Lions Face Familiar Foes In Green Bay
By Chris Morgan
The Detroit Lions were sort of a non-factor in their loss to the Carolina Panthers, but they have no time to lick their proverbial wounds after their 24-7 defeat. The team will try and rebound with a return home, but their opponent is the Green Bay Packers, who have been one of the best teams in the NFL in recent years. However, so far this season, the Packers have not really impressed. They lost their season opener 36-16, but that was on the road against the Seattle Seahawks. That would have happened to almost any team. Then, in their most recent game, they barely eked out a win over the New York Jets at home. That was unexpected, and a reason for optimism for the Lions.
That being said, it was just one game, and this Packers team is still loaded with offensive talent. Aaron Rodgers is one of the best quarterbacks in the league, Jordy Nelson had over 200 yards receiving against the Jets, and they even have a very good running back in Eddie Lacy. The only area that Green Bay has any weakness is on offense in their offensive line. If Detroit wants to stop Rodgers and company, they need to get pressure on him, and they have the ability to do it. The Lions were in Carolina's backfield a bunch, and they need to do that again, or Rodgers will pick apart Detroit's questionable secondary.
Green Bay does have questions on defense, however, as their performance thus far would indicate. They haven't let up a lot of passing yards so far, but they were not playing passing teams. The Lions are a passing team. Detroit should do better here than they did against the Panthers, and Calvin Johnson could be in for a big game. The Lions may also finally get their running game going, as the Packers have let up a lot of yards on the ground thus far. If the Lions can keep Clay Matthews Jr. in check, then they should be able to have a good day on offense. There is reason for concern there, however, considering Detroit's injury questions at left tackle.
This could be a high scoring game, given the abilities of both of these offenses and the concerns about both defenses, although Detroit's defense has actually performed well thus far. The Lions, of course, have not won in Green Bay in years upon years, but this game is at Ford Field, where they have had more success. This also should benefit kicker Nate Freese, who has struggled for the Lions in his first two games as an NFL kicker. Last week, mistakes and miscues cost the Lions in their loss to Carolina. If they make less mistakes this week, and once again live in their opponent's backfield, Detroit can get back on the winning track with a key win in the NFC North. At the very least, the Lions should manage more than seven point this time around.
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Chris Morgan has been a diehard Detroit Lions fan through the good (Barry Sanders) and the bad (Matt Millen) and that love has led him to take jobs writing about sports, including as a fantasy sports "expert." His work can be found on Examiner.com. .
