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(0-1) Detroit Lions vs. (0-1) Minnesota Vikings preview

Game Information:

Last Meeting: Detroit 16 – Minnesota 14 on December 14, 2014.

Series Overall: Minnesota leads 36-69-2

Location: TCF Bank Stadium – Minneapolis, Minnesota

Weather Forecast: 65 degrees and sunny. Winds out of the South-Southwest at 12 miles per hour. Chance of rain is zero percent.

Kickoff Time: 1:00 PM ET

Betting Line: Minnesota -2.0, Total 44.0

Broadcast: FOX and the Detroit Lions Radio Network

Like always you can’t catch the game live on TV or on the radio you can follow The Majors Detroit’s Facebook and Twitter feeds for live game updates of today’s action. There will also be a The Majors Detroit live blog hosted by TMSNX’s Vice President Adam “Dorf” Waltersdorf available at www.detoit.themajors.net.

STATISTICAL LEADERS:

Detroit Lions:

PASS: Matthew Stafford: 63.3% CMP, 246 YDS, 2 TD, 2 INT
RUSH: Ameer Abdullah: 7 CAR, 50 YDS, 1 TD
REC: Eric Ebron: 4 REC, 53 YDS, 1 TD
DEF: Glover Quin: 8 TACK, 0 SACK, 0 TFL, 1 PD, 1 INT

Minnesota Vikings:

PASS: Teddy Bridgewater: 71.9% CMP, 231 YDS, 0 TD, 1 INT
RUSH: Adrian Peterson: 1o CAR, 31 YDS, 0 TD
REC: Mike Wallace: 6 REC, 63 YDS, 0 TD
DEF: Anthony Barr: 12 TACK, 1 TFL, 1 PD

Detroit Lions Depth Chart:

Offense:

POS FIRST SECOND THIRD
WR #15 Golden Tate #16 Lance Moore #13 TJ Jones
LT #71 Riley Rieff #70 Corey Robinson
LG #63 Manny Ramirez #72 Laken Tomlinson
C #65 Travis Swanson #63 Manny Ramirez #65 Taylor Boggs
RG #75 Larry Warford #63 Manny Ramirez #65 Taylor Boggs
RT #66 LaAdrian Waddle #77 Cornelius Lucas
TE #87 Brandon Pettigrew* #85 Eric Ebron #89 Tim Wright
WR #81 Calvin Johnson #10 Corey Fuller
QB #9 Matthew Stafford #8 Dan Orlovsky
RB #35 Joique Bell #25 Theo Riddick #21 Ameer Abdullah
#34 Zach Zenner
FB #46 Michael Burton
*Expected to miss game injured

Defense: 

POS FIRST SECOND THIRD
DE #91 Jason Jones #52 Darryl Tapp
DT #93 Tyrunn Walker #90 Gabe Wright
DT #92 Haloti Ngata #97 Caraun Reid #63 Jermelle Cudjo
DE #94 Ezekiel Ansah #98 Devin Taylor #58 Phillip Hunt
OLB #59 Tahir Whitehead #53 Kyle Van Noy #95 Brandon Copeland
MLB #55 Stephen Tulloch #50 Travis Lewis
OLB #54 DeAndre Levy* #57 Josh Bynes
CB #23 Darius Slay #30 Josh Wilson
CB #31 Rashean Mathis #24 Nevin Lawson #28 Quandre Diggs
SS #32 James Ihedigbo #32 Don Carey
FS #27 Glover Quin #42 Isa Abdul-Quddus
*Expected to miss game – injured

Minnesota Depth Chart:

Offense: 

POS FIRST SECOND THIRD
QB #5 Teddy Bridgewater #13 Shaun Hill #6 Taylor Heinicke
RB #28 Adrian Peterson #31 Jerick McKinnon #44 Matt Asiata
FB #48 Zach Line
WR1 #11 Mike Wallace #84 Cordarrelle Patterson #17 Jarius Wright
WR2 #12 Charles Johnson # 19 Adam Thielen #14 Stepfon Diggs
TE #82 Kyle Rudolph #85 Rhett Ellison #83 Mycole Pruitt
#86 Chase Ford
LT #75 Matt Kalil
LG #63 Brandon Fusco
C #61 Joe Burger #67 Zac Kerin
RG #79 Mike Harris #78 Jeremiah Sirles
RT #68 T.J. Clemmings #74 Austin Shepherd
*Expected to miss the game – injured

Defense:

POS FIRST SECOND THIRD
LDE #96 Brian Robison #95 Scott Crichton
DT #73 Sharrif Flod #92 Tom Johnson
NT #98 Linval Joseph #93 Shamar Stephen
RDE #97 Everson Griffen #94 Justin Trattou #99 Danielle Hunter
SLB #55 Anthony Barr #51 Edmond Robinson
MLB #50 Gerald Hodges Jr. #57 Audie Cole #54 Eric Kendricks
WLB #52 Chad Greenway
LCB #23 Terence Newman #26 Trae Waynes
SS Andrew Sendejo Robert Blanton
FS Harrison Smith Antone Exum Jr.
RCB #29 Xavier Rhodes #24 Captain Munnerlyn #35 Marcus Sherels
*Expected to miss the game – injured

Injury Report:

Lions injury designations:

POS. NAME INJURY WD. TH. FR. STATUS
TE Brandon Pettigrew Hamstring NP NP NP Out
LB DeAndre Levy Hip NP NP NP Doubtful
DT Haloit Ngata Shoulder NP LP LP Questionable
DT Caraun Reid Ankle LP LP LP Questionable
CB Darius Slay Ankle LP LP LP Probable
QB Matthew Stafford Right Upper Arm FP FP FP Probable
WR Golden Tate Quad NP LP LP Probable
OT LaAdrian Waddle Elbow NL FP FP Probable
OG Larry Warford Ankle LP LP FP Probable

Vikings injury designations:

POS. NAME INJURY WED THUR FRI STATUS
RB Jerick McKinnon Ankle FP FP FP Probable
DT Shamar Stephen Knee FP FP FP Probable

PREGAME ANALYSIS:

Both teams are not satisfied with their week one performances on the West coast. Detroit blew a two touchdown lead and Minnesota only was able to muster three points against a team that was supposed to be the worst in football.

Three Keys to the Game:

  1. Don’t let Adrian Peterson get going: In his return from suspension last week he managed only 31 yards on ten carries. Let’s keep his touches to a minimum and keep his average carry right in that area.
  2. Get Ameer Abdullah more touches: The Lions only got him seven carries in his debut and he managed to get 50 yards. Why wasn’t there more touches for him? Who knows.
  3. Remember Calvin Johnson is still open if he’s double covered: Having a player that makes almost 20 million dollars only be involved in ten percent of the offensive play calls. That’s flat out unacceptable. Matthew Stafford has to find a way to get him the ball even if he is double covered. Every team’s number one receiver is double covered and yet other quarterbacks find a way to get them the ball, why should Calvin be any different.

Prediction

Detroit is a field goal underdog on the road, meaning they are essentially even teams in the eyes of the casino’s in Los Vegas. I think Detroit and Minnesota will bounce back from poor performances last week, just the Lions’ bounce back will be a bit better than Minnesota’s.

Detroit Lions 24 – Minnesota Vikings 21.

 

 

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