#336 Packers Unscripted: Details on Detroit

And when you look at Detroit, a brand new head coach this year, Matt Patricia, former defensive coordinator, longtime defensive coordinator for Bill Belichick in the New England Patriots, and an interesting start to his tenure because what really was an absolute debacle. In Week one on Monday Night Football on National TV for a head coaching debut, they get blown out at home by the New York Jets and

rookie quarterback Sam Donald. Since then, boy, a huge fourth quarter comeback in San Francisco that gets upset or overturned in a sense, a huge interception late in that game that Detroit might have pulled off. That comeback gets called back on a defensive holding penalty away from the ball. They lose by three. Then they beat the Patriots in primetime on Sunday Night Football. Then last week, another big fourth quarter comeback, they take the lead against the Cowboys,

only to lose on a walk off field goal. So it looks to me West that they've put that Week one disaster behind them. This is a very very competitive Detroit Lions football team. Yeah, I mean you can see the fire in them. And and certainly, and I've said this time and time again in my for my money, I think Matthew staffords a top ten quarterback in this league. And there's a lot of I think guys that are

worthy of that right now. I think this is a good era for quarterbacks, especially seeing what these last two draft classes have looked like. So when you have him driving the bus, there's gonna be a certain amount of success I think you're gonna have inherently just because of what he can do and how he can create. It appears like they finally found a complimentary running piece and carry on Johnson and now being able to kind of

adjust that defense is really the biggest thing. If you've been following the lines and all, Mike, they've been doing some really interesting things in terms of Ricky Jean Francois, who was a rotational guy here last year got cut finished the year with Patricia and the Patriots. Well, now he's a starter in their defense. Um, certainly, you know Darius Slay and Glover Quinn and all these guys that are there have been there. But trying to find the pass rush is gonna be the biggest thing for them.

It looks like right now, Eli Harold has been a guy that sort of stepped up in that capacity. A lot of playmakers all around for them. It's just about trying to find some of that consistency. Yeah. Well you mentioned the running back carry On Johnson, high draft pick for the Lions out of Auburn. I believe if that's correct. I still don't know how a guy named carry On doesn't play college football and Kansas, But I digress. Um, he could be an eight time Pro Bowler and Mike

Sponsored in years ten. As when you're saying, you know, it really is a shame that he didn't go to CA. Yeah, it's just it. It just doesn't fit anyway. Um, but he against the New England Patriots rushed for a hundred yards. He became the first single game one yard rusher for the Detroit Lions since Thanksgiving of against the Packers when Reggie Bush did it so and he's averaging what is it about five point seven per carry so far this season,

so he's off to a good start. They look like it looks like they do have that running piece that they need. And Matthew Stafford's got his weapons as well. I think Matthew Stafford has taken his game to a whole another level since Calvin Johnson's retirement. Golden Tate has really come into his own as a premier receiver in this league in my opinion. Kenny Golladay a young receiver who's stepping up and making plays. And I forget who

their third Marvin Jones Jr. That's the guy. Yeah, yeah, absolutely so success against the Packers in the past, Yeah, definitely. Sta Stafford's got Stafford's got weapons, and if they if they add some balance with that running game, this is an offense that becomes even more dangerous than it has been. This is what's funny, though, because we get these questions all the time, an inbox right about you know, why aren't the Packers featuring one guy at running back? Well,

if you're a Detroit Lions fan. You have Carrie on Johnson having five point seven yards per carry, and then you have Lagarrett Blunt who's basically has tipped for tat the same amount of carries. He's averaging two points seven right now. So it's gonna be interesting to see as time wears on here if Patricia, if Jim Bob Coonter start giving the ball more to Johnson and just letting

him run with it. But as far as the receivers are concerned, Mike, certainly this offseason they moved on from Eric Ebron Uh the ups and downs, they went with him at tight end, and they basically focus more on these three receivers. Obviously, Tate and Marvin Jones Jr. Were two great acquisitions for them in the aftermath of the Calvin Johnson era or even during it, I mean, sort of helping sort of carry the torch and and adjust

that passing game moving forward. But Laday too has shown a lot of ability and and they getting those three receivers going for them, that's gonna be their big key and inside that's that dome. I mean, it just seems like that fits their offense and what they want to do. Yeah, And I don't want to pigeonhole guys too much. But from the outside looking in, when I look at this Detroit Lions receiving corps, it sort of strikes me as Golden Tad is your kind of yards after the catch guy.

