Opponent Preview: Detroit Lions face St. Louis Rams in Week 1
The minicamp and organised team activities (OTAs) have come to an end and players along with coaches are currently on their short vacations before returning for the start of training camp.
With training camp the National Football League (NFL) preseason will start in earnest and then we can get back to watching the real deal as the regular season starts from September.
Not much except for player contract disputes and the regular tussles between the NFL and NFL Players Association (NFLPA) are currently in the news.
So till the training camps start up we will be looking at the prospects of teams for the upcoming season with a complete week-by-week opponent preview.
This article will take a complete look at each opponent that will be faced by one of last season’s most exciting team the Detroit Lions.
Week 1: St. Louis Rams
It seems an easy enough start of the new season for the Detroit Lions as they take on one of the poorest teams from last season in their first game.
The St. Louis Rams ended last year with a horrendous 2-14 record and were one of the worst teams on offence ranking in 30th overall in passing offence while picking up a 23rd overall rank on the rush.
They hired ex-New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator, Greg Williams early in the offseason but as everyone by now knows Williams was banned indefinitely from coaching for his involvement in the New Orleans Saints bounty scandal.
Quarterback, Sam Bradford has struggled to live up to his first pick status with the Rams with both his seasons being quite disappointing.
Now in his third year, Bradford has been given another opportunity to prove himself and with new head coach, Jeff Fisher taking over, Bradford might just find his college form back.
Fisher brings experience and discipline to the Rams and the franchise will surely not suffer another embarrassing season like 2011 again.
All in all though, this game has a Lions victory written all over it and it would be a massive surprise if the Rams came out with a win.
Head-to-Head
Both teams have faced each other 82 times with the last game being played in 2010 which resulted in a one-sided 44-6 victory for the Lions.
St. Louis though just barely have more wins over the Lions with the Rams winning 42 and Detroit winning 39. One game was tied.
They also have met in the playoffs just once with Detroit winning that encounter.
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