In football, just like in life, things have a way of self-correcting. An economy might lose its way before inflation, innovation and a little hard work pave the way to recovery. Football teams take salary cap hits, withstand injury and languish through bad coaching hires before a lot of things come together for a season like this. The Lions were in a decade long recession, bordering on collapse. Some might say they have already recovered and are already on the road to prosperity. That may be true, but today’s game will tell us a lot about how far down the road they’ll travel.
Starting 2-0 is a nice thing. A solid road victory against a respected team and then a blowout victory against a team already considered to be this season’s biggest disappointers. To round off a 3-0 start on the road against a division rival like the Minnesota Vikings would be huge. Sure they’ve already had a string of road wins and have gotten over that proverbial hump. But this will be different. The Lions haven’t won in Minnesota in 13 years. Furthermore, the Vikings are 0-2 with a dominant running back meaning they are desperate and hungry.
The Lions are the better team. But on any given Sunday, the best team doesn’t always win. The Vikings had a chance to win both of their games this season going into the fourth quarter. This, coupled with the fact that Donovan McNabb had his worst start to a season ever mean that the Vikings are more than capable of making this a contest. Whether McNabb is over the hill or just needs to get warmed up is yet to be determined. I will say that a lot of his mistakes this season boil down to simple adjustments: timing with receivers, putting a little less on a pass and protecting the ball.
Winning on the road in the NFL is one of the toughest things to do in sports. While the Viking running attack poses the biggest threat to the Lions, it’s the early big plays that the Lions need to watch out for. Minnesota will look to strike quickly to get the crowd in the game, establish the run and offset the effectiveness of the Lions pass rush.
At the end of the day, like the first two games and those yet to be played this season, the defensive line of Detroit will be too much for Donovan McNabb to handle.
Prediction: Lions 28 Vikings 16
Players to watch: DT Pat Williams WR Nate Burleson
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Week 2 NFL Picks: Chiefs and Lions
Welcome to the jungle. A lion's domain where nobody gets out alive without the pardon of the king. The Detroit Lions have been feasting at their domain, Ford Field, since it opened 10 years ago. Ok, maybe they’ve been feasted upon more than they’ve feasted but today is the home opener and this is definitely a different Lions team.
The Kansas City Chiefs are in town, fresh off of a 41-7 stampeding at the hooves of the Buffalo Bills. With the Lions winning last week in such impressive fashion, one would think that picking this game is a no-brainer. Not so fast. Generally, when a team has a bad loss they get mad. Well, the Chiefs lost badly last week and they are good enough to do something about it.
First thing that comes to mind is the absence of Chiefs Safety Eric Berry. Out for the season, Berry presents a lot of problems for an offense when on the field. Veteran Jon McGraw (former Lion) will take his place. He won’t make the spectacular play but likely won’t give one up either. First instinct for a team is to attack a player like this who is filling in and that usually is the right move. However, backups in all sports have the tendency to come up big, functioning mostly on adrenaline, when initially called upon. The Lions should be careful about testing him because he just might be up for the challenge.
On the other side of the ball, All-Pros Dwayne Bowe and Jamaal Charles are the type of guys that will do some damage no matter how much you game plan for them. It's just a matter of limiting that damage. Charles is dynamic in that he can catch the ball out of the backfield and is usually the quickest guy in the building, no matter which building he walks into. Bowe is big, fast and physical and can go off for big plays when his team needs it the most. His match up with the Lions corners, coupled with the necessity of those corners to step up in the run game will be important. The cornerbacks for both teams will have their hands full.
The Lions ran for 126 yards last week. Much of that was gained inside and between the tackles. These are the type of yards they’ll need again. This kind of a gameplan keeps defense’s honest and allows an offense to eventually break that big play outside or down the field. The ball security of Maurice Morris is a concern. Look for Jerome Harrison or new guy Keiland Williams to maybe make a case for that number two running back spot behind Jahvid Best.
Don’t be misled about who the Chiefs lost to last week and what that might mean. Sure, it was a bad loss but in my opinion, it was to a good team. Buffalo is poised to have an 8-8 season (4-12 in 2010) in what is one of the toughest divisions in football. With all of that said, the Lions will continue to reverse the historical trend and win another close game. They will run the ball effectively and Matt Cassell will be overwhelmed at times by the most dominant defensive line in football.
Prediction: Lions 28 Chiefs 24
Players to watch-
DET TE Brandon Pettigrew, KC CB Brandon Flowers
The Kansas City Chiefs are in town, fresh off of a 41-7 stampeding at the hooves of the Buffalo Bills. With the Lions winning last week in such impressive fashion, one would think that picking this game is a no-brainer. Not so fast. Generally, when a team has a bad loss they get mad. Well, the Chiefs lost badly last week and they are good enough to do something about it.
