Packers Week Three Opponent: Rodgers could have a big day against thin Lions secondary

This is part two of a three-part series on the Green Bay Packers‘ Week Three opponent, the Detroit Lions. Click here for a breakdown of the Lions offense.

DEFENSE

Currently, the Lions have the second-ranked defense, only allowing 255 yards per game. However, these numbers could be misleading only two games into the regular season.

Having played a poor New York Giants club and a banged up Panthers offense in the first two weeks, I’ll hold my reservations for judging this defense until they can prove they can stop a group as talented as Green Bay’s offense.

Without a doubt, the Lions defense has a talented front seven. Highlighted by players like Ndamukong Suh, DeAndre Levy, and Stephen Tulloch, Detroit has only allowed 57.5 yards on the ground per game, placing them second in the NFL in this category.

Don’t be surprised if Eddie Lacy has another quiet week. However, where Green Bay will really test Detroit’s defense is in their secondary.

Cassius Vaughn and James Ihedigbo have already been ruled out of the game, but starting nickel corner Bill Bentley and rookie defensive back Nevin Lawson have also been placed on injured reserve.

Detroit is thin in the secondary. On Sunday, their nickel corner will be Danny Gorrer, who has yet to play a down this season. Green Bay loves to play with three-receiver sets, so Gorrer on Randall Cobb could be a major mismatch in Green Bay’s favor.

Defensive Line

Suh is one of the best interior defensive lineman in the game. He’s tough against the run and explosive enough to be effective as a pass rusher. In his four years in the NFL, he’s averaged just over six sacks per season.

However, Suh had one of his worst games last season in first meeting between the Packers and Lions. Right guard T.J. Lang shut out the dominant defensive lineman and will look to have similar success against Suh this week.

Defensive tackle Nick Fairley is also a Pro Bowl-caliber player, but he’s not nearly as a good of a run defender as Suh. Fairley will give up ground at times and has been a near non-factor the last few times the two teams have met.

Defensive end Ezekiel Ansah is an athletic edge rusher and had a good rookie debut last season, recording eight sacks and 34 pressures. Last year, he gave Packers left tackle David Bakhtiari some trouble and should be a challenge for the second-starter again this week, if he’s given the green light to play. Ansah is dealing with a knee injury and will be a game-time decision.

Jason Jones is a solid veteran defensive end with good size (6-5, 275) but isn’t the pass rusher recently departed Willie Young is.

The Packers have the talent on the interior of their offensive line to handle Detroit’s talented defensive tackles, but a healthy Ansah could give them trouble on the edge.

Linebacker

Tulloch is a tackling machine at middle linebacker. He led the team with 135 stops last year and is a speedy 5-11, 245-pound linebacker who anchors the middle of their defense. Tulloch does struggle in coverage at times though.

DeAndre Levy is a rising star at outside linebacker. Last year, he recorded six interceptions, and is already off to a good start this season with an interception in week one.

Levy is quick and instinctual. He’s great at making plays on the ball in coverage and is also pretty stout against the run, holding down the right side edge.

Tahir Whitehead is a first-year starter at left outside linebacker and has been quiet so far this season, only recording four total tackles. Whitehead can get exposed in pass coverage and will be the first defender coming off the field when Detroit goes to their nickel defense.

Defensive Back

The weakness on Detroit’s defense is their secondary. They are built similar to the Jets, which Aaron Rodgers had no problem exposing for 345 passing yards last week.

Detroit lost their top defensive back from last season, safety Louis Delmas, in free agency, and his replacement Ihedigbo still hasn’t played a snap for Detroit this season.

Backup Isa Abdul-Quddus has played admirably at strong safety in Ihedigbo’s absence. He allowed three receptions and a touchdown in week one, but played much better against Carolina last week.

Free safety Glover Quinn is going into his sixth season and brings some experience to Detroit’s secondary. He won’t make a lot of plays on the ball–he’s only recorded nine career interceptions, but he’s solid in coverage. He didn’t allow a single touchdown last season.

Starting cornerbacks Darius Slay and Rasean Mathis both have good size (6-1 and around 190), but are just okay and won’t do a lot to really stand out on gameday.

Mathis hasn’t recorded a single interception the past three seasons, and going into his 12th season, he seems to be slowing down. He allowed a touchdown and 43 receiving yards last week against Carolina.

Slay is only in his second season, but he only started four games as a rookie. Last year, Slay allowed four passing touchdowns and 436 yards in only 48 pass attempts. Slay is starting this season in place of departed veteran Chris Houston.

Gorrer will play nickel in place of injured Vaughn and Nevin Lawson, but should struggle in his season debut.

Special Teams

Rookie kicker Nate Freese has struggled early on, missing three out of his five field goal attempts. Freese missed two key 40-yarders in last week’s loss.

Punter Sam Martin is going into his second season and played well last year as a rookie, posting a 47.2 punting average and 22 punts pinned inside the 20-yard line.

Jeremy Ross can be dangerous as a returner. He burned Green Bay last year on a 98-yard kick return for a touchdown.