Is this some sort of sick Joique for Lions' fans? Does Jim Caldwell really think he's found a Bell cow running back in a 29-year-old who's coming off of two offseason surgeries?

[Those were bad puns.]

Seriously, though, what in the world is the Lions' coaching staff doing? So far this year, veteran running back Joique Bell has rushed the ball 20 times, totaling...22 yards. His 1.1 yards per carry average is second worst in the league among backs with 20 or more touches, ahead of only DeMarco Murray.

It's not as though Bell is the only guy in that Detroit backfield, either. Ameer Abdullah was selected in the second round of May's draft, and looking only at raw statistics, his 21 carries for 89 yards far exceeds what Bell's doing.

Advanced analytics predictably agree. So far this season, Abdullah's put together a Rushing Net Expected Points (NEP, which you can read more about in our Four! That, too, is the worst in the NFL among relatively high-volume running backs.

It's very clear what the Lions need to do. And that's not give the ball to Joique Bell. Something needs to change.