After his disappointing first season, OC Joe Lombardi said TE Eric Ebron is working with quarterback Matthew Stafford on chemistry and route running.

"I think that's going to be a big key to our growth is to get more production from Eric, and I think he's ready to do that," Lombardi said Tuesday, per the Detroit Free Press. "I know he's been making some trips to Atlanta to work with Matt already this offseason, so he's -- the thing you like about Eric is he's a bright kid and he works hard and he wants to be good. So we expect very big things from him moving forward."

"There's a big learning curve, obviously, for any rookie, and the tight end position is one that requires a lot," Lombardi said. "As you look back, if you're self-critical, you might say maybe we asked a little bit too much of him, from that perspective. So I think there's just a volume that he struggled with early, but he was productive and, again, for anybody, the second year's always where you see the biggest jump."

Ebron turned 3.8 targets into 1.9 catches for 19 yards and 0.08 TD as a rookie. He played half the snaps, so his lack of production is somewhat alarming. Tight end is a tough position to learn as a rookie, so there is some reason for optimism given Ebron's skill set.

While Lions play-caller Joe Lombardi remains knee deep in Detroit's game tape from a season ago, one theme has already emerged from his studies: It's time for more big plays from Matthew Stafford.

"Our biggest thing is, in order to win football games, you've got to first not lose them, and I thought that he played smart football, and sometimes to a fault," Lombardi said Tuesday, per Ashley Dunkak of CBS Detroit. "We'll look for him to maybe take a few more chances this year with the football. He's got the arm to do it. He's got the receivers to throw it to."

After three straight top 10 finishes, Stafford was the #17 QB in 2014, though he was only a couple of touchdowns out of the #13 spot. As the 10th QB off the board in early drafts, it's possible that Stafford is being overdrafted, though if he's being encouraged to take more chances, it could boost his fantasy numbers.

Sunday marked Lions WR Golden Tate's third consecutive contest with 100 or more receiving yards, the first time he's accomplished that feat in his career.

Tate did much of his damage when Johnson was sidelined three weeks with a high ankle sprain, posting the two highest receiving totals of his career against the New Orleans Saints (154 yards) and Atlanta Falcons (151 yards).

During that time he was able to rapidly develop chemistry with quarterback Matthew Stafford.

"Having Calvin back certainly changed the dynamics a little bit, but you still see the little guy comes up big and played extremely well," HC Jim Caldwell said. "And I think with Calvin just being absent those few weeks, the rapport that was developed between Golden and Matthew is something that is certainly going to help us down the stretch."

Tate's recent stretch has been so impressive, he surpassed one of Johnson's many team records in the victory. The 11-catch performance is Tate's sixth consecutive game with seven or more receptions, besting a mark he came into the day sharing with Johnson and Brett Perriman.

This is great news for Tate owners. It was natural to expect a bit of a drop in Tate's numbers with the return of Johnson this week. But Tate had another big day and it looks like the time he had to develop with Stafford will pay off down the stretch. He should remain on the WR2 fantasy radar.

Lions WR Calvin Johnson looked crisp in practice and seems to be as close to 100 percent this far into a season as he has been in a long time. The impact should be massive. With Johnson out, QB Matthew Stafford and WR Golden Tate found a strong connection. Now teams will have to account for Tate and Johnson, along with the potential of the Lions' running backs. That's a lot to deal with for any defense.

We're expecting Johnson to be his usual self in Week 10, though the matchup with a streaking Dolphins defense is a tough one.

Lions QB Matthew Stafford has been sacked 11 times this season, putting him on pace for a career-high 44 this year. And it’s even worse than the numbers look, because Stafford isn’t dropping back to pass as much as he has the last couple years. This year Stafford has been sacked on 6.9 percent of his dropbacks. Last year he was sacked on 3.5 percent of his dropbacks. And those numbers don’t include the times Stafford has ended up running when he wanted to pass; Stafford is on pace for a career-high 68 rushing attempts in part because he’s been forced to run at times.

Despite all that, Stafford says things are fine with his offensive line.

There is one big problem on the Lions’ line, however: Detroit has been down to its third-string right tackle since starter LaAdrian Waddle and backup Corey Hilliard both suffered injuries in Week One. Garrett Reynolds has struggled filling in, particularly last week against the Jets, when Stafford was sacked four times.

Stafford's protection is something for fantasy owners to monitor moving forward, especially when the Lions face a team that is good at pressuring the quarterback. The Bills are tied for 4th in sacks (11) heading into Week 5.