Detroit Lions vs. Oakland Raiders: 5 Lions You Must Watch in "The Black Hole"

There are five Detroit Lions you must watch as the team heads west to take on the Oakland Raiders.

The Lions will look to make it 3-0 against the AFC West on Sunday as they take the field affectionately known as “The Black Hole.”

Sunday Bloody Sunday should be filled with Silver and Black extracurriculars along with many fisticuffs, as disdain and anger flow wildly with excessive necessity for gauze and bandage—that’s just in the stands!

The Raider vessel is the only stadium in the NFL where the paramedics are more popular than popcorn vendors. As Howard Cosell called it, “Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum,” is notorious for sending fans of the opposition home—bloodied and bruised, if they’re lucky.

As far as the actual game goes, the Raiders are fighting for their playoff lives, and it will take and strong road effort from the Lions to drive the spike shoulder pads through the proverbial heart of Raider Nation and eliminate Al Davis’ squad from playoff contention.

As for the Lions, they are still scratching and clawing for their first playoff spot since the Bobby Ross era and rather than waiting for a Miracle on Brush Street with a victory at Ford Field on Christmas Eve versus the Chargers, the Lions would just assume knock off the Raiders this week.

If they do stuff their fifth road kill of the year, they have the most beloved Denver Bronco and former Floridian to thank for keeping them in the playoff hunt.

Tim Tebow? Guess again. Look no further than Central Florida alumnus Matthew Prater.

It was Prater who showed a serious set of brass balls by knocking in a 59-yard field goal to tie the Broncos-Bears game and then ripping another 51-yarder to send Mile High into a frenzy to extend the Broncos winning streak to six.

Here are the Van Etten V…

Ndamukong Suh

As John McClane famously said “Welcome to the party pal.”

Ndamukong Suh makes his return from his two-game suspension, fittingly in Oakland.

I’m sure Al Davis will be looking down, or up, I’m not really sure, in admiration of the Lions’ defensive tackle.

Suh continues to wave a middle finger to the fans of Detroit and the NFL in general by refusing to discuss what happened on Thanksgiving or his driving prowess in Portland.

All will certainly be forgiven if Suh delivers on Sunday, and he’ll get his chance as the Raiders like to go vertical which obviously requires extra time in the pocket for Palmer to delivery the deep ball.

Expect Suh to get there not only because of the offensive philosophy of the Raiders, but Suh wanting to quiet all his critics.

Kevin Smith

The Lions could really use a consistent running game this week, hopefully, Kevin Smith can deliver.

Smith is so frustrating. You watch him against Carolina, and he looks like an All-Pro. Early on against the Pack, he was just as good.  He just can’t stay healthy.

Smith is averaging nearly seven yards per carry after the Lions picked him up off the family room couch and over nine yards per reception.

Somebody get Mr. Miyagi's number and fly him out to Oakland. Wait, Pat Morita passed away in 2005, anybody know where Ralph Macchio is? I guess we will have to hope the Lions training staff puts some extra effort into protecting the best running back on the roster.

Who would have thought Kevin Smith would again be in a Lions jersey? It was a better bet that Kevin Smith the director would lose a few pounds before No. 34 returned triumphantly as No. 30.

Stephen Tulloch

Stephen Tulloch can solidify his negation leverage with a strong effort in the Bay Area.

His one-year contract is up in just a few weeks. Tulloch was strong last weekend and received an early Christmas gift from Cliff Avril as he scooped up the fruits of Avril’s labor with an end-zone touchdown recovery.

This week, the Raider offense will be coming straight at No. 55.

The Raiders will run and run and run some more. They are the NFL’s sixth-best rushing team, grinding out nearly 140 yards per game.

The Raiders love the I-formation and like to isolate the middle linebacker as they run many of their plays between the tackles

All 245 pounds of Michael Bush will be running downhill behind the 240 lbs of fullback Marcel Reece and looking to punish Tulloch.

We know Stephen can scrape and move sideline to sideline, but this game should tell us a lot about Tulloch being able to plug the middle and fill gaps.

Tulloch will need to buckle up. 

Alphonso Smith

Alphonso Smith showed the world he’s a big Michael Jackson fan last week; in Oakland, the Lions will need him to be a Smooth Criminal.

Alphonso Smith picked the Vikings twice last week and brought one back to the hizzy.

Chris Houston is supposed to play this week, along with Wright. But with both still ailing, this may be short lived.

If there's one thing the Raiders are, it’s fast. Heyward-Bey is grease lightning and the Raiders are getting both Jacoby Ford and rookie Denarius Moore back this week. Both Ford and Moore are threats to score whenever they touch the ball.

The Raiders will continue with Al Davis principles by fielding three sprinters at the WR spots against the Lions hobbled secondary.

The one thing that Carson Palmer has always been able to do well is throw the long ball and with those three streaking downfield, it will probably be up to Alphonso to keep the Raiders vertical passing attack in check.

Nate Burleson

Nate Burleson has been outspoken this week about how he enjoys going to places like Oakland and the challenges posed by the passionate fans of Ice Cube’s favorite team, it’s time for him to deliver.

Nate still only has two touchdowns this season—one against Carolina and one against the 49ers.

Hey, maybe Nate has a thing for the Golden Gate community, and Nate gives us a little something this weekend.

This will be the closest Burleson plays to his hometown of Seattle, Washington and is even closer to where he played his college ball for the Wolf Pack of Nevada in Reno.

The table is set for Burleson as the Raiders defense gives it up through the air. The Silver and Black secondary gives up the eighth most fantasy points to the wide receivers; if not now, when Nate?

Those are my five to watch, enjoy the game!