Why I think the Lions can win on Saturday ...
 

Well, Who-Dat Nation, you've been gracious hosts and I must admit, it feels like Mardi Gras in here to me . . . the beautiful avatars, the likes which I guess I can sort of consider as beads, the euphoria of being in the playoffs . . . I suppose we had to get down to the business at hand sooner or later . . . so, indulge me a moment and let's talk some football, Lions football.

• Want to hear something crazy? I wanted the Saints. Playing in New Jersey in January against a Manning didn't appeal to me that much, and frankly, worried me. Like Brees isn't a big game QB, right? What am I thinking? Basically, we're a team that doesn't handle adversity well ... we've seen you before and the game is in a dome, just two less things for us to stress over.

• The last time we played, the Lions were coming off a disastrous Thanksgiving Day game against the Pack. Our defensive backfield had been wiped out by injuries, and for what it's worth, we were missing Suh. Our running game, though pretty much non-existent anyway, was further hampered by injuries. Fairley re-injuring his foot in the first quarter didn't help any and then there were the penalties. You still only beat us by 14. Everyone is back and supposedly healthy enough to play and we've kind of addressed the penalty issue, kind of ... at least cut down on the big yardage, personal foul types. It should be a different game this time around ... should be.

• We have to jump out early, no if's or but's about it ... we're not going to be able to play 'catch-up' football with the Saints ... if the San Diego game taught us nothing else, it only validated that good things happen for us when you go 'Calvin' early and often.

• Keep Stafford clean and control the ball/tempo ... easier said then done for a team with a questionable run game, but we've done it sporadically, so it can be done. The Bucs & the Rams did it, why not us? Third down conversions are a concern, Smith doesn't get 'em and Stafford's been just running the ball himself lately. The best way for us to defend Brees is to just keep him off the field. I'd rather see Bell in there then Smith, seriously. Is a 100yd rushing game from our backfield too much to ask?

• "The Push", we're not a blitzing team, so why start now? Our front four has to do a better job of pressuring the QB. We gotta' stop Brees & Co more then a few times. Contain the run & make Drew throw the ball (huh?). Believe it or not, I saw a stat that showed you guys have limited success the more Brees' throws (40+ attempts) and the less you run. I know, who'da' thunk?

• Composure, composure, composure ... limit the damn penalties ... I know the Motor City has a rep to protect, but dammit, the 'bad boy' mentality is for the neighborhoods, not the professional football field. If we clean it up like we did against San Diego, you guys can stand by for a long day ... just sayin'.

• Ignore the distractions, ignore the hype ... the Saints have been beaten at home before ... it's a longshot, but it's still a shot .... "Da da dum da dum da da ... Look, if you had one shot, one opportunity, to seize everything you ever wanted, would you capture it or just let it slip?"... I'm not a big Eminem fan, but he does tend to capture the essence of the city ...

• Create turnovers, cover Graham, especially in the redzone ... pretty monumental task, but Houston/Delmas should be ready to go and Smith, when he's on, makes a pick or two ... let's hope he's on ...

• Be better in the redzone, and I think we are ... we score 64% of the time from the redzone and only the Eagles allow more scores from that point then the Saints - advantage: Lions. Our defense contains opposing offenses in the redzone more then half the time and is a real improvement in our game this season. Having to settle for field goals instead of TDs could be the deciding factor in this one. Now, all's we have to do is get to the redzone and keep Brees out of it ...

I think that's it, just making conversation and I have a lot to do today, so I wanted to get it all out there ... in a nutshell, "Any given Sunday" was just a bad movie to me (Al Pacino, worst onscreen coach ever!) and the Lions will need a near perfect performance like they had against San Diego to pull this one off, but hey, it could happen ... we play better with our backs against the wall and this team is just so damn streaky, when they're hot they're world beaters and we got the guns for a shootout ... but in the end, you guys are probably more qualified to challenge the Pack for the NFC crown ............................... for now.

Oh, one more thing, a win against New Orleans would validate our existence, you know what I'm saying .... you feel our pain and we in Detroit look south to the Big Easy as an inspiration and example of what we can achieve .... football excellence.

I'll be in the LiveChat for the game, caio'.

Several good points Slo Mo!!

I notice you, (and I hope the Lions coaching staff do as well), didn't mention the Saints screen game. The Saints run the screen with Pierre Thomas better than any team in football. And as I am sure you are aware, the best play against a blitz is the screen.

The Saints also have 3 RBs that can run the ball well.Now that Brees has the passing record, I believe the Saints will run the ball more, especially if/when they get a lead.

