To get you ready for week 2, FanHouse is previewing all 16 NFL games. Here is the Detroit Lions/Minnesota Vikings preview.2007 Records:
Detroit Lions: 1-0 (t-1st in NFC North)
Minnesota Vikings: 1-0 (t-1st in NFC North)
Last Meeting: Vikings 30, Lions 20
When the Lions have the ball: The Vikings have a very good run defense. But the Lions' strength is passing, and I'm not sure the Vikings have enough strength in the secondary to cover Roy Williams, Mike Furrey, AND Calvin Johnson. The Lions did a pretty good job hanging some points up on the Raiders, a top five defense last year. I don't expect Tatum Bell to be as good as he was against Oakland, but the Lions still shouldn't have much of a problem scoring points.
When the Vikings have the ball: If the Lions stop Adrian Peterson, the Vikings are done. There's nary a crumb of offense to be found elsewhere. But the Lions defense is pretty soft, and the Vikings have a fantastic offensive line, so I doubt Peterson is corralled. The Lions will just have to hope they can slow him down enough to get their offense on the field.
The Edge: On paper, the Vikings have a pretty sizable advantage everywhere it counts except quarterback -- on all levels of the defense, the offensive line, and running back. So why's Minnesota so gosh-darned mediocre? They barely pulled out a win against the hapless Falcons; if not for the Vikes' defense, Joey Harrington might have gotten to experience the sweet taste of NFL victory for the first time. The Lions' offense looks for real, and I think that's the difference.
Keep an eye on:
Tatum Bell - With Kevin Jones likely back before Week 6, Bell has only so much time to convince the Lions that he should remain the starter. He's got a tough test against a physical Vikings defense, but inspiration does strange things to a man...
Calvin Johnson and Adrian Peterson - Both rookies did pretty well in making (extremely) early cases for the Rookie of the Year award. With Chester Taylor gimpy, Peterson will get plenty of chances to make plays. And the Lions proved last week that even as a third receiver, Johnson would get his looks. Big plays should be in abundance.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-14-2007 @ 11:20PM
Purple People said...
Your secondary is only as good as your front four. The Williams brothers are a force, Edwards seems to be coming on, and the rookie Robinson has got skills. Now add the linebackers to the mix that are also getting to the QB though the blitz and all the sudden things start looking a little brighter for the Minnesota "D". Kitna said himself he doesn't mind thowing the ball up if he feels he needs to make things happen. If Minnesota gets pressure on Kitna it could get ugly for the Lions real quick.I agree the Vikings running game has got a leg up on the passing game. But T-Jack and his receivers are young and their learning to play together. They will continue to get better as the year goes on. I would expect the passing game to look better then in did last week and if the running game is clicking Minnesotas "O" just might put up some pretty fair numbers against the Lions "D".
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9-15-2007 @ 4:47PM
Rock said...
The vikings will get better game after game. They are a very young team.
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9-15-2007 @ 9:43PM
geers9 said...
I think the X-Factor will be kenoy Kennedy, SS for Lions. He is very good agaist the run and the oline wont be able to block him be casue people are forgetting, the one strong spot for the lions D is the front 4. Now it is not near as good as vikes front 4 but Rogers and redding are great up middle and Dwhite and edwards last week both had phenomanal games at the ends. So if Kenoy is running free expect him to have a big game against peterson.
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9-16-2007 @ 8:54AM
juan casa said...
Tom, Tom, Tom, Tom, Tom.
What game were you watching last week? Barely pulled out a win against the hapless Falcons?
Oh, wait, you were right. I apologize. 24-3 is barely a win.
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9-16-2007 @ 10:12AM
Tom Mantzouranis said...
Juan, I was referring to the Vikings' offense, which put up 10 points on a mediocre Falcons' defense. The defense was incredible, but they're not going to be playing Joey Harrington each week. Without that, it's a 10-3 game.
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