Lions Lowdown

While the Lions swept the Vikings in 2016, it was no easy task.

In the game at Minnesota they needed a last second 58-yard Matt Prater to get to overtime then Matthew Stafford and Golden Tate connected for the winning score.

It won’t be easy on Sunday either as the 2-1 teams meet in a huge division NFC North matchup.

(Photo courtesy of the Detroit Lions)

“I think it’s unique about our division is very competitive. I mean, it’s been that way since I’ve been here. Very good players, very good coaches and it makes for really, really good I think, a contest, week in and week out, home and away,’’ coach Jim Caldwell said. “Obviously, every division game is hotly contested because of ramifications down the road and that’s the key, so yeah, it’s a lot of fun playing in our division.”

Here are five things to watch:

1. Matthew Stafford is 3-4 in his career on the road at Minnesota. He’s off to a good start this season with seven touchdowns against just one interception and a 64.5 completion percentage. He’ll need good protection from his offensive line especially against defensive end Emerson Griffen who has four of the Vikings five sacks so far this year. Griffen called Lions left tackle Greg Robinson “lazy” which might provide more motivation for Robinson who wouldn’t reply to Griffen. Look for the Lions to add some tight end help on that side.  Robinson has struggled while filling in for Taylor Decker.

2. The Lions run defense was dinged last week allowing the Falcons to rush for 151 yards — 106 by Devonta Freeman. That might have been good preparation to face Vikings rookie running back Dalvin Cook whose 96 yards per game average has helped Vikings’ fans forget Adrian Peterson. Middle linebacker Jarrad Davis, who missed last Sunday with a concussion, could return on Sunday. That should help.

3. On the other side, the Lions have to continue to run the ball even if they come up with too many plays of negative yardage. Eventually it should come around — at least that’s what expectations are . Ameer Abdullah is averaging about 54 yards per game and 3.5 yards per catch. Both numbers need to jump. We might see more carries from Zach Zenner who will be active on Sunday since he’s a special teams captain. Also Dwayne Washington (quad) has been declared out. Theo Riddick has been quiet the first three games with just 19 yards rushing and 82 receiving. Stafford is the second leading rusher with 56 yards.

4. Quarterback Case Keenum will run the offense for the second straight week with Sam Bradford still injured. Last week he completed 75.8 percent of his passes for 369 yards and three touchdowns. In 2016, he blew up the Lions while the Rams quarterback. He completed a whopping 84.38 percent of his passes that day for 321 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. The Lions pulled out the win, but Keenum put on a show. At one point he completed 19 straight passes. He may be the same quarterback this year just with a new team. The LIons’ secondary is much improved over 2016 but will be tested by Keenum.

5. Look for tight end Eric Ebron to have a better game. He was targeted seven times last week and only made two receptions. And, he had at least two drop. Caldwell said in the previous week, Ebron had not had one drop in practice (they keep an eye on these things). After the loss to the Falcons, Ebron tweeted out that he knew he performed poorly. He’s got to do better or offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter and Stafford will lose confidence in him. Caldwell still has faith in Ebron. “I do believe this guy works at it, he’s dedicated to it, and I think he’ll be able to have a week like he had last week, last week he had five catches (in win at Giants), no drops, right? So, I anticipate he’ll keep continuing to improve,’’ Caldwell said.

BONUS: Look for wide receiver TJ Jones to possibly get more involved in the offense. “I think obviously he serves a great role for us because he can play almost any position. He’s very smart. He knows I think the assignments of all of the pass eligible individuals and he executes well,’’ Caldwell said. “So, I think depending on the ball game and certain situations, that could happen. But I think we’ve got a pretty good rotation going right now.”

PREDICTION: Lions 27, Vikings 24. It will be a tough win on the road but at this point in the season, Detroit is the better team.

Well, we can say this about the Lions run game this season — they are giving it a go.

The Lions have run the ball 78 times in the first three games averaging 3.7 yards per carry. That compares to 64 rushing attempts for their opponents averaging 4.0 yards per carry.

Ameer Abdullah leads with 163 rushing yards (3.5 yards per carry, while Matthew Stafford is second with 56 (8.0 yards per carry). Theo Riddick has just 10 carries for 19 yards.

Certainly there are positive signs.

“We’re optimistic but we would like to see more results. We would like to see better production in the run game, carry after carry after carry. As an overall offense, that’s on all of us. That’s on me. That’s on the players. That’s on everybody,’’ offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter said. “For us to really get where we need to be as a team, that things got to be better on a carry-by-carry basis and not kind of up and down like it has been.”

(Photo courtesy of Detroit Lions)

Coach Jim Caldwell is optimistic about the run game which has been a concern since he landed in Detroit, in part due to injuries.

“We’re not going to be a 150, 200-yard rushing team. That’s not how we’re built. We want to just have a good, respectable running game, make teams honor it where they don’t just discount it,’’ Caldwell said. “I think that’s the way in which we’d like to approach this thing. And I think we’re working to get to that point.”

On Sunday the Lions’ defense will face one of the best rookie running backs in Minnesota’s Dalvin Cook. He is averaging 96 rushing yards per game and 4.7 yards per carry.

— Golden Tate isn’t the tallest or speediest NFL wide receiver but he routinely gets the job done. Matthew Stafford calls him “a gamer.” It’s hard to disagree.

Certainly Cooter appreciates Tate.

“He makes plays. Makes plays. It’s not always picture perfect. It’s not always exactly the way it’s drawn on the sheet of paper or the way maybe you thought it might go,’’ Cooter said.  “Sometimes, he kind of gets into some funny body positions but he tends to catch the ball and he tends to make plays once he has it in his hands. And we plan on getting it to him quite a bit this year.”

 

— The Lions are over the call that decided Sunday’s game — the 10-second runoff.  Perhaps it  took longer for some (Tate) than others, but they’ve been focusing on the Vikings since Tuesday.

“I think anytime just in terms of competitive individuals that when things don’t go their way the week before, you would think that they would certainly be eager to get back out there and prove that they can get back on a winning track again,’’ Caldwell said. “I think that’s a normal process, and does not have to do with whatever the situation is.’’

Caldwell says the best teams have the same demeanor on Mondays after a win or loss. That’s been his goal to get these Lions to think like that. He has changed their attitude in his three-plus years as coach.

This goes for wins or losses.

“If they won the game, they know that one is behind us. There’s nothing they can do about it. And they can rest on their laurels. You can’t get caught up in flattery when you do do well. Flattery is much like flowers, you can smell them but you can’t eat them,’’ Caldwell said.

— Caldwell’s quote of the week came from St. Augustine: “A lot of truth is like a lion, you don’t have to defend it, let it loose and it will defend itself.”