The Lions have signed 29-year old DT Jovan Haye.  Haye played in 14 games for the Titans last year and he had 31 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 tackle for a loss.  He has played in 69 games in his first five years in the NFL and he has 181 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, 6.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 4 fumble recoveries and 4 passes defensed.  The Lions need some help on the D-Line, so this was a good pickup for them.

UPDATE:  (12/13/2011) – The Lions have released Jovan Haye.  He played against the Vikings last week and he had 2 tackles.

The Lions will be without 27-year old cornerback Chris Houston and 24-year old safety Louis Delmas for a while as they both have MCL tears.  They are hopeful that both of them will be able to return later this year.  Houston has played in 11 games for the Lions so far this year and he has 46 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 10 passes defensed and 4 interceptions (2 of which he has returned for TDs).  Louis Delmas has played in 11 games for the Lions so far this year and he has 51 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 1 fumble recovery and 5 passes defensed.  The Lions are going to miss both of these guys, but especially Houston, who is one of the best corners in the NFL.

The Lions have lost 3 of their last four games and 2 in a row, so they need to right the ship if they want to make the playoffs this year.  The Lions beat the Vikings earlier this year 26-23 in O.T. in Minnesota.  The Vikings have lost 4 games in a row in which they have given up a combined 131 points.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Lions have the ball:  This is a perfect matchup for the Lions’ offense.  If the Lions can keep DE Jared Allen away from QB Matt Stafford, he’s going to have a huge game.  Calvin Johnson is going to have a monster game this weekend against the depleted secondary of the Vikings.  But, look for Stafford to spread the ball around to other guys to keep everyone involved and happy.  Maurice Morris will likely have a tough time though as the Vikings are very stingy against the run on D.  The Vikings are only giving up 3.8 yards per carry, so Morris will have to fight for every yard he gets.

When the Vikings have the ball:  The Vikings are likely going to come out running the ball as Adrian Peterson is likely to be back.  Toby Gerhart and Percy Harvin are also likely to get in on the action running the ball this weekend as the Lions are giving up 125.0 yards rushing per game and 4.8 yards per carry.  The Lions will try to get a lot of pressure on rookie QB Christian Ponder as he is prone to making big mistakes.  That being said, WRs Percy Harvin and Devin Aromashodu are game breaking type deep threats, so the CBs and safeties of the Lions are going to be challenged deep.

PREDICTION:  LIONS 34, VIKINGS 17

25-year old DE Cliff Avril is really turning in a good season for the Detroit Lions.  He has played in 12 games for the Lions so far this year and he has 24 tackles, 7 sacks, 5 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries and 3 passes defensed.  Avril has now played in 53 games in his first four years in the NFL and he has 121 tackles, 7 tackles for a loss, 26 sacks, 13 forced fumbles, 4 fumble recoveries and 11 passes defensed.  Cliff Avril is one of the building blocks for the Lions on D, and they still need to add to it in 2012.

The Lions looked solid offensively last night, but they just couldn’t keep up with the Saints in the end.  Matt Stafford looked pretty darn good last night as he completed 31 of 44 passes for 408 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT.  Kevin Smith rushed for 34 yards on 6 carries (5.7 ypc) with a TD run and he also caught 6 passes for 46 yards (7.7 avg) in this game.  Maurice Morris pitched in with 12 carries for 28 yards (2.3 ypc) and 5 catches for 47 yards (9.4 avg) with 1 TD grab.  WRs Nate Burleson (5 rec, 93 yards), Calvin Johnson (6 rec, 69 yards) and Titus Young (2 rec, 60 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Lions in this game.  The Lions finished up with 87 yards rushing on 22 carries (4.0 ypc) and they also completed 31 of 44 passes (70.5%) for 379 yards in this game as they had possession of the ball for 35:06.

The defense was pretty awful for the Lions in this game.  Safety Amari Spievey (10 tackles) and LB Stephen Tulloch (9 tackles) led the way for the Lions on D in this game.  Safety Chris Harris (6 tackles) and CB Aaron Berry (6 tackles) also pitched in for the Lions in this game.  The Saints finished up with 100 yards rushing on 23 carries (4.3 ypc) and they also completed 26 of 36 passes (72.2%) for 338 yards in this game.  The Lions are now 7-5 on the season.

The Detroit Lions are 2-4 in their last six games, as they are playing pretty awful football right now.  The New Orleans Saints have won three games in a row.  They are 5-0 at home this year where they have outscored opposing teams 208-93 so far this year.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Lions have the ball:  The Lions don’t want to get into a shootout with Drew Brees.  The best chance for the Lions to compete in this game is to run the ball and throw short passes.  The Saints are giving up 117.1 yards rushing per game and 5.0 yards per carry so far this year, so Kevin Smith and Maurice Morris might have some success running the ball.  Matt Stafford’s broken right index finger has caused him to be inaccurate the last few weeks and he has thrown a lot of interceptions.  If he doesn’t protect the ball in this game, the Lions are going to get blown out.  If Stafford is feeling good, he could have a good night throwing the ball to Calvin Johnson, Brandon Pettigrew, Nate Burleson, Titus Young and Tony Scheffler against a Saints’ D that is allowing 253.7 yards passing per game this year.  The Saints also only have six interceptions all season long.

When the Saints have the ball:  The Saints always come out throwing the ball in home games as they try to get a lead with the pass and grind the game out on the ground.  The Lions have 29 sacks and 15 interceptions this year, so Brees will have to get rid of the ball quickly, while making good decisions.  He is really good at doing just that when playing in the SuperDome.  TE Jimmy Graham is turning into Brees’ go to man, so the Lions’ safeties and linebackers are going to have to step up this weekend.  He also has a nice set of WRs and RB Darren Sproles is lethal catching passes out of the backfield.  Mark Ingram, Pierre Thomas and Darren Sproles give the Saints’ offense another thing the Lions’ D will have to worry about Sunday Night as they are all productive RBs.

PREDICTION:  SAINTS 37, LIONS 24