The Lions welcome in a 4-3 Seattle Seahawks team into Ford Field after Seattle starting the season with high hopes from a 4-0 preseason and a defense that has been very impressive so far.
Currently the Seahawks seemingly are two different teams though being 1-3 on the road while boasting a 3-0 record at home. Detroit on the other hand is 0-3 in their last 3 meetings with Seattle since 2001, but should find a wary team as this is back-to-back weeks on the road and the 5th game of the season on the road for the Seahawks.
A Russell Wilson lead offensive attack comes into this game with the 31st passing offense in the NFL which is far from serviceable. Seattle however has the 8th best rushing attack in football with Marshawn Lynch posting very solid numbers this year gaining 652 yards on the ground with a 4.4 average per carry. So essentially today’s game may turn out to be a possession game for head coach Pete Carroll and his Seahawks with the hope of grinding out enough points while the defense holds the opponent to nothing. Aside from Lynch, Sidney Rice is Seattle’s only real playmaker through the air on offense but has only been targeted 36 times for 22 receptions on the year.
Unlike the defense though Seattle has had major problems on offense this season. Wilson has shown he will throw into coverage, making bad decisions which has resulted in 7 interceptions on the year thus far. The rookie Wilson has also been sacked 14 times and has been known to hold the ball way to long. Now seven interceptions and 14 sacks doesn’t seem all that much at first glance but when you see Wilson has only dropped back for 175 attempts it is actually quite high. In fact Wilson has thrown the football the least amount for any starting QB not named Cam Newton.
With Detroit’s pressure the last 3 games fans should like this match up with Wilson.
Seattle’s defense however is the real deal.
The Seahawks put the NFL on notice last year when they ranked 2nd in points allowed, while facing four Pro Bowl QB’s. It continued into this year as they have held the likes of Dallas, New England and Green Bay in check winning all three of those games. The Seattle defense is stingy holding opponents to 212 passing yards and 85 yards on the ground. Their pass defense is also as solid as it gets with a steady rush (7 sacks by DE Chris Clemons) and big corners (3 INT’s CB Richard Sherman). Essentially the Seahawks have the same blueprint to shut down Stafford and Calvin just as the Bears did. Running the ball on Seattle is also as tough as any team in football with a linebacking core that fills gaps in their 4-3 scheme that doesn’t miss tackles.
Detroit comes back home to Ford Field after going 1-1 on the road against Philadelphia and Chicago. After a short week and getting beat up by the Bears, Detroit can take pride in their defense after it was such a disappointment last year. Ndamunkong Suh, Cliff Avril and company have stepped up and been what Detroit fans thought they should be, a pressure packed line that creates sacks and tackles for losses in the backfield. It’s only been 3 games but it should continue as Suh is regaining the form he had his rookie year while the secondary has been a huge surprise. Take away the Tennessee game and this snap together group has played well enough for the Lions to have a better record than they have (Detroit has failed to start the same secondary in any game this year).
Now the reason Detroit doesn’t have a better record is simple, Stafford and Johnson haven’t connected for a TD so far this season.
In fact Stafford hasn’t thrown a TD in the first half of a game this year.
Now this isn’t all Stafford’s fault. Last week the Lions lost 3 fumbles inside the red zone and have had plenty of dropped passes. And with the loss of Nate Burleson for the season (broken leg) the offense is in desperate need of someone to step up whether that’s a maligned Titus young or rookie Ryan Broyles.
There has been some fan criticism with Megatron over the past 2 weeks with a couple big drops.
Now Calvin deserves the criticism with his contract and those plays but over all Megatron is a plus, with almost 600 reception yards on the year and 12 catches for over 20 yards.
The thing with the Lions is their predictability.
Defense’s have played Detroit like they knew what is coming as Stafford has been inaccurate at times with the offensive line not doing the franchise QB any favors by keeping pressure away. Detroit will have a tough time against Seattle in having that outburst of yards and points (the offense has struggled all year and Seattle is a top notch Defense) but I think the Lions can pound out 17-20 points.
BOTTOM LINE; This game is a coaching battle with the chess moves between Schwartz and Carroll on display. Detroit’s defense against Seattle’s offense Favors the Lions, but Detroit’s offense against Seattle’s defense is in the Seahawks’ favor.
I still believe the Lions pull out a 17-12 win with the Lions’ defense holding Seattle to nothing but FG’s while getting an interception for a score.
