Saturday Night Spotlight - Preseason Edition #3

Good Afternoon ladies and gentlemen, and welcome back to another installment of The Saturday Night Spotlight (Pre-season edition).  I am your host, KDawg.  This is week 3 of the preseason, and as we all know the third week of the preseason is a special week.  The third game of the preseason in generally the dress rehearsal for the starters.  It is the game where we fans get to see what the final product really looks like.  It is as close as it gets to actual regular season football, while still being preseason.  As such, this week’s edition of the SNS will also be very close to what you will see during the regular season.  This week the Lions face the Cleveland Browns, who are the third team we have faced, in a row, with a 3-4 defense.  That said, let’s get to my key player picks for a Lion victory this week, after the jump.

On offense for the Lions, I believe that this week it is going to be very important for the offensive line to stop Robaire Smith and Shaun Rogers from running wild in our backfield.  The previous two 3-4 defenses that we have faced this preseason, the Steelers and the Broncos, both had superior linebackers and defensive backs compared to Cleveland.  However, I believe that Cleveland has the better interior defensive line.  Shaun Rogers and Robaire Smith are both very good defensive tackles, who create pressure in the middle of the offensive line and make it very difficult to run the ball against their team.  Additionally, much like our new defensive line, the pressure they create in the middle of the pocket forces lateral movement of the opposing QB, quicker reads and decisions by the opposing QB, and better potential for sack on the QB by the defensive ends.

As such, my key player for victory on the Lions offense this week is going to be Dominic Raiola.  Why Raiola, and not Peterman (if he plays) or Sims?  I think Dom will be the key to success on the Lions offensive line this week, as he is the man that calls the shots up front and he will have to be on his game to stop Rogers and Smith from wreaking havoc in our backfield.  Shaun Rogers, if he comes to play, will be the real threat, as he is the man on the Cleveland D-line that almost always demands a double team.  If Dom can call the proper shading techniques, get off the ball and get a good block on Rogers (helping his guard get control of the big man), and release to a linebacker regularly on running downs, then the Lions should be able to continue to establish their running game.

 In turn, if the Lions can contain Rogers and Smith, the running game will force Cleveland to either put 8 in the box to stop the run or run a lot of run blitzes, which will allow the passing lanes to open up for Matt Stafford, particularly over the middle to the TE and/or WR3.  Good blocking up front on passing downs will also allow Stafford more time to go through his progressions and make the right reads to find the open receiver.  Raiola will also be key in the middle on passing downs, as he will need to be able to pick up the blitz in the middle of the line as well as giving his guards needed help to contain Rogers and Smith.  Matthew Stafford has only been sacked one time this preseason, and if Dom and the boys can continue that success against the Browns, Raiola being the key in the middle, then the Lions will have that much better of a chance to win the game.

Defensively, the Lions are forced to contend with Jerome Harrison.  I believe that Harrision is the key to success on offense for the Browns.  If the Lions can stop the run, forcing Jake Delhomme to pass the ball, then we will be very successful on defense.  That said, I do not see the Browns running on us with our revamped defensive line.  Our linebackers will play a significant role in stopping the run against Cleveland as well, but I believe that the key player for the Lions on defense this week will come from the defensive backfield.  Before I launch into my reasoning, first I will just say that this week’s key defensive player will be Louis Delmas (he is going to play).

The logic behind my reasoning can be clearly seen in the example of the week 1 preseason game of the Browns vs the Packers.  The Browns won that game, and they led 21-14 at the half.  Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace used the pass to set up the run in that game, often going over the middle for 20+ yard gains.  Brian Robiske caught a 13 yard TD pass from Wallace in the 1st QTR, and Ben Watson caught a 20 yard TD pass from Wallace, also in the 1st QTR.  The rest of their passes were dink and dunk style passes that set up the 4 yard TD run by Jerome Harrison in the 1st half.  Both TD passes were over the middle, behind the linebackers and in front of the Green Bay safeties.  To me this means one of 2 things; Either the linebackers blew their coverage assignments over the middle, or the safeties were slow to pick up the routes over the middle.  I believe the latter to be the case.

If Delmas can come in (or Phillips or whoever else is in the game) and come up hard on those passes over the middle, either deflecting the pass or laying the wood on those guys catching the ball, then I think it will force the passing game to the outside or underneath, where Cleveland is weaker and where the Lions will have more potential to break up the plays.  Delmas will be key, if he can impose his presence and make the opposing receivers hear footsteps.  Of 40 passing attempts and 22 completions by the Browns, against the Packers, at least 6 of them were good for over 12 yards, with a long of 26 yards to Peyton Hillis.  However, as I said, all of the major damage by the Browns was over the middle, and while it is clearly the responsibility of the linebackers to pick up running backs out of the backfield, and TEs over the middle-deep routes, it is the responsibility of the safeties to recognize such threats and come up in coverage to make big plays.  If Delmas is his usual self, the Browns will have to respect his presence in the middle of the field, which in turn could force them to change their game plan and allow the Lions to get off the field on defense.

On a side note, I apologize for not getting this post up sooner.  I intended to post it last night, but I got sidetracked by a silly argument over Jason Hanson.  I did not feel that it would be proper for me to write this post, being in the mindset that I was in last night.  The intent of this post is to provide some additional coverage on Saturdays, so it is not all bad.  It will be better when I can post it on Saturdays, before our Sunday games, as it will allow more time for discussion.  This has been the Saturday Night Spotlight, and this is KDawg saying GOOOOOOOOOOO LIOOOOOOOONSSSSS!!!