Marvin Jones Jr. Maybe falls into that possession receiver category. And then Gladay is a really big time deep threat with his long strides, you know, and and large catch radius in terms of throwing the deep ball. So obviously these guys can do more than just those things. But my point is it's a very complimentary group of receivers. They they're not the same guy. It's it's not three guys that you can take the same approach to defending

all through the game. And and Matthew Stafford is uh when when he's on schedule and he's on time, and he's he's got the protection and he's in rhythm, he can really light it up. One thing I think that the Lions have done really well, and this has been for about four or five years. You know, Mike, When you go into free agency, it can be a mixed bag. You can hit and you can miss, particularly at the

receiver position. Seems like that's a really hard position to be able to sign guys as free agents and have them come in and become legitimate, you know, play after play playmakers. They did that with both Golden Tate and then also with Marvin Jones Jr. Jones he had a phenomenal start two years ago. He averaged sixteen point nine yards per catch that year. I don't know if you remember that, Like he had like one yard game after another the first couple of weeks. Then he tapered off.

Last year was a lot more balanced, got his first one thousand yards season. This year off to another fine start for them as well. So yeah, with having those two threats outside and knowing over all this time a Golden Tate's done in the middle of the field, it's a nice compliment of weapons. The big thing for the Lions is just that offensive line. We saw last weekend

t J laying exited with the concussion. They used their first round pick I believe that was on Yeah, Frank Reagner from Arkansas, Arkansas, and then Ricky Wagner they signed a couple of years back. Uh, Taylor Decker they drafted, So they do have guys there. It's just that I think there's some questions if somebody is unable to play, what the depth looks like at that position. Yeah, and you mentioned that their pass rush earlier. They have an

outside linebacker I believe his name is Devon Kennard. He's leading them right now with four sacks, which actually he's approaching his own career high in sacks already at this stage of of the season. He's a fifth year pro. The Lions picked him up to to fit him into this Patricia defense. And uh, you know, we talked for so many years in the in the and Dominican Sue Nick Fairley, you know Era with that defensive line, Kyle Vandenbosch,

those kinds of guys. You know, that defensive line was was so much the crux of that defense and how they got the pressure on the quarterback. It seems like maybe a little bit of a shift to wear an outside linebacker type like Kennard is is maybe who they're trying to build the pass rush around. Like I said, he you know, Eli Harold too has three sacks, So you know two guys that I think. I mean, obviously Harold is a relatively high draft pick. They're expecting contract Usians.

But I think right now, in two thousand and eighteen, you think of zichy Ansa, you think of you know, those defensive end type body types, and now it's a little bit more to that hybrid type position. Um certainly. Yeah, I gotta be honest with you, I didn't know much about Kennard going into this season, but it also reminds you I think of it was a two years ago and it was carry Hyder sort of came out where to make a contribution. I had like eight or nine sacks. Yeah,

So that that's the name of the game, Patricia. I think if you go back and look at the defenses and what they did and with the Patriots all those years, they're multiple. They like being able to, you know, generate certain game plans and certain schemes to the opponent. They like tailoring those kind of things. So, uh, seeing exactly what the look is going to be in this game for the Packers and how they want to defend this offense again having to keep in mind who's going to

be available with the receiving corps and whatnot. But overall, I think at the end of the day, it still comes back to your Darius Slays. It still comes back to your Quinns, the guys in the secondary that I think have sort of led that resurgence for them a little bit, and seeing if they can get the pass rush to complement those guys well. Darius Slay is as good a cover corner and as good a playmaker as there is at the cornerback position really in in the

