When assessing this match-up pre-season I regarded it along with the Week 1 Bears game as a likely indicator to how the season would pan out. Win both and an 8-8 or 9-7 season looked to be on the cards, win one lose one then a 6 or 7 win season seemed likely, if they were to lose both closely then 4 or 5 wins would probably be where we'd end up and if we were to lose both heavily I ... well lot's not go there.
Unfortunately when trying to forecast this game last weeks games don't really help. The Lions lost to the Bears but had CJ's TD catch been allowed (and I think we all agree it should have been) then the Lions would be 1-0. But if you look at pretty well every statistic from that game it tells you the Lions got a bit of a thumping. So, do you put the fact the Bears came up short on a number of occasions down to a ferocious ball hawking Lions defense or to a mistake riddled Bears offense? Similarly the Eagles were being wiped from the field with new QB Kevin Kolb behind centre. He get's concussed and replaced by Michael Vick who then looks like he'll lead the Eagles to an amazing comeback victory but falls just short of doing so. If Vick had been the starter would the Eagles have beaten the Packers?
I'm hopeful the Lions will get the season at Ford Field off and running with a victory but think it should be close as I believe the Eagles have a slightly stronger team but think they're not that much better than the Lions to overcome the home field advantage.
Key for the Lions success on offense will be establishing a credible running game, something they failed to do against the Bears. Jahvid Best may have scored a brace of TD's but the team averaged less than a yard per carry. Until the Lions get some respect for their running game then opponents, including the Eagles, will take away CJ and the passing game. Best looks to have the capability to break open the big runs and it'd be great if he can burst through early in the first quarter for a long TD run. I'm going to put our Week 1 offensive woes down to early season rust, having seen a number of other teams struggle as well, so think this week we'll see the offense we believed we had prior to the Bears game. It may be without Stafford, but I still believe we have the league's best backup in Shaun Hill, so don't think we'll suffer too much as a result of missing Stafford.
Key for the defense may well be the return of DeAndre Levy who was listed as questionable pre-game as was our Lion of the Year, Louis Delmas. Against the Packers Vick looked most dangerous when breaking from the pocket and running to his left. If I'm right, we will have Vanden Bosch at right DE and Peterson at right OLB. So with the surge up the middle from Suh & Williams and Vanden Bosch & Peterson collapsing the pocket from the right Vick will be forced to run to his right. If this little scenario plays out then we will need big games from Turk McBride and Zack Follett as Vick will either be scrambling their way or looking to throw from their side of the field. I am therefore going to boldly predict that this proves to be Zack Follett's breakout game and he finishes it with 2 or 3 sacks (hopefully he doesn't suffer the same fate as Aaron Berry who I similarly predicted great things for last week! Ouch!!).
In close games it often comes down to the play of Special Teams and I think we should hold our own against the Eagles even though they have better returners. Stefan Logan is the best we've had taking the ball back for a while and I'm hopeful that former London Monarch Danny Crossman has us capable of preventing the Eagles returners from taking it to the house.
Whether you are watching the game in the stadium, via TV feed (legally or illegally (ssshhh)) or the radio then I hope you enjoy the game and, of course, the Lions win.
Prediction: Eagles 27 LIONS 31
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