Week Three: Detroit Lions (1-1) @ Minnesota Vikings (1-1)

[buddha]

3 hours ago, Motown Bombers said:

 

i think that's a testament to how good aaron glenn is.  they've schemed a ton of pressure on teams.  blitzes are getting home and seem to surprise other teams.

i cant see him being here next year because he'll be in line for a head coaching job.

other than harris' strip sack on wentz, i dont remember too many plays where lions pass rushers immediately beat a guy off the ball and got to the qb.  all 3 of hutch's sacks were either schemed (his third came on a stunt up the middle), or were clean up sacks where he was blocked but just kept coming and coverage held up.

which is nice to think about the lions coverage holding up, which is also a testament to glenn, imo.

two game caveats apply, of course.  but i still see hutch as a "hard worker" who does what he's asked, crushes the pocket, and plays solid positional defense more than a natural bendy pass rusher who beats nfl left tackles with speed regularly.  the lions could still use that guy.

[Motown Bombers]

Rams next to last.

 

[Mr.TaterSalad]

19 hours ago, buddha said:

i think that's a testament to how good aaron glenn is.  they've schemed a ton of pressure on teams.  blitzes are getting home and seem to surprise other teams.

i cant see him being here next year because he'll be in line for a head coaching job.

other than harris' strip sack on wentz, i dont remember too many plays where lions pass rushers immediately beat a guy off the ball and got to the qb.  all 3 of hutch's sacks were either schemed (his third came on a stunt up the middle), or were clean up sacks where he was blocked but just kept coming and coverage held up.

which is nice to think about the lions coverage holding up, which is also a testament to glenn, imo.

two game caveats apply, of course.  but i still see hutch as a "hard worker" who does what he's asked, crushes the pocket, and plays solid positional defense more than a natural bendy pass rusher who beats nfl left tackles with speed regularly.  the lions could still use that guy.

What a marked changed from Patricia where we were dead last by a country mile in QB pressures and hurries.

[MichiganCardinal]

Prediction time.

Detroit 34

Minnesota 30

I think Detroit’s offense continues what they’ve started. They’ll eventually be stymied this year I’m sure, but I don’t think it will be by Minnesota. The defense shows flashes again, but ultimately does just enough to not lose the game. MCDC gets his first road victory.

[RandyMarsh]

Lions history suggests this is the type of game they'd lose but I think it's time to stop comparing them to previous teams since this is a whole new regime from top to bottom but still I just don't have a good feeling about this one. 

I think Jefferson is determined to be a man possessed after how he looked MNF and were not gonna generate the consistent pressure to keep Cousins from finding him. So with that said I'm going 34-24 Minnesota. 

[sabretooth]

Given the injuries I'm tempted to say that this is a lock for a loss....but it seems like with this team (coaches, players) and this scheme they overcome and adapt pretty quickly to injury losses.

They win this game and its starting to feel like a special season.

[buddha]

vikings 31

Lions 27

close, but not there yet.

[Hongbit]

What kind of finger injury keeps an offensive guard from sucking it up and playing?   Buddy tape it and let’s go.

[Hongbit]

Lions 30

Vikings 28

 

 

[djhutch]

I don't feel like the Vikings added a huge amount in the off-season, although we do know the difference a coach can make.  We split last year, both winning at home on the last play.  Should be evenly matched.  Normally I'd give the nod to the home team, but I have been impressed with DC's ability to piece together an OL that actually performs - & we get Ragnow back.  Late interception seals it.  Lions - 33   Vikings - 31

[Motown Bombers]

28-27 Lions. Minnesota has a chance to tie it but they fumble the snap on the extra point attempt. 

[Tigeraholic1]

Harrison Smith out, you love to see it. Lions 24 Viks 17

[buddha]

46 minutes ago, djhutch said:

I don't feel like the Vikings added a huge amount in the off-season, although we do know the difference a coach can make.  We split last year, both winning at home on the last play.  Should be evenly matched.  Normally I'd give the nod to the home team, but I have been impressed with DC's ability to piece together an OL that actually performs - & we get Ragnow back.  Late interception seals it.  Lions - 33   Vikings - 31

minny added a coach who knows modern offense to replace their old coach who knew how to run the ball up the middle.

[Tigeraholic1]

 

[Mr.TaterSalad]

This was an evenly matched 50/50 game to me before the season started. It is now a 75/25 game to me in the Lions favor. We put up 35 points against the Eagles and were had a punchers shot at winning in the end. Minnesota put up 7 and fell flat on their face. We are averaging 35 points a game and this isn't the Mike Zimmer-led, Minnesota defenses of the past that had the likes of Danielle Hunter, Everson Griffen, Sheldon Richardson, Linvall Joseph, and Anthony Barr wrecking havoc on opposing OLs and QBs. Add onto that Patrick Peterson is washed up, old, and slow now.

