[h=1]Tate set to launch Lions' offense[/h][h=3]Detroit's new WR offers versatile skill set suited for Stafford, Megatron[/h]
By Neil Hornsby | Pro Football Focus
Rarely in free agency do you look at a move and immediately know it's an excellent signing. Often, the newly acquired player may be overrated, overpaid, a bad scheme fit or simply not much of an upgrade (and sometimes even a combination of all four).
However, absolutely none of those labels apply to the deal that saw Golden Tate go to the Lions in March. Whichever way you look at it, it appears only injury can stop Detroit from getting great value from Tate.
Here are four reasons why Tate appears poised for success with the Lions.
The Calvin Johnson factor
I wrote a piece of analysis recently in which I graded each receiving corps in 2013, based on production, on a five-point scale with 5 being the best. Even with a decent season from Calvin Johnson, I was still forced to give Detroit a 2. Theoretically, with Johnson drawing so much safety help, it should open things up for the Lions' other receivers. However, they played so poorly that despite Johnson's league-leading 2.72 yards per route run (YPRR), the team only ranked 13th in the league. The table below shows just how poor that number becomes when you remove Megatron from the mix.
<OFFER><!-- begin inline 1 --></OFFER>[h=4]The Megatron Effect[/h]
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<!-- end inline 1 -->Johnson masks just how bad they are and any player of quality would help. Tate is not only that but a lot more.
The underrated Tate
In YPRR alone, Tate delivered an excellent 2.01 for Seattle in 2013. If translated to this season, that would give the Lions two players in the top 20 (Tate ranked 18th) and they would be the only side other than Chicago (with Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery) with that distinction.
Tate also has brilliant hands. Since coming into the league in 2010, he's dropped only seven of 184 catchable balls, which is Larry Fitzgerald territory. Think about what that does for Matthew Stafford's confidence when, last year, he had more passes dropped than any other QB (58).
Finally, Tate is absolutely electric once he has the ball. In a league where yards after catch (YAC) is becoming increasingly valuable, Tate topped the league in YAC per reception with 7.9. The reason is that he's almost impossible to tackle one-on-one. People see him as a smaller receiver but he's incredibly strong. And when you combine that with his agility, he becomes a broken-tackle machine. Indeed, no receiver forced more than his 21 last year.
The routes to success
In order to understand why Tate will work so well in Detroit, you need to understand what happened with the Lions' offense last year. Because of the focus on Johnson, Megatron struggled with some deeper routes, particularly go-routes where he posed a below-average 1.47 YPRR. The Lions got around this by using slants where the deep coverage schemes worked in their favor and he averaged an obscenely good 7.2 YPRR. Another notable factor was what this did for the other receivers; some of the most productive routes for them became bubble screens as the defense keyed elsewhere.
Despite Johnson drawing attention, the Lions couldn't exploit that extra room underneath and other than Nate Burleson, they didn't have a single receiver last year with more than six receptions in the slot. Tate, as illustrated in the chart below, showed the ability to succeed from all positions across Seattle's formation in 2013.
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<CITE>Pro Football Focus
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<!-- end wide photo -->Now let's move to 2014 and how Tate will figure into this mix. In 2013, he was actually very good on go-routes (1.96 YPRR) and unbelievably dangerous on screens because of his ability to generate YAC (9.23 YPRR), so therefore opposing Ds will be left with a pick-your-poison scenario; cover Johnson the way you have been and know Tate can beat you both deep and short, or play Johnson like a normal wide receiver.
The icing on the cake
The one thing Detroit probably didn't need from Tate was his ability to return punts. Toward the end of the 2013 season, once the Lions realized what they had in Jeremy Ross, punting to him became a dangerous thing.
However, Tate is considered by some to be the best punt returner in football.
Some believe this was due to the Seahawks' special-teams unit being the best in the league, and while having two of the three best blockers (Richard Sherman and Jeremy Lane) in 2013 helps, it's not close to the full story. While good play from the hold-ups can minimize the number of fair catches, you still need to make plays and a remarkable 27 tackles avoided (including five on his 71-yarder against Tampa Bay in Week 9) on returns clearly bear that out.
They may not need Tate as a punt returner, but if they do decide to use him, fans of the exciting return will applaud.
Outlook
Tate has probably been underrated so far in his career due to playing in Seattle's run-heavy offense, and his $6.2 million per year salary could end up being something of a bargain if the Lions find ways to get him the ball.
At worst, he'll open up space for Megatron. In the best-case scenario, he'll help Stafford get close to his potential by showing him there are other options than just heaving the ball up to the league's top receiver.
