Bears Opponent Profile: Detroit Lions
PROFILE: DETROIT LIONS
Where: Soldier Field, Chicago
When: 12:00 PM Sunday
Where the Lions Stand: The lions are 4 – 2 and are a game behind the first place Green Bay Packers. They will be looking to keep pace with them and send their rival Bears further down the ladder.
Lions Head Coach: Rod Marinelli
Lions Offensive Coordinator: Mike Martz
Lions Defensive Coordinator: Joe Barry
Lions Special Teams Coach: Stan Kwan
| Chicago Bears Offense |
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Detroit Lions Offense |
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Overall: 26th (301.7 ypg) |
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Overall: 16th (328.5 ypg) |
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Rushing: 31st (3.2 yards/rush) |
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Rushing: 14th (4.2 yards/rush) |
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Passing: 26th (71.3 QB Rating) |
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Passing: 9th (89.1 QB Rating) |
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| Chicago Bears Defense |
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Detroit Lions Defense |
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Overall: 25th (357.4 ypg) |
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Overall: 30th (385.8 ypg) |
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Rushing: 26th (4.6 yards/rush) |
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Rushing: 15th (4.0 yards/rush) |
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Passing: 25th (94.1 QB Rating) |
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Passing: 26th (94.8 QB Rating) |
SCOUTING THE LIONS Quarterbacks
Lions QB Jon Kitna guaranteed his team would win 10 games this year before the regular season started, and he’s doing his part in terms of helping to make that prediction come to fruition. The veteran signal caller has made some significant progress in his second season in offensive coordinator Mike Martz’s pass-oriented system, completing 69.5 percent of his passes for 1,480 yards and tossing eight touchdowns and six interceptions en route to helping the Lions start 4-2. To put its current record in perspective, Detroit won three games total in 2006. While he has some talent to work with, Kitna’s production is impressive when considering the poor protection he receives from his offensive line and lack of running game the 34-year old quarterback has to work with. However, the reemergence of Kevin Jones should bolster the teams run game.
Running Backs
The Lions have the seventh-ranked (by yardage) passing offense in the NFL, but their running game is another story. To say Detroit’s ground attack has been ineffective would be an understatement. The Lions are producing just 85 yards via the ground game per contest this season, which has them ranked 27th in this particular category. For most of the season, Detroit’s primary ball carrier has been Tatum Bell, who was acquired via a trade with Denver during the off-season. While he hasn’t posted great numbers, Bell is considered a player that can break a big run at any time. Kevin Jones, a first-round draft pick in 2004, is coming off a “Lisfranc” foot injury that cost him the 2006 season. He hadn’t been the same player and was seeing limited carries, but is coming back into form. Jones has rushed for 167 yards on just 39 carries (4.3 avg.) and three touchdowns. Last week, the Lions informed Jones that he would be their primary mail carrier from here on out. Last week against the Bucs, Jones displayed the power and cutting that earned him his high draft status. With a healthy rotation, the Detroit run attack should improve with Jones as the lead. Chicago’s defense ranks 26th against the run, and have not been the same team from last year’s championship run. They allowed Philadelphia’s potent ground game to gain 123 yards on 25 carries (4.92 yard average) last week. The Bears can’t afford to let the Lions’ resurgent ground game get going. They need to make Detroit’s offense one-dimensional and force Kitna to beat the Bears with his arm.
Receivers
Lions head coach Rod Marinielli is well versed in the Bear’s defensive scheme, seeing as both he and Lovie Smith are Tampa Bay imports. Marinielli likely will give Martz some pointers on how to attack the Cover 2 scheme, which is the same system Marinielli has implemented in Detroit. Kitna likely will throw the ball quite a bit in this contest at the Bears depleted secondary. He has a talented group of receivers to work with, which includes Roy Williams, Mike Furrey, Shaun McDonald and Calvin Johnson. The stars of this group are the team’s two former top ten first round picks, Williams and Johnson, but in reality all four are extremely productive. The Lions likely will feature plenty of three-receiver sets in this game, which means the Bears could really use cornerback Nathan Vasher, who is still not practicing and unlikely to play. Furrey has caught 21 passes for 260 yards (12.4 avg.) but is still looking for the end zone in 2007. McDonald is a former St. Louis Ram and has great speed and familiarity with Detroit’s offense, which has allowed him to catch 24 passes for 287 yards and three touchdowns. Johnson, who was the No. 2 overall draft pick in April, is coming along but hasn’t cracked the starting lineup. He’s caught 13 passes for 229 yards and three touchdowns. However, his 6-foot-5, 239-pound frame gives him a sizeable advantage over smaller defensive backs. Expect Charles Tillman (6-1) to be matched up on Johnson when he’s on the field. With Vasher out of the line up the Bear’s back-ups will struggle to contain this stable of receivers, as they lack the size, ball skills, and speed to match up with them. Kitna likely will go up top to the athletic rookie a few times in this game. Chicago’s front seven needs to limit Detroit’s ground game in order to leave safeties Adam Archuleta and Daniel Manning back in coverage. Archuleta and Chicago linebackers Hillenmeyer and Urlacher will also need to help contain Lions tight end Sean McHugh, who has hauled in seven passes for 98 yards. Despite having arguably the most talented group of wide receivers in the NFL, Detroit’s offense is converting just 29 percent of its third downs this season (31st in the league).
