Week 2 - Washington Commanders at Detroit Lions

[Superduperman]

I'm kind of concerned. I heard a lot of people saying "the Lions won't face any other running QBs like that" about Hurts but they also won't face many worse passers.

My biggest hope is that the Commanders (lol) don't have the OL the Eagles do and our pass rush should be better. But if it's not a lot better, I see Wentz passing for 3+ TDs because they have good receivers, and Antonio Gibson got off to a very good start last week too.

Losing this game would be a very big downer on whatever goodwill the Lions have built up over the offseason

Edited September 15, 2022 by Superduperman

[Nnivolcm]

This is the first time the Lions have been favored since week two of 2020 against Carolina. They lost that game 20-0. 

[LionArkie]

I'm hoping we give them a very heavy dose of Swift and company.

[Karnage84]

This game is far from a gimme. 

Wentz is probably better than what he was in Indy. They have three 4.3 WR's along with Gibson. Logan Thomas is a really good TE. Their DL has 3 1st rounders who are all dudes. 

As long as our OL can hold up against that DL, our offense should be able to move the ball. I'm more concerned about our defense and whether we have enough to match up. 

[Sllim Pickens]

This is one of those games that will show if we truly have made progress.  I think the Eagles are easily the best team in the NFC East, so even though that L hurts, its understandable. Washington on the other hand shouldn't be good. We should win, but we need much better play defensively.  

What I believed to be a good schedule to start the season with may not be as easy after week 1 and seeing some of the teams play better than expected.  We do play the Seahawks, Commanders, Giants, broken Cowboys, Packers, and Bears in the first 10 games. Before the season I would have expected wins in at least 3 of those games and maybe a win against the Vikes, Patriots, or Phins.  It will be very telling what our record is after 10 games given we were projected to be better than half of them and then two look much worse than expected (Packers/Cowboys).  If those coaches progress their teams ahead of us, it will be disappointing for sure. We really need this one to get the momentum going in the right direction for that stretch. 

[Sllim Pickens]

13 minutes ago, Karnage84 said:

This game is far from a gimme. 

Wentz is probably better than what he was in Indy. They have three 4.3 WR's along with Gibson. Logan Thomas is a really good TE. Their DL has 3 1st rounders who are all dudes. 

As long as our OL can hold up against that DL, our offense should be able to move the ball. I'm more concerned about our defense and whether we have enough to match up. 

Agreed, our defense may struggle hard against these guys.  I dont think anyone has the AJ Brown ability but all three are dangerous with their speed.  We covered Smith well last week but Brown ate us up.  

LB is such a weak spot for us.  Well, whatever that 10th and 11th defenders seem to be a sore spot whether it be an extra S, CB, or LB. I wish we would try some guys out like Blake Martinez, Reggie Ragland etc to see if we can get something out of the LB spot.  I know this staff likes Anzalone but he isnt the answer and Barnes has not developed at all it seems. 

I think our offense scores points all year, its just a matter of being consistent and controlling the ball to keep the D off the field. I think we win this game, but I am not super confident in it. 

[LionArkie]

I'm kind of win or bust. I'm not interested in any more moral victories.

[Karnage84]

16 minutes ago, Sllim Pickens said:

Agreed, our defense may struggle hard against these guys.  I dont think anyone has the AJ Brown ability but all three are dangerous with their speed.  We covered Smith well last week but Brown ate us up.  

LB is such a weak spot for us.  Well, whatever that 10th and 11th defenders seem to be a sore spot whether it be an extra S, CB, or LB. I wish we would try some guys out like Blake Martinez, Reggie Ragland etc to see if we can get something out of the LB spot.  I know this staff likes Anzalone but he isnt the answer and Barnes has not developed at all it seems. 

I think our offense scores points all year, its just a matter of being consistent and controlling the ball to keep the D off the field. I think we win this game, but I am not super confident in it. 

Anzalone is probably just really good in the locker room/position room and exudes the messaging coming from DC, AG, etc. Our LB's are 'not great' (putting it lightly) but I wonder if our issues on the DL are making it that much worse. 

Our offense definitely needs to help out the D. We need guys to make the simple plays and convert 2nd and 3rd down's to keep drives going. You can't be dropping balls that are hitting your hands. We're definitely not a 35 points per game offense IMO (at least not without Jameson in the mix). However, if we can average out 25-28/week then we should be in the mix for most games. 

