Golden Tate has led a charmed life in the NFL. Four trips to the playoffs in five NFL seasons. A Super Bowl win. A big contract as a free agent after winning a ring.
But now his team is 0-4, and Tate is frustrated. The frustration has caused Tate to say things that he has had to later explain. First, his remarks about the predictability of the team’s offense (as evidenced by opposing defenses calling out the plays) required Tate to tell the world he wasn’t calling out offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi. More recently, Tate made curious comments about quarterback Matthew Stafford in the production meeting preceding Monday night’s game against Tate’s old team, the Seahawks.
“I wish that the Matthew Stafford that we see in the fourth quarter I could see for all four quarters, because he loves to close the deal and [has that] great look in his eye. Makes those tight throws in a big spot,” Tate told ESPN’s Mike Tirico and Jon Gruden.
On Friday, Tate reached for the closest toothpaste scooper.
“My words, the way I say things sometimes I guess apparently don’t come out the way they’re meant to be,” Tate told Carlos Monarrez of the Detroit Free Press. “And I think Matt is a heck of a quarterback. But I’ve never seen someone like him, when it’s fourth-quarter crunch time, he is making play after play after play after play. And it’s a lot of things. We’re all more hungry, the coaching staff is more hungry, he’s more hungry, everyone is just doing a little bit more. And I think we all need to do a little bit more for four quarters to play that way.”
Tate said his frustrations don’t extend to the number of passes thrown his way.
“I’m frustrated about the winning, about not winning,” Tate said. “I’ve been there in Seattle where I have two passes but we won. So I think that’s selfish to complain about the passes.
“But when you’re losing and I feel like I could have done a little bit more. I feel like I could have done something better or I could have spoke up a little bit more during the game to get some looks. So that’s where my frustration comes is just when we lose and I’m unproductive.”
But Tate said you won’t see him angrily lobbying for more looks during a game.
“I’m not that guy that’s going to go out on a rampage and embarrass myself, embarrass this organization or a coach in the middle of a game by doing all that,” Tate said. “That’s just not who I am and I’m a professional in that manner. So I figure I just try to stay quiet during the game, just keep doing my job and hopefully at some point I get my opportunity to help win.”
Even though Tate won’t be saying anything during a game that will embarrass himself, the team, or a coach, he has now said multiple things not during a game that have had the same effect.
That’s often a natural consequence of losing. Especially for a guy who is used to winning. And while the controversies aren’t ideal, if more Lions had the same passion that Tate possesses, they wouldn’t be 0-4.