Our OLine is a machine, our running game with Swift is one of the top 5 in the league, and our passing attack has looked strong through two games. I honestly think we're not only going to win but cover the spread. The Lions have burnt all of us time and time again when we've bet on them. But this is a new regime, with different players and different coaches than any of the SOL teams of the past. Until they show they can't keep averaging 35 points a game, which will come down to Earth eventually, I'll keep betting on this offense to produce. Give me the Lions in an offensive affair, 38-24.

Edited September 23, 2022 by Mr.TaterSalad

[Mr.TaterSalad]

9 minutes ago, buddha said:

minny added a coach who knows modern offense to replace their old coach who knew how to run the ball up the middle.

And they promptly scored 7 points against the Eagles where we scored 35. Cousins looked pathetic going 27/46, 221 yards, 1 TD, 3 INTs, an 18.1 QBR, sacked twice, and a passer rating of 50.1. Dalvin Cook had 17 yards on a lousy 6 carries. I know our defense isn't that good, so they'll obviously score more than 7 points. Again though, look what we produced against the Eagles and look what they did.

[Mr.TaterSalad]

Vikings run defense is giving up 5.3 YPC and has given up 274 yards overall. We are averaging 4.6 yards per carry BEFORE contact. This is why I think we can and will win this game. I dropped $100 on the moneyline on this game on Draft Kings. I've never, ever bet on the Lions to win anything. I want the win and my $350 from betting the moneyline and predicting a Lions win.

[MichiganCardinal]

The Minnesota secondary minus Harrison Smith is a liability that I hope Goff will be able to pick apart. I have faith that St Brown/Hockenson/Chark will get open, if he can hit them in stride we will gash them more than once.

It will likely be Josh Metellus’ first start. 1st Round Rookie Lewis Cine (Minny’s end of the JaMo trade) is said to be splitting time with him. He only played one snap last week in his NFL debut.

[sabretooth]

24 minutes ago, Mr.TaterSalad said:

Vikings run defense is giving up 5.3 YPC and has given up 274 yards overall. We are averaging 4.6 yards per carry BEFORE contact. This is why I think we can and will win this game. I dropped $100 on the moneyline on this game on Draft Kings. I've never, ever bet on the Lions to win anything. I want the win and my $350 from betting the moneyline and predicting a Lions win.

Yeah baby

[buddha]

1 hour ago, Mr.TaterSalad said:

And they promptly scored 7 points against the Eagles where we scored 35. Cousins looked pathetic going 27/46, 221 yards, 1 TD, 3 INTs, an 18.1 QBR, sacked twice, and a passer rating of 50.1. Dalvin Cook had 17 yards on a lousy 6 carries. I know our defense isn't that good, so they'll obviously score more than 7 points. Again though, look what we produced against the Eagles and look what they did.

how'd they look at home against green bay?

[Mr.TaterSalad]

5 hours ago, buddha said:

how'd they look at home against green bay?

So they looked good one week and shit the bed the other. We've looked at least fairly good both weeks. We had a rough start in week one during the first half but hung tough, battled back, and nearly won the game in the second half against the Eagles. We played a lot better against a team that will compete to win the NFC that they did. We nearly won, they got blown out.

[Sports_Freak]

The level of Lions support amazes and delights me. However, this is their 1st road game. And the Vikings are a much better team at home.

Vikings. 38                                            Lions 31

 

[Motown Bombers]

 

[buddha]

11 hours ago, Mr.TaterSalad said:

So they looked good one week and shit the bed the other. We've looked at least fairly good both weeks. We had a rough start in week one during the first half but hung tough, battled back, and nearly won the game in the second half against the Eagles. We played a lot better against a team that will compete to win the NFC that they did. We nearly won, they got blown out.

they looked great at home against a division favorite and looked bad on the road in prime time against a division favorite.

now theyre playing the lions at home in a non prime time game.  the vikings are the clear favorite right now.  the lions played them tough last year, so there is that.

[RandyMarsh]

The article on The Athletic yesterday broke down how are running schemes are throwing off modern defenses that are built to stop the passing game. Reminds me of a couple years ago when Tennessee made the AFC Championship game, Vrabel said something like "teams want to keep getting smaller in the interior and at LB so we're going to counter that by forcing them to try to tackle Derrick Henry"