Allen Park — When Hank Fraley was in the midst of his 10-season NFL career, he always knew where he could get oxygen between drives. Now, as the Detroit Lions offensive line coach, he’s sure to let his guys know the same. That’s particularly important this season, as the Lions have ratcheted up their tempo on offense.
One of the early priorities for Ben Johnson in his first year as Detroit’s offensive coordinator was to simplify the play-calling verbiage, creating the ability to up the tempo offensively. And while he clarified during the summer that tempo didn’t necessarily mean the Lions would be snapping the ball more quickly, that was a clear byproduct in Sunday’s season opener against the Eagles.
In neutral situations — removing the influence of hurry-up offense at the end of both halves and trailing by more than a score during the final two quarters — the Lions snapped the ball more rapidly than any team in the NFL last week, averaging 25.56 seconds per snap. Last year, in those neutral situations, the Lions ranked 29th at 32.64 seconds. That’s a reduction of more than 20%.
“Listen, it’s a good starting point,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “We’re always going to want it to be better. It started pretty good, and then at times, it didn’t. We just needed a little bit crisper, but for first time out of the gate, I wouldn’t say it was something we were disappointed in. I felt like we were able to dictate to the defense a little bit, and we’re certainly able to get into a rhythm once we got a first down.”
Johnson echoed those sentiments, saying the Lions struggled to establish the tempo while going through a midgame lull, failing to get a first down four consecutive possessions in the first and second quarters. But after breaking through at the end of the first half, the Lions went on to score touchdowns on four of the team’s final five possessions.
The challenge with moving at such a grueling pace is being well-conditioned. That’s of little concern for Detroit’s skill-position players, who are built to handle the shorter breaks between snaps, but it can be a more difficult adjustment for a 300-pound offensive lineman.
Fraley credited the preparation of his guys throughout the offseason to handle the pace.
“I think they know what it took,” he said. “… I think any offense that can put the pressure on the defense in and out of the huddle, it helps. So these guys are in shape. I was an oxygen guy; that’s probably why I was in shape. Now, I probably need oxygen every time I walk up and down the stairs. But I just, you know, I was a downhill, try-hard guy who got a chance to play for 11 years. So, I was around that pile, and the first time I got fined. That’s the mentality you want to have.”
Ultimately, the goal of getting to the line quickly is to pressure the defense, whether that’s through quicker snaps or preventing substitutions. Quarterback Jared Goff sees that ability to apply pressure as the team’s budding identity.
“(We want to be) a team that’s going to apply pressure and put the defense on their heels a little bit and be able to keep them guessing in some ways,” Goff said. “Is it going to be a run, is it a pass, is it a jet, is it a screen, is it a draw? Be able to keep them guessing.”
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @Justin_Rogers