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 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.

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

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.

Boy is it fun to watch the Lions play offense.  They are the only team in the NFL with 4 WRs with 112 or more yards this season already.  It’s Jon Kitna’s job to get them the football and he is excelling at that.  Kitna has completed 49 of 69 passes (71%) for 534 yards with 4 TD passes and 3 interceptions (94.7 QB Rating) so far this season.  The impressive thing about those numbers is he basically had them all in just over 6 quarters of play.  He suffered a concussion in the 2nd quarter last Sunday against the Vikings and he returned in OT to lead the Lions on their game-winning drive.  To keep surprising the NFL the Lions must keep Kitna healthy.  Backup J.T. O’Sullivan completed 13 of 23 (56.5%) passes for 148 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 interceptions (54.3 QB Rating) in relief of Kitna last week which shows how important Kitna will be to the success of the Lions’ offense this season.

The Lions need 8 more wins to make Jon Kitna’s prediction of 10 wins come true.  Kitna led the Lions on their game winning drive but he probably doesn’t know it as he was knocked out of the game with a concussion but returned.  Kitna completed 22 of 33 passes for 245 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 interception.  Backup QB J.T. O’Sullivan was not near as sharp as Kitna was as he completed 13 of 23 passes for 148 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 interceptions.  RB Tatum Bell found no running room against the Vikings defense as he carried the ball 9 times for 14 yards (1.6 ypc).  He also caught 4 passes for 25 yards (6.3 avg).  Brian Calhoun did a little better as he carried the ball 5 times for 22 yards (4.4 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 19 yards.  WR Roy Williams led the aerial attack of the Lions with 7 catches for 111 yards (15.9 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Shaun McDonald (7 rec, 71 yards), Calvin Johnson (4 rec, 61 yards, TD) and Mike Furrey (6 rec, 50 yards) all had solid games for the Lions yesterday.  The Lions finished up with only 56 yards rushing on 21 carries (2.7 ypc) and they completed 35 of 56 passes for 359 yards.

The defense of the Lions played a pretty solid football game.  They knew the Vikings were going to try to run the football with rookie RB Adrian Peterson and they did a good stop stopping him as he only got 66 yards on 20 carries (3.3 ypc).  Linebacker Paris Lenon was outstanding as he led the way for the Lions defense with 11 tackles.  The Lions also intercepted QB Tavaris Jackson of the Vikings 4 times!  The Vikings finished up with 123 yards rushing on 33 carries (3.7 ypc) and they completed 20 of 37 passes for 190 yards.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270916008

 

JAY’S PLAYS
All information is for news matter only
All games are graded on a scale of 1-4 stars

PRO FOOTBALL — September 16

MINNESOTA (+3) at DETROIT (Total 43) — The Vikings carry quite a streak into this one, having beaten Detroit ten straight times. But the dynamic may be a bit different this time around. True, the presence of talented rookie Adrian Peterson (103 yds. vs. Atlanta) tests a Lion defensive front that wasn’t sufficiently challenged against Oakland in Week 1. But Minnesota is breaking in a quarterback (Tarvaris Jackson) who may not be completely ready for the NFL. That cuts down offensive options. Detroit QB Jon Kitna is going to throw some away (two INT’s last week, 22 last year) but he’s going to make some plays too. In Oakland, Roy Williams and rookie Calvin Johnson caught TD’s, and backup Shaun McDonald gained 90 yards through the air with a score. Like Minny, the Lions can throw more than one running back at its opponents too; Kevin Jones was out last week (and likely here too) but Tatum Bell steps in, with T.J. Duckett in reserve. One has to remember that while the Vikes are double-tough defending against the run, there are holes in the secondary, as the team tied for last in the league in passing yards surrendered in ’06.

JAY’S PLAY:  DETROIT **

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The Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions are going to duke it out for first place in the NFC North at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday.  Both teams are coming off impressive victories over pathetic football teams.  The Lions beat the Raiders 36-21 in Oakland and the Vikings punished the Falcons 24-3 at home.  The Vikings won’t likely change anything this Sunday as they will try to run the football and play defense.  The Vikings will give the rock to Adrian Peterson until the Lions prove they can stop him.  Peterson rushed for 103 yards (5.4 ypc) and he caught a 60-yard TD pass in a dazzling NFL debut last week.  The Lions defense will have their hands full with him.  QB Tavaris Jackson can also run the ball and he didn’t get sacked at all last week as his line did a good job blocking for him.  Look for the Vikings to run some play action after they establish the run and take a few shots down the field to Troy Williamson and Sidney Rice. 

The Lions will try to attack the Vikings defense down the field to take them out of their running game.  The Lions must do a good job blocking for Jon Kitna who is prone to make mistakes when pressured and the Vikings sacked the QB six times and they returned 2 interceptions for a TD last week against the Falcons.  Still, look for the Lions to spread the field with Calvin Johnson, Roy Williams, Mike Furrey and Shaun McDonald all on the field at one time.  The Vikings have a great run defense but they better keep an eye on Tatum Bell who rushed for 87 yards (5.8 ypc) and a TD last week against the Raiders.

PREDICTION:  The Vikings have history on their side as they have beaten the Lions 10 straight times, outscoring them 270-200.  They also pushed them around last season outscoring them 56-37 in the sweep.  This game could go either way but I have a hunch that the Vikings are in the Lions heads and will beat them by a field goal.

 

The Lions have signed linebacker Buster Davis to the practice squad.  This was a good move for the Lions as Davis was a third round pick in April’s Draft……..the #69 pick overall from the Arizona Cardinals.  He will come off the practice squad at some point because linebacker is a place the Lions could use some help this season.