By Neil Hornsby | Pro Football Focus
Rarely in free agency do you look at a move and immediately know it's an excellent signing. Often, the newly acquired player may be overrated, overpaid, a bad scheme fit or simply not much of an upgrade (and sometimes even a combination of all four).
However, absolutely none of those labels apply to the deal that saw Golden Tate go to the Lions in March. Whichever way you look at it, it appears only injury can stop Detroit from getting great value from Tate.
Here are four reasons why Tate appears poised for success with the Lions.
The Calvin Johnson factor
I wrote a piece of analysis recently in which I graded each receiving corps in 2013, based on production, on a five-point scale with 5 being the best. Even with a decent season from Calvin Johnson, I was still forced to give Detroit a 2. Theoretically, with Johnson drawing so much safety help, it should open things up for the Lions' other receivers. However, they played so poorly that despite Johnson's league-leading 2.72 yards per route run (YPRR), the team only ranked 13th in the league. The table below shows just how poor that number becomes when you remove Megatron from the mix.
<OFFER><!-- begin inline 1 --></OFFER>[h=4]The Megatron Effect[/h]
| Situation | Total Yards | Snaps in Route | YPRR | League Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lions receivers (with Johnson) | 2829 | 1817 | 1.55 | 13th |
| Lions receivers (w/out Johnson) | 1340 | 1270 | 1.06 | 32nd |
<THEAD>
</THEAD><TBODY>
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<!-- end inline 1 -->Johnson masks just how bad they are and any player of quality would help. Tate is not only that but a lot more.
The underrated Tate
In YPRR alone, Tate delivered an excellent 2.01 for Seattle in 2013. If translated to this season, that would give the Lions two players in the top 20 (Tate ranked 18th) and they would be the only side other than Chicago (with Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery) with that distinction.
Tate also has brilliant hands. Since coming into the league in 2010, he's dropped only seven of 184 catchable balls, which is Larry Fitzgerald territory. Think about what that does for Matthew Stafford's confidence when, last year, he had more passes dropped than any other QB (58).
Finally, Tate is absolutely electric once he has the ball. In a league where yards after catch (YAC) is becoming increasingly valuable, Tate topped the league in YAC per reception with 7.9. The reason is that he's almost impossible to tackle one-on-one. People see him as a smaller receiver but he's incredibly strong. And when you combine that with his agility, he becomes a broken-tackle machine. Indeed, no receiver forced more than his 21 last year.
The routes to success
In order to understand why Tate will work so well in Detroit, you need to understand what happened with the Lions' offense last year. Because of the focus on Johnson, Megatron struggled with some deeper routes, particularly go-routes where he posed a below-average 1.47 YPRR. The Lions got around this by using slants where the deep coverage schemes worked in their favor and he averaged an obscenely good 7.2 YPRR. Another notable factor was what this did for the other receivers; some of the most productive routes for them became bubble screens as the defense keyed elsewhere.
Despite Johnson drawing attention, the Lions couldn't exploit that extra room underneath and other than Nate Burleson, they didn't have a single receiver last year with more than six receptions in the slot. Tate, as illustrated in the chart below, showed the ability to succeed from all positions across Seattle's formation in 2013.
<!-- photo wide photo -->
</CITE>
<!-- end wide photo -->Now let's move to 2014 and how Tate will figure into this mix. In 2013, he was actually very good on go-routes (1.96 YPRR) and unbelievably dangerous on screens because of his ability to generate YAC (9.23 YPRR), so therefore opposing Ds will be left with a pick-your-poison scenario; cover Johnson the way you have been and know Tate can beat you both deep and short, or play Johnson like a normal wide receiver.
The icing on the cake
The one thing Detroit probably didn't need from Tate was his ability to return punts. Toward the end of the 2013 season, once the Lions realized what they had in Jeremy Ross, punting to him became a dangerous thing.
However, Tate is considered by some to be the best punt returner in football.
Some believe this was due to the Seahawks' special-teams unit being the best in the league, and while having two of the three best blockers (Richard Sherman and Jeremy Lane) in 2013 helps, it's not close to the full story. While good play from the hold-ups can minimize the number of fair catches, you still need to make plays and a remarkable 27 tackles avoided (including five on his 71-yarder against Tampa Bay in Week 9) on returns clearly bear that out.
They may not need Tate as a punt returner, but if they do decide to use him, fans of the exciting return will applaud.
Outlook
Tate has probably been underrated so far in his career due to playing in Seattle's run-heavy offense, and his $6.2 million per year salary could end up being something of a bargain if the Lions find ways to get him the ball.
At worst, he'll open up space for Megatron. In the best-case scenario, he'll help Stafford get close to his potential by showing him there are other options than just heaving the ball up to the league's top receiver.
