Questions about the Detroit Lions offense transitioning from Ben Johnson to John Morton will persist until the regular season -- and likely at least a few weeks into the campaign.
This uncertainty is natural after the club's previous success, raising questions about whether the explosive offense we've come to expect out of Detroit will continue, or if the mane will be trimmed.
Following a joint practice with the Miami Dolphins, in which the Lions reportedly dominated, star receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown said that while there have been some hiccups in the install period, the unit is beginning to hit its stride.
"We feel like, as an offense, maybe this camp there [have] been some struggles for us as an offense," he said, via the team’s official website. "But I think that's normal. You got new coaches and different moving parts and you're going against a really good defense every day.
"Things can get tough. But for us as an offense, we know the ability that we have, the playmakers we have, the quarterback we have, the O-line, so it's just a matter of time for us. Keep getting better and improving is the name of the game for us right now."
St. Brown stood out in Wednesday's practice with Miami, dragging veteran cornerback Jack Jones up and down the field.
It's fair to wonder whether changes under Morton will pay off. It's hard to think the Lions could be better than they were with Johnson, under whom Detroit had the NFL's No. 1 scoring (28.9 PPG) and total offense (394.8 total YPG) from 2022-24.
The scheme will be tweaked and the play script will be different, but the players on the field will ultimately be the ones who determine how the offense performs. It's a unit loaded with weapons, with a dynamic backfield in Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, St. Brown and fellow receiver Jameson Williams, and tight end Sam LaPorta. Even third-round pick Isaac TeSlaa has flashed during camp.
The bigger question mark in Detroit isn't the coordinator, but rather whether the interior offensive line will hold up after Frank Ragnow's retirement. If pressure is in Jared Goff's face and holes aren't opened in the run game, it won't matter what plays are called into the headset.
