Green Bay Packers-Detroit Lions: Five Questions With A Lions FC For Packers Fans

The Green Bay Packers suffered a frustrating 20-17 loss to the Chicago Bears Monday night, and while 3-0 would be far sweeter then 2-1, the sky is far from falling in Titletown.

With the Detroit Lions coming into Lambeau Field Sunday, the Packers will look to wash the taste of Monday's game out with a victory over the winless Lions.

To preview Sunday's NFC North matchup, I asked Detroit Lions' featured columnist Dean Holden five questions about the game and what we should look for from the 0-3 Lions.

To see my answers to his five questions, click here.

Zach Kruse: From everything I’ve seen and read about Ndamukong Suh, he really seems like the real deal. What’s a Lions’ fan take on Suh so far? Any complaints with the draft pick?

Dean Holden: Considering that the Lions’ season so far has consisted mostly of disappointment, Ndamukong Suh has to be considered an exceptionally bright spot.

Suh is already commanding near-constant double-teams, and continues to push the pocket on almost every play. Before the season started, I called for patience with Suh, saying that even if he ended the season with only four or five sacks and about 30-40 tackles, that would still be a great first year for a rookie defensive tackle.

I was probably wrong. Through three games, he is putting up numbers at a Pro Bowl clip. He has 12 tackles and two sacks, including one in which he swept Mike Vick clean off his feet with one hand on Vick’s shoulder while being blocked to the ground. The kid has freakish brute strength.

At draft time, there were calls to trade the No. 2 pick (which became Ndamukong Suh) to Washington for the disgruntled Albert Haynesworth. To illustrate what a mistake that would have been, through three games, it’s entirely possible that Suh and Haynesworth are playing at about the same level.

Better yet, Suh has a good head on his shoulders. He’s all about hard work and effort, and not taking anything for granted (like, say, a $21 million roster bonus).

Kyle Vanden Bosch has been a great influence on him as well, as the two routinely get together for pre-practice weightlifting sessions. The bottom line is, Suh is good, will get better, and will anchor the defense for years to come. Keep an eye on him for sure. Aaron Rodgers will, too.

ZK: Speaking of rookies, Lions running back Jahvid Best stormed out of the gates the first two games for the Lions. What’s his injury update, and what should we expect out of Best if he does play Sunday?

DH: Jahvid Best is suffering from grade two turf toe. It’s hardly a career-threatening injury, but it is exceptionally painful, especially for someone like Best who relies on speed and agility.

He’s currently being held out of practice to rest it, and has to be considered somewhere between questionable and probable for Sunday’s game (though no official announcement on his status as of yet).

If he plays, his impact will likely be determined by whether the Lions are able to get the passing game going. Best is a speed back, and although he is capable of breaking a tackle or two, his best moments come when he has room to work, not between the tackles.

If the Lions can’t spread the field a little bit, Best will have to work against seven or eight-man fronts, and could struggle, as he did against the Bears.

Still, Best is also a dangerous receiver, so look out for quick screens to him on plays where he lines up in the slot. He’s both stronger and a little quicker than most DBs, so he could do more damage on passing plays than rushing. That’s especially true now that Kevin Smith (a more effective between-the-tackles rusher) is expected back from his ACL surgery last year.

ZK: It’s a shame Matthew Stafford won’t be playing Sunday, but I have a feeling Aaron Rodgers and Stafford will have their fair share of duels over the rest of their respective careers. How has his replacement, Shaun Hill, done in his time as the Lions’ starting quarterback?

DH: Shaun Hill has been solid to mediocre in his two-and-a-half games with the Lions. No more, no less.

There is some disagreement within the Lions community about whether the Lions’ offensive struggles stem from Shaun Hill’s ability or Scott Linehan’s uncharacteristically conservative, “vanilla” playcalling.
That speculation is fueled by the fact that Hill seems to play flat for most of the game, then turn it on late in the fourth quarter when he has to start making bigger throws. That has shown up in all three games thus far.

The problem is, Hill seems to have a bit of an issue with finishing those game-winning drives.
Calvin Johnson’s “un-catch” at Solider Field is well-documented at this point, but Hill had two more chances after that play and couldn’t convert.

Against Philadelphia, trailing by 18, Hill scored two quick touchdowns (and a two-point conversion) with less than five minutes to go, cutting the Eagles’ lead to three. The Lions recovered the ensuing onside kick with about 100 seconds to go and a timeout. With about 25-30 yards to get into Jason Hanson’s field goal range for the tie, Hill responded with four straight incompletions.

