Week 9 vs the Lions Pre-Week Chat

[tynimiller]

Dang this was already gonna be tough…but with Love’s injury, Rochell out of elevations, Jacobs apparently has been playing with nagging injury and had to come out late, Stokes pulled in game after Jaire also on final play was one legged…

In truth I think you have to play Willis, give him this knowledge asap and game plan.

This gives Love essentially 20 days to heal berror entering a gauntlet of a second half.

 

[El Guapo]

I'll be at the game. It won't be pretty and I'm hoping for a win, but I am not sure that the Packers are at the same level as the Lions right now. They are a fine-tuned Hemi v8 and we are a currently a turbo v6 with a lot of mechanical issues. I hope that will change by the time we play them in Detroit, but they are the better team right now.

LaFleur needs to play smash-mouth football and let his defense be aggressive. Right now - our best plan of attack is to play old school ball against them.

 

[Magooch]

Honestly, this has all the makings of one of those stupid games where we appear to be wildly overmatched, walking wounded, and end up coming away with the win. I feel like there's been a lot of these games in recent memory tbh, where we've got some key injuries and are against a team who's already the favorite (even if we were healthy) and we end up playing them close and/or win. Come to think of it, it was 3 years ago today that we were 6-1 and playing the Cardinals who were 6-0. We had both Davante and Lazzard out and our pass catchers were A. Jones (7/51), Tonyan (3/49), Winfree (4/30), Deguara (2/20), Cobb (3/15), St Brown (2/12) and Amari Rodgers (1/7). We won off an INT from Rasul...who had just been picked up from the Cardinals practice squad ~3 weeks prior due to injuries to Ja and K. King. Made it happen!

In any case though it's a really tough situation, esp. with Love's health and the bye coming up. If my count's correct, a win would put us atop the NFC (or at worst tied for it, maybe?). Do you risk a less-than-100% Love to try and get that head-to-head over the Lions, or do you play it safe and sit him and let him get the 2+ weeks rest? At 6-2, we're fairly well-positioned in any case, so I think perhaps you'd err on the side of caution, but I don't know...a win without exacerbating injury would be huge mentally/momentum-wise.

 

[milani]

Dang this was already gonna be tough…but with Love’s injury, Rochell out of elevations, Jacobs apparently has been playing with nagging injury and had to come out late, Stokes pulled in game after Jaire also on final play was one legged…

In truth I think you have to play Willis, give him this knowledge asap and game plan.

This gives Love essentially 20 days to heal berror entering a gauntlet of a second half.

At least we found out that rookie Evan Williams came out OK and should be likely to play Sunday. Stokes will be on the field by default. He knows his days in GB could be numbered.

 

[Wi. Mike now in Florida]

This one might be painful to watch and their playing awesome football.

Then again the Packers are made up with so many young crazy-@ss players with
the attitude that nothing is impossible, we just might pull out a win.

I am concern about Joran Love health toughness long term compared to Farve and Rodgers.
I know football is a rough sport but Love's body seems to have so many different aliments
pop'in up from time to time.

 

[milani]

This one might be painful to watch and their playing awesome football.

Then again the Packers are made up with so many young crazy-@ss players with
the attitude that nothing is impossible, we just might pull out a win.

I am concern about Joran Love health toughness long term compared to Farve and Rodgers.
I know football is a rough sport but Love's body seems to have so many different aliments
pop'in up from time to time.

I wonder if the groin injury was precipitated by the Week One injury. After Robert Brooks had his ACL repair in 1996 he said when he came back in 1997-98 that the injury altered his gait and as a result he would hurt throughout his backside to where he struggled just to practice. And Robert was a fitness guy.

 

[GBkrzygrl]

This will be a very tough test. We have some key injuries. Yes, the Lions lost Hutchinson but it's hard to know if that is a weakness or not. To my recollection they have only played the Texans since Hutchinson was injured. I did not see that game so I don't know how that affected them if any.

The defense has little to no room for error. Alexander is hurt again. He is an excellent player but lately it seems like he is always hurt. I can't remember who else on defense came up on injury

Personally I think we have a better chance of winning if Willis plays. OL has to be in tip top shape. Just my initial thoughts.

 

[PackerDNA]

This is a huge game for the obvious reasons, but it will be huge to see just where this team is. Yeah they're six and two, but the season has been marred by inconsistency and sloppy play. If they play that way Sunday, the Lions will blow them off the field.

