By Mark Halpern
DETROIT- Another year of football has arrived, and one of the biggest trades that happened in the off-season was that the Lions traded Quarterback Matthew Stafford to the Rams for Jared Geoff. Now I saw this and pondered if this was the right move. Stafford was a fan favorite but never could get them very far. Now Bring in Geoff, who had some great success with the Rams and is now in Detroit. Geoff has his work cut out because he doesn’t have the superstars he had with the rams. On the other side, Stafford has the weapons he needs to be competitive, and he has a shot to take them far.
Last season the Lions went 3-12-1 during the covid season. Just a fun fact, they were the first team not to win a game in a season, so if you think it couldn’t get worse, could it? Well, they added another game, so can they go 0-17? What a thought.
As I mentioned, Geoff has his work cut out for him this year. In the backfield of the defense is second-year running back D’Andre Swift, who had a good rookie year and dealt with injuries. Swift rushed for 1218yrds last year and is going to have to be even more productive this year.
Tyrell Williams and veteran Breshad Perriman are the two starting wide receivers. If you are looking for Kenny Golladay, he is with the Giants now. That was a move that surprised me. Golladay would have easily had #1 WR status. T.J Hockenson is the #1 Tight end for this team, and he does have the ability to make plays, and he is a good blocker. I see a lot of TE screens this season, something Geoff was used to with the Rams.
You can’t have a good offense without a good defense. The Detroit defense can be stingy and look like a top 1 defense but, then there are the times when they get steamrolled and force the offense to put up tons of points. Looking over the defense, I see many familiar names, but the one substantial stand-out is Cornerback Jeff Okuda. He missed last season due to injury but is healthy and one of the better corners in the league. He will have his challenges throughout the season. Trey Flowers is another player to keep your eyes on. He also missed last season, but he can swim through offensive lines and get to the QB when he is healthy.
The Lions’ first three games are also challenging as they face SF, GB, and Baltimore. That is a rough way to open your schedule. The defense is going to have to man up to give the weak Lions’ offense a chance. I see the Lions going 5-11 this year and missing the playoffs, I see Geoff having his worst year yet, and I don’t see this defense being able to compete against these formidable offenses but, things in football are constantly changing and as we know any team can beat any team on any given Sunday.
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