In the spring, when the Detroit Lions were starting to install their newfangled, whiz-bang, up-tempo, no-huddle offense, wide receiver Golden Tate pulled quarterback Matthew Stafford aside and asked him a question.
“What do you think?” Tate asked.
“He’s like, ‘I love it,’ ” Tate said Tuesday. “He said, ‘I know it’s a lot right now, but once we learn it, we’re going to be dangerous.’ ”
Dangerous.
Imagine that. A Lions offense dangerous without Calvin Johnson. Or perhaps because it no longer has the services of the best receiver in franchise history, the offense had to become something else.