Lions’ Golden Tate: Calvin Johnson’s presence will boost my production
Golden Tate found the perfect situation for a young wide receiver. He’s the second string player to one of the NFL’s most feared offensive players. He’s second fiddle to Calvin Johnson — which means he’ll have room to breath. Moreover, he’s clicking with Matthew Stafford. It could be a golden season for Tate.
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“I think my numbers can be way better in this offense naturally how it’s set up,” Tate said, via ESPN.com. “I was coming from, you gotta think I was in the toughest division with the 49ers, Rams and Cardinals, defensively, with a run-heavy offense and now I’m going to a pass-happy offense where I’m on the same team as the best player in the league, one of the best players in the league who is going to draw a lot of attention, a lot of double coverage, which is going to leave me with a lot of single coverage with a lot of No. 2 and No. 3 cornerbacks.
“So mentally I think I should be able to excel and do very well here.”
In short, he thinks that the AFC North is going to be an easier division that the NFC West. Richard Sherman is snickering somewhere. But he’s right. Things are going to get easier for Tate this year. Tate is excited to produce for his team and take some of the load off Calvin Johnson, but ultimately, he’s far more concerned with winning.
“My goals are just to be better than I was last year,” Tate said. “I think every year I just want to be better than I was last year. Just a little bit better. Coach (Jim) Caldwell does a great job of using, we just want to be six inches better, that’s what I want to do. I want to help this team win.
“If my numbers aren’t as great and we have 11 wins and go to the playoffs and go deep into the playoffs, I’m happy with that. I want this team to win. I think we definitely have what it takes to win and it’s time to win now.”