First thing that comes to mind is the absence of Chiefs Safety Eric Berry. Out for the season, Berry presents a lot of problems for an offense when on the field. Veteran Jon McGraw (former Lion) will take his place. He won’t make the spectacular play but likely won’t give one up either. First instinct for a team is to attack a player like this who is filling in and that usually is the right move. However, backups in all sports have the tendency to come up big, functioning mostly on adrenaline, when initially called upon. The Lions should be careful about testing him because he just might be up for the challenge.
On the other side of the ball, All-Pros Dwayne Bowe and Jamaal Charles are the type of guys that will do some damage no matter how much you game plan for them. It's just a matter of limiting that damage. Charles is dynamic in that he can catch the ball out of the backfield and is usually the quickest guy in the building, no matter which building he walks into. Bowe is big, fast and physical and can go off for big plays when his team needs it the most. His match up with the Lions corners, coupled with the necessity of those corners to step up in the run game will be important. The cornerbacks for both teams will have their hands full.
The Lions ran for 126 yards last week. Much of that was gained inside and between the tackles. These are the type of yards they’ll need again. This kind of a gameplan keeps defense’s honest and allows an offense to eventually break that big play outside or down the field. The ball security of Maurice Morris is a concern. Look for Jerome Harrison or new guy Keiland Williams to maybe make a case for that number two running back spot behind Jahvid Best.
Don’t be misled about who the Chiefs lost to last week and what that might mean. Sure, it was a bad loss but in my opinion, it was to a good team. Buffalo is poised to have an 8-8 season (4-12 in 2010) in what is one of the toughest divisions in football. With all of that said, the Lions will continue to reverse the historical trend and win another close game. They will run the ball effectively and Matt Cassell will be overwhelmed at times by the most dominant defensive line in football.
Prediction: Lions 28 Chiefs 24
Players to watch-
DET TE Brandon Pettigrew, KC CB Brandon Flowers
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Week 1 NFL picks: Lions and Bucs
In a league known for parity, using records of seasons past to gauge a team in the future just doesn’t work. The entry draft, free agency and the scheduling system play a large role in determining how a team will do in a given season. In the case of the Detroit Lions, all of these factors play a role. There is one X factor that I haven‘t mentioned and that is the return of their starting quarterback Matthew Stafford. The Lions beat the 10-win Bucs last year without Stafford. That is the first of many reasons why they will beat them again with him.
Not unlike the Lions, Tampa is a young team on the rise. Standouts at quarterback, running back and all over their defense have given the Bucs some much deserved attention. However, thinking that a running back like LeGarrette Blount may give the Lions defensive line a hard time is unfounded. Big backs give small teams trouble-Ndamukong Suh and his buddies aren‘t small. Could a fast, shifty running back who can catch the ball out of the back field and run off-tackle give the linebackers a problem? That’s a question for next week when Jamaal Charles comes to town. For now, Stephen Tulloch, DeAndre Levy and Justin Durant will have no problem backing their boys up front.
Josh Freeman is a talented football player but he’s not nearly polished enough to give the Lions defense any real trouble. Many will say that the Lions are an improved team that still have a lot of holes to fill. What people fail to realize is that Martin Mayhew has arrived and he knows more than all of us. Not signing a Jonathan Joseph or Antonio Cromartie doesn’t mean that they have a hole at the cornerback position. It means Mayhew doesn’t think he needs them and thus far, he’s given fans no reason to doubt him. If by some chance the Lions defensive line doesn’t finish something, their defensive backs will.
Where the Bucs may have an advantage is stopping the run. However, if the Lions can run just enough to give the passing game some breathing room, they will do just fine.
Prediction: Lions 23 Bucs 17
Not unlike the Lions, Tampa is a young team on the rise. Standouts at quarterback, running back and all over their defense have given the Bucs some much deserved attention. However, thinking that a running back like LeGarrette Blount may give the Lions defensive line a hard time is unfounded. Big backs give small teams trouble-Ndamukong Suh and his buddies aren‘t small. Could a fast, shifty running back who can catch the ball out of the back field and run off-tackle give the linebackers a problem? That’s a question for next week when Jamaal Charles comes to town. For now, Stephen Tulloch, DeAndre Levy and Justin Durant will have no problem backing their boys up front.
Josh Freeman is a talented football player but he’s not nearly polished enough to give the Lions defense any real trouble. Many will say that the Lions are an improved team that still have a lot of holes to fill. What people fail to realize is that Martin Mayhew has arrived and he knows more than all of us. Not signing a Jonathan Joseph or Antonio Cromartie doesn’t mean that they have a hole at the cornerback position. It means Mayhew doesn’t think he needs them and thus far, he’s given fans no reason to doubt him. If by some chance the Lions defensive line doesn’t finish something, their defensive backs will.
Where the Bucs may have an advantage is stopping the run. However, if the Lions can run just enough to give the passing game some breathing room, they will do just fine.
Prediction: Lions 23 Bucs 17
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