Scouting the Lions

[LUKE23]

I like this matchup for us in week 2 coming off a physical game. The Lions just surrendered 474 yards of total offense, including 7.6 yards per carry rushing to a team that will likely be in the hunt for the #1 pick next season. Now, that doesn't mean we should take the Lions lightly, but we matchup well across the board with this team. Should be able to get Grant really going in this one, and then feed off play action after he starts gashing them.

On defense, the Lions gave up 3 sacks to the Falcons last week, and their OL remains a weakness. I expect a lot of four man pressure, dropping back everyone else into coverage against their surpremely talented WR duo of Williams and Johnson. I think if we just limit the huge plays out of their passing game, our offense will be able to sustain enough drives to win the game. I expect to see a huge amount of carries from Grant in this one.

[bigkurty]

Yeah they gave up 318 yards on the ground to the Falcons whose main threats in the passing game are Matt Ryan, Roddy White, and Michael Jenkins. We should be able to have a nice day on the offensiv side of the ball.

[MickeyDavis]

We should be able to score absolutely. Although this will be a letdown game. We've won at Detroit the last two seasons but they've scored 50 points on us. Could be a shootout.

[LUKE23]

I could see a high scoring game. This is a big game to get for us, given the next two after that are vs. Dallas and at Tampa, both very tough matchups.

I see a big game from our DL in this one, with Kampman and KGB in the backfield consistently.

[eagle13]

Our D cannot take this one for granted. Lions can score.
That said we should win 31-20. Grant Jennings Driver Lee go wild.

[notoriousTJ11]

The Lions have a pretty bad secondary, though they have made some additions and have changed to the Tampa 2. I love Ernie Sims, but none of their other linebackers scare me. Their D-line is undersized and they don't have depth behind their starters, so I would be dissapointed if we don't score 40 and discouraged if we can't score 30.

Offensively, they don't have a very good line. They have two great receivers in Williams and Johnson, and a Wes Welker like short yardage warrior in Furrey. If we don't get 4 or 5 sacks on Kitna I would be dissappointed.

[crkone]

Lions are garbage on D. We should be in there backfield all day on D. We just need to blitz like yesterday and Kitna will be on the ground.

[bucks59]

I watched that game on Sunday and I wouldn't be surprised if they had over 100 missed tackles in that game. The defense looked terrible. They do have a potent offense though so the Packers defense needs to be prepared. As long as they get pressure on Kitna, they should be fine. The Falcons corners were a good six inches shorter than the Lions WR's but Kitna couldn't get the ball there.

[MickeyDavis]

After spending the whole summer focusing on the Vikings and the Favre/Rodgers sideshow we get a big win at home and then have a short week and our first road game. With the Cowboys on deck. Definitely a trap game. Cannot lose to the Kittens.

[rilamann]

If the Packers lose this game it would be considered a major ''letdown game'' that Mike Sherman's teams became famous for.

That I dont think would ever happen with MM,have the Packers even had a ''letdown game'' since MM has been the coach in Green Bay?

I dont think there has been one.

[El Duderino]

Almost all losses to a very inferior opponent come via turnovers, especially on the road where turnovers give life to the underdog and their fans. If we turn it over less than twice or more, it will be very hard to lose the game.

[Newz]

I don't think the Lions are very good at any position besides WR.

Whoever is covering Calvin Johnson better be ready though, that guy is one of the most physically gifted players I have ever seen.

[MadCityBucky]

Al Harris does well against Roy Williams, and CW should do his job against CJ.

Their offensive line is poor and I wouldn't worry too much about their running game.

As for the Lions defense. Their linebackers can't tackle and they get little to no pressure from their d-line. Though they do get I believe, Ernie Sims back. So I expect a huge night from Grant.

The secondary of the lions, well should be able to tear through them.

[TheGhostDog]

McCarthy's press conference is on live now at Packers.com.

Brandon Jackson got a concussion in the scond half against the Vikings but no one realized it until he came in for practice today. Ryan Grant won't practice until Friday. Maybe we'll see Lumpy versus the Lions.

James Jones is fully practicing this week. Wells is available but they won't practice him today. Sitton still out.

Woodson has a toe fracture, ugh, and will be used sparingly in practice, but McCarthy doesn't think it's going to nag him all year.

[notoriousTJ11]

If the Packers lose this game it would be considered a major ''letdown game'' that Mike Sherman's teams became famous for.

That I dont think would ever happen with MM,have the Packers even had a ''letdown game'' since MM has been the coach in Green Bay?

I dont think there has been one.

Bears at home last year? We had a comfortable lead and MM decided to keep trying to run it

[rilamann]

If the Packers lose this game it would be considered a major ''letdown game'' that Mike Sherman's teams became famous for.

That I dont think would ever happen with MM,have the Packers even had a ''letdown game'' since MM has been the coach in Green Bay?

I dont think there has been one.

Bears at home last year? We had a comfortable lead and MM decided to keep trying to run it

Maybe you could consider that a let down game but to be more specific when I talk about let down games im talking about games in which the effort isnt there.Im talking about basically not comming to play from a mental and effort standpoint.

I dont think the Packers have realy had a game since MM has been coach where the effort hasnt been there or the team wasnt ready to play mentally.You can always play hard but it doesnt mean your going to nessacarily play well,but if the effort is there and your ready to play from a mental standpoint you will win more often that you lose..

19-4 in our last 23 going back to December of 2006.

Actually thinking back to 2006 I would consider that shutout at Lambeau by the Jets a let down game,but that was the last time we've had a let down game in my opinion and maybe the only real let down game under MM.

Ironically I think after that Jets game is when we started out current 19-4 record.

