The Facts:
HC Jim Schwartz said Thursday at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis that his biggest wish for his run game in 2013 is the return of the explosive plays. It's those run plays of 20-plus yards that were severely lacking from the Lions offense last season. In fact, they had only three of them, marking the fewest in the league. Leshoure, whom the team selected in the second round of the 2011 draft to carry a lot of the load for them, did not have any. Joique Bell, who went undrafted in 2009 and split time with Leshoure last season, had all three. "We still have high hopes for him and expect him to make a big jump," Schwartz said of Leshoure heading into the 2013 offseason.
Reported by DetroitLions.com
Fantasy Football Diehards Line:
Leshoure missed his entire rookie season in 2011 after tearing his Achilles tendon early in training camp, and Schwartz alluded to the fact that Leshoure might not have been completely recovered from that last season. "He didn't have any explosive runs last year," Schwartz said. "He battled through a rookie year, that's probably the best way to evaluate him. He flashed enough highs that gives us optimism that he can (be explosive), but he also had enough inconsistency to say that he's not there yet." Leshoure led the Lions in rushing with 798 yards and nine touchdowns, but his longest run of the season was just 16 yards on 215 attempts and he averaged a modest 3.7 yards per carry despite playing against defenses designed primarily to slow Calvin Johnson. Leshoure clearly needs to pick up the pace this season.
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