Predictability isn’t a good thing when it comes to play calls in the NFL, and the Detroit Lions are figuring that out the hard way.
During a radio appearance on 105.1 FM in Detroit on Tuesday, Lions wide receiver Golden Tate was asked about Broncos cornerback Bradley Roby’s claim to Bob Wojnowski of the Detroit News that Denver “pretty much knew what they were gonna do, and they did it.”
Tate said he didn’t hear that directly from Roby, but other players have come up to him and said they knew the Lions’ plays.
“But that’s not the first time this year that another player said that,” Tate told 105.1 FM, via ESPN.com. “I’ve had a couple occasions in literally each game where they’ve called out our play, for one, and then afterwards been like, ‘Hey, we knew what you guys were doing.’
“I don’t know how they know or what film they’re watching that we’re giving away. That’s something, we need to go back and watch our tendencies to figure out what, where we line up or how we line up or what formation, whatever it may be, we got to figure it out because we’re clearly giving (our plays) away.
“All three weeks, a player has come up to me and said ‘we knew what you’re going to do.’ That’s bad.”
The Lions statistically have the sixth-worst offense in the NFL during their 0-3 start. They also are dead last in rush offense.
It’s a troubling sign for Detroit, and the fact that other teams can predict its plays only makes it worse.
Thumbnail photo via Jake Roth/USA TODAY Sports Images