 

[Sanguine camper]

Another point to keep in mind is the first quarter. The Packers can't afford to come out sloppy and get behind by 14 and become one dimensional. The offense is mostly to blame as they seem to need a few drives to get into gear. The Lions defense has enough weaknesses to exploit. If the Packers can avoid the sloppiness, they can win the game.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

Trap Game!

I honestly wish this game was in Detroit and the next one was in Green Bay. The Packers, especially with Love, are somewhat banged up and I don't think they win this one. Would be great if they did, but the Lions are a very good team.

I don't see Love playing on Sunday. The Packers have a bye week after Sunday and they should use the 3 weeks (Time between Jags game and 11/17) to rest him, Jaire, maybe even Jacobs, as well as other starters with nagging injuries.

I'm not proposing throwing the game by any means, but I would much rather see the Packers head to Chicago on the 17th, with some of our current walking wounded, ready for the 2nd half of the season.

 

[MichiganSportsTalk]

This will be a very tough test. We have some key injuries. Yes, the Lions lost Hutchinson but it's hard to know if that is a weakness or not. To my recollection they have only played the Texans since Hutchinson was injured. I did not see that game so I don't know how that affected them if any.

Hutch got hurt against the Cowboys. The Lions then played the Vikings and Titans.

 

[El Guapo]

As amazing as Hutchinson is, his loss hasn't changed the defense too much. The Lions' run defense is suspect against good backs but they still get after the quarterbacks:

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[gopkrs]

We need intensity this game and get pressure. So some blitzing and creative pass rushing. Stunts. Need to stay in this one from the get go.

 

[El Guapo]

I wonder if the groin injury was precipitated by the Week One injury. After Robert Brooks had his ACL repair in 1996 he said when he came back in 1997-98 that the injury altered his gait and as a result he would hurt throughout his backside to where he struggled just to practice. And Robert was a fitness guy.

That absolutely could be the case. Injury compensation often leads to new injuries. One year while playing sports, I strained my calf. I took one week off and then played through it. A few weeks later I tweaked my glute, powered through that, and then pulled my hamstring.

These guys (especially QBs) are under enormous pressure to play when hurt, which can lead to worse. However, it is not always the case. I would say more often players are able to power through injuries, but sometimes the body just takes a left turn at Albuquerque when it was supposed to go straight on to San Luis Obispo!

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I wonder if the groin injury was precipitated by the Week One injury. After Robert Brooks had his ACL repair in 1996 he said when he came back in 1997-98 that the injury altered his gait and as a result he would hurt throughout his backside to where he struggled just to practice. And Robert was a fitness guy.

I think you might be correct. Ever since coming back from the knee injury, Love has worn a brace and you can tell that either he was feeling some pain, favoring the knee or the brace made his stride change.

I'm not a doctor, but I play one on Google. Changing the way your body normally moves, can't impact other muscles, tendons, etc., that were used to the mechanics before the injury/brace.

So whether his groin injury resulted from the brace/knee injury, I don't know for sure, but it definitely could have.

 

[Wi. Mike now in Florida]

In preparing for a game like this, do our coaches watch film on the opponent 24/7?
It seems to me that would be the case in preparing for a game like this, especially as this game is so important and a team that's in our division.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

In preparing for a game like this, do our coaches watch film on the opponent 24/7?
It seems to me that would be the case in preparing for a game like this, especially as this game is so important and a team that's in our division.

Umm....yes, but not 24/7, they need time to sleep, eat and practice.

I also don't think they just start watching film of an upcoming rival on the Monday after the game. My guess is that they have a good team of advanced scouts digging into the film of many teams. Not just to scout them for a future game, but also maybe to scout their talent for trade options.

Monday might be the day that the main coaches start working on the upcoming game plan on both offense and defense. Using all that their team knows and uncovers in film.

The NFL is a billion dollar business, if they aren't spending money on scouting college and pro teams/prospects, then they are really foolish.

 

[OldSchool101]

I also feel like our best recipe is playing “keep away” from the Detroit Offense. Detroit has averaged 43.0 points PER game going back to their last 4 opponents. They are now the #1 Offense by a wide margin at 33 points per contest.
The best recipe to slow that down is to Run the ball effectively, with a 35 minute goal on the gameclock. Willis gives us the best chance to do that. He’s averaging 75% completion rate and taking only what Defenses allow in the Passing game. Thus mitigating Turnovers in the process. Running 130%+ Passer rating. He’s making good choices and we CANNOT survive turning the ball over. THAT is what Detroit capitalizes on.
This is NOT a game we want to try to go toe to toe through an Aerial attack. Detroit is too hot and they would welcome that approach. With Malik, we are arguably the #1 Rushing team in the NFL. Run it down their throats until they overcommit. Then burn them in the air using our TE, RB short passing game once they abandon the middle. I’d like to see about 25 passes and 40 Rushes.

