Ben Johnson Says Lions Left 'Meat on Bone' in 2022
The Detroit Lions took massive strides offensively in 2022.
The group was so potent that it finished in the top-5 in a number of statistical categories. The mastermind behind it all, coordinator Ben Johnson, was a top candidate for head coaching vacancies around the league.
After interviewing for positions, he elected to remain in Detroit to pilot the offense in 2023. The team retains a number of significant contributors moving forward, and Johnson's second year at the helm will feature plenty of what worked a year ago.
Many of the factors that allowed the Lions to experience a resurgence offensively came down to simplicity. After beginning the season in up-and-down fashion, points of emphasis emerged.
Among those was taking care of the ball. Quarterback Jared Goff threw just one interception during the team's final 10 games of the season. This allowed the offense to be much more productive.
As a result, Johnson expects a full season at this standard. This would equate to improved and consistent performance.
"I personally expect a huge step forward in terms of the growth, the knowledge base of our players, the experience they have under their belts," the coordinator said. "That's why the emphasis has been on the basics, let's get really good at the fundamentals because that's what helped us win games at the end of the year. The fact that we led the league in ball security, we didn't turn the ball over in the second half of the season, that equated into wins for us.
"We will still push the envelope, we will still be innovative and creative on offense, don't get me wrong," Johnson continued. "But I just came away saying shoot, man, we left a lot of meat on the bone in a lot of ways. Some of the runs, we could've had explosives. Just a few things from when we looked back at last year."
Offenses are required to evolve from year to year. The offensive coordinator is aware of this and aims to take his team to new heights in 2023.
"I think when we look back at what we did in self-scout, all of our plays from last year, I came away with, even if we didn't run one new play this year, we ran all the same plays that we ran last year, that we would be a better offense because we've got to execute better than what we did," Johnson explained. "And we did a lot of really nice things a year ago, and, it really means nothing going forward into next year. We've got to be a lot better in terms of the execution, and we should be because we've ran it and we should know what the problems are for the plays that we're running now."
Backup quarterback competition
Goff is undoubtedly the team's starting quarterback moving forward.
However, the situation behind him remains unsolved. The Lions have taken measures to find a backup quarterback, but there likely won't be an answer to that question until the conclusion of the preseason.
There are three candidates currently vying to be Goff's understudy. Nate Sudfeld is the incumbent veteran. Hendon Hooker was a third-round pick who is recovering from an injury and Adrian Martinez is an undrafted rookie trying to prove his potential.
Though little will be known about the state of the competition within Lions' headquarters until later in the offseason, Johnson provided an update as to where the contenders currently stand.
"I love the room right now, there's a great camaraderie in there," Johnson stated. "I think that's really important when you need to find that backup quarterback position. It's not only a guy that can go in and win games, but for the majority of the season if all things go right, he's there to support that starter. We have that right now, with Nate and Hendon and Adrian. We've got a really good group."
With Goff already set as the lead man, it offers an opportunity for the coaching staff to see which of the backup candidates thrive during high-leverage situations in a practice setting.
"We're evaluating consistently, we're putting pressure on them consistently to see what they can do out on the field," the second-year coordinator claimed. "The truth really comes out when you have the bullets flying for real, which we can't have right now. The training camp will tell us a lot about where we're at behind Jared but so far I feel really good about that room."
