Can The Injured Detroit Lions Win Against Seattle?

Detroit Lions Vs. Seahawks

Griffin and Bass debate if the Detroit Lions can beat the Seattle Seahawks with so many injuries.

Detroit Lions Vs. Seattle Seahawks

Matt: Under normal circumstances, I suggest that this game will be a runaway for the Detroit Lions. Seattle‘s rushing Defense is not good. They allow five yards of carry. They’re allowing 50% on third and fourth down conversions. They are 28th in total offense. They’re 25th in total defense, A far cry from the Eagles that we face to our first in total.

Or the Vikings who are 18th and total offense. The two teams at the Lions have lost to, again, under normal circumstances, Detroit should be able to feast on this defense. But unless I’m mistaken, Ryan, this is not normal circumstances without D’Andre Swift. Without Amon-Ra St. Brown, Josh Reynolds is hobbled.

TJ Hockenson is hobbled and the Detroit Lions are actually worse than Seattle when it comes to total defense, cuz the Lions are 28. So tell me why the Lions are still gonna win this football. 

Ryan: So the issues that Seattle has stopping the running game, we’ve already seen the Lions do pretty well with running when it’s just Jamaal Williams and not that D’Andre Swift has missed.

A game, but when D’Andre says not in Jamaal Williams is still able to do a pretty good job of leading the Lions’ rushing attack along with Craig Reynolds. The Detroit Lions have been still decent running the ball, and I mean, that’s kind of where it stops for them. This spread, I think, started out like six and a half for the The Detroit Lions, and now it’s.

Four and a half I think. So it’s moving towards the Seahawks. The injuries obviously play a big part in that. And then with what the Lions kind of have going on against the Seahawks if you’re going to, you know, even if Amon-Ra plays, which it sounds like he will, and he’s hobbled, that’s gonna hurt the Lions in the passing game in general.

So you don’t really know. what, what to expect. I was very confident this is a game. The Detroit Lions would win. And then they had all these injuries that you mentioned. Now I’m not so confident, but the Lions are playing at home, so that’s a, you know, that helps them, right? It’s a West Coast team coming, not necessarily all the way to the East Coast, but they are coming to the Eastern time zone.

So it’s a three-hour time difference for Seattle. Hopefully, that can throw off some of the body clocks that their players have going on. And then I think we just have to keep in mind that Seattle’s not a good team. This is not the Seattle of Old where they got Russell Wilson and Richard Sherman. Bobby Wagner.

It is a really bad Seattle team. You know, they’re bringing in Geno Smith, and as they’re starting quarterback and it’s a defense that’s not good. It’s an offense that’s not good. You know, DK Metcalf I think is averaging like 45 yards receiving per game this year. 

So far, so not, not really a tremendous. On the offensive end so far, and if you’re the Detroit Lions, you just hope that with the infrastructure that you have, even though you have some guys out and your defense was challenging in any way, but just with how you like to build your team with running the ball.

And if Amon-Ra can be, I don’t know, 75 or 80% of his normal self, it should hopefully be enough to pull out this wind. 

Matt: Yeah, and you know, I was looking through in fantasy, you know, looking for guys to pick up, cuz one of my teams is a little bit decimated and DJ Chark is there and they’re talking about an ankle injury for him as well.

And so it’s like, well geez, who’s Jared Goff gonna throw to, if not even Chark’s out there? Like, I’m expecting Chark to play, I’m expecting Reynolds to play. Hopefully Amon-Ra. Plays as well. But if they’re not a hundred percent, they’re affecting how they’re running their routes, how quickly they’re getting off the block, how you know how much separation they are getting from the defensive backs and it affects how you play and move the ball.

And so if our weapons are all banged up, I just, it just worries me with the Detroit Lion’s ability to move the ball. We have an offense that has that ability when healthy and Seattle’s defense seems to allow that. And so there will be some. It’s not, it’s not what we thought when we looked at the schedule when the season kicked off and we’re like, well this should be a win.

You know, Seattle exactly like you said, No Russell Wilson, and they haven’t been good with Russell Wilson over the last few years anyway. And yes, Geno Smith is a semi-mobile quarterback. 

He can move around in the pocket, he can escape and get some yards. The Detroit Lions are gonna have to keep him in the pocket to take advantage of that ability to stop the. And if Geno escapes, obviously that hurts the Lion’s defense, but it’s not an all-world offense we’re about to be facing with the Seattle Seahawks.

