Golden Tate sees the loss of Ndamukong Suh, like most others, as a blow to the Detroit Lions.

What the receiver doesn't think, though, is that the changes on the Lions' defense will put more pressure on Detroit's offense featuring Tate, Calvin Johnson and Matthew Stafford.

"No, I don't think it adds any pressure," Tate said by phone Monday while doing promotional calls for the Call of Duty Endowment supporting veterans seeking jobs. "We just need to be who we are. We know that we have a lot of weapons all over the field. We just need to reach our potential each and every week.

"We just need to go out there and play fundamentally sound football and I have no doubt our defense is going to be really good again this year and we just got to do our jobs. There's no pressure on anyone but to be ourselves and to play good football."

Detroit's offense struggled often last season, when the franchise ranked 19th in yards per game, 21st in yards per play and only ranked in the top 10 in time of possession and yards margin per game. Injuries and a poor run game were particular culprits, some of which has led to the retooling of the Lions' offensive line this offseason.

Earlier this month, though, Lions coach Jim Caldwell essentially lauded every player's progress that he was asked about at the NFL owners meetings, including Stafford, running back Theo Riddick and tight end Eric Ebron. They are three of the players Detroit will likely need to make good jumps in 2015 for the offense to have success.

Detroit's offense was often aided by its talented defense, which was led by Suh. With Suh, the Lions were in the top 10 in almost every major defensive category.

"Obviously, losing Suh is a big hit," Tate said. "I don't care what team you are, he's the guy that can change the game. Change an opposing offense's game plan. He affects the game so much. But with that being said, I'm thankful to have [had] the opportunity to play with him for a year and be a part of something special. But the show must go on.

"The guy we got, [Haloti] Ngata, is a heck of a player. I think it's a good pickup for us. I know he has a past with coach Caldwell so he knows the ins and outs of the system, probably. But we're ready to move forward. We can't live in the past and football season must still go on. We're preparing to have a great year and build from last year."

In terms of his own preparation, Tate said he typically doesn't begin going heavily into workouts until he returns to the team's facility in April, but that he has been training and working on running routes. This isn't particularly new, but Tate understands the value of saving his body for a season that beats up players.

The 26-year-old added yoga -- mostly stretching with the occasional hot yoga class -- to his routine last offseason to a regimen that also includes basketball and golf to keep active, along with doing what he needs to do to "maintain."

Tate's biggest offseason focus has nothing to do with anything physical at all. Last year was his first season learning offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi's new system. While he had a career year with 99 receptions for 1,331 yards and four touchdowns, there are areas he thinks he could have been even better.

"One thing I really want to focus on is learning the playbook a little bit better," Tate said. "I felt like I knew it for the most part, but details, running the plays exactly how Joe Lombardi draws them up, could help us win more games and create more opportunities for myself and our team."

For the Lions to win more games, though, they'll likely need more on offense collectively than they had a season ago.