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Can the Lions Jolt the Bolts?

Its a tale of two cities, the re-charged San Diego and the Motor City Kitties. San Diego is back on track, which coincides with Ladainian Tomlinson’s re-emergence into the league rushing race, a mere 22 yards behind Pittsburgh’s Willie Parker. And with last week’s come from behind road win against the Titans, the Bolts are poised are win the AFC West division after Denver’s lost to the Texans Thursday night. San Diego, say hello to the Detroit Lions, and they aim to please.

I should make this some kind of disclaimer, because I do love the Lions, which is why I can hate them as I do on occasion. If you aren’t a Lion fan, you may or may not understand the roller coaster of optimism and emotion this team can put the faithful through during both the season and off-season. And I would not not surprised whatsoever to see the Lions turn in a sterling performance and even win the game. They played well enough versus the Cowboys last week to win, and at the same time, just poor enough to throw the game away and lose their fifth straight game. Detroit is all but finished in the playoff hunt, outside of a miracle, with this road game in San Diego, a home game with the Kansas City Chiefs, and finishing the season on the frozen tundra of Green Bay.

The Chargers are banged up and may be vulnerable. Quarterback Philip Rivers left last week’s game against Tennessee, but returned to lead the team into over time. His status for this week is not in question, but he may be fragile. Detroit is vulnerable period, and as long as L.T. is firing on all cylinders, that may be enough for the Chargers to win, and Tomlinson to regain his place atop the league’s rushing leaders.

Detroit: Offense

The Lions have flashed some serious run game the last two weeks, but note the key word, “flashed”. It simply isn’t enough and with leading receiver Roy Williams out for the foreseeable future, running the ball will not only help the Lion offense, but the defense as well, keeping Tomlinson planted on the Charger sideline. Last week’s output signified season highs for the club in terms of attempts (32), yards (152), and rushing touchdowns (3), and without allowing a sack, was the offensive line’s best game of the year. Titan dough-boy LenDale White gouged the Chargers for 113 yards on 30 carries and a touchdown, so the opportunity is there to establish the run. Monster linebacker Shawne Merriman is hobbled after being chop-blocked and may be off a step, which should spell good news for the lion passing game. Rookie prize receiver Calvin Johnson will most likely draw San Diego’s Antonio Cromartie, who is blossoming into a star with nine interceptions. The Chargers have overtaken the Lions as the league leaders in takeaways with 35, so turnovers will play a big factor in this game. Former center and guard Damien Woody played well at right tackle in his first start there since high school and quarterback Jon Kitna did not feel the pressure that Dallas can generate and for any chance for success, the offensive line will have to continue this trend.

Lions: Defense

It’s safe to assume that Philip Rivers will be at the trigger for the Charger offense this Sunday. As scary as it will be facing Tomlinson and the San Diego running game, with the game Cowboy tight end Jason Witten had against the Lions last week (15 receptions, 138 yards, game-winning touchdown), Charger tight end Antonio Gates (who tweaked his back last week) must be anxious to get back on the field against the Lions and build on his 67 receptions and nine touchdowns. Tomlinson has erupted the last two weeks for 323 yards and four touchdowns and will be the focal point of the Lion front seven. It will be interesting to see how effective the run game will be after losing their bull-dozing blocking fullback Lorenzo Neal, who was lost for the season with a fractured fibula. Tomlinson can become the league’s first back-to-back rushing champion since Edgerrin James in 1999-2000 for the Indianapolis Colts. After holding down Cowboys Terrell Owens (3 catches, 21 yards) and the Marion Barber/Julius Jones tandem (72 yards rushing), Detroit will have to rise to the occasion again to have a chance. With the weak Lion secondary, watch for wide receivers Chris Chambers and Vincent Jackson to try and take advantage of them. The Lions are second in the league in forcing turnovers (33) but still give up ample offensive yardage with 371 yards per game and are last in touchdowns allowed with 43.

Prediction

The Lions have little hope for the playoffs, there are too many things that would have to happen. They seem to thrive in the role of spoiler as learning how to win involves dealing with the pressures and expectations being successful involves. This game could go wither way and much depends on what kind of health the Charger skill players are in. Detroit may have played well at times against a formidable Dallas team last week, but on the road, that won’t be enough. The Lions will score some points, but the Chargers are on a mission and should win at home, 31-21.

For more on the Lion opponent, be sure to check out Chargers Confidential here at MVN.

Lion Fan Disclaimer

I reserve the right to not be surprised if the Lions pull off the upset in San Diego this week. The season is all but lost for them and they seem to play best then, as seen by last year’s season ending win against the Cowboys in Dallas, 39-31. I am a life-long Lion fan and it is one of the things the team does to frustrate its followers and spend the off-season saying “what if” and “if they would only”. We Lion fans have so little so please allow us this.

This entry was posted on Friday, December 14th, 2007 at 1:51 pm and is filed under San Diego Chargers, LaDanian Tomlinson, Antonio Gates, Calvin Johnson, Detroit Lions, NFL, Football, Blogroll. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.