And exactly like you said, with their, big weapons through the air Geno’s not taking advantage of them the way that Russ would, you know, so they’re not cooking the same way with Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf with Geno throwing the ball to them as they would be with Russell Wilson back there.

So it’s definitely. It’s just all these injuries. It’s just, it just seems like terrible luck to go along with everything else, with the Lions to keep us from winning football games. 

Ryan: Yeah, and you know, I know I say, A lot if you followed Sports Carnage or even this podcast, but like when we look at the schedule and we see the Seahawks and we’re like, Oh, that’s a win.

That’s what the Seahawks are saying when they look at the schedule and see the Lion, you know what I mean? Mm-hmm. . So it, it should be a tough game. You know, Kenneth Walker is back for the Seahawks, the old Michigan State running back. They do have Rashaad Penny. 

They don’t really have a good offensive line, but they have running backs who are skilled and who can hurt you. And we still, they still do have DK Metcalf. And Tyler Lockett. I know I gave you the stats on Metcalf earlier, just cuz he hasn’t been impressive yet. 

It’s only three games into the season and we know this guy can still potentially be one of the best receivers in the NFL. And then with the Detroit Lions, going up against Jeff Okudah or going against the secondary with.

With Oruwariye out and now you’re looking at a guy, you know, maybe Melifonwu who, or Chase Lucas or just somebody else to come in and step up with Tracy Walker as well. So it’s, it’ll be tough for the Lions for sure to like to win and there’s. Reasons that you can look at the Seahawks or that the Seahawks can look at and think that they have matchups that they can expose as well.

Matt: Yeah, and we’ll get to those matchups in a second. Another, another Sta In fact, I wanted to throw out there for those who are looking for reasons to pick the Lions through three games so far this season. The Seahawks have scored ten second-half points. They put nothing on the board against the Broncos in the second half of week one.

They had one touchdown against the Niners in week two and a field goal against Atlanta in week three. So it looks like at halftime when the opposing team makes. Defensive adjustments. Seattle has not been able to take advantage of whatever they were able to do in the first half that was so successful because it has not continued in the second half.

So that’s a bright spot for the Detroit Lions if that trend continues. And Seattle is not scoring much at all after halftime, obviously, that plays into the Detroit Lions, ballgame. So, let’s real quick, cuz there’s, there’s been, some, uh, I don’t know if you wanna call it beef, but there’s been some. Some SLS thrown at each other between DK Metcalf and Jeff Okudah.

Metcalf was talking about that Okudah is not a lockdown, that he’s had help over the top with safeties, which is true, he’s not making things up. But he kind of threw a little shade towards Jeff Okudah and I was trying to figure out, between Lockett and Metcalf, who would you rather have Okudah on?

I’m wondering now, what DK said. Is that gonna force the issue where they’re gonna put Okudah on Metcalf to try and shut ’em up? 

Ryan: No, I mean, I think Okudah might just be on Metcalf because I think Metcalf is still better than Tyler Lockett, but I don’t think they’re gonna put ’em on because of, you know, some vendetta or grudge or something. You know, it’s not gonna change the way that they play there. 

Matt: So, I mean, you got two different things there. Lockett, speedy, you know, slot, all that. DK is big, strong, also fast. So I’m trying to figure out where, if we’re putting Okudah on Metcalf, what are we doing with Lockett? I mean, cuz Amani obviously last week got exposed.

It did not look. You know, six penalties and all that, it just, it didn’t look good for him and now you’re gonna have him unlock it. And are you gonna shade some help his way as well? I mean, these are the most dangerous weapons Seattle has, and we have to find a way to shut them down if the Detroit Lions are gonna walk away. Two and two. 

Ryan: Yeah, I mean, you know, somebody’s got a garden, like, I understand you don’t have so many options, but not guarding them is certainly not an option. You just kind of hope and pray, right? 

You’re gonna put Okudah on one of ’em, whether he shadows the one that they feel is better the whole game, or whether he just kind of plays one side of the field and whatever receiver is on that side is the one who gets the Jeff Okudah match up.

I’m not exactly sure how they’ll run it. In, that way. But yeah, it’s just next man up football, cliches. Whoever’s next on the depth chart is gonna have to be guarding, you know, one of these receivers who has proven to be good in the NFL, and then the Detroit Lions are just gonna have to live with the results.