Lions' Lombardi: Play calling 'not good enough'

Two sluggish performances on the road against playoff contenders isn't enough to deter offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi from thinking that the Detroit Lions have the potential to be a good offensive team.

"We're very optimistic the direction we're going," Lombardi said Thursday. "We've had a couple of rough games, obviously, but you're never surprised. This is a hard league. It's hard to win. It's hard to win on the road. But we're still very optimistic in the direction that we're going."

The Lions have scored just 23 points in their last 98 minutes of football and rank in the bottom third of the NFL in total offense (25th), rushing offense (31st) and turnovers (where they're tied for the third-most giveaways in the league).

Lombardi, in his second season with the team, said there's plenty of blame to go around for the Lions' struggles, and he offered a frank assessment when asked to evaluate his own play calling so far.

"Not good enough, I guess," Lombardi said. "We got to score more points."

That will be easier said than done this week, against a Denver Broncos team that has three Pro Bowlers in its secondary and maybe the best set of edge rushers in the NFL in Von Miller and DeMarcus Ware.

Miller and Ware will test an offensive line that has been the root of the Lions' problems with shoddy pass protection and inconsistent blocking in the run game.

Lombardi, like many of his players, said minor details and communication errors have contributed to the Lions' struggles up front.

"There are things that the guys know how to do," Lombardi said. "It's just a matter of doing it when the bullets are flying. A lot of those things were things that were practiced and picked up well, but on Sunday, things are moving faster, and I think, watching the film, the guys are like, 'Hey, we should've been able to execute that.'"

So where does Lombardi's optimism come from?

"Just knowing that we have good players, knowing that we've executed well in spots and, when we get a little more consistent, we're going to be a lot more excited about it," Lombardi said. "Again, it's two games, and we can go through every play and see what happened. We got a little momentum on Sunday and then turnovers kind of derailed us. ... When those things start turning around, we're going to be a lot more consistent."

Honor roll: Linebacker Tahir Whitehead was honored at the Gridiron Greats of Michigan Hall of Fame dinner Friday as the Lions’ unsung hero for his play last year and his charitable work off the field.

Whitehead, who took over at middle linebacker last fall after Stephen Tulloch suffered a season-ending knee injury, has worked extensively with area youths at the Detroit Downtown Boxing Gym and Detroit Public School League.

“It just shows that people are watching, people see that I’m doing my part, not just on the football field but outside of football as well, giving back,” Whitehead said. “It means a lot to me. There’s work to be done and that’s why I do it, not to be recognized from anyone else, but just the satisfaction that I get when I work with kids and give back to kids because I know the impact it has on the children.”

Caldwell, Lions general manager Martin Mayhew and his wife, Sabrina, and former Livonia Clarenceville star Tim Shaw also were honored Friday.

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.

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