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Lions receiver Golden Tate was targeted just two times in Sunday's loss against the Cardinals. (AP Photo)
ALLEN PARK -- Jim Caldwell did his best to absolve Joe Lombardi of blame for the Detroit Lions' offensive breakdowns this season.
He said he was OK with everything, from the playcalling to the direction of the offense.
Then Lombardi took the stage, and did an about-face during a candid news conference before Thursday's practice.
The first-year offensive coordinator shouldered blame for his unit's decline this season, and explained his plan to fix the problems (which begins with reducing the size of the playbook).
He also acknowledged a couple specific tactical mistakes in Sunday's 14-6 loss against the Arizona Cardinals. That includes admitting he should have done more to get Golden Tate the ball.
"I think it's always a priority (to get him the ball)," Lombardi said, "and I think at the end of the game, you were kind of disappointed."
Tate had racked up five 100-yard games in the previous six weeks, but was targeted just twice against Arizona, and not at all in the second half.
Caldwell downplayed Tate's role several times this week, insisting his variance in targets was a natural part of the offense. That gave Lombardi an easy out.
But Lombardi didn't take it, and promised to do more to get Tate the ball.
"I should've been more aware during that second half," Lombardi said. "You can call plays that make it more likely that he'll get the ball. So, that's certainly something after the game that I was aware of."
That's sure to please Tate, who took the high road when asked about Sunday's game, but was also straight-forward in saying he felt he could have done more to help Detroit's offense get moving.
"When we're losing, like last week, there's obviously things as a competitor I wish I could have done to help us win or give us a better chance," Tate said. "So I just kind of wish I had more opportunities, but it is what it is."
Lombardi also admitted that a failed fourth-down play was flawed, and he would call something else in that situation next time.
Detroit had mounted a rare drive against Arizona, moving from its own 1-yard line all the way to Arizona's 47 while trailing by six points midway through the fourth quarter. But the drive stalled when Matthew Stafford's pass to Calvin Johnson fell incomplete on a fourth-and-2.
Stafford locked on Johnson running a quick out route along the right sideline, giving the impression that was his only read.
"I would've done it differently (next time), because I think that the way we ran it kind of locked Matt into Calvin, and the nickel traveled and made a good play to kind of force the throw a little wide," Lombardi said.
"If it was a static formation, Matt would've read it normally and he would've seen an open receiver. But I think the way that we design that play kind of locked him into Calvin."
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