Jim Caldwell brings his farewell tour to Seattle tonight as the Detroit Lions (0-3) line up to be sacrificed at the alter of the Seahawks (1-2), who’ve made the decision to go ahead and start winning games and beating the hell out of people. Like they do.
Working out in Detroit’s favor is the absence of Marshawn Lynch, the Seahawks’ All-Word running back. Russell Wilson is still there, as is an underrated wide receiver corps and tight end Jimmy Graham, whose just now starting to look comfortable in Seattle’s system.
Kam Chancellor is back with the defense and that changes the whole complexion on that side of the ball. Detroit, oddly, is one of the few teams who should be able to challeneg the Seahawks defense with former ‘Hawk Golden Tate and Calvin Johnson, who for some reason Jim Caldwell has decided to leave out of the gameplan this season. Matt Stafford is expected to play, but he’s still banged up. The less said about the Lions’ defense the better.
Here’s my pick and explanation from last week’s Friday Afternoon Quarterback.
Monday Night
Detroit at Seattle (-9.5)
Here’s another game that probably looked good on paper back in March when the TV schedule was being put together that now looks a lot more like the Harlem Globetrotters against the Washington Generals. Maybe Russell Wilson will stuff the ball up his jersey and pretend he’s pregnant while running for a touchdown. You know. Make it fun. Seahawks 41, Lions 20 (survivor pool pick)
The match up is between the No. 7 team on my Power Rankings and the No. 32 team. Here’s what I had to say about that.
7. Seattle Seahawks – (1-2) The Seahawks are the only team with a losing record in our top 10, but if you have to ask why they’re here, I’m sorry you’ve been in a coma the last four seasons. And, hey, this whole Trump thing came out of nowhere for all of us. Last week: No. 11
32. Detroit Lions – (0-3) I liked the piece Sunday Night football did last week with Tony Dungy interviewing Jim Caldwell. It was good experience for Caldwell, since he’ll next be interviewing at OfficeMax in January.. Last week: No. 32
With Joe Philbin getting the ax today, Caldwell is the next man up on the “should be fired” list. He probably won’t be able to help his case with a win, but keeping it close and making it a battle can’t hurt.
Lastly, before you scroll down and hit up the Live Blog, we’ll take a look at Joshua Shwager’s Calculated Line for the game. Josh puts these together Friday and Saturday every week.
Detroit Lions (+9.5-105) vs. Seattle Seahawks (-9.5-115)
In the largest projected line on the night the Seattle Seahawks look to capitalize on their slow start by playing yet again one of the worst teams in the National Football League….
A lot of this game will come, from the line point of view, on how dominant Seattle can make their run game. The Lions are limiting opposing running backs to 3.1 yards a play a metric that may prove pivotal in the game flow. But seeing as they allow a net yardage of 8 yards per throwing attempt even if the Lions can slow down Lynch and Rawls the diversification of Russell Wilson’s targets will prove to be too much. My model still has faith that the Lions are not as bad as the 0-3 start indicates but I am not so sure myself.
Win Percentage: Seattle Seahawks 68% | Detroit Lions 32%
Calculated Line: -8.5 Seattle Seahawks
So we’re ready to go. The game starts at 8:15 p.m EST on ESPN. Watch it with me. I might make some jokes. With Jim Caldwell coaching, you can probably count on it.
