Lions Lowdown

ALLEN PARK — It’s all in the details.

In the Lions’ loss to Pittsburgh last week the details fell short, way short.

Tonight the corrections have to be made in the key divisional game at Green Bay.

It’s huge for both teams.

“We’re really close to doing some good things this past game, but close doesn’t really matter in this league. I think Bill Parcells said, ‘You are what your record says you are,’ and that’s sort of true as a team. And I think offensively we can sort of look at points scored, at the end of the day 15. 15 is not enough usually to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, that’s a good team we were playing and we got to score touchdowns down there in the redzone,’’ offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter said.

Here are five things to watch on Monday night;

1. After going 0-for-5 in the Red Zone in the loss to the Steelers, obviously it’s a point of emphasis. Matthew Stafford and offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter agree that it’s not just one thing that went wrong. “I think it is just execution and detail oriented. I don’t think there’s any massive scheme over all. We’ve got good players. We just got to go out there and execute. Sometimes, we just got to make plays,’’ Stafford said. “I mean we were extremely close on a couple, a couple balls that I could maybe throw a little bit better, a couple that maybe their defenders made some really nice plays on, or we could come down with whatever it is. We just got to find a way to get it in.”

2. Stafford had a cleaner pocket and more time against the Steelers than he had in previous weeks and despite a formidable Steelers’ pass rush he was only sacked twice. Brian Mihalik will get his second start at left tackle. “I think he did a nice job playing against guys that he had sort of been with, worked with in training camp, worked with over the offseason. He held up well, he fought,’’ offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter said. “Wasn’t perfect, could have been a little cleaner technique wise, but I thought it was an admirable performance and I thought he showed himself pretty well. He’s got to keep coming, keep getting better. We’re going to count on him moving forward in whatever role he has.” The best news for the offensive line is that Taylor Decker returned to practice this week after shoulder surgery in June. He won’t get back into action on Monday but he is close.

3. Defensively the Lions just need a little more consistency. A few hiccups last week against the Steelers were costly but overall they held Le’Veon Bell to 76 rushing yards and Antonio Brown to 70 receiving yards. Look for more pass rush against quarterback Brett Hundley who might get more rattled than a veteran.

4. The run game still lacks consistency and the ability to pick up short yardage. Dwayne Washington was the power back last week and struggled. Washington has that role due to  “size, power, things like that’’ according to Cooter. It’s one of the reasons the Lions have struggled in the red zone. Even though Matthew Stafford is the second leading rusher with 68 rushing yards on 13 carries, but they rarely call a quarterback sneak.

5. The Lions have been outscored 40-20 in the first quarter and 102-74 in the first halves. It’s a concern. It would be more of an issue if the Lions had not outscored opponents 102-67 in the second halves. “We talk about it. We try to emphasize it, those kinds of things. But I really do think that the basic rudiment of it all is just to play better,’’ Caldwell said. “If you performing better, if you’re executing better, those kinds of things will take care of themselves and we haven’t done that as frequently as we’d like to.”

PREDICTION: Lions 27, Packers 17

ALLEN PARK — Playing the Green Bay Packers without Aaron Rodgers does not mean an automatic win for the Lions on Monday night.

Rodgers broke his right collarbone on Oct. 15 so Brett Hundley has taken over starting quarterback role.

“We’re not getting a break we have to play better,’’ defensive coordinator Teryl Austin (in photo) said on Friday. “So, I don’t think we’re in any position to say, ‘Hey, well because Aaron Rodgers isn’t playing, things are going to be easy.’ We haven’t had it easy right now, and we’ve got to play better football than we’ve been playing.’’

Don’t forget when the Lions played against the Packers on Jan. 1, 2012, with Rodgers out, Packers backup quarterback Matt Flynn had a career day with 480 passing yards and six touchdowns. Stafford threw for 520 passing yards and five touchdowns but Detroit lost 45-41.

Rodgers is 13-3 playing against the Lions.

