Detroit Lions vs. Chicago Bears

Blogged under Bloglockers, Front Page, This Week's Matchup Report, General by dawgpounded on Thursday 27 September 2007 at 11:31 am
This should be a fascinating football game on Sunday afternoon. The Bears are changing QBs after a slow start on offense but most eyes will be on a defense decimated by injury. The Lions will look to rebound at home after getting blitzed 56-21 in Philadelphia last week.

The Bears would like to get back to the offense that worked so well for them last season. That means running the football against a Lions defense that is allowing 129.3 yards rushing and 4.3 yards per carry. The Bears must protect the football and control the clock because the defense is really banged up and the Lions do have an explosive offense. Cedric Benson has not played well this season as he has carried the football 59 times for 189 yards (3.2 ypc) with 1 TD run and 2 lost fumbles. If Benson continues to struggle this week the Bears probably won’t hesitate replacing him with Adrian Peterson (15 car, 64 yards). If the offensive line gives Brian Griese enough time to throw the ball he will exploit the Lions defense with short, crisp passes. Look for Griese to get Mushin Muhammad (4 rec, 36 yards) and the TEs Greg Olson (2 rec, 28 yards) and Desmond Clark (9 rec, 125 yards) more involved in the passing game. They won’t forget their best receiver this season, Bernard Berrian (16 rec, 221 yards) who is better on the deep patterns when he can run by defenders because he doesn’t like contact. The Lions do allow 278.7 yards passing per game but the Bears don’t want to engage in a shootout.

The Lions are all about passing the football, so the Bears must get a good pass rush to protect their secondary. If Jon Kitna has time to throw the ball the Bears could be in some trouble. The Bears secondary as it stands now does not match up at all with the receiving corps of the Lions. Roy Williams (335 yards), Shaun McDonald (237 yards), Mike Furrey (155 yards) and rookie Calvin Johnson (189 yards) will make the Bears pass dearly if they can’t get to Kitna. Kitna was sacked 9 times last week by the Eagles so look for the Bears to send Brian Urlacher often on the blitz and they hope DE Mark Anderson can get in the backfield causing Kitna to make some mistakes. The Bears have a solid run defense as they allow only 92.7 yards rushing per game and 3.3 yards per carry. But the Lions only run the ball when they are trying to trick the defense.

PREDICTION: Look for this to be a close game that could go either way. I will side with the Bears by a field goal in this game because Brian Griese will protect the football.

 

Dan Campbell to miss the rest of the season for the Detroit Lions

Blogged under Bloglockers, Front Page, Big Lions News, Injury Reports, General by dawgpounded on Tuesday 25 September 2007 at 2:35 pm

The Lions have lost starting TE Dan Campbell for the rest of the season due to a serious elbow injury.  He only caught 1 pass for 1 yard this season.  Look for either recently signed Courtney Anderson, Casey FitzSimmons (1 rec, 10 yards) or Sean McHugh (5 rec, 72 yards) to step up at tight end for the rest of the season.  Still, the Lions don’t use that many sets that incorporate a tight end.

The Detroit Lions sign TE Courtney Anderson

Blogged under Free Agent Additions, Bloglockers, Front Page, Big Lions News, General by dawgpounded on Tuesday 25 September 2007 at 2:27 pm

The Detroit Lions have signed TE Courtney Anderson to a 1-year contract.  Anderson played in all 16 games (11 starts) last season for the Raiders and he caught 25 passes for 285 yards (11.4 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  It’s possible that Anderson could get some substantial playing time due to the season ending injury to starting TE Dan Campbell.

Philadelphia Eagles 56, Detroit Lions 21

Blogged under Game Recaps, Bloglockers, Front Page, General by dawgpounded on Monday 24 September 2007 at 2:13 pm

The Lions got punished by the Eagles yesterday and I should have seen it coming.  After all, the Lions only beat the Vikings and the Raiders….vastly inferior teams compared to the Eagles.  Jon Kitna had a so-so game as he completed 29 of 46 passes for 446 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 interception.  He also lost two fumbles.  The Lions had a hard time running the football because they fell behind so quickly.  Tatum Bell carried the ball 5 times for 20 yards (4.0 ypc) and he also caught 5 passes for 25 yards (5.0 avg).  Kevin Jones got his first action of the season as he carried the ball 3 times for 5 yards (1.7 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Roy Williams had an outstanding game as he caught 9 passes for 204 yards (22.7 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Shaun McDonald also had another solid game as he caught 5 passes for 76 yards (15.2 avg).  Calvin Johnson (2 rec, 58 yards) and Mike Furrey (5 rec, 43 yards) also pitched in on the passing game.  The Lions carried the ball 12 times for 39 yards (3.3 ypc) and they completed 29 of 46 passes for 393 yards.

Linebacker Ernie Sims led the “defense” with 8 tackles.  The Eagles rushed for 173 yards on 34 carries (5.1 ypc) and they completed 21 of 26 passes for 363 yards.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270923021

Detroit Lions vs. Philadelphia Eagles

Blogged under Bloglockers, Front Page, This Week's Matchup Report, General by dawgpounded on Friday 21 September 2007 at 1:33 pm

This is a game between two teams going in opposite directions.  The Lions are 2-0 and they have looked good doing it and the Eagles have started out 0-2 looking awful on offense with only 25 points in their two games.  Lions’ QB Jon Kitna promised a season of 10+ wins and he has delivered so far this year.  The Lions have allowed 6 sacks this season and the Eagles have a pair of good rushing ends in Trent Cole and Jevon Kearse so the Lions must win this battle as Kitna tends to make mistakes when pressured.  The Eagles must put a good rush on Kitna because the Lions have a huge advantage at WR as Shaun McDonald (161 yards), Roy Williams (131 yards), Mike Furrey (112 yards) and rookie Calvin Johnson (131 yards) have been near unstoppable.  Also, the Eagles have injury problems in the secondary as CB Lito Sheppard will miss this game.  The Lions must also mix in some running plays to throw the Eagles pass rush off a little bit.  RB Tatum Bell (101 yards rushing, 31 yards receiving) is very fast and he will challenge MLB Omar Gaither in the middle of the field.

Look for the Eagles to again play it safe on offense as they seem to be scared to let Donovan McNabb throw the ball down the field.  Look for plenty of dumpoffs to RB Brian Westbrook who has been the best player on offense for the Eagles this season.  The Eagles will need to have their receivers get tougher over the middle as Kevin Curtis (6 rec, 81 yards), Jason Avant (8 rec, 109 yards) and Reggie Brown (3 rec, 41 yards) have looked soft this season.  The Lions defense has been much better than advertised this season so the Eagles will likely have there hands full this Sunday.

PREDICTION:  I have seen no reason to believe that the Eagles are about to break out this Sunday with a huge performance.  I also think the Lions are probably playing a little bit over their heads and the Raiders and Vikings have nowhere near the offensive ability that the Eagles have.  I have a hunch that Jon Kitna will have another good game as the Lions spring a upset on the road and win again by a field goal.

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