Golden Tate knows what’s wrong with Lions but won’t “throw anyone under the bus”

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NFL: Jacksonville Jaguars at Detroit Lions
Nov 20, 2016; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Lions wide receiver Golden Tate (15) smiles before the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

The Detroit Lions have seemingly spiraled out of control over the last few weeks, and a 44-20 drubbing on the road last weekend against the Baltimore Ravens best justified that.

A lot has been said about Leo since that loss this past Sunday, much of it directed at embattled head coach Jim Caldwell. Much of the blame and angst from fans has fallen on him for this recent stretch of games. So much so, that much of the fan base is calling for his job right now.

Many believe that while it may not fix the immediate rest of the season, but it will at least generate a new change. Lions wide receiver Golden Tate, who had some telling comments of his own recently, finds himself in the court of public opinion again with this latest tweet.

This must be one of those “Rule 1 of Fight Club: Don’t talk about Fight Club” sort of things.

Tate and the Lions are sitting at .500 on the season with four games remaining, falling rapidly out of playoff contention with each passing week. A number of things on the field have contributed to the lack of success. Among the more notable offenses, if not the biggest, is Detroit being outscored 36-3 in the first quarter over their last. But that has been a recurring theme all year long; the Lions have allowed the most first-quarter points in the league this season.

It led to Tate citing perhaps a lack of confidence in the team’s ability to play well late in the season, despite having much success in that department in previous seasons.

http://gty.im/884938872

So what could Tate be referring to? It’s very easy and reasonable to speculate that this is another knock on his head coach. As far as the execution on the field from his teammates, there are a myriad of areas that are of concern.

The veteran wideout and Notre Dame product was, however, quick to defend and commend the Lions’ front office and ownership and the belief that Detroit can do great things.

“We’re getting close,” he said. “I think guys believe that we should win. This year hasn’t gone the way any of us expected it to, but I think the mentality here is that we expect to win, not hope to win. I think that’s what we’re seeing.”

“To be a great organization, the (people) up top need to be in sync with the people down low,” Tate said. “I think we’re all in sync a little bit more than we were when I first got here.”

“The ownership is fantastic. Anything we need to be a winning organization, I think we are getting it in a very timely manner. (GM) Bob Quinn came from a championship organization, and he’s bringing in guys that are rookies, second year guys and helping us out.”

It’s been a very social media-driven cluster f*** of turmoil surrounding the Lions in recent days. One player was recently caught supporting the firing of Caldwell through the form of liking a tweet… take that for what it is worth. Caldwell is also the subject of a GoFundMe page that is seeking to raise money in order to buy out the rest of his contract.

Detroit looks to snap out of this funk this Sunday (12/10) on the road against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-8). Tampa head coach Dirk Koetter has also found himself in the social media cesspool with recent comments about directing his defense’s attention at the injured throwing hand of Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford. Stafford left the game against the Ravens after having his hand stepped on, and took part in limited practice on Wednesday.

1 COMMENT

  1. I don’t think its all that hard to figure out. We can’t run the ball even after investing some money in the O line. We can’t stop the run. We can’t put pressure on the opposing quarterback. We can’t seem to get our heads in the game until the second half. Need I go on? SOL

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