Green Bay Packers: Ranking NFC North opponents for 2018
By Hunter Noll
Detroit Lions
Matthew Stafford is one of the most underrated players in the NFL. It’s incredible how the media seems to continuously overlook the quarterback. There’s no “Megatron makes him look good” argument anymore either. He continuously puts up fantastic numbers despite having no running game behind him.
That could be different for the quarterback this season though, as the Lions brought in LeGarrette Blount. Mixed with Theo Riddick and rookie Kerryon Johnson, Detroit could have an interesting group in the backfield. There are more than enough weapons in at the receiver position as well, led by Golden Tate and Marvin Jones.
The defense definitely has it’s fair share of problems though. They have some absolute studs like Darius Slay and Ezekiel Ansah, but the bad outweighs the good. If the Lions want to keep up with the Vikings and the Packers, they’ll need to improve defensively.
Technically, the Lions allowed less points per game last season than the Packers. Green Bay suffered from poor quarterback play that gave the defense some miserable starting position though.
A new head coach in Matt Patricia adds an intriguing wrinkle. He understands how to win (being a former New England Patriots coordinator). How will he perform as a head coach though? The Patriots’ defense allowed the fourth most yards in the NFL last season under Patricia, but the fifth fewest points. So it’s hard to tell what type of impact he’ll have on the unit.
Detroit can make waves due to a dangerous offense led by Stafford. It’s tough to take them as a serious threat to a Packers team boasting a healthy Rodgers thanks to the defense. Unless something changes for them, third place seems almost inevitable at this stage.
Grade: B-