The Detroit Lions will be without mighty defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh for the first time in five seasons. However, wide receiver Golden Tate is not too worried.
While Suh is off in Miami enjoying his massive payday and strengthening the Dolphins’ defense, the Lions are preparing for a season without Suh. When Tate was approached about how the Lions’ offense could be impacted without their top defensive player, he said it is a “big hit” for the team, but doesn’t think there will be added pressure. (via ESPN).
No, I don’t think it adds any pressure. We just need to be who we are. We know that we have a lot of weapons all over the field. We just need to reach our potential each and every week. We just need to go out there and play fundamentally sound football and I have no doubt our defense is going to be really good again this year and we just got to do our jobs. There’s no pressure on anyone but to be ourselves and to play good football.
Detroit’s offense did struggle in some areas last season, ranking 22nd in overall points scored, 21st in yards per play and 19th in yards per game. The injuries that wide receiver Calvin Johnson and former running back Reggie Bush endured did not help either. However, Tate’s presence was a positive in the mix, and he actually drew more targets and had more catches from quarterback Matthew Stafford than Johnson did.
As for a 2015 outlook, tight end Eric Ebron looks to be on a promising path. And if he could progress along with running back Theo Riddick, who was starting to impress late last season, this would potentially be a boost for the offense.
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