Fantasy Scouting Report: Detroit Lions

Pride of Detroit breaks it all down with respect to the Lions fantasy value.

RB Kevin Smith – Coming off one of the worst performances of his career, Kevin Smith has vowed to play better this week against the Vikings. In his two games against the Vikings last season, Smith rushed for just over 60 yards both times. The interesting part is that he only had 5 carries in the first game and 21 in the second. I don’t expect the Vikings to quickly jump out to a big lead, so the Lions should be able to stick with their gameplan of establishing the run. I do expect Smith to play better, so he is a probably a good option for your second running back spot or the flex position if you have one.

WR Calvin Johnson – Calvin Johnson has scored a touchdown in three of the four games he’s played against the Vikings in his career. Last year he racked up around 85 yards and scored a TD in each game against Minnesota, and he’s probably good for at least that this Sunday. Johnson had 90 yards on 3 catches last week and should have had a touchdown, but the referees screwed up a call that couldn’t be reviewed. He should be in your starting lineup on Sunday.

TE Brandon Pettigrew – Jim Schwartz said that Brandon Pettigrew’s lack of production against the Saints was mainly due to the fact that the Lions were playing from behind. While that may have been the case, Pettigrew didn’t even have one pass thrown in his direction. I expect that to change on Sunday, but not enough to justify putting Pettigrew in your starting lineup. If you have another option at tight end Pettigrew should be on the bench.

Lions defense/special teams - If the Lions are anywhere close to being your starting defense, perhaps it’s time to stop playing fantasy football. They were lit up by Drew Brees and Mike Bell, who isn’t even a starter, last week and in general looked pretty bad. The Lions forced more turnovers than they usually do (Louis Delmas scored a touchdown on a fumble return and Dewayne White blocked a field goal), but not enough to make this unit worthwhile. Adrian Peterson hasn’t lit up the Lions defense too much so far in his career, but their rush defense appears to be as bad as ever, so it will probably be a long day for Detroit.

The team may not be so good, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have a top-notch Lions blog like Pride of Detroit.