Matt Patricia, who was fired in his third season as coach of the Lions in 2020, will look for revenge against his former team.
Players that pre-dated Patricia:
T Taylor Decker
Brought in during Patricia's tenure:
C Frank Ragnow
TE T.J. Hockenson
CB Will Harris
DL Austin Bryant
CB Amani Oruwariye
P Jack Fox
T Matt Nelson
LB Anthony Pittman
CB Jeff Okudah
RB D'Andre Swift
LB Julian Okwara
G Jonah Jackson
G Logan Stenberg
WR Quintez Cephus
C Evan Brown
CB Bobby Price
Some aren't surprised that Patricia is over on the offensive side now.
“It wouldn’t be something that I would expect, but especially from like the coordinator standpoint, I mean, it’s not surprising that he would be able to pick up those reins,” Decker told the Detroit Free Press. “And obviously Bill Belichick is really good at what he does. I’m not going to second-guess his decisions.”
“Defensive coaches understand what it takes to run a good offense,” Jackson said in the same story. “I wouldn’t doubt he’s able to correlate those things into the other side of the ball. Smart guy. Aeronautical sciences? That’s a lot harder than figuring out how to put out 11 personnel.”
A look at the Lions' current personnel, coaches' film analysis, matchup advantages and disadvantages, gameplan points and game pick:
LIONS
Well-coordinated offense by Ben Johnson that does a little bit of everything between power and outside zone running. Likes motion and flow. Can go five wides and spread things out, or tighten things up and go power. Good blend of passing and running. They are kind of a moving target on offense. Will change attacking style possession to possession.
Quarterback
16 Jared Goff: Typical Goff. He's good and accurate when he's kept clean and his first option there, so he can be decisive. Take away his first read and get him looking around, he will stare down receivers and be late. Will throw you the ball at least 2-3 times a game. Will you capitalize?
Running backs
30 Jamaal Williams: No D'Andre Swift, who is one of the best backs in the league but Williams is an excellent backup. Runs with good power and quickness. Not great out of the backfield.
46 Craig Reynolds: Not special but rock-solid in every way. Will get what is blocked for him. Not much shake.
Receivers
14 Amon-Ra St. Brown: Questionable for the game, missed last week (ankle). Still has most targets (33 on the team). Big-play guy. 6-1 but not overly fast. Just a good receiver.
88 T.J. Hockenson: The guy you really have to worry about. Will be featured in the red zone, will split him out. Goff's security blanket.
8 Josh Reynolds: Tall and lanky former Ram is a good target. Has played less in the slot with each week. Has 24 targets and 17 catches.
85 Tom Kennedy: Love the Bryant product. Slot type. Gets open, good quickness, great hands.
11 Kalif Raymond: Slot receiver. Inconsistent hands. Will get open once in a while.
Offensive line
LT 68 Taylor Decker: Solid left tackle, more of a right tackle. Last allowed team-high 11 pressures. Slow of foot. More of a power player. Good fundamentals.
LG 73 Jonah Jackson/70 Dan Skipper: Jackson has missed a few games with a thumb injury but should be back for this game, which would be a huge bonus. Really good player. Skipper, the former Patriot journeyman, has tried at guard. Way too tall to play there. Slow.
C 77 Frank Ragnow: Patriots toyed with trading up to get him a few years ago. Nasty. Has only allowed one QB pressure all season.
RG 63 Evan Brown/Logan Sternberg: Sternberg started the season but has been injured. Got off to a rough start with 10 pressure in first two games. Brown is a backup. He's not very good or athletic.
RT 58 Penei Sewell: Former seventh overall pick is an excellent player, has allowed one sack and seven pressures. Not very powerful, more of an athlete
DEFENSE
Coordinated by former Jets corner Aaron Glenn, this group is an undisciplined mess. There's a ton of talent and speed, but they are often thrown off by motion and there are constant communication problems. If you can can use motion and different sets, you can find some easy yards and TDs (Seahawks had a score in the 2-yard line on a complete coverage bust).
Defensive line
DE 97 Aidan Hutchinson: First overall pick is the real deal with a blend of speed and power. Gets a little out of control and will run by the QB. Relentless motor. Was dealing with an injury last game.
DT 54 Alim McNeill: More of a gap penetrator than anything. Not very stout in the middle.
DT 90 Michael Brockers/96 Isaiah Buggs: Former Ram still causes some problems in the pass game, but both of these guys are terrible against the run.
DE 99 Julian Okwara/52 Demetrius Taylor: Charles Harris is out again, which is big for the Patriots. Okwara looks the part, but doesn't play like it. Taylor, a surprising UDFA, could get a lot of run as a power DE.
Linebackers
34 Alex Anzalone: Love the former Saint but he's a little miscast as the Mike. Smart and tough, he doesn't run very well and can be taken in the pass game.
44 Malcolm Rodriguez: The Hard Knocks star out of the sixth round is the real deal. Reminds me of a Zach Thomas. Fast, smart and tough. Don't know why they take him off the field.
Secondary
24 Amani Oruwariye: CB 2 is absolutely terrible. Can't cover or tackle. Green light all day. Allowed two touchdowns.
1 Jeff Okudah: One of Patricia's top picks has slowly come on. Uber talented but gives a lot of cushion.
23 Mike Hughes: Slot cornerback has had a tough season. Seems to get lined up really late.
S 31 Kerby Joseph: Free safety is OK. Tackles hard and covers fairly well.
S 5 DeShon Elliott: Good, solid box safety. Tackles very well. Not great in coverage.
MATCHUP ADVANTAGES
Jared Goff off his first read: If he reads the defense well and has a good idea of where the openings will be, Goff is pretty good. He'll cut the ball loose and be fairly accurate. If you can show him one thing, and switch ... he starts getting panicky.
Whoever is at RG: As long as they don't move Jonah Jackson over there, the Patriots should be able to send blitzes toward the RG and have success.
Running game up the middle: Detroit is very small and light up the middle. Patriots should have no issues using the gap scheme up the middle.
Draw plays: Against Seattle, the Lions were terrible when the Seahawks spread them out. I wouldn't be surprised if Bailey Zappe scores a running TD in this one.
MATCHUP DISADVANTAGES
RTs vs. Aidan Hutchinson: They've been talking about moving him around, but really worry about the top overall pick against Isaiah Wynn and/or Marcus Cannon. He has too much speed and power for them.
TE Hockenson 1-on-1: I expect the Patriots to pay him a lot of attention, but they haven't done a good job against TEs so far this season.
Detroit running game: If the Lions are healthy on the line, they have a good line that will do damage in the running game.
Lions blitzing linebackers: I would assume the Lions would be uber-aggressive against Bailey Zappe and Matt Patricia. Lions are fast. I'm not sure they can block them.
GAME PLAN POINTS
1. Get a lead: The Lions are much easier to defend when they are trailing. It's a good offense. The quicker you make them play one way, the better.
2. Keep Matt Patricia focused on the task: When he arrived back in New England, Patricia was really messed up mentally from the Detroit experience and need some time to decompress. I'm sure he wants to enact some revenge, but the Patriots don't need that.
3. Just pummel them with the run: This is not a time to get stupid. Detroit is terrible against the run. Run for 300 yards, run a little playaction. Keep it simple.
4. Change up looks on Goff: If you keep him guessing what he's going to see, he's going to get confused and throw you the ball.
GAME PICK
BetOnline.ag Line: Patirots -3. O/U: 45.5
Bedard's record: 4-0 straight up, 4-0 vs. spread
Patriots 24, Lions 20.
FINAL INJURY REPORT
