Darrelle Revis, 5 NFL difference makers in new places

By Bryce Olin | Jul 22, 2014

Dec 8, 2013; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders (88) runs after a pass reception as Miami Dolphins strong safety Chris Clemons (30) defends during the third quarter at Heinz Field. The Miami Dolphins won 34-28. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /

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Dec 29, 2013; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Golden Tate (81) catches the ball to score a touchdown against the St. Louis Rams during the fourth quarter at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports /

Golden Tate, WR

New Team: Detroit Lions

Old Team: Seattle Seahawks

Head coach Jim Caldwell, in his first season with the Lions, now has a weapon to pair opposite Calvin Johnson. It’s been a struggle in recent seasons to find another threat to take some of the pressure off Johnson and become more than a one-dimensional football team.

Golden Tate should be able to help stretch the field and free up Johnson.

	Receiving
Year	Age	Tm	Pos	No.	G	GS	Rec	Yds	Y/R	TD	Lng	R/G	Y/G
2013	25	SEA	WR	81	16	13	64	898	14.0	5	80	4.0	56.1
Career					58	33	165	2195	13.3	15	80	2.8	37.8

Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table

Last season, Tate finished the season with the Seahawks with 898 yards receiving. He was basically the third or fourth offensive option in the Seahawks’ offense. In Detroit, Tate becomes the second or third option behind Johnson, and possibly Reggie Bush. Tate’s presence on the field forces cornerbacks and safeties to be honest and honor the deep threat both he and Johnson present to opposing defenses. With Tate running deep, vertical routes on one half of the field, quarterback Matthew Stafford will see less help and double coverage directly over Johnson. It forces the defense to choose between who to cover, and that’s how the Lions can make them pay.

The addition of Tate is scary because of how effective Stafford and the Lions were last season, basically all because of Megatron. The Lions’ offense ranked third in the league in total passing yards with 4,482 last season. A majority of those passing yards were accumulated trying to claw back into games after the opponent took the lead early in the game. Tate can’t help the defense, but he might be able to help some of the attitudes of defensive players. Tate did only just win the Super Bowl with the Seahawks, ya know?

All in all, Tate was a great pickup for the Lions who look to rebound and rebuild after a less than satisfactory season in 2013.

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