Editor: Joe Bryant. Game Recap Contributors: Mike Anderson, Michael Brown, Chris Burtt, J.D. Caldwell, David Dodds, Jim Enochs, Joel Faulhaber, Michael Flynn, Kevin Goldblum, Clayton Gray, Bob Harris, Fred Hebert, Jesse Hilsenrad, Drew Kendall, Jeff Lewis, Joey Matusek, Justin Oliver, Steve Prosapio, David Shick, Cody Smith, Scott Smith, Jeffrey Stout. Green Bay 37 at Detroit 31 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Green Bay Packers: The Packer defense played somewhat sloppy. They stopped the Lion run attack, and although they intercepted Joey Harrington four times, they did allow Harrington to throw two nice touchdown passes and failed to pressure him in any significant way. They also committed a couple costly penalties, including one pass interference in the endzone that set up a Lion TD and allowed them to stay in the game. The Packers defense remains questionable against a strong offense. Brett Favre had an excellent game, going 31/47 for 357 yards and 3 TD's against the Lions porous secondary. He spread the ball out well, throwing to ten different receivers in the game, although his favorite targets seemed to be TE Bubba Franks and WR Donald Driver. Favre also was intercepted once on a poorly thrown pass and fumbled once, which was recovered by the Lions. The Lion defense did manage to pressure Favre, but he handled it very well. TE Bubba Franks had a very good day, going 9/62 with one TD. He was Favre's favorite target throughout the game. RB Najeh Davenport got most of the Packers carries in the game, which was somewhat of a surprise as most expected Rondell Mealey to handle the running in place of the injured Ahman Green who did not play. Davenport ran the ball well, going 22/84 rushing and 4/31 receiving. The Packer special teams had a bad day, letting the Lions have good field position on nearly every kick, giving up one touchdown on a spectacular reverse on a punt return, and getting called offsides twice in a row on their last kickoff in the game which resulted in the Lions nearly taking away the game from them. This was an injury plagued game for both teams, with several players on each side leaving the game including Packers WR Javon Walker. (TE David Martin and FB William Henderson also left the game due to injuries for the Packers) Detroit Lions: QB Joey Harrington (15/35, 182 yards, 2 TD's, 4 int's) showed some nice flashes in an otherwise mediocre (at best) performance. He was intercepted four times - once on a tipped pass, but the other three were just poor throwing decisions. He did throw two nice TD passes. The potential is definitely there, but Harrington needs time to develop. The Lion special teams were for the most part outstanding, perhaps giving the best performance of the Lions game. Az-Zahir Hakim scored on an excellent surprise reverse on the Packers first punt of the game. Larry Foster almost scored on a 50 yard kickoff return, with the TD being saved by the last Packer defender. The Lion running game was a bit better in this game, with James Stewart going 14/88 rushing and adding another 56 receiving and a TD. The Lion offense is still shaky at best, showing flashes of good play but still performing very sloppily for the most part. The offensive line played better this week after last weeks terrible performance, giving Harrington time to set and throw on most passing plays. The Lions rushing attack is still hampered by poor execution. The Lions pass defense still proves to be horrendous, giving up 357 yards to Brett Favre. Favre picked the Lion secondary apart, throwing to ten different receivers. The Lions also lost several players in this injury filled game. Travis Kirschke (left leg), Brian Walker (toe), and Brian Williams (right ankle) all left the game due to their injuries. WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW Green Bay Packers QB: Brett Favre had an excellent day picking apart the hapless Lions secondary, going 31/47 for 357 yards and 3 TD's. Favre threw to ten different receivers for the second week in a row with most going to Bubba Franks, who seems to be Favre's favorite target in the redzone. The Lions managed to put some pressure on Favre, but Favre handled the rush with his usual poise. Favre did have a couple mishaps... one interception on a badly thrown pass intended for Najeh Davenport and a fumble on a sack that was recovered by the Lions. RB: Najeh Davenport got most of the carries in place of the injured Ahman Green who did not play. Davenport had a decent day running the ball, going 22/84 rushing and adding four receptions for 31 yards, but was held out of the endzone. Davenport showed some good moves and power carrying the ball. The fact that Davenport got most of the carries came as a bit of a surprise as most were expecting Rondell Mealey to receive the brunt of the Packers carries in place of Green. Rondell Mealey only had five carries for 7 yards, six of which came on one play. He also had 3 receptions for 24 yards. Mealey started the game, but, surprisingly, Najeh Davenport got most of the work carrying the ball. This does not bode well for Mealey. Tony Fisher saw very little playing time, going only 3/5 rushing and 1/11 receiving. WR: Donald Driver had an excellent outing against a poor Lions secondary, going 5/94 and catching a nice 21 yard TD pass from Favre. Driver appeared to be Favre's favorite target after Bubba Franks, and Favre gave him a lot of looks down the field. However, Driver did drop a few very catchable balls... one of which might have gone for a TD had he held on. Terry Glenn made his presence felt in this game, catching four passes for 54 yards. Favre