Week Two

LIONS @ Cardinals

After a first half in which they repeatedly found ways to beat themselves the Lions turned the second half of last weeks opener to the 2013 NFL season into a glimpse of what this team could do this season. The Cardinals showed that they were more than they were anticipated by many to be by running a talented Rams team very close in St Louis. They meet now in Arizona's home opener and the hosts may well be looking to last season as an encouraging sign of what to expect. That 38-10 defeat was pretty comprehensive and one suspects it took much of the off-season for the stadia staff to dispel the place of the whiff of Matt Stafford such was the extent to which he stunk out the joint in that game. The frustration, or perhaps it's a joy, of following the Lions is you never really now what to expect from them.

Encouragingly the win over the Vikings was achieved without relying on CJ having a big game catching the ball. The Vikings loaded their D to shut him down and thereby opened up space for Bush and Burleson to have big games. It's possible that the Cardinals choose to leave Patrick Peterson to cover Megatron and present the Lions with a more balanced defense to pick their way through. Either way the Lions need to maximise the opportunities they are offered. Against the Vikings they looked like they could have scored at will and in theory that's how the offense has been designed. Unfortunately not everything always goes as planned and whilst the offense is less prone to the disciplinary issues that the defense too often falls foul of it is capable of beating itself. Stafford has yet to find a level of consistent play that his talent suggests he's capable of and his fellow first rounder Pettigrew continues to drop passes when they really need to be caught. Joseph Fauria could well find his game time increasing if Pettigrew continues to to fail when the team needs him to succeed. I'm hopeful the second half of the Vikings game has shown the offense how to play and that they offer the Cards the chance to "pick your poison" and that once chosen the 'poison' is effective.

This Lions D-Line has the potential to become legendary and could well dominate not only this Cardinals O-Line but pretty well every O-Line they face. The biggest obstacle to their success may be themselves and principally their ongoing lack of discipline. I understand that Schwartz and Cunningham are looking for them to play with an intensity that borders (or crosses) the edge of what is regarded as fair/legal but making unnecessary chop blocks as Suh did to negate a Levy interception return for TD is just stupid. The loss of Nick Fairley for this game will test the rotation but this group should be strong enough to cope. The Cardinals have the reliable if dull Carson Palmer at QB and he will be grateful to have Larry Fitzgerald on the field with him. If Palmer has time then Fitzgerald is likely to take advantage of the still weak Lions secondary.

After a nervy start Sam Martin showed the benefits the Lions can enjoy from having him on the roster with the Vikings finding themselves consistently at or behind the 20-yard line when they began their drives. The coverage units look reliable and Akers seems to have regained the form that has kept him in the league for such a long time. 

As always when previewing a Lions game the hardest part is trying to predict which Lions will turn up. Both teams are better than they were last time they met but I'm hoping the Lions better balance this season and greater belief in their capabilities will overcome the advantage of home field for the Cardinals in what could be a close game. My head is telling me that there could be just a Field Goal in this and it could go either way but my gut is telling me that the Lions may just pull a surprise and win comfortably.

Prediction: LIONS 38 Cardinals 23