Michigan Sports
Lions strive to regroup, again
AP
Without Calvin Johnson, he doesn’t think he has much of a choice.
Even with a bye week to prepare and the return of rookie quarterback Matt Stafford, the Lions (1-6) couldn’t move the ball consistently against the hapless St. Louis Rams on Sunday, losing 17-10 to a team that hadn’t won a game in over a year.
Schwartz doesn’t think that Johnson is Detroit’s only offensive weapon, but acknowledges that his presence is needed for his other players to get the space they require.
‘‘Calvin affects the coverages we see and everything that teams do against us, because they always have to account for him,’’ Schwartz said Monday. ‘‘That’s true of every great player. For Minnesota, Adrian Peterson is a great running back that opens up the passing game because teams have to focus on him. Calvin does that for us.’’
The Lions have scored only one touchdown in the two games Johnson has missed with a knee injury. Against the Rams, Stafford hit on just 14 of 33 passes for 168 yards, and didn’t complete a throw to a wide receiver until the fourth quarter.
Schwartz said the coaching staff counted six drops by Detroit receivers, including five in the first half. The first — and possibly most damaging — came on the Lions’ opening drive, when Bryant Johnson couldn’t hold onto a long pass that would have put Detroit into field-goal position.
‘‘This is the first game where we have consistently had drops,’’ Schwartz said. ‘‘Wide receivers are going to drop some balls — it is unrealistic to think that they will catch every single pass — but when you have a situation like we had where there are consistent drops, there has to be some accountability.’’
Lions rookie tight end Brandon Pettigrew agreed.
‘‘There were some drops and some that would have been tough plays, but we’ve got to start making tough plays,’’ he said.
‘‘The drops are a matter of focus, but we have to do more than just routine execution.’’
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