Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers-Detroit Lions: Essential matchups

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Green Bay Packers fans can’t help but feel a sense of urgency, or dare I say desperation, in anticipating the Week 3 date with the Detroit Lions.

Much has been made about the offense, or lack thereof, so far as Aaron Rodgers and company have exhibited a lack of timing and chemistry that will prompt legions of Packers fans to press the panic button if their beloved team falls short of conquering their long-time division rivals.

The Jim Caldwell-led Lions have their own share of dilemmas coming off a home loss to the Tennessee Titans. Penalties – 17 of them – were a major reason why the Silver and Blue fell apart and relinquished a 15-3 lead.

Making matters worse is the fact that Detroit finds itself plagued by a number of key injuries at the running back, defensive end and linebacker positions – in particular with Ameer Abdullah and Ziggy Ansah scheduled to miss an undetermined amount of time.

Perennially-ailing DeAndre Levy, on the other hand, is dealing with a quad injury and seems doubtful to suit up for Sunday’s game, even though the tight-lipped Caldwell has refused to divulge any information to clarify his status.

On paper, this contest sets up as a great opportunity for the Packers’ offense to get back on track versus a depleted defensive unit that should have issues covering the middle of the field.

But games aren’t won on paper and teams don’t generate points because of reputation.

It would be wise to take a wait-and-see approach and not expect an offensive breakout based mainly on the logic that players and coaches are angry or extra motivated from last week’s ego-crushing pillaging suffered at the hands of Minnesota.

While most Cheesehead supporters have every right to remain hopeful of a turnaround with 14 games remaining on the regular schedule, another sputtering performance from an erratic Packers attack may just confirm that last year’s struggles weren’t an aberration.

So let’s take a look at the essential matchups that should have a significant impact in determining which side will be earning a second “W” in the victory column.

Let’s start with the Packers’ tight end position …

Jared Cook versus Tahir Whitehead

Green Bay Packers tight end Jared Cook. Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

The Packers made a concerted effort to get Jared Cook more involved as the eighth-year veteran played in 65-percent of the team’s offensive snaps versus the Vikings as opposed to being on the field for 52-percent of the time the week before.

Whereas Cook had to deal with instinctive inside linebacker Eric Kendricks and all-world free safety Harrison Smith last Sunday, Week 3’s matchup isn’t nearly as daunting against a Lions’ defense that has already given up four touchdowns to the tight-end opposition.

Detroit’s shortage of linebackers will force them to play Tahir Whitehead on both running and passing downs. Although the Temple product is blessed with 4.65 speed, he struggles when dropping into coverage and cannot adequately change directions to stay tight to his man.

Teryl Austin’s unit experienced a myriad of communication breakdowns in Detroit’s opening game that led to Dwayne Allen and Jack Doyle combining for 88 yards on seven receptions and three touchdowns. And while the game plan was to stop Delanie Walker from moving the chains versus the Titans, the 32-year-old tight end reeled in six grabs for 83 yards including a 30-yard touchdown.

Overall, no other defense has surrendered more fantasy points to tight ends (29.45) on a per-game basis thus far in the new season.

Things don’t look to get better any time soon with the likes of converted defensive end Brandon Copeland and recently-signed Thurston Armbrister helping Whitehead patrol the middle. Armbrister, in particular, looked lost in defending the run and pass last week as his reaction skills aren’t up to par in keeping up with backs and tight ends.

Green Bay Packers tight end Richard Rodgers. Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

The safety position is a mixed bag with Austin using the tandem of Tavon Wilson and Rafael Bush at strong safety, both of whom are feisty, but neither known for their ability to cover pass catchers. Glover Quin is a heady and rangy defensive back who plays deep in Detroit’s single-high safety looks , but he’ll have his hands full trying to support cornerback Nevin Lawson who frequently loses his battles in man coverage due to poor technique and a lack of recovery speed.

Opportunities to make plays will be in the offing for both Cook and Richard Rodgers. The great thing about the former is the fact that his enormous 6-foot-5, 254-pound frame doesn’t require him to create a ton of separation to get open due to his box-out skills.

Nick Perry versus Reilly Reiff

Green Bay Packers inside linebacker Clay Matthews and Green Bay Packers outside linebacker Nick Perry sack Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins. Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

After years of maddening inconsistency and injury woes, Nick Perry is finally starting to turn things around in his fifth-season in the pro ranks.

The former USC Trojan has been wreaking havoc off the edge as indicated by his two-game totals of six tackles, two TFLs (tackles for loss), two quarterback hits and 1.5 sacks.

Moreover, his performances have earned him top grades of 80.9 and 80.6 from Pro Football Focus (PFF)

His ability to explode out of his stance should pose major problems for right tackle Riley Reiff who is more of a catcher of blocks rather than being the one who initiates contact off the snap.

One reason for this may the one-time first-round pick’s relatively short arms (33 ¼”) for a man of his physical dimensions at 6-foot-6, 313 pounds which could could make him susceptible to lunging at defenders and losing his balance in the process.

Week 2 saw opposing rushers continually get into Reiff’s chest while pushing him into the pocket.