Five concerns about playing against Brett Hundley:

1. Jim Caldwell said most people who have watched Hundley can see that he’s fast.In his only start (the loss to the Saints), Hundley had three carries for 44 yards and a rushing touchdown. “Not just — he can run, really run. So, he’s not one of those guys that are easy to get down on the ground because he’s going to be able to avoid and certainly give ground to gain ground in times with some extraordinary ability to run with speed to get outside and that kind of thing,’’ Caldwell said on Friday. “So, we’ll have to do a good job at containing him and do a good job of when we have an opportunity, get him on the ground.”

2. Hundley took over in the Oct. 15 game after Rodgers was carted off and threw three interceptions against one touchdown in the loss to the Vikings. The next game — after a full week of practice with the starters — Hundley was 12-25 for 87 yards and one interception in the loss to New Orleans.

3. Caldwell said there’s no blueprint for going up against an inexperienced quarterback like Hundley. “I think everybody has, you have to look at them and see what they do well, what they don’t do well, where you think your advantages are, and adjust your game plan accordingly,’’ Caldwell said. “This guy, he plays with a lot of poise — and I don’t anticipate — and he’s got a supporting cast.’’ It’s not like Hundley is the only guy on the Packers’ offense.

4.R Hundley is unlike Rodgers since he’s younger and more mobile. “I think you look at (Hundley) and you say he’s a very athletic young man, moves around well. He has good arm strength but I think the biggest thing is when Aaron Rodgers gets out of the pocket, his eyes are scanning down field all the time, like most of the times he runs when he absolutely has to,’’ Austin said. “This guy can take off, and he’ll take off maybe a little bit sooner, and he can really run and get down the field. So, that’s really going to be a big challenge for us.”

5. Matthew Stafford said for him it’s not a different feeling playing the Packers without Rodgers. “We’re going to their place. We’re playing in their house. We know it’s going to be a tough environment. They play well at home. I’m going up against their defense. No question that each game unfolds differently, and you got to kind of figure out how to play that game to give yourself the best chance to win it. But we’re playing against their defense,’’ Stafford said. “They’re a talented defense with a bunch of young guys in the secondary that are really physically talented, and guys up front that can get after the passer.”

 

ALLEN PARK — Zach Zenner has scored five rushing touchdowns in the last 17 games — none of his teammates are even close to that mark.

Yet, the Lions running back was inactive in Sunday’s 20-15 loss to the Steelers when the Lions were 0-for-5 in the red zone.

Zenner has only been active in four of the seven games this season and yet, at the moment, he appears to be the Lions best chance at a rushing touchdown inside the 10-yard line.

It’s a head-scratcher.

In that 17-game stretch the only other running back to score a rushing touchdown was Ameer Abdullah on Oct. 8 when he ran in from 3 yards out at the Vikings. The only other Lions to score rushing touchdowns in the last 17 games are tight end Eric Ebron on a 1-yard run and Matthew Stafford who ran in from 7 yards out. Both were in 2016.

Dwayne Washington, Sunday’s featured power back, has only scored one touchdown — a 1-yard run —  and that was in his first game as a rookie on Sept. 11, 2016.

Zenner was huge at the end of last season with four rushing touchdowns in the last 10 games and three in the last two games. He had a good camp and preseason, yet was inactive the first two games so he hasn’t had much chance to pick up where he left off.

Here is a look at Zenner’s scores:

Oct. 23, 2016 — 1-yard touchdown run vs Redskins

Dec, 26, 2016 — Two touchdowns including a 7-yard run and a 1-yard run

Jan. 1, 2017 — 1-yard touchdown run.

Oct. 8, 2017 — 1-yard touchdown run against the Panthers

Zenner also excels at pass blocking and in 2016 had 18 catches for 196 yards. He doesn’t have one reception in the four games he played this season.

He has good hands, losing only one fumble in 2016.

Look, the Lions certainly have these stats. They do their homework. So maybe there’s a reason that’s not so obvious that has kept Zenner on the bench. In his four games this season he has 10 runs for 16 yards — one of those was for 14 yards.

Just seems Zenner could provide an option in the red zone.