did give Glenn looks through out the game, and all four of Glenn's receptions were tough catches in traffic. Robert Ferguson had two receptions for 45 yards, one of which was an eight yard TD toss from Favre. The other catch was a nice grab of a Favre laser in high traffic. Ferguson has good hands but didn't get enough looks from Favre to be a factor in the game. Javon Walker had only one reception for twenty yards. Walker also dropped a few catchable balls and fumbled on another pass after the reception. Walker later left the game with a bruised quad. TE: Bubba Franks was Favre's favorite target in this game, going 9/62 and a TD. Franks was open all day against the Lions horrible pass defense. Favre gave Franks loads of looks during the game, and Franks was an integral part of the Packers passing game. K: Ryan Longwell had a great day kicking, hitting 3 of three field goals, including a 47 yarder and 4 of 4 extra points. Pass Defense: The Packer pass rush failed to put any significant pressure on rookie QB Joey Harrington, but did intercept Harrington four times, with Marques Anderson returning one for a 78 yard TD. The secondary did seem a bit soft, and Harrington did get in a couple good throws, including a 52 yarder to James Stewart and a 39 yarder to a wide open Lamont Warren. A pass interference call in the endzone set up a one yard TD run by Cory Schlesinger. The Packer pass defense is on the weak side, and good passing offenses can capitalize on this. Rush Defense: The Packers pretty much held the Lions rushing game in check, only allowing Cory Schlesinger to score on a short dive from the one yard line and keeping James Stewart out of the endzone. Special Teams: The Packer kicking team was very sloppy, getting called for offsides on the kick-off twice in a row, giving the Lions great field position in the final minutes of the game and almost costing the Packers the win. /**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/** Detroit Lions QB: Joey Harrington was shaky in his first NFL start. He was intercepted four times... once on a tipped pass, but the other three were just poor throwing decisions. He did throw two nice TD passes, including a perfect 39 yard pass to Lamont Warren that had very nice touch and a 52 yarder to James Stewart (Stewart did most of the work on that one). He had another long pass to Mikhael Ricks that would have been a TD but was just a tad overthrown. Harrington also showed good poise in the pocket and ability to lead by not getting frustrated or giving up and keeping the Lions in the game till the end. However, Harrington did make some bad throws and poor throwing decisions, including an interception on the Lions last drive that cost them the game. The potential is definitely there, but Harrington needs time to develop. RB: James Stewart had a decent game, going 14/88 rushing (a 6.28 yards per carry average which is exceptional for him) and adding 2 receptions for 56 yards, including a 52 yard TD. Stewart is the mainstay of an otherwise poor offense. Cory Schlesinger rushed 5 times for twelve yards, scoring the Lions only rushing TD of the day on a dive from the one yard line. He also caught 2 passes for fourteen yards. He did fumble once, which was recovered by the Packers. Lamont Warren rushed just once for no yardage, but caught a beautiful 39 yard pass from Harrington for a TD. WR: Az-Zahir Hakim remains the focal point of the Lions passing game. He caught five passes for 41 yards, but was held out of the endzone. Hakim did score on a perfectly executed 72 yard reverse during the first Packer punt. Hakim continues to get most of the looks from Harrington. Without an established #2 WR, he could suffer against tougher defenses. Scotty Anderson started in place of the injured Bill Schroeder. He only caught two passes for 21 yards, but did get some looks from Harrington. Az-Zahir Hakim is the focal point of the Lions pass attack though, and the Lion QB's have not thrown much in the direction of Schroeder or Anderson in general. TE: Mikhael Ricks only caught one pass for seven yards. Harrington did look to Ricks in the redzone, though. Harrington just barely overthrew Ricks on a pass in the endzone on one play... if it had been just a few inches shorter, Ricks would have been able to catch it for the TD. K: Jason Hanson hit his only field goal attempt and was 4/4 on extra points. Hanson is a very reliable kicker, but the Lions shaky offense will reduce his field goal attempts this year. Pass Defense: Horrible. The Lion secondary was picked apart by Favre all day long. The Packer receivers were constantly wide open, and on the TD passes there weren't any Lion defenders near the receiver. The pass rush was decent, putting some pressure on Brett Favre, and forcing and recovering a Favre fumble on a sack. The Lions are extremely weak in the secondary and will continue to perform badly against good offenses. Rush Defense: The Lion's rush defense handled the Packer running backs well enough to keep them out of the endzone. They are pretty solid in the middle, but have some problems stopping runs to the outside. Special Teams: The Lion special teams were excellent in the game. Az-Zahir Hakim scored on a 72 yard punt return, the result of a surprise reverse on the return early in the game. Larry Foster almost broke a kick-off for a TD, but was caught from behind in a TD saving tackle after running for 50 yards by the last Packer defender. The Lions recovered an on-sides kick towards the end of the game that would have given them the chance to score, but it was called back after a Lion was penalized for being offsides on the kick.