It was quite a week for the Lions.
First the come off a very emotional loss to the San Francisco 49ers in which story line after story line emerged after the game. Then they make a trade for Philadelphia’s Ronnie Brown in which they saw RB Jerome Harrison and a 7th round pick in 2013 go the other way. After that, the trade get’s voided due to Harrison failing a physical only to find out that Harrison failed the physical because of an unknown brain tumor. Not to mention the status of RB Jahvid Best is unknown due to him suffering hi second concussion of the season and his family urging him to sit out the rest of the season.
This week the Lions look to put this past week behind them as they welcome in Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons (3-3) to Ford Field.
As the NFL season progresses games become more and more important, especially in this case since both teams could be vying for a shot at the NFC Wild Card when the playoffs come around.
The Atlanta Falcons have been somewhat of a disappointment this season after it was thought that they would be serious contenders in the NFC. The Falcons however haven’t been able to capitalize off an offense that can be very explosive with Matt Ryan, Michael Turner, Roddy White, Julio Jones and Tony Gonzalez. The Falcons have also been unable to get a consistent pass rush on defense totaling just 10 sacks this season.
With that said, lets take a look at the keys to the game for the Detroit Lions.
Try to get some sort of running game going
This is definitely easier said than done for the Lions and with Jahvid Best being out it certainly won’t be any easier this week. Best’s replacement this week will be Maurice Morris who shown in the past that he can be an effective replacement in the backfield.
Now even though the Lions have been able to get by for the most part without an effective running game, it’s going to become harder and harder to pull out wins without yardage on the ground.
Eliminate the big play in the air
Roddy White is one of the premier receivers in the NFL and his combination with Matt Ryan is very capable of garnering a big play. The Falcons also have veteran Tony Gonzalez at tight end who is still very dangerous during short yardage situations.
Luckily for the Lions they’ve been very capable at stopping those short pass plays.
Contain Michael Turner
The Lions saw last weekend what a good running game from the opposition can do. Frank Gore was a huge difference for the 49ers last week as he was able to get 141 total yards on the ground and 1 TD.
This week it doesn’t get any easier as Michael Turner comes to town.
The Lions defensive line and linebackers must limit Michael Turner since you don’t want Matt Ryan’s air attack opened up.
Alleviate the pressure put on Stafford
With the question marks surrounding the running game for the Lions, the offensive line is going to have to do an ever better job in providing Matthew Stafford plenty of time in the pocket.
Now the Falcons’ secondary aren’t world beaters but they’re very opportunistic.
Led by safety Thomas DeCoud, the Falcons have 9 picks so far this season which includes DeCloud’s three.
With Calvin Johnson the Lions’ air attack is very capable at winning these battles which will be vital if the running game continues to suffer.
Ref: Mlive.com, Los Angeles Times (image)