Packers Should Be Ready For Lions' Screen Game

The Lions ate up the Packers' pressure defense with a wide variety of screen passes back in October. Expect Dom Capers to adjust his defense accordingly.

When the Lions came into Lambeau back on October 3rd, Scott Linehan, Detroit's offensive coordinator, ate the Packers' fire zone pressure scheme up with a variety of screens and delayed passes to the backs and tight ends. Particularly on third down, whenever Dom Capers brought pressure, Linehan had a screen or a drag play ready to counter it.

One of the things Detroit did so well was use their tight ends on delayed crossing patterns over the middle where Capers had sent his patented double A gap crossing blitz with A.J. Hawk and Nick Barnett. Lions quarterback Shaun Hill simply went to a max protect, invited the rush by taking a deep back-peddle, and then hitting a tight end on a cross or a late release into the flat. Once the ball was in their hands, the Lions were usually greeted with nothing but grass until well past the first down marker.

Making matters worse were the few times the Packers actually had a man in coverage, most often Brandon Chillar, he missed the tackle. This happened at least three times and they all resulted in first downs. That simply can not happen again.

Look for Capers to ease off on the cross dog stuff, at least initially. He has been using a lot more straight-up four man rushes the last month or so. That could become an issue if C.J. Wilson and/or Jarius Wynn aren't able to get a push up the middle in place of the injured Cullen Jenkins. But expect to see a lot of Capers' 2-4-5 with both Zombo and Matthews rushing straight off the edge with a mix of man and zone behind it, with a lot less of the fire-zone stuff Capers ran back in October.

 

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Comments (9)

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ZeroTolerance's picture

December 10, 2010 at 10:55 am

And what could the Lions do to counter this, and do they have the ammunition?

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corey jenkins's picture

December 10, 2010 at 11:40 am

Chuck it to Johnson. And then, chuck it to Johnson.

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Norman's picture

December 10, 2010 at 01:18 pm

Who is this Chuck Johnson of whom you speak?

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Cole's picture

December 10, 2010 at 12:10 pm

Look for Matthews to play with a chip on his shoulder after all the media outlets are grilling him for drop in sacks. Flatten Drew Stanton!

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rickybobby's picture

December 10, 2010 at 12:31 pm

CJ wilson will have 2 sacks.
why?
BECAUSE HE'S THE NEXT MAN UP!

if woodson doesn't play, shields will have a pick-6.
why?
BECAUSE HE'S THE NEXT MAN UP!

starks will run for 100+ and a TD.
why?
BECAUSE HE'S THE NEXT MAN UP!

I love this team so much.
You just can't kill them.
They just keep coming at you.
Like zombies!
shoot'em in the leg... they keep coming.
chop off an arm... they keep coming.
shotgun blast to the torso... they keep coming.
hatchet straight to the top of the scalp... they keep coming.

Prob not gonna win the SB this year... but I've never been prouder to be a fan of this team.

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djbonney138's picture

December 10, 2010 at 12:50 pm

+1

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AJKUHN's picture

December 10, 2010 at 01:29 pm

No, like Zombos....

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bomdad's picture

December 10, 2010 at 01:55 pm

Mabye Bigby can play a LB type role in the 5 man backfield.

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NoWayJose's picture

December 10, 2010 at 05:18 pm

Good week to practice covering the TEs. New England is going to try to absolutely murder us with TE screens and crossing patterns.

Time to figure this one out!

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