NFL Playoffs: Do Jim Caldwell and the Detroit Lions deserve more credit?

Jim Caldwell is the first head coach in Lions franchise history with 10-plus wins in his first season.

Caldwell's 11 wins is more than the number managed by the last three Lions coaches in their first season put together – Jim Schwartz (two in 2009), Rod Marinelli (three in 2006) and Steve Mariucci (five in 2003).

So why is he not getting more credit for the job he’s done?

According to Sky Sports’ Kevin Cadle, it could still be the fallout from a disastrous final season as head coach of the Indianapolis Colts.

“Credit is found in keeping his job,” said Cadle. “At Indianapolis in that last year things got awfully bad when Peyton Manning was injured, but he’s come back to Detroit and shown he knows what it takes to win.”

Caldwell had a three-year stint as coach of the Colts, but while he shoulders much of the blame for his third and final campaign as they finished 2-14 without Manning,  he gets little of the praise for their Super Bowl run in his first year, with the importance of Manning – this time on the field – again being emphasised.

He spent the six years prior to his spell in charge as quarterbacks coach, developing Manning, and it was that, coupled with a subsequent spell in a similar role with the Baltimore Ravens – making Joe Flacco into a Super Bowl winning quarterback – that was the motive behind his hiring as Lions head coach.

But it hasn’t been the offence which has shone this season.

Defence

“In previous years their offense has carried them,” Cadle added. “And Caldwell is an offensive minded coach, but that production just hasn’t been there compared to what you’d have expected.”

Instead the defence has fired, with the Lions ranking top three in points allowed (third), yards allowed (second) and rushing yards allowed (first).

That is a long way from six years ago when the Lions were the laughing stock of the league, on their way to the first ever 0-16 season (the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers ended a 14-game season winless).

That brought about the franchise drafting quarterback Matthew Stafford out of Georgia with the No.1 pick in the draft the following year.

Though the strong-armed Stafford has sometimes fallen short of the level his talent demands, this year throwing for his career-lowest yardage total (4,257), he has reduced the number of interceptions he has thrown (12).

While Caldwell’s presence has not reaped immediate rewards with Stafford, his consistent, level-headed approach seems generally to have worked, for a franchise famed for its tumultuous nature.

Leader

“He is who he is,” Cadle said. “Every coach is not going to be screaming and hollering from the sidelines. Each one has a different persona and maybe he is what the Lions need.

“Equally don’t be fooled by his calm nature, as far as being a leader – he will still demand things from his team.”

The Lions are tasked with a trip to the in-form Dallas Cowboys in the Wildcard round of the play-offs on Sunday but the Cowboys, who won six of their last seven, struggled to a 4-4 record at home this season.

A win would represent the Lions’ first in the playoffs since 1991, ending a streak of six consecutive one-and-done post-season outings since.

“The Lions this year won 11 games, but only one of those came against a team with a winning record (back in week three against the 12-4 Green Bay Packers),”  Cadle added. “But Dallas are not a good home team so the opportunity is there for them.

“They need that offense to come together for it to happen though. If you get that offence to explode on the right day then they could cause a lot of problems.”