The Lions were absolutely horrible today at Lambeau Field.  Jon Kitna completed 16 of 26 passes for 135 yards and 2 INTs.  He also was the Lions’ leading rusher with 7 carries for 34 yards (4.9 ypc).  Arlen Harris had a rough game with 9 carries for 18 yards (2.0 ypc) and he caught 5 passes for 33 yards.  Mike Williams got to play and caught 3 passes for 42 yards.  TE Casey FitzSimmons added 4 catches for 29 yards.

Paris Lenon led the way for the defense with 8 tackles and an interception.  The Packers ran the ball well as they carried the ball 32 times for 139 yards (4.3 ypc).  The Lions did a good job against Brett Favre and the Packers passing game.  The Packers completed 20 of 37 passes for 164 net yards passing.  The Lions also picked off three passes in this game.

The Lions fell to 2-12 on the season with this awful performance.

DT Corey Redding’s play has been one of the bright spots on the defense for the Lions.  With all the injuries to the defensive front the Lions needed someone to step up and Redding has done that.  He has 39 tackles, 7 sacks and a fumble recovery so far this season. 

The Detroit Lions are 2-11 this season and have lost their last five games in a row.  The Packers won last week in San Francisco and sit at 5-8 on the season.

The Lions will undoubtedly throw the ball all day long against the Packers.  With Kevin Jones out for the season, the Lions will have to start Arlen Harris and he scares no one including the Packers who allow 119.6 yards rushing and 4.1 yards per carry so far this season.  Look for Kitna (3,484 yards passing) to be looking downfield to Roy Williams (69 rec, 1,116 yards) and Mike Furrey (74 rec, 857 yards.  The problem with the passing game is that the Lions have allowed 49 sacks this season, and the Packers have good pass-rushing ends in Aaron Kampman (10.5 sacks) and Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila (5 sacks).  When Kitna gets hit a few times he gets nervous and throws the ball when he shouldn’t as he’s thrown 19 interceptions this season. 

The Packers will run the ball to start the game with Ahman Green (867 yards rushing) to soften up the defense and then it will be bombs away.  Brett Favre should have little problem picking a secondary apart that is allowing 216.2 net yards passing and allows QBs to have a 97.6 rating against them.  Donald Driver (73 rec, 1,103 yards) and Greg Jennings (if healthy enough to play) should have no problem rolling up big numbers.  Part of the secondary’s problem for the Lions is that they have virtually no pass rush as they only have 23 sacks this season.  That coupled with the excellent protection that Brett Favre has enjoyed (only sacked 20 times this year) could leave the Lions in a world of hurt on Sunday!

The first game between these teams was won 31-24 by the Packers in Detroit.  Kevin Jones played good in that game and he won’t be there on Sunday.  Also, this game is in Lambeau Field and the Lions are 0-6 on the road this season.  I look for the Packers to win this game by a fairly big number.

Kevin Jones was placed on IR today after a full blown Lisfranc fracture/dislocation of his foot that will cause him to miss the remainder of this season.  The injury will take at least six months for Jones to recover from.  The Lions will miss him big time, because he was a threat as a runner and a receiver.  Arlen Harris will replace him, but he has nowhere near the skill-set of Jones.

Jones played in 12 games this season and finishes with 181 carries for 689 yards (3.8 ypc) and 6 TDs.  He also caught 61 passes for 520 yards (8.5 avg) and 2 TDs.

Arlen Harris has played 7 games so far this season (2 starts) and has carried the ball 20 times for 67 yards (3.4 ypc) and a TD.  He also has caught 4 passes for 35 yards (8.8 avg).

 

Ross Verba will sit out this week’s game against his old team (the Packers) with a groin injury.  This will hurt as the Lions don’t have alot of depth along the offensive line.