

"Certainly we need improvement in our offense. There's no question about that. We're always looking for things to improve in that area."

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