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ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- The Detroit Lions started the season with high expectations. Jim Caldwell, the team’s head coach, said in August his team expected to be a playoff team this season. That’s a long way off now. The Lions are 0-5 for the first time since 2008 -- the 0-16 season. The difference is this is a much different -- and arguably stronger -- roster than in 2008. But the Lions are still searching for a win. “As a team, we’ve got to play better,” receiver Lance Moore said. “We’ve got to do whatever it takes to win one. That’s got to be the goal. The goal shouldn’t be get this thing together, we’ll get it rolling, we’ll win a bunch of games in a row. “We just need to win one game and then go from there. Obviously the season-long goals and long-term goals, they’ll be what they are, but we’ve got to focus in on just winning one game.” How did the Lions reach this point? Here are five issues the Lions have encountered.  1. Offensive inefficiency: It’s been a mess. The run game remains the worst in the NFL at 49 yards per game. The Lions aren’t reaching the red zone, either. They’ve been there 10 times -- tied with Miami, Chicago and Buffalo for fewest appearances this season. For an offense that hasn’t been able to really pick up big plays or scoring (16.6 ppg), that’s a major issue.
Is it fixable? Theoretically, yes, but that’s been Detroit’s biggest problem -- finding an offensive output elixir. The largest issue fix the Lions have is a combination of poor execution, bad play calls and play-call sequencing, turnovers and penalties -- so it’ll take a bit and might require large changes. 2. Turnovers: The defense is doing a decent job of creating them, but the Lions are worst in the league in interceptions (9) and tied for worst in the league in lost fumbles (6). Only four times since 2001 has the team with the most turnovers in the league finished with a record over .500 -- St. Louis in 2001 and 2003, the New York Giants in 2010 and Philadelphia last season. The last time the Lions led the league in turnovers was 2009, Matthew Stafford’s rookie season. Is it fixable? Yes, and Caldwell clearly started sending that message Sunday against Arizona, benching Stafford after three interceptions and Ameer Abdullah after two fumbles. Mistakes will happen, but when they’ve been consistently popping up, something needs to be done. This should be something the Lions can work on in practice and as a focus in games. 3. The run game: It’s the worst in the NFL and made Detroit’s offense one dimensional -- increasing some of the offensive issues. The Lions are last in the league by 20.25 yards per game on the ground and are gaining almost a half-yard per rush less than the second-worst team in the league. It’s been a total failure from the blocking up front to the backs themselves. Is it fixable? Questionable. The Lions were one of the worst rushing offenses in the NFL last season, too. Caldwell’s one season in Baltimore saw the Ravens average 83 yards per game rushing -- 30th in the league in 2013. Actually, no Caldwell-led team or offense has ever had a rushing offense ranked higher than No. 25 in the NFL during a season. Zach Zenner showed some spark Sunday, but he is still only averaging 3.2 yards a carry -- 47th in the league among qualifying rushers. Abdullah has promise, but there are the fumbling issues. 4. Defensive pressure: This was an issue early as the Lions weren’t getting to quarterbacks and were not getting enough pressure up the middle on opposing run offenses. That’s the bad news. The good news is there is improvement. The defense is still somewhat inconsistent, but the Lions are eighth in the NFL in sack percentage (8.3) and had been showing improvement before Sunday against Arizona. Is it fixable? Yes, and Teryl Austin had already found somewhat of a solution. The Lions have been mixing up blitzing and other pressures to try and get to opposing quarterbacks. The Lions have blitzed on 36.4 percent of dropbacks this season and gotten pressure 26.7 percent of the time. The pressure percentage is eighth in the NFL -- their same rank on blitz percentage. So there is progress, even if it isn’t enough. 5. Coaching: It just hasn’t been good enough. There have been miscommunications, which should be straightened out in practice during the week. The play calling on offense that was mentioned above. And that isn’t even going into what happened on the final offensive play in Seattle with the batted ball controversy and what occurred during and after the play. Caldwell said Sunday night he’s not doing a good enough job. He’s right -- and that goes for a chunk of the staff, too. Is it fixable? Theoretically, yes, and Caldwell seems to be banking on it. He once again said no staff or coaching changes Monday and it isn’t the first time this year he’s been asked that question. So for now at least, Caldwell is riding with the staff he initially brought in, but they need to find something soon. Otherwise, it could be major, major trouble.
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