Philadelphia Eagles-Detroit Lions: Who Gets Win No. 1

In week two of the 2010 NFL season, the Philadelphia Eagles have their first away game as they travel to Ford Field to take on the Detroit Lions.

The fans should see what appears to be a much improved team than the one they saw in the Week 1 loss to the Green Bay Packers.

Keep in mind however, the Lions are a poor team, both offensively and defensively (more on that later), so you could look at this game as a fluke if the Birds win by a huge margin.

The first thing that should be recognized is the fact that both teams’ starting QBs will not be playing.

Kevin Kolb left last week's game with a concussion and hasn’t passed the required examinations to be able to play. Even if he did, I would still sit him for at least one week. Lions QB Matthew Stafford is also being held out with the shoulder injury he suffered in last week's matchup with the Chicago Bears.

Yet both teams will have a veteran leader under center as Michael Vick and Shaun Hill are both entering their ninth NFL seasons and will both get a chance to start Sunday, and hopefully show their respective teams their worth.

I think it is safe to say that clearly Michael Vick is worth a whole lot more than Shaun Hill, but don’t under estimate him.

In 2008 Hill had a fine season as a backup when he amassed 2,046 passing yards, 13 touchdowns (8 INTs), and sported a 62.8 percent completion rate through the nine games he appeared in.

Still, he’s no Michael Vick.

We all know that Vick has legs. In Week 1, he recorded his ninth 100+  rushing yard game in his NFL career, but he was also a more polished passer than we’ve seen from him in the past. Granted the Packers didn’t game plan for Vick (shame on them) but still, he wasn’t just making plays with his legs last week.

I won’t try to justify his past, but from a football perspective, maybe his time away is what will set him apart from all the other aging QBs in the league. He hasn’t been beat up over the last two years, his legs are fresh, and he’s making really nice passes to his receivers for the most part.

As far as players to keep an eye on from the Lions roster, follow WR Calvin Johnson early in the game to look to make an impact after last week's disastrous call in the end zone. It should have been a TD, but was ruled an incomplete pass after Johnson released the ball as he stood up.

He’ll want justice this week on his home turf.

WR Nate Burleson could also prove to be a force if allowed enough of a gap between he and the CB who covers him so more of press coverage is needed on him to take him out of the game. He was held to just one reception for 19 yards last week and I’m sure he wants to have more of an impact than that.

The Lions wide outs are big, a lot bigger than the Eagles cornerbacks, so it will be a good early challenge for Asante Samuel, Ellis Hobbs, and the Eagles secondary to try and contain everyone.

The only other offensive threat is rookie RB Jahvid Best (30th overall).

Best did go out with a toe injury last week but is listed as probable for Sunday and the Eagles defense will need to keep a set of eyes on him at all times.

Defensively, the Lions have two key players along their line—DE Kyle Vanden Bosch and rookie DT Ndamukong Suh (2nd overall) who has quickly made a name for himself as a disruptive player in the backfield.

Suh is big, massive in fact, at 6’4, 307 lbs, and uses his brute strength to force his way into the backfield—and if he gets a hold of you, he’ll toss you like a ragdoll.

Just ask preseason victim Jake Delhomme.

Can the Eagles offensive line, their biggest sore spot, handle the Detroit Lions defensive line? It will be a great battle throughout the entire game but I anticipate the Eagles to come out on top.

The Eagles defensive line should prevail as well.

I think Trent Cole and gang are simply going to take over this game, I won’t make a sack count prediction but I keep seeing the number six in my head.

In the end I do have the Eagles pegged to beat the Lions in an outright slaughter in their own stadium with a final score of 37-10.

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