Detroit D is #23 in allowed yds/carry
“ “ “ is #28 in Rush yards allowed per contest

Go after that link until it melts. Lets make them #27 in yards per carry and #32 in yards allowed when this is over. I want our best Run mix at QB, RB, OL, TE and WR.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

I also feel like our best recipe is playing “keep away” from the Detroit Offense. Detroit has averaged 43.0 points PER game going back to their last 4 opponents. They are now the #1 Offense by a wide margin at 33 points per contest.
The best recipe to slow that down is to Run the ball effectively. Willis gives us the best chance to do that. He’s averaging 75% completion rate and taking only what Defenses allow in the Passing game. Running 130%+ Passer rating. He’s making good choices and we CANNOT survive turning the ball over. THAT is what Detroit capitalizes on.

Easier said than done. Now maybe things have changed since Hutchinson's injury, but overall, the Lions TOTAL defense ranks around 20th in the league, depending on what site you are looking at.

When you break that down, their PASS defense ranks 27th and their RUN defense ranks 5th.

Now granted, given the Lions offense is scoring a ton of points, teams probably aren't running on them a whole lot, especially in the 2nd half.

 

[weeds]

Hutch got hurt against the Cowboys. The Lions then played the Vikings and Titans.

Hey... welcome back.

 

[OldSchool101]

PS.
If we beat Detroit, we will be the #1 Team in the NFC.

 

[OldSchool101]

Easier said than done. Now maybe things have changed since Hutchinson's injury, but overall, the Lions TOTAL defense ranks around 20th in the league, depending on what site you are looking at.

When you break that down, their PASS defense ranks 27th and their RUN defense ranks 5th.

Now granted, given the Lions offense is scoring a ton of points, teams probably aren't running on them a whole lot, especially in the 2nd half.

They are 23rd in YPC against the Run

We are a highly dynamic rushing attack when Malik is under C. At minimum top3, possibly Top1

Exactly. The reason for the low rushing yards per game is 4 straight games of high scoring. Last week TN had 4 Turnovers. 2 Fumbles and 2 INT. We can’t afford to feed them extra help and right now Jordan is not in good condition imo.

This is ideal to give Love 3 weeks of rest. It might cost us 1 contest but big whoop. So we’re 6-3 and healthy. With an outside opportunity to steal a Win at home against the best team in the NFL

 

[Heyjoe4]

I wonder if the groin injury was precipitated by the Week One injury. After Robert Brooks had his ACL repair in 1996 he said when he came back in 1997-98 that the injury altered his gait and as a result he would hurt throughout his backside to where he struggled just to practice. And Robert was a fitness guy.

Good point. Any injury that affects gait usually puts stress on the groin. Love might not be healed from the MCL sprain, or he may be favoring it and that would explain a groin strain.

So does he play or is it better to rest him now followed with more time off from the bye? I don't know. If he feels like he can play then play him. This game is too important.

 

[Pokerbrat2000]

This is ideal to give Love 3 weeks of rest. It might cost us 1 contest but big whoop. So we’re 6-3 and healthy. With an outside opportunity to steal a Win at home against the best team in the NFL

Yup.

My thoughts 100% right now.

The bye week couldn't have come at a better time, unless it had been THIS Sunday. But yeah, use the bye week for what it is meant for, as well as link it to giving the guys that took this week off, an extra 1-2 weeks of rest.

 

[OldSchool101]

Good point. Any injury that affects gait usually puts stress on the groin. Love might not be healed from the MCL sprain, or he may be favoring it and that would explain a groin strain.

So does he play or is it better to rest him now followed with more time off from the bye? I don't know. If he feels like he can play then play him. This game is too important.

Normally I would agree with you. Yet Jordan Love got bumped and could barely stand up on his own 4 days ago. I seem to remember him collapsed before he could get off the field of play. If he gets injured further in this game? I’d expect to see him miss significant time and it wouldn’t surprise me if he went in IR if he keeps stacking injuries.