Ameer Abdullah exploded onto the scene in August as one of the league's most promising rookie playmakers.
Trapped on a one-win Detroit team, though, the first-year running back leads the Lions with just 225 rushing yards, ranking him 49th league-wide and behind four quarterbacks on that list.
Part of the problem: Abdullah's touches have been all over the map inside Detroit's confused offensive scheme. After seeing 39 touches over a three-week span from Week 4 to Week 6, Abdullah saw just eight opportunities in Week 7 before falling off a cliff with just one touch against the Chiefs in Week 8.
"Ameer's role will be growing,"Lions offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter said Thursday, per the Detroit Free Press, arguing that in-game situations dictated Abdullah's invisible workload against the Chiefs.
"Every game's a little different, and I think some games you'll see him with the ball in his hands a little bit more, some games (you'll see) Joique (Bell) and (Theo) Riddick," Lions coach Jim Caldwell said this week. "I think you'll see them carry it some, as well. So it just kind of depends on the ball game as to how we approach it."
Asked what role he expected to play under Cooter, Abdullah offered no clues, saying: "I guess we'll find out, huh?"
"At the end the end of the day, I know I'm one of the better playmakers on this team," said Abdullah. "So I just got to do a better job of staying on the field and making sure I'm helping my team, 'cause when I'm not on the field I'm not helping out and they need playmakers on the field and I am a playmaker."
Coming off last year's playoff berth, the Lions were a popular pick to surprise people in the NFC with one of the league's most potent attacks. Abdullah's heady August only fanned the fervor.
Today, Detroit is a massive, frothy disaster, serving as another reminder to fans, out-of-control bloviators and smug fantasy heads that nobody knows anything.
