Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Detroit Lions: What Are Experts Saying About Detroit?

The Detroit Lions play host to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the second year in a row, and it's a reach to assume the Bucs will leave victorious again.

But that didn't stop Tampa from storming Ford Field for a win in 2013, and it won't keep some experts from exceeding their grasp with their observations this week.

Or maybe it will. Playing it smart (or coy) is the new modus operandi around Allen Park. Observers have taken note of the difference in Detroit. Maybe I should cut the experts some slack.

Click through to find out if I've gone soft, or if people—and the Lions—have learned from past mistakes.

The Road Not Taken

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

Many of Detroit's current players have found themselves in this position before. The schedule has moved to December, and Detroit controls its playoff destiny.

Unfortunately, not many of them know how to take the next step. Head coach Jim Caldwell does, and he let Carlos Monarrez of the Detroit Free Press in on the secret:

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I can say to you that what we do is we fight it on a daily basis. It's kind of been the thing that we've done here since the first day that we walked into the building is to talk about the things that we need to do here and now. Getting better today, what's important now, I think is more so sort of our mantra here.

We try to fight to continue that because the thing that happens to you is that the minute you start, it softens you up in terms of your focus. The minute it starts to look beyond the horizon, there are usually some things that catch you by surprise, typically.

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The Lions will be favored in their next three games, and heavily so in some circumstances (10.5-point favorites over Tampa Bay, per Odds Sharks). And the next two are at home, giving Detroit no legitimate excuse for stumbling, unless it's a self-inflicted foot wound.

Small-level focus—the ability to concentrate on tiny tasks like holding onto the ball—did this team in last year. So long as it can pay the proper attention, nothing should cost Detroit another playoff berth like so many snow-covered fumbles.

Getting Ziggy Wit' It

Rick Osentoski/Associated Press

Ezekiel Ansah goes by "Ziggy" to his teammates and friends. And he has plenty of friends in the state of Michigan these days. If he walked into any bar in the state, save for a couple U.P. watering holes with cheesier alliances, he'd find plenty of buds willing to buy him a beer.

Ziggy was taken fifth overall in the 2013 draft and had plenty of splash plays during his rookie season (eight sacks). Now, however, he's integrating proper technique with his freakish physical ability, as fellow Bleacher Report writer Jeff Risdon explains: 

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That play highlights his improved technique. Ansah is now effectively packaging the intricacies of hand placement, sinking the hips and striking the blocker at the exact right time with his already freakish athleticism.

Many players are either great athletes or great tacticians. Few put both together, and the ones who do are eminently recognizable: J.J. Watt, Suh, Aldon Smith, Demarcus Ware to name a select few.

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Risdon is referring to one of Ansah's nine quarterback hurries against Chicago, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required), when the defensive end performed a stunt with Ndamukong Suh and quickly shed a block from center Roberto Garza.

There have been other instances of Ansah's increased play recognition. Against the Minnesota Vikings, he feinted the pass rush, instantly diagnosed the screen pass, bullied his way past the right tackle and dropped Jerick McKinnon in the backfield for a loss. 

The Ghanaian Goliath is mixing his unique blend of speed and power with an increased understanding of the game to form a run-stuffing, quarterback-killing wrecking ball. If Suh does re-sign this offseason, he'll be hard-pressed to keep the mantle of Detroit's best defensive lineman. 

The Golden Touch

Stephan Savoia/Associated Press

Another player who came from humble positional beginnings is Golden Tate. And things have worked out pretty well for the first-year Detroit Lion.

When Tate arrived at Notre Dame, he was considered an athlete. Eventually, injuries pushed him onto the field, and Brian Polian told Michael Rothstein of ESPN how Tate's initial receiving debut went down:

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It got to the point where we were yelling to Golden from the sideline what the route was and so we yelled at Golden, ‘Run a go.’ And he ran a go and Jimmy [Clausen] threw the ball up and the sucker just jumped up in the air between two DBs and caught it.

Later on in the game, we did the same thing. The Purdue DB looked over at Charlie [Weis] or Ron Powlus and kind of gave him this look. Someone said, ‘Hey man, it doesn’t matter, he’s going to catch it anyway.’ Sure enough, he ran a go, the DB knew the route, and we just threw the ball up in the air, and he just went up and grabbed it. That’s who Golden is to me. That’s one of my all-time favorite memories of coaching.” Tate finished with three catches for 104 yards in that game.

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Tate has exploded this year to become one of the best wide receivers in the league. He's set career highs in just 12 games with 80 catches for 1,136 yards.

He brings a dynamic element that the offense has been missing since Brett Perriman. And even then, Perriman didn't lead the league in yards after the catch. 

Confidence Is Contagious

Rick Osentoski/Associated Press

Detroit hadn't put up more than 24 points since Week 1 until it cruised to 34 against the defenseless Chicago Bears. The optimist in your group will say that the team is peaking at the right time, while the diehard will bring up that playoff loss from 1997 when the fourth-highest scoring offense only put up 10 points.

You know exactly who I'm taking about. You should avoid that person and listen to Herman Moore more often, who thinks the Lions might have unlocked the offense:

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They haven’t done a great job in the red zone this year, but were 3-for-4 against the Bears. Granted, the Bears don’t have the greatest defense this year, but it’s the game plan that I liked. Too often this year, Matthew Stafford has had to hang in the pocket and look downfield, which has cost this team. Three-step drops and utilizing Calvin Johnson all over the field made a huge difference against Chicago.

"

Offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi seems to have removed the finger from his eye and put it squarely on the pulse of his unit. His quiver is growing every week, and he should have two of his main offensive line cogs back this week.

However, he shouldn't abandon some of the principles he's implemented recently. The short passing game eliminates the concern of porous protection, and the rediscovery of the fade pass to Calvin Johnson and Joseph Fauria should help in the red zone.

And the coaching staff needs to embrace what the team is good at. The running game has worked sparingly, with its greatest successes coming late in games where Detroit holds the lead (48 rushing yards on final drive against Chicago).

Don't be afraid to ditch the rushing game and let it fly. Detroit has the personnel to make it work.

Expert Testimony

Steve Nesius/Associated Press

Every week, Gary Davenport rounds up the lead writers of Bleacher Report. They offer their predictions and analysis for each game, and Mr. Davenport publishes the prognostications and picks an explanation for each game.

This week's quote comes courtesy of AFC South scribe Rivers McCown:

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The Bucs have flipped between two ineffective quarterbacks and are now on the one who shouldn't have been signed in the first place again. The offensive line is dreadful. Retread offensive coordinator Jeff Tedford is on indefinite leave, so complete unknown Marcus Arroyo is calling the shots. I don't really know that he knows what he's doing. Oh, and Lavonte David hasn't played for awhile.

Other than that, everything is just peachy.

I have my reservations about the Lions as an actual honest-to-goodness contender, but I didn't have to think hard about them in this one.

"

Not a single soul went against the Lions this week. It isn't a confirmation of their greatness, but a tip of the cap to Tampa's situation. Neither side of the ball is particularly effective, although as Kyle Meinke of MLive.com noted, "[t]he Bucs have surged from last to 20th in defense over the past month. They allowed 18.2 points per game in that span."

Points haven't come easily to Detroit all season. The Bucs might know how to expose the paper Lions' offensive fragility.

But that discussion is for a different day. Namely Friday, when the complete game preview for Detroit will be posted.

Stay tuned.

Brandon Alisoglu is a Detroit Lions Featured Columnist who has written about the Lions on multiple sites. He also co-hosts a Lions-centric podcast, Lions Central Radio. Yell at him on Twitter about how wrong he is @BrandonAlisoglu.