Detroit Lions Weblog

Let the Windmill Jousting Begin!

Is there a more star-crossed franchise in all of professional football? Which NFL team’s history is most likely to have been scripted by Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes? 16 wins and 40-something losses in the last four years? The Lions certainly give all of the indicators as posessors of all of the trappings (bread and circuses?) to have a successful team. Imposing new Black jerseys, loud rock music blaring, dry ice and bright lights flashing, rabid, loyal fans screaming at the top of their lungs, as the home team emerges from the tunnel like a thundering horde from Valhalla. On the surface, this team is very exciting. The first game of the 2005 season will go along ways towards establishing whether the team will generate the on-field performance necessary to match this Wagnerian spectacle.

In order for the Lions to have a remote chance Sunday Night, they will have to score early and often on offense. The Packers plan on offense should be two-fold:1) Grind it out with Ahman Green, Najeh Davenport and Tony Fisher running the ball to keep their weak defense off of the field. 2) Brett Favre will sit in the pocket and pick apart the Lions secondary at will, especially if he is not pressured. If the Lions score early and get a lead, the Packers will be unable to stick to their ball-control ground attack.

The Lions should utilize as many multi-receiver and multi-tight end sets as possible. The soft, white underbelly of the Packers will be exposed when playing their dime and nickle defensive backs in matchups against the Lions multi-receiver sets. The Packers are unable to generate much of a pass rush outside of Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila, so the Lions will have to improve 110% in their blitz pick-up. Routinely, Lions offensive tackles Jeff Backus and Kelley Butler have looked overmatched against the blitz and edge rushers in the pre-season. I have a frozen image(nightmares) in my mind of Kevin Jones getting slobberknockered by Chris Claiborne in the Rams pre-season game on a blitz pick-up. It will tip the Lions hand completely to the Packers defense if Jones is incapable of doing a better job picking up blitzers, because they will be forced to remove him and put in Shawn Bryson in passing situations. The Packers don’t often choose to blitz heavily, but viewing pre-season tapes it would seem likely they will amp up their blitzing significantly. If the Lions can spread the Packers defense out with multi-receiver sets, they will also open up plenty of running room for Kevin Jones who should have a field day against the Packers. If the Packers are able to generate pressure on Harrington and the Lions are unable to take advantage of the Packers secondary, it will be a very long day for the Lions.

The Lions defense can’t allow the Packers to do what the Rams did the first play of their game in the pre-season by allowing the offense to crash down and opening up a big runing lane to the outside. Shaun Rogers, Marcus Bell, Big Daddy Wilkinson and Shaun Cody are very important in this game. If they are stout against the run, the Packers will be forced to throw more often. The Lion’s Defensive Tackles should dominate journeymen OG Adrian Klemm and former Michigan State rookie Will Whitticker. I think the Lions will hopefully be able to generate the additional pressure it is unable to receive from ends Kalimba Edwards and Corey Redding by bullrushing the interior of the Packers line and collapsing the pocket onto Favre and forcing him to rollout. If the Lions follow their previous track record against the Packers, Favre will reside comfortably in the pocket and pick them apart all day. This has often proved suicidal, even with a much improved secondary, the Packers will make big play after big play if there is no pressure on Favre.

This game is incredibly improtant for the success of this season. If we see another exhibition of the “Same Old Lions” the fans will cannibalize Joey Harrington and Steve Mariucci. The amount of patience alloted will be very short this year and a good start against the Packers will give the young Lions something to build upon as they hope to approach playoff contention. Being a lifelong fan, I can’t help but believe that Favre will light up the Lions for 350 yards passing and three TD’s, meanwhile, the Lions will be unable to take advantage of the Packer secondary as Joey Harrington is routinely pressured heavily and forced to meekly and continually check the ball down to secondary receivers, which will lead to innumberable three-and-outs and a roaring cascade of boos from the home crowd. The game will remain close, because the Lions are at home and the Packers defense is terrible. Packers 31 Lions 27.