|
 |
|
Daniel Mears/The
Detroit News |
|
|
Roy
Williams makes his second prediction of the year. 9-0 after the
bye week for the Lions? |
|
|
Far fetched? Could be,
but maybe not so impossible.
Roy Williams has once again opened his mouth, and said
something people are going after him for. Going 9-0 at any point during an NFL
season is tough, that’s for sure. Instead of attacking him for stepping up, and
showing confidence in his team, and becoming the kind of vocal leader this team
has not had in a long time, we should be looking at the upcoming schedule and
try to figure out what he sees, that would make him say this.
In the NFL, they have that saying, any given Sunday...
The reason I think it IS possible, far fetched maybe, but
possible, is a few reasons...In order of the schedule from here on out….
Atlanta
has struggled a little bit this year, and every year Vick has been in the league
he has shown one major thing...he can't be relied upon to be an accurate
passer. Without Rogers, this may be tough, but, if we can force Vick to throw,
we can chew the clock running the ball, and squeak one out like we did two years
ago in Atlanta. It's not like their wide receivers are making Vick look good
either.
San Fran has one thing going for it, and one thing going
against it. Right now, Alex Smith looks worlds better then he did last year.
Antonio Bryant has come on to help Smith look a lot better. Going against them
is Frank Gore. Granted, the kid can play. But he can also fumble. If we can
force some of those fumbles, and translate the turnovers into points, I can see
us taking this one from them. Their D isn't that great, and can be scored
upon. The question is can we get the needed turnovers to get the ball out of
their hands? I think so.
At the Cards, if they had beaten the Bears, they would be
rampaging right now. They would have beaten Oakland, and start a decent
streak. Instead, they are still reeling from that loss, and their offensive
line is horrendous. I think because they are still reeling from that loss, and
are struggling on all sides of the ball, we can take one from them, even if it
is on the road.
Miami
will probably still have Harrington starting. While that's good for them to get
about 200 yards passing, and 1 TD and 2 picks, I think we have enough firepower
on O to take on their aging D. The key here, and Rogers is back, is to stop the
run, which hasn't been too much of an issue this year for the 'Fins. Force Joey
to put the team on his back, and he collapses. We can pull this one off, and we
always play harder on Turkey Day.
At New England, the best thing about this is NE is still
looking for a certified weapon at WR. Brady can hurt us, and that 1-2 punch of
Dillon and Maroney will be tough to stop. You stop those two, and force the
wide receivers to make plays (Brady will get the ball to them, but can they make
the plays they need to? I don't think so) I think we can squeak this one out if
we go at them hard from the get go. They're not all that young either, so our
youth on O may outlast their intelligent, but old, bodies.
Minnesota was on the ropes when we played them last time, in Minnesota. Now,
with them coming to Detroit, I expect the same type of game, minus the injuries,
and us maintaining that lead. The offensive line struggled because we had to
literally throw guys into the game who were not prepared. That's different this
time. I think we win this, especially since we're home, and I think the team is
going to be more up for this game because they had the Vikings beaten.
At Green Bay, let’s recap the last time they met the
Packers. Ahman Green rushed for 63 yards on 22 carries. He also had 8 catches
for 63 yards and a touchdown. Greg Jennings had 3 catches for 101 yards and a
touchdown. Brett Favre went 25 of 36 for 340 yards and three touchdowns. For
the Lions, Jon Kitna went 25 for 40, for 342 yards, two touchdowns, and one
interception. Kevin Jones rushed 17 times for 81 yards and a touchdown. Roy
Williams had 7 catches for 138 yards and one touchdown. Now since then Roy
Williams has turned in similar performances and is starting to come out and look
like a legit number one receiver for Mike Martz’s offense. Kevin Jones is
starting to show he could be a very versatile back running and receiving the
past few games, and has really stepped up his game. This game will be another
shootout. However, with Jennings hobbled, and Mike Furrey stepping up in recent
weeks, I think the Lions have enough firepower to outscore the Packers. Winning
in Green Bay has been tough for the Lions since Brett Favre has played for the
Packers, but their defense is nothing special, and can be scored upon. The
offense has been coming around a lot better over the last few weeks, and I think
can make the plays needed to stay ahead of the Packers in a shootout, and win.
Right now, Green Bay is ahead of the Lions in total offensive scoring by 1.1
points. The big statistic is Green Bay only has thirteen touchdowns to the
Lions fifteen. Once again, I think the Lions can muster enough points to beat
the pack in a shootout.
The Bears have been tough all year. When the Lions first
played the Bears I thought Grossman was overrated and not as good as people were
making him out to be. Considering he had six turnovers against a below average
defense in the Cardinals, one has to think that Grossman’s luck has run out.
The Bears have been built around their defense. The goal being is to stop
people from scoring, obviously. But the offense has been built to not lose
games, and score just enough for them to win. I don’t expect the Bears to be
blowing anyone else out anymore this season. I expect the offense to come down
to Earth. I expect Grossman to be normal again. This time around, in Detroit,
I expect this game to be what people originally thought was going to happen, a
17-14, 20-17 game built around the defensive performances. I think the Lions
get fire dup after being smacked around, and deploy the same game plan the rest
of the NFL will model after the Cards to stop the Bears offense, and hope they
can exploit that defense just enough to win. A late field goal could take it,
and the Lions could steal one at home.
At Dallas, also known as, at the moment, The Most Overrated
Team In The NFL This Season. Coming in, everyone thought that getting cancer, I
mean Terrell Owens, was going to turn the Cowboys into a contender. Look at
that turned out so far. Starting Romo, an inexperienced quarterback to provide
a spark for this team is not going to help them get back into the hunt for the
playoffs. Owens is going to run his mouth about not getting the ball; Parcells
looks like he’s ready to retire, again. Their offensive line is giving up a ton
of sacks. It’s not like Romo is Mike Vick, Donovan McNabb, or even a David
Garrard. Their defense is tough, but that offense will continue to sputter,
especially if you can get to the quarterback. Again, the Cowboys always give
the Lions a hard time, but this time, with all the turmoil going on in Dallas,
the Lions can sneak one from them. Expect guys like James Hall, Shaun Cody, and
Shawn Rogers, to have big games against that offensive line, keeping the offense
in check, and giving the Lions just enough to win a close game.
Then again, with a few bad breaks, the team could end 1-15.
Or with a few lucky breaks, the team could finish 10-5.
I think realistically, the Lions are looking at going 5-4,
and ending 6-10, and using the fact they went 5-4 after the bye as motivation
for next season.
