Thread: V's Preview (at Lions)

Disclaimer: I am not a fan. I am a football expert. If you ridicule and pick apart this post, you are wrong.

Many have stated their concerns about the Lions passing attack. I think the key here is that we are not scared of their offense, but just their passing attack. The Lions are very one-dimensional and we go into the game knowing that if we can limit their pass, they won't be able to run, at all. On the other side of things the questions continually center around TJ. Do we stick to our run to keep pressure off of him, or has he progressed enough to expose a weak pass D?

When the Lions have the ball:
Martz is going to try to light us up. I expect to see plenty of 3 and 4 receiver sets, as the Lions are a bit lacking at the tight end and fullback positions. First of all, the key for the Vikings will be to take the same bend-but-don't-break style we took against the Falcons. Kitna is going to get his yards, but we have to eliminate the big play. That involves not getting beat deep, giving up underneath routes instead. It also involves good tackling, which I saw everywhere from our D last weekend. Next comes pressure from the defensive line. It will be interesting whether we continue to blitz or rely on our front four to dominate the Lions OL, as they should. If we do blitz, I would like to see our CBs bumping at the line, but I have not seen a defense that plays bump-and-run less than the Cover 2. Incompletions, Sacks, and Turnovers early in the game will force the Lions to be on their heels and take a more conservative approach. The second they start trying to run because we are all over the pass, the game is over.

Now the real question is, is this all possible? I definetly think so. Even though we don't matchup well with the Lions' strength. They matchup horribly with our strengths. If we force the Lions to sustain long drives agaisnt us, they will make a mistake evenutally.

When the Vikings have the ball:
There are lots of posters expecting to pass more against a weaker pass defense. I don't expect that at all. We are going to run the shit out of the ball. It will be a bit tougher than last week. Still, pounding the ball on a D that has questionable depth is a must. A more physical game against the Lions gives us a better shot at winning. When considering the talent we have on our line and our RBs, we should rely on this strength until they show ability to stop it. I expect us to attack the edges with our run game, especially the left side where, if we double Cody, we should be able to run at will. Running first will only open up the shaky Detroit DBs to some serious dust eating. Running also limits turnovers and eats the clock. If Taylor can't go, it will be very interesting to see how/if we use Moore.

When it comes to attacking Detroit's weaknesses, I expect the same type of playcalling we saw last week. Mostly intermediate range passes with a couple of deep shots. If TJ is getting better, he needs to show us by connecting for big plays. It is either rely on big plays again, or start to gain a rhythm on offense, which we could barely do in week 1. Long scoring drives and controlling the clock are obviously our goals on offense, but if we cannot show the ability to do this, I think we can try to get a couple of long gains. I'm looking for Wade to be much more active. I would also suggest some max protect passes to deal with the Lions pass rush and blitzes.

We should be able to do whatever we want with the Lions defense. Playing smashmouth football (sticking to the run) is the key.

Special Teams:
Longwell, Kluwe, and our coverage units in general had great games last week. I look for that to continue and hopefully we can get some returns going as well, which will give our offense much needed short fields. Gone are the days of Johnnie Morton and Eddie Drummond for the Lions. It's hard to get a grasp of the Lions ST otherwise. Hanson is a very good kicker, but as far as returns go, no one saw much action for them week 1. Let's just have Longwell send it into the endzone to make sure. I see both kickers being very active this game.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Obviously a shootout does not bode well for the Vikings. We need to win the turnover battle and eat the clock on offense, making the Lions play our type of game. The Vikings will set the tone, but it will be a close battle.
Vikings 20, Lions 17.


Notes:
- The Lions blew up in the 4th quarter last week wth 19 points. I don't think our D will allow 19 points in a single quarter all year long.
- One advantage to a spread offense for the Lions is that it gets Pat Williams and Ben Leber off the field in favor for Spencer Johnson and Marcus McCauley.
- Greenway should be our dimeback.
- I look for Wade to have a Curry-like day. Start him for fantasy.
- We ran one formal screen pass last week, and it looked horrible, and Chester got injured. I look for more screens as we try to get our backs out wide, away from the Detroit DL.
- Detroit had 7 scoring drives vs. the Raiders. They only went the length of the field once. Average scoring drive yardage: 35 yards.
- Last time we played in Ford Field, the Lions fumbled, threw a pick, and punted on their first three possessions. The Vikings on the other hand, scored a touchdown, scored another touchdown, and scored a third touchdown.

Pretty sound assessment V, a division game is always hard to figure out, but if we can handle that spread offense and sustain drives ending with scores, I see us wearing them down in the second half. That's where our strong rotation at DE will start to dominate, and cause turnovers which will allow us to put them away 27-14.

"V" wrote:

Disclaimer: I am not a fan. I am a football expert. If you ridicule and pick apart this post, you are wrong...

lmao

Good break-down, V.

Yeah, I think that we've gotta wear down that D Line of theirs, then we could roast em.

One thing I will give you my friend.
You know football.

Just a couple of comments/thoughts:

a.
I for one think we will pass early and often.
We really need to take advantage of thier LB's weakness to cover/stop the quick 3 step drop routes.
Those routes should be there all day long and will help setup (doesn't need much help IMHO) the run.
By proving that we can move the ball through the air, we will really make them one dimensional thus setting up a feeding frenzy for our DE's.

b.
I agree, with your assesment with regard to running, however, instead of just hitting the right edge as you state, I think we will spread the run to both the right and the left sides but anticipate more running up the middle in the first half vice hitting the edges.
I look for alot of stuff up the middle early.

Both the short passing and the run will eat up the clock and set the tone for the game.

Again, great breakdown my friend.
;D

Nice outlook on the game V.





But I think we will win this game easier than most people are thinking right now..





I say we take it, 30-17........





Our D is going to dominate,and Our O is going to get in the endzone 3 times this game....





I really think Chili is going to have the guys fired up for this game.....

Nice take, V.

I agree that Wade will have a big game too. In fact, I just picked him up in one of my leagues, and submitted him as a starter yesterday.

SKOL Vikes!!!

I'm expecting Kitna to pass a lot & attack our D. I don't see him going deep with the talent we have back there at safety or target the receiver up against Winfield.

Watch for him to target shorter route recievers that 2nd year DB Cedric Griffin will be covering.

"singersp" wrote:

I'm expecting Kitna to pass a lot & attack our D. I don't see him going deep with the talent we have back there at safety or target the receiver up against Winfield.

Watch for him to target shorter route recievers that 2nd year DB Cedric Griffin will be covering.

Yea, I agree Singer, thats when Kitty Cat isn't on his a s s , at least...... ;D

"singersp" wrote:

I'm expecting Kitna to pass a lot & attack our D. I don't see him going deep with the talent we have back there at safety or target the receiver up against Winfield.

Watch for him to target shorter route recievers that 2nd year DB Cedric Griffin will be covering.

And Winfield will move over to the slot when the Lions have 3 receivers on the field (most of the time, I think), which will leave Griffin and McCauly on the outside receivers. Watch for those 2's performances to make or break this game for the Vikes D.