The Buccaneers are 4-2 on the season which has been a huge surprise but they haven’t played too well on the road this season as they are 1-2 there.  The Lions are also off to a surprising 3-2 start and they are a solid 2-0 at home this season.

The Bucs would be best served to try to run the ball with Ernest Graham and Michael Bennett (if he’s ready) against a Lions defense that is allowing 115.0 yards rushing per game an 3.9 yards per carry so far this season.  The Bucs need to keep the ball away from the Lions offense because they don’t want to get into a shootout with them.  Still, the Bucs have to feel good about Jeff Garcia (103.6 QB Rating) throwing the football against a Lions defense that is allowing a whopping 263.6 yards passing per game so far this season. 

The Lions will come off of the bus passing in this football game.  Jon Kitna (1,333 yards passing) will have his full complement of receivers with Calvin Johnson back from a bruised back and that could be trouble for the Bucs defense.  The Bucs don’t have a good pass rushing team so it will be interesting to see if Kitna who has been sacked 25 times this season already has time to throw the football.

PREDICTION:  There will be no secrets on the football field as Rod Marinelli used to coach under Jon Gruden for the Bucs.  With that in mind I will go with the home team by a field goal.  Lions 31, Bucs 28.

The Lions have signed cornerback Dovonte Edwards.  Edwards was in camp with the Giants but he didn’t play for them this season.  He played for the Vikings last season as a rookie and he played in 12 games and he made 17 tackles, defensed 2 passes and had an interception that he returned 51 yards for a TD.  He will likely be used mostly on special teams until he learns the Lions defense.

The Lions are all over the place.  I’m sure the fans and front office would like to see a more consistent level of play by the Lions week in and week out.  Still, it’s hard to complain about the 3-2 start the team is off too.  The success of the Lions seems to go with whether the offense is on to cover for the poor defense that they field.  After all, the Lions are allowing 31.0 points per game and 378.6 yards per contest and that’s hard to overcome every week.  The Lions average 31.0 points per game in their victories and they have allowed 21.7 points per game.  But in the loses the Lions have been dominated by a combined score of 90-24.  It would help if the Lions mixed in a few more running plays to help control the clock a little bit as they only run the ball 33.9% of the time and that needs to change a little bit.

The Lions put forth a terrible effort in a Redskins massacre yesterday in Washington.  The offensive line again had problems as Jon Kitna was sacked five times and one of resulted in a safety by DE Andre Carter of the Redskins.  Jon Kitna was terrible yesterday as he completed 16 of 29 passes for 106 yards with 0 TD passes and 2 interceptions.  One of Kitna’s interceptions was returned 61 yards for a TD by CB Carlos Rogers of the Redskins in the 4th quarter.  Kevin Jones led the rushing attack with 48 yards on 11 carries (4.4 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 17 yards (8.5 avg).  Shaun McDonald led the way for the Lions with 4 catches for 19 yards (4.8 avg).  The Lions finished up with 68 yards rushing on 20 carries (3.4 ypc) and they also completed 16 of 29 passes for 76 yards.

Safety Gerald Alexander and linebacker Teddy Lehman each had 9 tackles to lead the way for the defense.  The Lions had problems with the Redskins passing attack as they completed 23 of 29 passes for 248 yards and they also rushed for 118 yards on 35 carries (3.4 ypc).

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=271007028

Reserve running back Brian Calhoun was doing a decent job returning kickoffs (10 returns, 221 yards) until he blew out his knee which will cause him to miss the rest of the season.  With that in mind, Troy Walters will take over for Calhoun and he has returned 1 kickoff for 29 yards this season.  He also is the punt returner for the Lions and he has done a good job returning 8 punts for 80 yards (10.0 avg).

This is a game between two teams that have exceeded expectations so far this season.  The Lions are a surprising 3-1 on the season and the Redskins are a solid 2-1.  They have gotten where they are in different ways as the Lions have done it with offense and the Redskins have been running the football and playing defense. 

The Lions will come out throwing in this football game just like they always do.  The Redskins would be smart to blitz a lot against the Lions as Lions QBs have been sacked 21 times already this season.  Still, that won’t stop the Lions from putting the ball up as they attempt 40.5 passes per week and they average 312.8 yards passing per game.  The Redskins corners will be tested as the Lions will often come out in a 4-wide formation with Roy Williams (26 rec, 388 yards, 3TDs), Shaun McDonald (21 rec, 268 yards, 3 TDs), Mike Furrey (20 rec, 246 yards) and rookie Calvin Johnson (10 rec, 189 yards, 2 TDs).  The Lions won’t likely run much against the Redskins who allow 92.0 yards rushing per game and 3.9 yards per carry.

The Redskins want to run the football to control the clock against the Lions and they should have success.  The Lions allow 114.3 yards rushing per game and 4.1 yards per carry so Clinton Portis (227 yards rushing, 4.7 ypc) could have a huge game.  The Redskins will also likely get LaDell Betts some carries as they try to pound the Lions defense into submission.  QB Jason Campbell has been so-so this season but he should have success throwing the football to Antwaan Randle El and TE Chris Cooley against a Lions defense that has allowed 267.5 yards passing per game this season.

PREDICTION:  I think the Redskins will win this football game as they will run the ball all over the Lions defense and keep the ball away from Jon Kitna and the Lions offense.

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The Lions have placed running back Brian Calhoun on the Injured Reserve List with a knee injury meaning he will miss the remainder of the season.  Calhoun carried the ball 7 times for 35 yards (5.0 ypc) and he also caught 5 passes for 35 yards (7.0 avg).  Calhoun also returned 10 kickoffs for 221 yards (22.1 avg) this year.  Calhoun will be replaced by Aveion Cason who the Lions have re-signed.  Cason carried the football 24 times for 94 yards (3.9 ypc) and he also caught 5 passes for 26 yards (5.2 avg) for the Lions last season.  He also returned 4 kickoffs for 110 yards (27.5 avg).

What an amazing victory by the Lions.  They entered the 4th quarter with only 3 points and 34 points later they had beaten the Bears by 10 points!  Jon Kitna was very efficient throwing the football as he completed 20 of 24 passes for 247 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 interceptions.  Tatum Bell (11 car, 46 yards) and Kevin Jones (10 car, 38 yards, TD) split the carries against the Bears and they did a solid job.  WRs Mike Furrey (5 rec, 91 yards) and Roy Williams (6 rec, 53 yards) got the yards while Troy Walters (2 rec, 36 yards, TD) and Shaun McDonald (3 rec, 31 yards, TD) were finding the end zone.  The Lions finished up with 95 yards rushing on 25 carries (3.8 ypc) and they completed 20 of 24 passes for 215 yards.

The Lions defense was surprisingly tough against the Bears.  Ernie Sims (11 tackles, interception), Paris Lenon (10 tackles, sack) and Jared DeVries (6 tackles, 3 sacks) all play outstanding games.  The Lions only allowed 69 yards rushing on 22 carries (3.1 ypc) but the Bears did complete 34 of 52 passes for 234 yards.

The Lions had problems with KR Devin Hester who returned a kickoff 97 yards for a TD.  But, Casey FitzSimmons returned an on-side kick 41 yards for a TD at the end of the game to seal the victory for the Lions.