The Facts: Following up on a previous item. ... HC Jim Caldwell said at the NFL owners meetings Wednesday that he wants to become less reliant on a passing game that features Stafford, Calvin Johnson and Golden Tate, and win with a balanced offense and the same tenacious defense that helped the Lions reach the playoffs last year. "When I tell you that we're not going to throw the ball any more than we threw it (last year), that's a fact," Caldwell said. "We're probably not going to throw it (more). If we do throw it more, that means we're behind, we're struggling, we're not winning, we're not a very good football team, plain and simple."

Diehards Line: The Lions ranked 11th in the NFL with 604 pass attempts last year, including two fake punts, and just four of the 10 teams that threw the ball more made the playoffs. Stafford's passing numbers have been in decline the last few years, since he set an NFL single-season record with 727 attempts in 2012, and his 602 attempts last fall - he completed 363 passes and took another 45 sacks - were the lowest in a season in which he played in all 16 games. Caldwell said the Lions still will lean on Stafford plenty this fall, but he cautioned the ball will "be distributed maybe a little bit different."