Today at TSL, we are getting prepared for the Philadelphia Eagles’ Week 5 matchup against the Detroit Lions on Sunday afternoon. The Eagles are heading into this game with a record 3-0 and looking avenge last season’s Thanksgiving debacle.
To get prepared for Sunday’s game, I did a quick question and answer preview with Jeff Risdon (@JeffRisdon), who does fantastic work at DraftBreakdown.com, RealGM.com, and is the editor at SideLion Report, which is the Detroit Lions’ site for FanSided. We discussed life without Calvin Johnson, Marvin Jones’ impact on the offense, the matchups to watch in this game, and so much more. Enjoy!
Jovan Alford: How has life been without Calvin Johnson on offense this season?
Jeff Risdon: The Lions offense is definitely different. In some ways it’s actually been an improvement. Matthew Stafford used to get too focused at times on getting Calvin the ball and wouldn’t see the field so well. Now that he doesn’t have Calvin, he has to look around the field more. His pre-snap reads have improved. The Lions are a more diverse attack, and that includes running the ball both more frequently and with better success. Moving Riley Reiff to right tackle has worked out very well.
Losing Ameer Abdullah has definitely hurt, and with Eric Ebron out for this week that takes away Stafford’s top red zone target. That is the biggest area where they miss Calvin Johnson already, as they just don’t have a wideout who can consistently win the contested throw or present a wide target and catch radius in shorter spaces.
Jovan: After his breakout Week 3 performance against the Green Bay Packers, it looks like wide receiver Marvin Jones is Matt Stafford’s favorite target. What has happened to Golden Tate?
Jeff: What happened to Golden Tate is a question the Lions themselves would like answered. He got benched for most of the second half in Chicago for running lazy routes, one of which cost Stafford a red zone INT and the Lions a great chance at getting much-needed points. Tate is on the injury report and he has earned the benefit of the doubt here; he’s probably more banged up than Detroit would lead anyone to believe. There isn’t the sudden burst or explosive cuts that we are all used to seeing from Tate.
As far as the targets, Marvin Jones has earned the No. 1 status. Jones has been better than anyone expected, and that includes what the coaches thought too.
Jovan: Through four games this season, the Lions’ defense has given up 271.8 passing yards per game and only has one takeaway. What do you think the game plan will be to stop Carson Wentz?
Jeff: The Lions cannot defend the middle of the field in the passing game, period. Other than the average Tahir Whitehead, the other Detroit LBs are abysmal in coverage. Other than the criminally underrated Glover Quin, so are the safeties. What makes it worse is the four-man rush up front just isn’t getting it done, especially with Ziggy Ansah out.
I am hoping to see more blitzing. If the LBs can’t cover, why not send them after Wentz? We saw a couple of very effective blitzes last week, including a Darius Slay sack where rookie safety Miles Killebrew also came and forced the blocking back to choose. There hasn’t been near enough of that from Teryl Austin’s defense.
One of the big issues, aside from injuries to Ansah and DeAndre Levy (the best cover LB in the league), is communication between levels. There have been too many blown transitions from DE to LB, from LB to safety, from one corner to another. The obvious answer is to play either more straight man coverage or move to a more vanilla zone. I suspect we’ll see more of the latter because the corners are all very good and valuable in run support.
Jovan: What are the matchups fans should pay attention to in Sunday’s game?
Jeff: The big things I’m looking at are:
–Eagles DTs vs. Lions interior OL. Left guard Laken Tomlinson was brutal the first two weeks but played better against the 3-4 fronts of Green Bay and Chicago. The Jim Schwartz 4-3 sets him up to have to move his feet, and he cannot do that. On the flip side, center Travis Swanson was fantastic against the 4-3 but struggled with the bigger 0-1 techs in the 3-4.
–Theo Riddick against the Philadelphia LBs in the passing game. I like Jordan Hicks and Mychal Kendricks a lot but Riddick can make even the best look stupid out in space. That’s the Lions biggest offensive advantage in this game and that’s no disrespect to the defense. Riddick is that filthy as a receiver.
–The Eagles WRs not named Jordan Matthews against the Lions CBs not named Darius Slay. While Slay will not trail Matthews–the Lions don’t do that–they will be squared off more often than not. Slay quietly isn’t as good as last year but he’s still a solid No. 1 CB. It’s the other corners who have matchup issues. Nevin Lawson is the other outside corner and he’s got major issues with quick guys. Even though he’s smaller, he’s surprisingly good against bigger wideouts or guys with long strides. That’s Dorial Green-Beckham. Qaundre Diggs in the slot is very good in the first few steps but doesn’t have the speed to trail guys on crosses and drags.
–Lions punter and kicker. Sam Martin is one of the very best punters and he’s great at pinning teams deep with directional kicks with outstanding hang time. He’s got the Phil Mickleson lob wedge from in between the 40s. Matt Prater has his occasional gaffes but he made a 50-yarder last week that was still going up when it flew high over the crossbar. He’s got the NFL record for a reason and if the Lions offense is sputtering he might get a shot at something 60-plus yards.
Jovan: What is your prediction for Sunday’s game?
Jeff: Prediction: Detroit will be without its two best defensive front 7 players in Ansah and Levy. They’ll be without Ebron and perhaps Marvin Jones (he’s questionable again but more questionable than last week) on offense. Even healthy and at Ford Field the Eagles are a bad matchup. Jim Schwartz got carried off the field here two years ago this week as Bills defensive coordinator, and you’d better believe this game is the most important one on his calendar. He’s going to dial it up and he knows Stafford’s weak points.
Eagles 37, Lions 16
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