entire NFC. When you when you look at it, I think that matchup I would expect him to be on Davante Adams probably every single snap on Sunday. I think that's certainly a matchup to watch. And on the Packers side of things, you know, I really think it comes down to somehow you just have to get Matthew Stafford autor rhythm. You have to get him off schedule and

whether that's with certain pressure packages. You're not necessarily going to confuse a veteran like Stafford with you know, different coverage looks and stuff like that, like the Packers did with Josh Allen. They were able to exploit his inexperience a little bit. But you know, if you can disrupt some of the routes at the line of scrimmage, if you can get some pressure on Stafford. You're not going to be able to throw off the timing of their

offense with just one thing or one way. You're gonna have to do it in a lot of different ways throughout four quarters. And uh. And in that respect, the Packers certainly have their hands full on defense, but coming off of obviously a really good defensive performance to build, Yeah, no doubt, Mike. And the thing is too with Stafford. That's just so interesting, especially now the the you know,

Jay Cutler era has ended in Chicago. There's probably nobody there is nobody in this league right now that the Packers have seen more than Stafford. I'm just trying to bring up the stats as we speak and doing a poor job of it. But in terms of the knowledge base there, they've been playing him for nine years, Mike McCarthy has been playing him for nine years now. There is a new element to it with Mike Petton and his scheme, and they're gonna have to make some decisions

on how they want to defend that. But I mean, overall, uh, I mean, you look at it, this will be their fifteen matchup. The tablets were early working all well for me, but it will be the fifteenth matchup that they faced him. He's five and ten in those matchups. So you've seen the blueprint with him over the years, the times in which you're able to gain pressure, the times when you're able to getim to throw off his back foot, when you're able to get him throwing sort of that simar motion.

I don't want to say forsaking his mechanics, but just being able to not allow him to get comfortable there. That's when they've had success. You can't let Jones get going again like they did two years ago. You can't let that running game establish itself. You want to make them one dimensional Nick Stafford throw. Yeah, and when you look at this from a big picture perspective from the Lions, and I know we have to get going. We have to kind of cut today's show short, unfortunately, because we're

up against it with a few other Patricius. Yeah, but um but I gave the rundown at the beginning of the show as far as what the Lions have been through the last few weeks. How they put that that week one, uh, you know, debacle in in the rear view mirror, and hey, they're one in three. But they look at this says, Okay, Yeah, the Bears are on top at three and one, but they're on a bye week. The Vikings already have two losses and a tie. The

Packers have a loss. In a tie, they can hand the Packers a second loss, they can get to two and three. If you're the Lions, you're looking at this game as as this is our opportunity to jump right back into the division race and not let anybody count us out. That's a great point because if you look at the schedule, they have the Packers at home, then they have a bye week. They're coming back then to take on a Miami team that had kind of a gut check uh in losing that game to to New England.

England pretty there. Then they get to host Seattle at home, and then they're traveling to Minnesota, who's had their up and down. So yeah, this early in the season, especially being able to get a couple of these wins early, it sets you up. The Packers saw it last week that was I don't want to say it was a must win game, because I don't think anything in the first quarter is. But when you look at trying to establish yourself and you're trying to win a division title,

get yourself in those top seeds for the playoffs. You need to take care of business, and all four quarters of the season Packers were able to do that. I think to one and one is a good place to sit. The Lions had some missed opportunities, they came out slow, they lost a barn burner last week. They're gonna be

hungry in this game. And as we've seen, Mike, you and I have covered enough of these games at Ford Field, they can go either way and a lot of times it comes down to who starts fast and who's able to protect the football. I think that's what happened basically every single time. You can go back and look at the win loss of those games on the road, specifically at Ford Field, that's ultimately been what's decided the outcome. Yeah, I agree with you, but as I said, we gotta run,

so we're gonna gotta run short today. But thanks for tuning in. We will be back tomorrow with more on Packers unscripted. He is at west Hot on Twitter. I'm at Mike Spofford at Packers for the team account. Thanks for tuning in, See you next time. H