When everything finally shakes out in the NFC I have a feeling the Detroit Lions will be right in the playoff mix.
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The Lions have put together a really nice defense under Teryl Austin and they have playmakers on offense. They should have their kicking situation figured out with solid veteran Matt Prater now in the fold.
Detroit is still feeling their way a little bit now, but as the season progresses I believe they’ll find a groove and be a real threat to make a run. Assuming Matthew Stafford doesn’t blow it for them with his brainfarts.
However, as good as the Lions may ultimately be, right now they are a little bit vulnerable. Calvin Johnson and Reggie Bush are both likely going to miss this game, which takes away a lot of the scariness of their offense.
With Megatron and Bush gone, the Lions are less of a home run threat and more of a dink-and-dunk operation. Though Golden Tate should not be overlooked as a potential big play weapon out of the slot.
In short, this could be a case of the Vikings catching the Lions at just the right time.
The Vikings have gotten shredded a little bit on defense the past few weeks, but with Megatron and Bush out, I worry much less about that happening again this week. And I think Mike Zimmer can dial up some blitzes and force Matthew Stafford into some mistakes.
The Vikings need to be better against the run but I think they’ll get that shored up this week (how can they fail to improve with great leaders like Brian Robison on the team?).
On the other side of the equation, the Lions’ defense does present some pretty serious challenges for rookie Teddy Bridgewater and the Vikings’ offense.
Going into week 6, the Vikings are still trying to find themselves on offense. They still don’t know quite what they have with their running game and Norv Turner is still working out how to get Cordarrelle Patterson involved.
Teddy Bridgewater did get some good things going with Jarius Wright two games ago in Atlanta and I would expect that chemistry to continue growing. Greg Jennings will also be a significant target for Bridgewater as we progress.
The big question concerns the tight end position in the absence of Kyle Rudolph. I would like to see Norv take a shot or two with Chase Ford up the seam and see if he can take advantage of his size.
I believe it’s also time to shift the running balance a little bit away from Matt Asiata and more toward Jerick McKinnon. Asiata will likely remain your primary running back but McKinnon should get more touches especially in the screen game.
The game plan against the Lions will likely resemble the game plan against St. Louis, lots of screens and short passes to slow down Detroit’s pass rush. But watch out for the playmaking corners Detroit now has in Rashean Mathis and Darius Slay.
If the line can keep those Detroit pass rushers off Teddy Bridgewater, I think Teddy can have an effective game. Bridgewater will make one or two plays scrambling to throw. He has also shown that he will avoid making dumb decisions that lead to turnovers.
The best thing Teddy does is take care of the ball. That’s what mainly distinguishes him from the erratic Christian Ponder.
This is a very winnable game. In fact, I expect the Vikings to find a way to pull this one out. Detroit will end up being a factor in the conference playoff picture but right now they’re banged up and the Vikings can handle them at home.