Detroit Lions 2011 Preseason: Five Things to Look for Against the Patriots

As is well documented, the third preseason game is thought to be the dress rehearsal to the regular season. In general, the starters will play into the third quarter.

This year the Detroit Lions drew the New England Patriots. Fan enthusiasm for this game has been made obvious by the fact it is a sellout.   

This will be a stiff test for the Lions, especially on defense. Facing a perennial all-pro quarterback like Tom Brady is a challenge. The Lions got a taste of what Brady can do in the Thanksgiving game last year. Brady threw for 341 yards and four touchdowns on the way to a perfect quarterback rating of 158.3.

Here are five things to look for in Saturday night’s game.

How Will Suh React to Being Attacked?

Teams have figured out that running away from Ndamukong Suh is not the best way to avoid him, so now they have started running right at him. The Cleveland Browns showed that to be an effective strategy in Week 1. 

This reminds of Pistons’ Ben Wallace when he was in his prime. Wallace was great at bringing weak side help and became known as a defensive force for it. It was then that teams decided to attack Wallace in order to negate his quickness. This strategy worked as some of the bigger power forwards in the league started to post big numbers against him.

Now the same thing is happening to Suh, and he has to show that he can adjust. My personal opinion is that it might take him a little bit of time, but eventually a great player like Suh will be able to figure out how to best counteract this strategy.

Which Running Back Will Rise Up?

Before the season, the top three running backs were presumed to be Jahvid Best, Mikel Leshoure and Maurice Morris. None of these men will be available for this game due to injuries. This presents a perfect opportunity for one of the backup running backs to step up and show he can be counted on in a pinch.

The candidates are Jerome Harrison, Mike Bell, Ian Johnson and Aaron Brown. 

This will probably be Brown’s best shot to remain with the Lions. He was given the first opportunity to replace Best last week and did not do much with it. If he falters again in this game, it might be the last we see of him in a Lions uniform.

How Will the Right Side of the Offensive Line Block

The play of the right side of the Lions’ offensive line has been disappointing to say the least. Gosder Cherilus and Stephen Peterman have both struggled. Cherilus is coming back from knee surgery, so his struggles are excusable, but Peterman on the hand has no such excuse.

The Lions have brought in free agent guards to look at but have yet to sign anyone. At this point in time, they are starting to give tackle Corey Hilliard some reps at the position to see if he can be a viable option.

Peterman must elevate his game, or we might see someone else at that position come Sept.11 in Tampa Bay.

Pass defense vs. Brady

This is the big one for me. As I mentioned in the opening slide, Brady embarrassed the Lions last year when he posted a perfect passer rating against them. 

This year he will not have Alphonso Smith to pick on, so hopefully the results will be different. That said he does have a big tall receiver who can stretch the field in Chad Ochocinco, something he lacked last year

I am interested to see how much pressure the Lions will be able to put on Brady. The Pats offensive line is a work in progress itself, and we might just see Brady under duress for much of his time in the game.

Titus Young

Titus Young has been out with a hamstring injury for most of training camp, but it now appears that he will be available for this game.

I am excited to see what Young can bring to the passing offense. If he is able to provide a safety to his side to him, that will free up Calvin Johnson. If that is the case, ESPN analyst Chris Carter will be able to find out just what Johnson can do if he is single covered.