I do believe the Lions D-line can & will be disuptive, but in the end, the Saints will win a close game.

41-38 Saints

This is a very good question for you to ask and explore. Well, first, the Bucs actually didn't do anything to beat us -- our 6 ft 6" tight end Jimmy Graham ran into his own head coach on the sidelines at full speed, and blew out Sean Payton's entire knee, in a one-in-a-zillion freakazoid accident. That sent the whole Saints sideline into pandemonium for the first half, and the vaunted Saints offense was basically a headless chicken running around the field, for most of the 2nd quarter in Tampa... not too much chance of that happening again.

How did the Rams do it? Part of how they did it was, they had an insanely pumped up home crowd, because of the World Series win the night before, and a big beefy Pro Bowl caliber running back who was playing out of his mind that day...neither of which you have right now.

There was something else the Rams did to us. And that was drive-killing sacks. Not just any old sacks -- weird as it sounds, crazy, I know, but Drew Brees does get sacked and pressured from time to time -- but these were drive-killing sacks. You're watching the game, and if you see your Lions sack Brees or pressure him on 1st or 2nd down, don't get too excited just yet...third down coming up and the Saints are lethal on third downs.

And just remember as you watch the Saints line up on 3rd down, 3rd and 16 or 3rd and 10 is almost no different for the Saints than a 3rd and 3 -- it's not really any more difficult, nobody gets nervous, the Saints make those ridonkulous 3rd and long plays all the time. Routinely. Like it's no big deal.

And on 3rd down, ANY Saints weapon is on the table, all of them, including the above-mentioned screen or dump-off to Sproles or Thomas, the one that looks harmless, like it's nothing at all -- you'll be jumping out of your chair, thinking "tackle for a loss," until that RIDICULOUS WALL OF PRO BOWL BLOCKERS magically materializes from out of nowhere in front of Sproles or Thomas, and goes charging down the field leading the way for him, busting out 20+ yards.

So it's not just generic sacks or "we need to get pressure on Brees" -- that alone won't do it. We hear that a lot, and it never works out well for the opposing team. A sack on 1st or 2nd down only means, you've gotten Brees mad at you, making him more dangerous and even harder to defeat, and 3rd and long just means that Payton simply flips the big laminated play calling chart over, and calls out another different insane high octane play to run. The Lions would need sacks and pressure at the right time in the right place, to slow down the Saints, which is not easy.

You lost to the Rams because of the crowd?

o.k. As the Saints train starts out Saturday night Payton the engineer boards the train and pulls out, the train might spin its wheel at first starting out, then Payton lets the engine warm for a while steadily getting a feel for the tracks once he get a good feel the train starts to pull away, once this happens he slams the hammer down until the train is screaming down the tracks where nothing can get in the way to his destination of Indy. Detroit will not stop this train nor will they slow it down, Payton and his crew are on a mission.

Our Lady of Blessed Acceleration, don't fail me now.

Nope, we lost because Drew and the rest of the team laid an egg.

Its why the say "On any given Sunday"

I'd be surprised if the Lions upset the Saints, but I certainly wouldn't be shocked.

But in order for that to happen, Drew will have to play badly, and I just don't think he has any bad games left in him this year.

. . . yeah, like all good 'homers' on the opposing teams site, I forget/omit pertinant details, hehe . . . but I have given props to the Saints short game on the Lions message board, it's just hard to search through the posts there. I'm hoping our D/Line can do some damage and I'll be watching the matchup with your All Pro O/L . . . that'll be the best part of the game for me, I love the O/L.

I'm really just hoping for a respectable showing and getting some postseason experience for the future, a win for the Lions is a serious longshot, but it's not impossible, just improbable. I just don't want to get blown out and/or embarrassed, which is not impossible either . . . ya'll know who "Aretha" is? . . . all's we want is some R-E-S-P-E-C-T for now, our championships are coming . . . bet.

go Lions.

So whattya' telling me? You think you guys got a chance? . . . and I did not realize Graham ran your coach down in the Bucs game . . . ouch! . . . third down conversions have been a bit of an issue for us, stopping them and getting them, but we've improved on the offensive side of third down lately . . . defense, not so much . . . I don't see us sacking Brees all that much . . . hurrying him, collapsing the pocket maybe . . . the game is gonna' be won right there, your All Pro O/L vs our YoungGuns D/L . . . the rest is just details.

go Lions.

Another topic that nobody is talking about is special teams! But guess what, we win that match-up to...