Offensive Line
Detroit’s offensive line features left tackle Jeff Backus, left guard Edwin Mulitalo, center Dominic Raiola, right guard Damien Woody and right tackle George Foster. Mulitalo and Foster were added in the off-season after Detroit gave up a whopping 63 sacks in 2006, but this unit still is struggling in terms of run blocking and pass protection. Detroit is rushing for just 85 yards per game and has surrendered 31 sacks in six games, which comes out to over five quarterback takedowns per game. This is good news for the Bears, whose defense is allowing opposing offenses to convert only 37 percent of their third down attempts (7th in the league) this season. Backus is the offensive line’s best player, but even this former first-round pick isn’t playing well. Although the Bears defensive line is injured and will likely be missing some back ups, their starters should be able to get some traction against this group. Backus’ recent woes should bode well for Bears defensive end Mark Anderson, who is as fast as they come off of the corner. Kitna has the arm and the receivers to make the Bears pay if they give him a comfortable pocket to throw out of.
Defensive Line
Detroit has a talented front four that is made up of defensive ends Dewayne White and Kalimba Edwards and defensive tackles Cory Redding and Shaun Rogers. The 6-foot-4, 340-pound Rogers plays the nose tackle position in Detroit’s version of the Cover 2 scheme, which is now led by former Bucs linebackers coach and new defensive coordinator Joe Barry. Needless to say, Rogers commands double teams quite often. Bears center Olin Kruetz and left guard Ruben Brown (assuming he plays) will likely team up to keep Rogers at bay in this contest. Redding became the highest-paid defensive tackle in the NFL during the off-season, but he hasn’t lived up to that contract so far this season. In fact, he’s still looking for his first sack, which is a big disappointment since Redding often times finds himself in one-on-one matchups with the opposing team’s guard. Bears right guard Robert Garza will be charged with holding off Redding on passing downs and driving him off the ball on running plays. White, has been inconsistent this season. He’s notched 4.5 sacks, but struggled at times against the run. However, White has playmaking ability, evidenced by the fact that he’s forced two fumbles and recorded an interception. He will go up against Bears veteran right tackle Fred Miller. John Tait will be matched up with Edwards, who has recorded two sacks through five games. Detroit’s defense is giving up an average of 117 yards rushing per game, but Chicago might not be able to capitalize on this unit’s suspect play against the run because of their own problems. The Bears starting running back (who shall remain nameless) has been ineffective, as has been discussed and displayed throughout the season.
Linebackers
Detroit’s linebackers possess good speed, which is a necessity in any successful Cover 2 scheme. Lions second-year weakside linebacker Ernie Sims is Detroit’s version of Lance Briggs. He has great speed and is a tackling machine. In addition to leading the team in tackles, Sims has recorded one forced fumble and an interception this season. Strongside linebacker Boss Bailey also has speed, but lacks playmaking ability. The middle linebacker spot, which is occupied by Paris Lenon, is considered suspect. As talented as this group is, the linebackers have not been consistent in terms of helping the Lions defense shut down opposing teams ground attacks. Chicago is hoping tight ends Desmond Clark and Greg Olson, can play well in this contest in order to give quarterback Brian Griese two reliable targets in the passing game. With a healthy dose of Clark and Olson, Detroit’s outside linebackers likely will have a difficult time covering the middle and deep middle.
Secondary
The Lions are surrendering 269 yards per game through the air, which makes their secondary 30th in the league in terms of yardage. Bears quarterback Brian Griese has a penchant for throwing interceptions, and the Lions defense has come up with nine of them, so the veteran signal caller will have to be careful with the ball. Detroit cornerback Fernando Bryant has recorded one of those picks. He will have the opportunity to intercept more passes as Griese likely will work the passing game early and often. Bernard Berrian is Chicago’s speed threat, and appears to have a favorable match up with Bryant, who lacks size but is considered a good tackler. The Lions would prefer to leave safeties Gerald Alexander and Kenoy Kennedy back in coverage to help account for Berrian, but they’ll have to bring one or both of those players up into the box if the Bears find a way to get the running game going. Alexander has recorded one interception this season. Detroit’s starting cornerbacks rank third and fourth on the team in total tackles. While they both are willing to play the run, both Bryant and Wilson also get tested by opposing team’s quarterbacks quite often. That’s exactly what Griese likely will do in this game. The key for the Bears in this contest will be to keep the chains moving. The Lions are allowing opposing offenses to convert 46 percent of their third downs this season. Not only will it need to score points, Chicago’s offense simply can’t afford to leave its defense on the field all day with Detroit’s potentially potent offense.
The Gustafson Go-Ahead
Although, I’ve been warned against it. I am going to continue to make score predictions here. This will be an offensive shoot out with the Bears constantly looking to catch up on their home turf. I’m going against the fan inclination and say the Lions take this one. However, if the Bears can find a way to actually run the ball, they could turn this around. Being the diligent sports reporter that I am, I decided to do some scout work last week and watched the Tampa Bay and Detroit game. Tampa dominated the time of possession game, and by the end of the contest Lions defenders were littering the field with injuries (including Shaun Rogers bum ankle). If Cedric Bumson can pretend like he actually cares about the game, the Bears could put a hurting on the Lions defense and mute the Lions wideouts.
Here’s betting against Bumson: Bears 21, Lions 31.