If the premiere of HBO Max’s Hard Knocks didn’t get the juices flowing, you might as well retire from your Lions fandom days. The show got everyone ready to run through a wall in preparation for the Lion’s season to begin. “I think the Lions could make the wildcard” might be the most popular insane-but-reasonable quote of the week. For the fans who are itching for more football, Ford Field will be the host to the Lions’ pre-season game of the season Friday, August 12, at 6 p.m. ET. We can finally see the light at the end of the off-season tunnel. Except, it’s not light. It’s a freak train named the NFL.
Dan Campbell and Arthur Smith (Falcons head coach) announced their starters would play the majority of the first quarter, giving Lions fans exactly what they wanted.
Whether you only plan on watching the first quarter or the practice squad punching bags play in the fourth quarter, here are a few things to watch for in Detroit’s opening pre-season game.
The Opening Drive Game Plan
Enjoy the starters’ snaps while you can in the pre-season, because we probably won’t see most of them again until the regular season once they come out. Don’t expect the Lions to come out guns-a-blazing with fancy plays or by forcing the ball to our new weapons on offense. As much as we all would love to see a deep ball to Chark or a backfield play from St. Brown, expect the Lions’ game plan to be simple. Remember, the team has only been together for about two weeks. You have to learn the basics before putting in your ‘fun’ plays.
With that being said, focus your attention on the opening drive. Dan Campbell and his coaching staff will certainly have a scripted opening drive for the offense. It might look simplistic (runs and short passes), but the key is to make it efficient in the limited time the starters will be out there.
Look to see how comfortable Goff is in the pocket and if he is playing with extra charisma, flair, and confidence. All the reports from Allen Park say Jared Goff is standing out at camp. Hopefully, Goff feels a little bit more like a QB1 this year and has some extra zip and firepower with the ball. The Lions organization needs to do a great job at helping him succeed. Let’s see how well we’ve done that in the first quarter. This includes the offensive line. They should be treating Goff like a franchise quarterback and not like the Lions are totally looking to replace him in the foreseeable future (wink wink).
Defensive Pursuit to the Football
Aaron Glenn said on an ESPN podcast that he wants to put fear into opposing offenses. The best way to accomplish this is to have great pursuit to the football and hard hits. He wants the team to be disruptive to offenses. Obviously, putting together a defense in two weeks is much harder than setting an offensive game plan. However, the viciousness the Lions want to play with could easily be seen this Friday. That is if it’s real.
It’s no secret that the Lions lack big-time talent on the defensive side of the ball. There are some young players to be excited about, like Oruwariye, Hutchinson, and McNeil, but there are also some massive holes the Lions will need to cover up.
Watch to see how well the Lions play together as an entire unit. It will be hard to watch anything else but Hutchinson on defense. However, count how many Lions players are at the sight of the tackle when the play is done. That’s a clear give-way whether or not the relentless defensive mindset has been installed yet.
Malcolm Rodriguez
After being selected in the 6th round, the Oklahoma State rookie quickly made his name on this team. Rodriguez has been taking some reps with the first team at his respective linebacker position. Finding a 6th-round stud out of nowhere would be huge for this team. The Lions might have the worst linebacker unit in the NFL on paper. If we can find a day one starter to help fill the void, sign me up.
It’s unclear whether Rodriguez will start the game or not on Friday. Regardless, he’ll get his fair share of snaps. Watch for him (number 44) to make some impact plays. See how close he is to the tackle every snap, as it’s usually the linebacker’s job to be there. Look for aggression, hard hits, awareness, and the ability to run downhill. Seeing him do those things means we’re in good shape. But, If you see him get swallowed by blocks and be indecisive at what he’s doing, we’ve got work to do. But hey, learning is what the pre-season is for.
Additional Information
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