[Sllim Pickens]

35 minutes ago, Karnage84 said:

Anzalone is probably just really good in the locker room/position room and exudes the messaging coming from DC, AG, etc. Our LB's are 'not great' (putting it lightly) but I wonder if our issues on the DL are making it that much worse. 

Our offense definitely needs to help out the D. We need guys to make the simple plays and convert 2nd and 3rd down's to keep drives going. You can't be dropping balls that are hitting your hands. We're definitely not a 35 points per game offense IMO (at least not without Jameson in the mix). However, if we can average out 25-28/week then we should be in the mix for most games. 

We definitely wont score 35 a game but 25-28 puts us in the top 12 offenses, which I think we are with our O line and weapons.  Goff is the biggest thing holding us back for now.  

I agree the DL needs to play better and likely causes some of the issues with the LBs but I still think LB is by far our weakest position. 

[Karnage84]

3 hours ago, Sllim Pickens said:

We definitely wont score 35 a game but 25-28 puts us in the top 12 offenses, which I think we are with our O line and weapons.  Goff is the biggest thing holding us back for now.  

I agree the DL needs to play better and likely causes some of the issues with the LBs but I still think LB is by far our weakest position. 

If we can get the team to be top 12 offense; top 16 defense and top 6 special teams, it'd place us in the top 12 of teams (40%/40% split o vs d, 20% to ST) and competing for a playoff spot. With a top 5 OL and the weapons on offense, I don't think that's unreasonable. We're not going to be super explosive but if we can be consistent (in a good way) then it's not out of the question. Adding Jameson into the mix and keeping our guys healthy (like Swift) should allow for us to get there. We have a really nice two headed monster at RB and some depth in guys like Reynolds and Jackson. 

Jack Fox is a boss and really is a weapon on ST. As long as Seibert can be consistent, we should have a very strong ST unit. 

When we get guys like the Okwara's and Paschal back into the mix, we should have depth on the DL. Hutch is going to continue to develop and not over commit like he did with Hurts. Rodrigo is going to continue to develop and make plays. Agreed though - LB is definitely the worst position on the defense. I don't see Anzalone being here beyond this year (but we also said that last year, so who knows). If Glenn is the guy being hyped as a future HC, I do think it's reasonable to ask for an average NFL D out of this group. There is pass rush and depth; we have several pieces at corner - maybe nobody is Jalen Ramsey but AO and Okudah are low end CB1's/high end CB2's; Walker was just paid to be a difference maker and has shown flashes to be that guy at times. We do have pieces to work with on at least 2 out of the 3 levels. 

[Dash]

Swift going to be alright for you guys this week? Imagine they are trying to get him some maintenance rest, but Williams is solid if he's limited. 

[Karnage84]

31 minutes ago, Dash said:

Swift going to be alright for you guys this week? Imagine they are trying to get him some maintenance rest, but Williams is solid if he's limited. 

I really like Williams although he isn't as dynamic as Swift. 

Swift is saying he isn't worried about the injury and it may just be precautionary. He's on one of my fantasy teams and I just lost Eli Mitchell, so I am holding out hope he'll be gtg. 

[LionArkie]

15 hours ago, Dash said:

Swift going to be alright for you guys this week? Imagine they are trying to get him some maintenance rest, but Williams is solid if he's limited. 

Swift is good to go.
https://lionswire.usatoday.com/2022/09/15/lions-injury-report-again-features-several-key-detroit-players/

[Sllim Pickens]

1 hour ago, LionArkie said:

Swift is good to go.
https://lionswire.usatoday.com/2022/09/15/lions-injury-report-again-features-several-key-detroit-players/

He says that but now back to back practices without participating.  I am hoping they are resting him because of his extensive injury history and to be cautious and not because he is more hurt than he is saying.  Duce told him he needs to play through some bumps and bruises but also I dont want this ankle to linger all year. 

[Superduperman]

Here's what I'm seeing, unfortunately

The Lions have saved their worst chokes for when they are favored and I think another one is coming.

Goff throws another pick 6, Wentz throws 3 TDs, Lions stall in the red zone multiple times and settle for FGs, Lions lose 38-23