Last week against Minnesota, while trailing by two touchdowns, Hill took two fourth-quarter drives into the red zone, and threw interceptions in the end zone on both attempts. Had he instead thrown two touchdowns, the game would have been tied.

Hill has been a strange anomaly so far, somebody who steps up when it counts, then completely crumbles when it REALLY counts. But I expect more aggressive playcalling this Sunday, so he’ll likely look completely different than he has through the first three weeks. Whether that’s good or bad, I’m not yet sure.

ZK: The Lions are already 0-3, even when a lot of people thought that Detroit could surprise some teams this year. Is Head coach Jim Schwartz doing a good job? Is there still faith in his regime that is 2-17 through 19 games?

DH: Jim Schwartz, and more importantly General Manager Martin Mayhew, has done a fantastic job with this team, regardless of record. Last year, it every game the Lions played could be classified as either a “blowout loss,” “close loss,” or “almost loss.”

Most were blowouts. Of the two wins, one win required a miracle comeback and pass interference call, the other saw time run out what had been a hard-charging Redskins comeback.

This year, the Lions have had legitimate chances to win all three of their games (as I’ve illustrated above), and that has been with injuries to some of their most important players.

To illustrate, it might be equivalent to say that the Lions’ current situation might be like the Packers missing Aaron Rodgers and Ryan Grant indefinitely, with Greg Jennings/Donald Driver (whichever is considered No. 2, I typically think of them as co-No.1s) questionable, and A.J. Hawk and Nick Collins each missing time or hobbled by groin injuries.

And the Lions are nowhere near as talented on the second string as the Packers are, so that still doesn’t quite describe it properly.

The point is, Schwartz took over a hopeless, heartless 0-16 team, and transformed it into a scrappy group that gives itself a chance to win every Sunday, even without some of its most crucial players.

I know that Packers fans probably chuckle at a Lions fan getting so amped up about moral victories when his team is 0-3, but you WILL see this Sunday that you’re looking at a greatly improved Lions team.

Competing is the first step, winning comes later. Last year, the Lions didn’t complete in most of their games. This year, they’ve been competitive in all their games, and narrowly missed upsets in each.
They’re not there yet, no way, far from it.

But if you watch the game this Sunday, then immediately watch the tape of last year’s game at Lambeau, you’ll be shocked at how much different this team looks. They’re on the way, and that’s due to Schwartz and Mayhew finding talent, following a plan, and building this team the right way for once.

ZK: The Lions haven’t won a game at Lambeau since December 15th, 1991. I’d say anything is possible in the NFL these days, so what do the Lions need to accomplish Sunday to finally upset the heavily favored Packers?

Frankly, the Lions need help. If both the Lions and Packers play to the best of their abilities, the Packers will win. There’s little question about that.

However, the Packers showed last week that they’re able to shoot themselves in the foot enough times to allow an inferior team to win. They tried to do it last year, as well. Although the Packers blanked the Lions for the first time since 1946, they also made plenty of mistakes, including 13 penalties for 130 yards, one which called back a game-opening kickoff return for a touchdown.

Shaun Hill is a step up from either Daunte Culpepper or Drew Stanton (who both had rotten games last year against the Pack), so the offense should be at least a little more capable of putting up points. The Lions have made a living of points off turnovers this year, as well.

If the Packers play the same sloppy brand of football that earned them a 26-0 shutout last year, it could result in a loss this year, just as it did against the Bears. The Lions, even without Stafford, Burleson, and a defensive starter or two, are that much better this year. Of course, the Lions will need to play a near-perfect game for that to happen.

With Ryan Grant out, the Lions need to make sure they can stop Brandon Jackson and John Kuhn (especially Kuhn, since the Lions are still not the strongest tackling team in the league), then focus in on Aaron Rodgers.

The Lions’ secondary is only marginally better than they were last year, but unlike last year, they appear to be growing each game. They still make too many mistakes (see last week, when both C.C. Brown and Chris Houston let Percy Harvin blow by for a touchdown grab, both thinking he was the other one’s responsibility), and Rodgers will take advantage of that.

But they were also called on a couple of cheap penalties last week that should have been solid defensive plays.

For certain, priority one will be slowing down the Packers’ passing game. If Rodgers fails to throw for over 300 yards against the Lions for the first time in his career, it will be a good start.

If you want more on the Lions, be sure to check out Dean's profile here.