This is the Lions' season tonight. They're facing a TOUGH opponent in the toughest away stadium in the NFL on Monday Night Football. If the Lions lose, they fall to 0-4 and have to face the 3-1 Cardinals 6 days later. If they win, a glimmer of hope would exist, although they still have to face the 3-1 Cardinals next week.
I was REALLY hoping DeAndre Levy would be available to play tonight. He practiced with the team Thurs-Sat, which is usually an indicator that a guy is ready to go. Supposedly he's staying in Detroit because he was doubtful anyway and the team didn't want to subject his body to the rigors of flying to Seattle only to possibly not even play.
Joique Bell is staying in Detroit as well, but that's less of a disappointment. Bell is CLEARLY not the same guy he was last year. I'm hoping he can recover at some point, but for the time being the Lions are better off with Abdullah getting the (trying to avoid using the very punny phrase "lion's share") bulk of the carries. The offense doesn't NEED Bell, especially as he currently is. But the defense desperately needs Levy. He covers the pass better than any of the Lions' other LBs, he knifes through blocks on running plays and screens to make the play in the backfield. He's the Lions' best tackler. And he has an awesome beard.
With Levy out, the chances of a victory tonight diminish dramatically. There's that much more pressure on the offense to produce, and that much more on the defense to make up for the lack of DeAndre Levy. Seattle will be without Beast Mode MarShawn Lynch, but that actually increases the likelihood of more running plays called for QB Russell Wilson. I can't think of a more necessary player for Detroit in this game than Levy. Ziggy Ansah is probably 2nd most important, and he's been limited all week as well with a groin injury. He's traveling with the team, so I expect he'll play, but he's been taken out of games early twice now. This is a defense that needs to contain Seattle's run game at the edges, and the two best guys we have to do that are out or limited.
Naturally, all eyes are drawn to the Calvin Johnson-Richard Sherman matchup. I haven't watched a Seahawks game yet this year, but their tendency in the past was to use Sherman to eliminate the opponent's best WR, instead of, say, moving him around a bit to give different looks. If Seattle decides to cover Calvin one-on-one with Sherman, which no one has tried yet this year, one of two things will happen: either Calvin will finally take the top off of the defense and beat Sherman deep, or Calvin will be Decoy CJ and keep Sherman occupied far away from the play. The problems with the 2nd scenario are a) We need Calvin to be effective or this offense is pretty dead, and b) I don't trust Stafford to stay away from Decoy Calvin. If CJ is in decoy mode, I'm certain Stafford will try and force a pass into a too-small window and Sherman will end up with it.
The key guys to watch in this game for Detroit are Abdullah on offense and the DEs on defense. The Lions need to get that running game going, and Abdullah has earned himself more carries than he's been getting. On defense, the DEs are who should keep Seattle's read option in check. With Lynch out, Wilson is the biggest running threat on the team. If the DEs do their jobs, the ball stays between the tackles and Seattle probably tries to become more of a passing team than they really are.
You can tell I'm REALLY trying to talk myself into this one.
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