Lions Offense Reminds John Morton of This Past AFC Team

The Detroit Lions are again proving they are among the best offensive scoring units in the National Football League.

Through four games, the team has scored 137 points. Offensive coordinator John Morton is in charge of an offense that has averaged 34.3 points per game, through the first quarter of the season.

When asked during his weekly talk with reporters, he expressed the Lions offense reminds him of the Oakland Raiders. In 2003, the AFC Squad had one of the best offenses in the league and found themselves in the Super Bowl.

"When I was at the Raiders, we had Tim Brown, Jerry Rice, Charlie Garner, Tyrone Wheatley, you know, Doug Jolley. We went to the Super Bowl there. We had the best offense in the league. So, all those guys are Hall of Famers, just about half of them. Great offensive line," said Morton. "That's really the only thing that comes to mind, really. But these weapons (here), we can do whatever we want. Like I said before in the past."

Not leaving Allen Park

The team has so many weapons, Morton is enjoying the sheer amount of time game-planning each week.

The veteran offensive coach expressed he does not leave the facility until Friday, choosing to work diligently to find any avenue to give his players an advantage over another team.

With so many mouths to feed, the 56-year-old is enjoying finding ways to get each player on offense the football.

"I don't go home till Friday," Morton expressed. "That's what I do. I sit there and try to find ways to get these guys open. But I love it. I love this part of the week, you know, the preparation. That's what I live for. It's a good problem to have. And then when the game starts, you got to see what happens.

"Sometimes it's this guy that has the hot hand, sometimes it's that guy," Morton explained further. "It's just whatever they're doing, we try to adapt and try to change, if we need to. And you got to do that right away."

Comfort in the coaches box

Morton shared that Jon Gruden initially had him up in the box. It has been a place he has felt comfortable, being he has spent so much time there during his coaching career.

If the Lions did not have a coaching staff comprised of veteran coaches, Morton would be down on the sideline.

But with veteran coaches he trusts, he is comfortable to remain in a spot he truly enjoys calling plays from.

"I also think it's the coaches communicating. We've talked in between series," said Morton. "What are you seeing? What are they seeing? I want to know what the players -- what they're saying, what the quarterback is saying. But, I can see a lot of stuff up there. There's no doubt, I think it's way easier to call plays up there, because I got guys down below I can trust. You know, they've done it.

"That's the biggest thing," Morton added. "If I didn't have those guys, I would probably go downstairs for the quarterback. But, we got veteran coaches. They've done it, man. It's a lot easier. It takes all the chaos out of being on the field when you can call plays and it's nice and quiet."