Though drafted as a left tackle in 2012, the coaching staff was forced to shift him to the right due to his awkward footwork and poor lateral agility.

The better choice might have been to push Reiff inside where he can use his hand skills and natural strength to overpower linemen in a phone booth.

Needless to say, the South Dakota native will be under a lot pressure to keep Stafford clean this week.

The franchise quarterback has already been sacked five times and absorbed a number of violent hits in 2016 … not to mention the fact that Stafford has been sacked 89 times combined in 2015 and 16.

Only Blake Bortles, Ryan Tannehill and Alex Smith have been on the receiving end of more sacks over that two-year period prior the current season in session.

Mike Daniels/Kenny Clark versus Laken Tomlinson/Travis Swanson/Larry Warford

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson (3) is tackled by Green Bay Packers defensive end Mike Daniels (76). Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Much like Arnold Schwarzenegger in the old 1985 action flick Commando, Mike Daniels was kicking butt and taking names throughout much of the first half last Sunday.

Vikings blockers were no match for the 310-pound jackhammer’s brute strength and leverage.

There’s nothing exotic about the way the fourth-year lineman wins his battles in trenches, but the only inside blocker that may have a chance of slowing down Daniels is Larry Warford, who flashes the balance and lower-body flexibility to drive back inferior opponents and hold his ground against quality interior defenders.

Laken Tomlinson, conversely, is a basket case that can’t seem to get on track. His slow get-off and tendency to hold his feet too closely together often results in the Jamaica-born guard trailing his man that has already exploded past him.

The heavy-footed lineman’s lack of quickness off the snap forces him to overextend his upper body and lose his balance. It’s no coincidence that PFF ranked Tomlinson as the worst player on the field in Detroit’s Week 2 loss along with assigning him a dismal number grade of 44.0 putting him at the bottom tier of qualifying offensive guards after two weeks of play.

Much-maligned center Travis Swanson is a certified liability at the center position that routinely gets exposed in one-on-one battles and ends up on the ground with great frequency.

All hands will be on deck for Green Bay’s pile driver as he’ll be champing on the bit to hit them with them with a resounding boom.

Golden Tate/Marvin Jones versus Green Bay’s Secondary

Packers cornerback Damarious Randall is one of Ted Thompson’s best draft picks. Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The prognosis on Sam Shields isn’t promising. The latest reports indicate that Green Bay’s No. 1 cornerback is still in the NFL’s concussion protocol and will certainly miss this Sunday’s game and quite possibly more to come.

While the Packers’ secondary is commonly viewed as one of the deeper defensive backfields in the league, the team’s defensive backs didn’t hold up well versus Minnesota with Sam Bradford and Stefan Diggs combining to carve them up.

Damarious Randall failed miserably in his efforts to contain Diggs, who continually ran circles around No. 23.

Entering last week’s contest, Randall delivered a nearly flawless showing against a high-octane Jaguars’ attack, which leads this writer to reason that the 24-year-old may have simply melted and succumbed to the pressure of performing under the bright lights in a Sunday-night spotlight game.

Green Bay Packers cornerback Quinten Rollins (24) against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Cardinals defeated the Packers 38-8. Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

But speculation aside, Randall was matched up against a rising star in Diggs that has the speed, agility and route-running skills to put just about any NFL cornerback to shame in man coverage.

This week, the 5-foot-11 corner should see a lot of Golden Tate, who excels as an underneath receiver with running-back skills to break tackles. This year, the former Seattle Seahawk is being used a lot more on the outside due to the presence of off-season addition Anquan Boldin who occupies the slot.

Tate played one of his worst games versus Tennessee by catching only two passes for 13 yards along with recording two drops and committing a pair of penalties as well.

Don’t surprised to see offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter get Tate the ball on a few plays that will ask the Steve Smith-clone to run shorter slants and hitches to get him going.

Much like any top-notch corner, Randall will need to delete his unsightly Week 2 outing from his memory bank and play physical with Tate by jamming him at the line to disrupt his timing. Most importantly, though, he can’t afford to miss tackles especially when there’s no one behind to bail him out.

It will be interesting to watch if the Packers will provide Randall with some help coverage if he continues to give up big plays since he was basically left to drown for the most part against Diggs.

Marvin Jones may pose an even greater threat to the Packers. The acrobatic 6-foot-2 wideout features 4.47 speed and exceptional body control to come down with off-balance throws outside of his frame.

Green Bay Packers cornerback LaDarius Gunter. Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

Jones can be especially effective in the red-zone area where he can use his size and physicality to fight off or elevate over defenders. It wasn’t too long ago when the ex-Bengal scored 10 touchdowns on 14 red-zone targets back in 2013.

Will a bigger cornerback such as Ladarius Gunter be up to the task of keeping Jones out of the end zone? Dom Capers may go in another direction, but the Packers must avoid getting flagged when defending the first-year Lion on deep balls given his notable ball-tracking skills.

If Green Bay fails to secure a much-needed confidence-building win in their home opener, it will most likely be the result of Tate or Jones—or both—torching the secondary with big plays.