Detroit Lions coach Jim Caldwell calls a good running game "a quarterback's best friend, plain and simple."
In that case, Matthew Stafford has never had a best friend since coming to Detroit.
Consider where the Lions have ranked in rushing offense since Stafford arrived:
2009: 24th out of 32 teams -- 101 yards per game.
2010: 23rd -- 100.8 YPG.
2011: 29th -- 95.2 YPG.
2012: 23rd -- 100.8 YPG.
2013: 17th -- 112 YPG.
2014: 28th -- 88.9 YPG.
The ineptness actually goes back much further than that, arguably since Barry Sanders' retirement nearly two decades ago.
Over the last 10 years, the Lions have had only one 1,000-yard rusher. That was Reggie Bush (1,006) in 2013.
In 2011, when the Lions made the playoffs with a 10-6 record, they were led in rushing by Jahvid Best with merely 390 yards.
This is what often gets conveniently forgotten when many are so quick to blame Stafford for, well, basically everything.
The fact is, an improved run game would make his life so much easier.
"You hear that often," Caldwell said, referring to the 'quarterback's-best-friend' line. "It's an old term that's been used for 70, 80 years, but the fact of the matter is it's true because it takes some of the pressure off of him."
Until last season, the Lions also had an average to poor defense in most years, which also puts more of a burden on the quarterback.
Whether they can continue to be one of the league's top defenses after a surprising emergence last season will be a major challenge without star defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh around to take on double-teams anymore.
Suh's departure will make a solid run game that much more important because a balanced offense helps not only Stafford, but also the defense.
While the NFL unquestionably has become a passing league, there's still a huge benefit to being able to run the ball and put a quarterback in advantageous down-and-distance situations, to keep the defense off the field by controlling the ball longer and, perhaps most importantly, to finish off a game by running out the clock with a lead.
Unless you have a Hall of Fame quarterback, which Stafford clearly isn't, everything becomes more difficult without a run game.
The Lions are hoping the moves they've made this offseason will help correct this problem.
They chose not to re-sign center Dominic Raiola and left guard Rob Sims, while also releasing running back Reggie Bush.
To replace them, the Lions drafted Duke offensive guard Laken Tomlinson in the first round, acquired veteran center/guard Manny Ramirez in a trade with Denver, and then took Nebraska running back Ameer Abdullah in the second round.
Tomlinson and Abdullah make the team considerably younger at their positions than Sims and Bush, but also much less experienced.
Nevertheless, the Lions had to do something because their offensive line and running attack were so dismal last season. They won 11 games and made the playoffs in spite of those two areas.
That type of success probably won't be matched unless both are fixed to some extent.
"I'd like to be able to add a real strong running game in there," said Caldwell, entering his second year as the Lions' coach. "It's been a point of emphasis since we arrived.
"It's not pretty. It's hard, it's tough, but it makes a difference. It helps you get some of that tough yardage.
"You can give it lip service all you want, but we also have added personnel to kind of help us. We intend to get better, and we must."
Otherwise, in the end, the quarterback will be the one who suffers, and takes the blame.
