All eyes will be on third overall pick Sam Darnold, as the Detroit Lions start their 2018 campaign with a Monday night visit from the New York Jets.
New York Jets @ Detroit Lions: Monday, September 10, 7:10 pm est, ESPN
It’s finally that time of year. We get to see some real football. No more do we have to hear about the preseason and how poorly the team played. Now the fans and the media can get a real idea of what we are going to see from the Detroit Lions in 2018. The Lions begin the season with a Monday night primetime game against the Jets and their record on Monday Night Football as of recently may surprise the casual fan. Although the Lions hold a mediocre 5-5 record on Monday nights, since 2010, they did go 2-0 last season and their luck on Monday night has been much better than on Sunday evenings.
This Weeks Opponent: The New York Jets
The New York Jets have been in the midst of a rebuild for years and it seems that they keep finding the potential number one caliber player at the top of the draft, despite not having the number one pick since 1997. Players like Leonard Williams have fallen to them at number six and they feel that they got a steal in number three pick Sam Darnold out of USC. The knock on him coming out of College was his tendency to turn the ball over, so it will be interesting to see how he performs and he will almost certainly be the only rookie to start week one.
Detroit Lions 53-Man Roster Is Complete
Most of the fan favorites from camp and the preseason made the Lions official 53-man roster which was released this week along with a few moves to bring in other players to the practice squad. The most intriguing decision amongst the offensive cuts has to be the decision to keep 6 wide receivers and 4 tight ends. A lot of people were rooting for UDFA Brandon Powell to make it as a wide receiver and Hakeem Valles to make it with the tight ends, but it was somewhat of a surprise to see that wide receiver Bradley Marquez was also kept on the team. The decision to keep a lot of receivers means that the team is potentially down one depth player on the o-line and with the Lions units’ history of injury, that may have to change sometime this season.
Matt Patricia And His History With The Jets
Since Matt Patricia began calling defensive plays for the New England Patriots in 2010, the Jets have been unable to beat one of his defenses on the road in the regular season. Patricia held an 8-0 home record against the Jets in the regular season with average points allowed of 14.6 and only 9 points allowed the last two games. The Lions have much better personnel on the defensive side of the ball than New England and although it will be Detroit’s first full game in a new system, expect the Jets (who added little offense outside of Isaiah Crowell) to potentially struggle on offense while Jim Bob Cooter and Matthew Stafford put together a decent performance offensively.
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