Have there been games we didnt play well and play sloppy under MM? of course.The Bears game at Lambeau last season was a game where the Packers lost because of turnovers (James Jones) but the overall effort was still there.Another example is the NFC title game,the Packers didnt play well but not because the effort wasnt there,just didnt play well.

It kinda goes back to the old saying you cant win em all,just ask the Pats lol.

Under Sherman there where games when the team came out and the effort just wasnt there and the team from a mental standpoint wasnt ready to play,heads up their asses.

[El Duderino]

If the Packers lose this game it would be considered a major ''letdown game'' that Mike Sherman's teams became famous for.


Under Sherman there where games when the team came out and the effort just wasnt there and the team from a mental standpoint wasnt ready to play,heads up their asses.

I wasn't a Sherman fan, but i don't ever remember watching games where i thought the team wasn't playing hard under him. Many teams though just have games where things go bad vs an inferior opponent, especially early in road games where things go bad and then it unravels because you're out of your game plan. Sherman's biggest problem IMO was his inability to control Brett, thus excessive turnovers.

Go look around the NFL from year to year and check the upsets, in the vast majority of cases it was turnover driven. Throw a pick or two, maybe a fumble or two and suddenly you give the underdog life. You find yourself behind and you have to start taking more chances. It's easy for the fans to say the team wasn't prepared properly by the coach, but it's not like they taught the players that week to fumble the ball or say have a deflected pass to get run back for a touchdown.

McCarthy is a better coach than Sherman, but if we lose vs the Lions, i won't just start jumping to unfounded conclusions that it was because of the team not being "mentally ready" or whatever term fans want to come up with. We have the better team, but we aren't playing the Akron Zips. If we don't turn the ball over multiple times i have a hard time seeing how the Packers lose, but i've watched football long enough to see upsets happen all the time because turnovers can easily happen to even well prepared teams.

It'll be Rodgers first game in a potentially loud dome, i'm curious and excited to see how he handles himself. Hopefully the team plays well enough early that it keeps the crowd from being much of a factor.

[rilamann]

I wasn't a Sherman fan, but i don't ever remember watching games where i thought the team wasn't playing hard under him. Many teams though just have games where things go bad vs an inferior opponent, especially early in road games where things go bad and then it unravels because you're out of your game plan. Sherman's biggest problem IMO was his inability to control Brett, thus excessive turnovers.

Are you serious? lol

Im not gonna sit here and name every game the Packers played under Sherman where the effort wasnt there but i'll throw a couple out there.

2002 - Blown out by the Jets in a game we needed to for homfield advantage.

2002 - 27-7 playoff loss to the Falcons.

2003 - getting down 27-3 week 1 at home in the ''new Lmabeau field'' game.

2003 - losing to an awful Lions team that would have costed us a berth in the playoffs had the Vikes not choked vs the Cards in week 17

2004 - 1-4 start

2004 - 48-27 loss at home on monday night to a titans team that wasnt that great.

2004 - Playoff loss to the Vikings.

Those are just off the top of my head I could probably name a few more if looked back at the old schedules.The effort wasnt there in those games I listed and the team wasnt ready to play.

[El Duderino]

I wasn't a Sherman fan, but i don't ever remember watching games where i thought the team wasn't playing hard under him. Many teams though just have games where things go bad vs an inferior opponent, especially early in road games where things go bad and then it unravels because you're out of your game plan. Sherman's biggest problem IMO was his inability to control Brett, thus excessive turnovers.

Are you serious? lol

Im not gonna sit here and name every game the Packers played under Sherman where the effort wasnt there but i'll throw a couple out there.

2002 - Blown out by the Jets in a game we needed to for homfield advantage.

2002 - 27-7 playoff loss to the Falcons.

2003 - getting down 27-3 week 1 at home in the ''new Lmabeau field'' game.

2003 - losing to an awful Lions team that would have costed us a berth in the playoffs had the Vikes not choked vs the Cards in week 17

2004 - 1-4 start

2004 - 48-27 loss at home on monday night to a titans team that wasnt that great.

2004 - Playoff loss to the Vikings.

Those are just off the top of my head I could probably name a few more if looked back at the old schedules.The effort wasnt there in those games I listed and the team wasnt ready to play.

What do you have to base on that the players didn't play had in those games beyond just pure wild speculation on your part? Which guys weren't playing hard in say that playoff loss to the Falcons, certain ones or the whole team? Same for the Vikings playoff loss, who wasn't playing hard and what do you have to back up that claim?

Kampman didn't play hard? Barnett didn't? Ahman Green just said to himself, i'll coast in these playoff games, i don't feel like playing hard? Brett Favre didn't play hard in the games? Clifton dogged it? Driver gave half-ass effort? William Henderson didn't feel like giving his all in two playoff games? All of these guys dogged it in these games? KGB was loafing? If it wasn't any of those guys not playing hard, then who was it and you base this on what?

That's why i hate when fans who weren't on the field and have never come close to stepping on an NFL field throw out wild accusations based on absolutely nothing factual that a team or certain players weren't playing hard. You don't know anything about how hard each guy on that team played in those games, yet you claim to know that you do. Favre threw 4 picks against the Viking in that playoff game, that's the biggest reason they lost, not some baseless claim by you that certain guys or the whole team wasn't playing hard.

McCarthy for sure is an upgrade over Sherman and i don't doubt some of Sherman's/his staffs coaching shortcomings played a role in regrettable losses by the team. With that said, i do find it amusing and pretty silly when fans who don't really know what the hell they're talking about, randomly say "the effort wasn't there" when their team loses a game they were favored in. Unless you have something factual to look at from a game where a certain player or players aren't hustling, not trying to break a tackle, letting a receiver run by out of laziness, or say an offensive lineman giving half effort vs simply just getting out played and/or out coached, this "the effort wasn't there" stuff like in playoff games, it sure sounds like nothing except a lot of hot air cliche speak to me.