The Detroit Lions will be the first to tell you that good, fundamentally sound football requires the effort and skill of 11 players working in harmony. That was painfully obvious last Thursday night, when just about every play had one or two players not doing their assignment, and it made the entire team look disjointed against the Bills.
Obviously, in order to turn things around this week against the New York Jets, the Lions need to get everyone on the same page. But even if they do, it will still
require heroic efforts from individuals to move Detroit to 2-1 through three weeks.
So today’s Question of the Day is:
Who will be the Lions’ MVP against the Jets?
My answer: I think this could be a big Sam LaPorta game.
This week Scottie Montgomery basically said that teams were surprisingly not double-teaming Amon-Ra St. Brown, and they were totally fine just feeding the All-Pro receiver until someone tried to stop them.
“When Saint continues to play at the level that he plays at, we will start to see something that we haven’t seen quite as much this year—maybe because of the training camp that Jameson (Williams) had—we haven’t seen as much double (teams) on Saint, which is allowing him to get some one-on-one situations,” Montgomery said.
But what he said next is where I’m going with this. Montgomery knows Jets coach Aaron Glenn knows how St. Brown can take over a game, and he’s betting he won’t let him.
“I know that that’s the last thing that he wants to see, Saint running around,” Montgomery said.
Whether the Jets will be able to contain St. Brown is a matter of opinion, but I do believe that will be their focus this week—especially considering how leaky the Jets’ middle of the defense is.
Now, that may open up opportunities for Williams deep this week, but personally, I think LaPorta will benefit most. If the Jets’ best linebackers and safeties are providing bracket coverage for St. Brown, that should leave LaPorta to operate over the rest of the field.
On top of that, I still believe LaPorta’s impact in the run game is underappreciated. The offensive line may need some extra help with a pretty strong Jets offensive line, and LaPorta could be the key to help Jahmyr Gibbs break a big run or two that could shift the game.
Which Lions player do you think will come out on Sunday as the team’s most valuable or impactful player? Share your answer in the comment section.
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