Detroit Lions Weblog

Week 12 Preview: Lions Vs. Packers

The annual Lions Thanksgiving Day game has been of tantamount importance to most Lions fans, in spite of all of this organization’s many failings, since the game has been the one of the few significant things about the franchise that can be regarded as a legitimate source of pride.

Bob Carroll, a pre-eminent football historian, wrote about history of the Lions Thanksgiving Day game several years ago for the Pro Football Researchers Association. The game, which began 73 years ago, may have actually saved the franchise, given it’s relative lack of popularity when compared to the hometown Detroit Tigers baseball club at that time.

That being said, during recent seasons, despite their national prominence for this one game, the Lions have been awful.   It has become so bad that I am not totally opposed to the NFL revoking the Lions Thanksgiving game privilege, if the organization doesn’t place a stronger impetus upon improving it’s current sad state.   The Ford’s are big time advertisers for the NFL’s television broadcasts, so this would be an incredibly bold move by the league office(but it in the past the NFL didn’t possess it’s own media platform(The NFL Network) in which it can exert stronger control over which games are broadcast, either).

The Lions do appear to be improving, at least on the surface level, but it remains to be seen if any deep, qualitative changes, or a paradigm shift, if you will, have actually occurred. Sunday’s game may be the first strong indicator that we will have, either way, of the future course of this franchise.

Offensively, the Lions are reeling.   In order for them to have any serious chance against the Packers, the Lions offense needs to make a faster-than-the-speed-of-light turnaround, during a short week of preparation. 

Mlive.com’s “Killer” Kowalski has suggested that the Lions offense has suffered from a crisis of identity.   They need to embrace who they are, a pass first offense, and consider their ground attack as an additional weapon within their arsenal.  It may be too much to ask that the Lions attempt to maintain a balanced offense.

Facing the Packers, it will be helpful to be able to run the ball successfully, but in order to do so the Lions will have to attack the Packers secondary and develop a rhythm in their passing game.  In order to so, the Lions will likely need to utilize more three and four wide receiver situations in hopes of creating some mismatches for their receivers against the Packers secondary.

The Packers have a very good defense, which will provide the Lions with a stiff challenge.  The Lions will have OT Jonathan Scott back to replace the embattled George Foster.   Hopefully, Scott’s return can make an impact against Aaron Kampman, because Jeff Backus will likely have his hands full with Cullen Jenkins and Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila. 

Defensively, the Lions are going to have to continue to play as well as they have in recent games.  Hopefully, they will continue to generate turnovers.   Packers QB Brett Favre is having an incredible season, and the Lions will need to take advantage of any mistakes that he makes. 

One way to force some errors from Favre would be to pressure him enough to force him to make ill-advised throws moving out of the pocket.   Another way to alter Favre’s game is to force him to play from behind, rather than with the lead.   The Lions defense can’t afford to let him to get comfortable, or he will make them pay.

Other than bombs to Greg Jennings and James Jones, I am most concerned that the Packers will use TE Donald Lee to attack the deep middle of the Lions zone coverage.   Lee has become a major playmaker this season.

As an eight year old, I remember vividly the Lions Thanksgiving Day loss to the Bears where Dave Williams ripped my little heart out with a 100-yard kickoff return in overtime.  My biggest fear is that I’ll have to re-visit that same misery tomorrow afternoon in what constitutes a hugely important game against a divisional rival.

Packers 31 Lions 21