In the past two seasons, Matthew Stafford has thrown for over 4,000 and 5,000 yards respectively. He has led the NFL in pass attempts in 2011 and 2012 as well. Last season, his 727 pass attempts broke Drew Bledsoe's NFL record. In 2011, he attempted 663 passes, ranking fifth on the single-season all-time list. While that certainly shows the Detroit Lions quarterback as an arm on him, the one-sided offense does not translate into consistent success. Stafford plans on changing that in 2013 and the Lions have the players to do it.
With a big-time receiver like Johnson, it is hard for Stafford not to pass so many times, but even the quarterback knows Detroit cannot win games with so many throwing attempts. Sitting down with NFL AM, Stafford expressed the team's need for balance.
"We proved that last year. A lot of the time, we were throwing the ball because of circumstance; we were behind in games late in the game, and it's tough to justify handing the ball off a lot and trying to get back into it," Stafford said.
The issue for Detroit was a lack in the run game. The team ranked 25th in the NFL last season in rush attempts with 391 attempts. They ranked 23rd in the league in rushing yards with 1,613, averaging 100.8 yards per game. However, that will all change this season after Detroit acquiring running back Reggie Bush who is expected to be a large factor in the team's success.
"We have to find a way to be more explosive in the run and a little bit more balanced as well," Stafford said. "We did that in going out and getting Reggie and then continuing to work with the guys that we already have on the team."
Scott Linehan, Detroit offensive coordinator, is creating multiple formations around Bush that will have him active in both the run and pass game for the Lions. Bush has come on strong in the last two seasons with the Miami Dolphins. In 2011, he rushed for 1,086 yards while rushing for 986 yards in 2012. It is that kind of production that has Linehan believing Bush is going to be the most dynamic factor for the team's offense.
Detroit will also have running Mikel Leshoure returning for his third season with the team. He is a physical runner that will offer a change of pace from Bush's style of play which is flashier. Fans can expect Bush to get the majority of the work load with Leshoure or Joique Bell being more short-yardage and third-down backs.
Stafford is ready for the running backs to being taking some of the work and pressure off of him. With Bush now in play, he should get his wish.
