I just assume that myself and Lions’ head coach Jim Schwartz were just watching two games today. Because there’s no way if you watched the Lions 22-9 loss to the Green Bay Packers, that you would think Calvin Johnson not playing didn’t matter.
But according to the head coach himself, it made no difference to the offense.
Calvin Johnson was 'real close' to playing; Jim Schwartz said Johnson's absence had no impact on the #Lions' offense http://t.co/XF8jsLPTtS
— Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) October 6, 2013
The Lions came into today’s game averaging a league 3rd best 30.5 points per game. I’m supposed to believe that Megatron’s absence had nothing to do with the fact that this otherwise explosive offense only managed 9 points today?
Look, I think most people would agree that Johnson is the best receiver in the game today. Perhaps Schwartz was just looking to keep the focus on the players who did play and making sure they hold a certain amount of culpability for a disappointing performance in Lambeau (where the Lions haven’t won since 1991).
But Schwartz would be smart to take a good look at the product his offense put out on the field when Johnson wasn’t playing. Because under any statistic, the team’s offense today was abysmal. For right now anyway, it appears no Johnson means the Lions have a lot less roar.