Losing offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is an easy scapegoat when forecasting struggles for the Detroit Lions’ offense and quarterback Jared Goff.

But new OC John Morton, who was on staff in 2022, isn’t coming in to overhaul the system.

Morton will continue building and calling plays around Goff’s strengths.

Critics may highlight Goff’s limitations as a cap on the offense’s ceiling, and those critiques are valid—even if fans label them “Goff hate.” His flaws are known and aren’t new to this conversation.

Under Johnson, the Lions’ offense was both balanced and inventive, and that identity will remain under Morton. Certain formations and tendencies—or the lack thereof—will likely carry over into the new season.

Lions had the lowest use of one offensive formation in the NFL last season

FTN Fantasy’s Aaron Schatz shared a notable detail about a specific formation the Lions rarely used.

“A fun nugget from the FTN Almanac Strategic Tendencies tables I’m compiling.

“2024 was the first year we’ve tracked where all 32 teams used the pistol formation at least a few times.

Atlanta led with 34.6% usage, Detroit was last at 1.6%.”

The pistol formation, developed by Nevada coach Chris Ault in the mid-2000s, puts the quarterback about four yards behind the line of scrimmage with a running back directly behind him. Jeff Risdon of Lions Wire provided that breakdown.

In essence, it’s a hybrid of the shotgun that boosts option plays, particularly when the quarterback is a running threat. Since Goff isn’t that, it makes sense Detroit rarely uses it.

It can also aid weak tackles against fast edge rushers, but the Lions don’t have that issue with Penei Sewell and Taylor Decker anchoring both sides.

It’d be useful to know how effective Detroit actually was on those few pistol snaps—looking at yards, EPA, success rate, and other metrics. If the formation had real success, it likely would’ve been called more often.