By: Tim Barnum & Dalton Potocki
Tim: Lions can lose Sunday night and still make the playoffs, I believe, as long as Tampa Bay and Washington lose. (There’s probably a tie scenario in there, too, but I don’t have the motivation to be that thorough - only the best for our readers.) Give me the most ridiculous things you would do to make sure the Lions didn’t know the results of those games going into Sunday night if you were the coach, so you could make sure they went out there completely focused on getting the W.
Dalton: Before the game, I would make them do community service in an Amish community. Only way to get away from technology. The Amish kind of have it figured out, in terms of avoiding scores of NFL games.
Tim: Who needs to step up on the Lions? Which player that has either A) been really good at times, yet inconsistent, or B) hasn’t gotten the proper usage or real opportunity to shine, needs to rise up to make sure we win the division?
Dalton: Stafford needs to step up. I know he has been the best player we have had this week but that is the only way that this team can win. He has been shaky ever since the finger injury. He has to be sharp with his passes. Can’t turn it over either. Our secondary is gonna be awful if Slay doesn’t play but we already knew that. So, if Stafford can play his best game of the season when it matters most, Double Coverage will get written at least once more.
Tim: Are the Packers really as good as they’ve been playing? If so, how do we stop them?
Dalton: Their offense is playing that well. Their defense, not so much. They have given up a lot of points to bad offenses the past few weeks and that should bode well for Detroit. Stopping Rodgers is gonna be tough but, when has it even been easy? Detroit has shown they can stop Rodgers in the past. Is he gonna put up points? Obviously. How many? That’s what Detroit needs to limit. If the Lions can hold Green Bay to 24 or less, I truly think that they can win.
Dalton: If, heaven forbid, the Lions lose, will Caldwell be the coach next year? 2 winning seasons and a .500 season but the way those have happened are what’s hurting his case.
Tim: I don’t think Jim needs the win to keep his job, because like I mentioned in my question to you, they might still make the playoffs even if they do lose. Out of all their wins so far, though, only the Washington one ended up being a win over a team that still mattered at this time of the year. So I think this game should matter that much. Now that the season is nearly over, it’s kind of clear the Lions had a pretty easy schedule. The wins over Minnesota ended up being wins over a sub-.500 team. Same with the Eagles win. It was impressive at the time, but not anymore. I thought the Saints win showed the Lions were ready, but the Saints are one-trick ponies. Laying eggs the last two weeks after a stretch of games that they should’ve won, and did, should put a lot of pressure on Caldwell to win this game to secure his job going forward.
Tim: Well, since there are so many variables as to which seed they could be if they got in, I’m going to say Dallas and Atlanta are the 1- and 2-seeds, and Seattle is 3, since they play San Francisco, a laughable opponent. That would make the Lions the 4-seed, meaning they would host the Giants. At home, indoors, I have confidence the LIons would not only perform better than they did in NY, but Eli would be shaken by those rowdy Detroit fans and throw three picks. So yes. They are a threat to win a game if they can get the 4-seed. If they sneak in as a wildcard, they would play in Seattle (using my playoff seeds above). They’d get smashed.
Dalton: How confident are you in the Lions in this game? Be honest.
Tim: I mean… they’ve lost one home game this year. That gives me some confidence, but I wish I had more. Why couldn’t Green Bay have just sucked completely like they did for that stretch earlier this season? After going back and looking at who they’ve beaten, I just can’t feel anything but dread going into Sunday night.
Predictions:
Dalton: A gut check game for sure. The crowd at Ford Field should be electric and this Detroit team is much better at home. That's the difference in this one. Prater game-winner from 48. 24-21 Detroit.
Tim: I’m going to tell myself I’m just being pessimistic and overly nervous. They Lions are better than they’ve looked the past couple of games. The defense shows up and puts Rodgers on his back several times, forcing him to throw under duress and get happy feet, leading to a late pick. 30-27 Lions.
Dalton: Before the game, I would make them do community service in an Amish community. Only way to get away from technology. The Amish kind of have it figured out, in terms of avoiding scores of NFL games.
Tim: Who needs to step up on the Lions? Which player that has either A) been really good at times, yet inconsistent, or B) hasn’t gotten the proper usage or real opportunity to shine, needs to rise up to make sure we win the division?
Dalton: Stafford needs to step up. I know he has been the best player we have had this week but that is the only way that this team can win. He has been shaky ever since the finger injury. He has to be sharp with his passes. Can’t turn it over either. Our secondary is gonna be awful if Slay doesn’t play but we already knew that. So, if Stafford can play his best game of the season when it matters most, Double Coverage will get written at least once more.
Tim: Are the Packers really as good as they’ve been playing? If so, how do we stop them?
Dalton: Their offense is playing that well. Their defense, not so much. They have given up a lot of points to bad offenses the past few weeks and that should bode well for Detroit. Stopping Rodgers is gonna be tough but, when has it even been easy? Detroit has shown they can stop Rodgers in the past. Is he gonna put up points? Obviously. How many? That’s what Detroit needs to limit. If the Lions can hold Green Bay to 24 or less, I truly think that they can win.
Dalton: If, heaven forbid, the Lions lose, will Caldwell be the coach next year? 2 winning seasons and a .500 season but the way those have happened are what’s hurting his case.
Tim: I don’t think Jim needs the win to keep his job, because like I mentioned in my question to you, they might still make the playoffs even if they do lose. Out of all their wins so far, though, only the Washington one ended up being a win over a team that still mattered at this time of the year. So I think this game should matter that much. Now that the season is nearly over, it’s kind of clear the Lions had a pretty easy schedule. The wins over Minnesota ended up being wins over a sub-.500 team. Same with the Eagles win. It was impressive at the time, but not anymore. I thought the Saints win showed the Lions were ready, but the Saints are one-trick ponies. Laying eggs the last two weeks after a stretch of games that they should’ve won, and did, should put a lot of pressure on Caldwell to win this game to secure his job going forward.
Tim: Well, since there are so many variables as to which seed they could be if they got in, I’m going to say Dallas and Atlanta are the 1- and 2-seeds, and Seattle is 3, since they play San Francisco, a laughable opponent. That would make the Lions the 4-seed, meaning they would host the Giants. At home, indoors, I have confidence the LIons would not only perform better than they did in NY, but Eli would be shaken by those rowdy Detroit fans and throw three picks. So yes. They are a threat to win a game if they can get the 4-seed. If they sneak in as a wildcard, they would play in Seattle (using my playoff seeds above). They’d get smashed.
Dalton: How confident are you in the Lions in this game? Be honest.
Tim: I mean… they’ve lost one home game this year. That gives me some confidence, but I wish I had more. Why couldn’t Green Bay have just sucked completely like they did for that stretch earlier this season? After going back and looking at who they’ve beaten, I just can’t feel anything but dread going into Sunday night.
Predictions:
Dalton: A gut check game for sure. The crowd at Ford Field should be electric and this Detroit team is much better at home. That's the difference in this one. Prater game-winner from 48. 24-21 Detroit.
Tim: I’m going to tell myself I’m just being pessimistic and overly nervous. They Lions are better than they’ve looked the past couple of games. The defense shows up and puts Rodgers on his back several times, forcing him to throw under duress and get happy feet, leading to a late pick. 30-27 Lions.
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