Tate admits to giving less than full effort, promises to find 'fire'

The Detroit Lions have been bad this season, and several players in particular haven't been themselves lately. Wide receiver Golden Tate is one who admits he could be doing more to help the Lions win.

Tate said the following about his effort during Detroit's 42-17 loss to the Cardinals last Sunday, via Kyle Meinke of MLive.com:

Tate said he talked with Jim Caldwell and the Lions' coaching staff about finding the "fire" he had last year, according to MLive.com. The sixth-year pro is confident it will return, but the numbers tell a different story.

Last season, Tate was averaging 83.2 yards per game and 13.4 yards per catch in the Lions' offense. Those figures have slipped to 52.8 yards per game and 10.2 yards per catch in 2015. He's still searching for his first touchdown of the season, too.

Tate, like many of his teammates, has a lot to prove in the weeks to come. If the Lions are going to climb out of their 0-5 hole to start the season, Detroit's biggest stars will have to do most of the heavy lifting.