We Aren't Blowing It Up, So What Now?
Not saying that Johnson didn’t have an impact, but that the Lions are yet another example of scheme getting too much credit. Taking playcalling duties away from Lynn hardly moved the needle in 2021, it was the starting OL coming back healthy in 2022 that had a bigger impact.
I’ve pointed out quite a few times the luck that Ben Johnson had as a part of his turnaround of the Lions offense. The year Anthony Lynn lost his playcalling duties, their all pro starting center Ragnow missed 13 games (not to mention their starting LT missed 9 games and their staying RG missed 10 games). Those guys come back healthy the following year, and Detroit suddenly has one of the best offenses in football. Follow that up with an influx of skill position talent from a few good drafts, and continued health on the OL, and their dominance continues.Been trying to find backup data for the center impact on wins and losses but have failed. I’ve certainly heard similar data before but can’t seem to nail it down on a Google search. I remember it being very eye-opening, so staggering that it was almost hard to believe.
I did find this very interesting nugget on Reddit though.
Losing your starting center can really wreck you.
Not saying that Johnson didn’t have an impact, but that the Lions are yet another example of scheme getting too much credit. Taking playcalling duties away from Lynn hardly moved the needle in 2021, it was the starting OL coming back healthy in 2022 that had a bigger impact.