me I question that, I go back and watch a little tape and all the worry just washes away. I don’t see anyone in camp taking that job from him, and that’s including the option of retaining a

On Paper isn’t quite in its offseason yet. Ever since I started the season Ty Johnson Jersey Womens , I made sure to continue for the Super Bowl because of just how big of an event it was. Additionally, it’s a nice perspective on what these charts should look like, given that we focus only the Detroit Lions all season.That being said, these are two familiar teams to Lions fans. Detroit played both of the Patriots and Rams at home this year and competed pretty well with both. They absolutely dominated the Patriots back in Week 3, but couldn’t finish the Rams off a couple months later. If you’re coming here from outside the Detroit Lions community, you can find a quick breakdown of how these On Paper preview work here. So without further ado, here’s our On Paper preview for Super Bowl 53.Note: All stats are for the regular season, unless stated otherwise. Patriots’ pass offense (4th in DVOA) vs. Rams’ pass defense (9th)This is the kind of chart you’d expect to see from a Tom Brady-led offense. In all but two games this season, the Patriots have met or outgained the defense’s passing yards per game allowed average. In all but five, they’ve done the same with passer rating. It’s interesting, because there was this perception that the Patriots offense couldn’t get going early without Julian Edelman — who served a four-game suspension early — but you wouldn’t know from looking at their passing stats. However, the raw statistics from this entire season are actually a little underwhelming by Patriots standards. They’re just 11th in overall passer rating (97.8), 10th in yards per attempt (7.7), and 15th in completion percentage (65.9). They’re solid and they’re efficient, but they aren’t quite explosive. They have just 54 passing plays of 20+ yards (12th) and only eight of 40+ (t-17th). However, where they really make their money is their offensive line. New England allowed just 21 sacks all year, the third-fewest all season. PFF ranked their offensive line fourth after the regular season, and they’ve only gotten better in the postseason. You may notice that the Rams pass offense started well and finished well, but had a pretty poor run in October. I hate to reduce it all to one factor, but the chart really lines up pretty well with the presence of star cornerback Aqib Talib. Talib suffered an ankle injury in Week 3 that required surgery. He was forced to go on IR, but when he came back in Week 13 (vs. Lions) we can see on the chart the immediate impact his presence on the field had. With the team at full strength, they’ve been a solid, but unspectacular pass defense. Los Angeles ranks 17th in passer rating allowed (93.8), t-23rd in yards per attempt (7.7), and 20th in completion percentage (65.1). However, their disruption numbers are through the roof. They’ve pulled in 18 interceptions this year (t-third) and 41 sacks (15th). That’s where this team makes its impact felt, as they’ve also scored four defensive touchdowns this year (t-third). Player to watch: Aaron Donald. I don’t need to explain, right? The Patriots excellent offensive line will have their hands full against the generational talent.Advantage: Patriots +1.5. New England is just a well-oiled machine on offense, and I will never count out Touchdown Tom, even if the unit struggled two weeks ago against a mediocre-to-bad Chiefs defense. I’ll blame it on the cold and the away crowd. Put Tom Brady indoors on a neutral field and I’m giving him the advantage nearly every single time.Patriots’ run offense (9th) vs. Rams’ run defense (28th)The Patriots’ rushing attack seems to change week-to-week. Any given week, they seem capable of putting up 150 yards and at least 4.5 yards per carry, but they were also held below 90 rushing yards five different times this year. Unsurprisingly, they went 1-4 in those five games. However, there’s very clearly more good than bad with the Patriots’ rushing attack. Though the Patriots rank just t-17th at yards per attempt (4.3), they’re earning first downs on 27.4 percent of their rushes (seventh). Rookie Sony Michel is having an impressive rookie season, rushing for 4.5 yards per carry this regular season and six scores. Perhaps the most surprising part of this matchup is just how bad the Rams’ run defense has been all season long. Despite having two of the best defensive tackles in football, Los Angeles, for whatever reason has had trouble stopping opposing running backs.They gave up a league-high 5.1 yards per carry in the regular season, and it’s pretty surprising to see a team that was so dominant offensively this year give up so many rushing yards to teams that were playing from behind so often.But we have to talk about their playoff performance, because up against two of the best rushing attacks in the NFL, the Rams have been on lockdown mode. Ndamukong Suh is playing like he did back in Detroit Ty Johnson Detroit Lions Jersey , and Los Angeles has become the defense everyone expected them to be all year. Player to watch: Suh. Advantage: Push. Obviously, without the postseason numbers, this is a +1 or 2 in favor of the Patriots, but it’s hard to ignore just how dominant the Rams defense has been in the past two games. This is the Rams defense we’ve been expecting and I believe that it’s for real now.Rams’ pass offense (5th) vs. Patriots’ pass defense (14th)Jared Goff, while still prone to the occasional head-scratching game, has enjoyed his most successful season yet. He set career highs in completion percentage (64.9), yards per attempt (8.4), touchdowns (32) and passer rating (101.1). It hasn’t been the best of playoffs from Goff, but he’s done just enough to get by when the team has needed him.That being said, there are some very, very minor reasons for concern. Goff threw 12 interceptions this year (career high) and his 2.1 interception percentage was significantly higher than last year (1.5). He was only sacked 33 times, so it’s not like he was facing a lot of pressure. Still, this is a top-five passing offense, and despite Goff’s youth, he’s still playing lot a top-10 quarterback. The Patriots’ pass defense has been pretty average all year, both capable of allowing 100+ passer ratings on the regular (five times) or holding a team below 75 (eight times). Part of this speaks to the Patriots’ always-changing gameplans. Part of this is just honest-to-goodness inconsistency. The raw stats actually paint a pretty good picture of this pass defense. They allowed just an 85.4 passer rating (seventh), 6.9 yards per attempt (fifth), and a 61.2 completion percentage (second). However, that’s going to happen when you play against the Dolphins, Bills and Jets twice in a season.Still, this is an above average defense and deserves some respect for improving after a shaky 2017 season. Player to watch: Trey Flowers. Pressure can throw off Jared Goff’s game, and Flowers is the guy that can bring it consistently:Advantage: Rams +1. The Rams’ offense is prone to some inconsistencies, which is to be expected of a young quarterback, and that should have Los Angeles fans worried this week. However, the overwhelming evidence that Goff can execute a Sean McVay game plan well is enough for me to believe they can (and should) win this matchup. Rams’ run offense (1st) vs. Patriots’ run defense (19th)Jared Goff and the Rams’ passing attack has garnered all of the headlines and storylines for the 2018 season, but their rushing attack may really be the key to it all. Todd Gurley may have been invisible during the conference championship game, but if not for his 1,251 yards and 5.1 yards per carry in the regular season, the Rams probably wouldn’t have been playing in this game. Los Angeles was only held below 4.0 yards per carry three times during the regular season, as the Rams rank third in yards per carry (4.9) and second in rushes earning first downs (29.2 percent). They may have struggled against an extremely underrated Saints defense last week, but they are for real. Much like the Rams, the Patriots’ run defense wasn’t all that good during the regular season, but they’ve been absolutely stellar in the playoff against two phenomenal run-heavy teams. It’s a little harder to make sense of New England’s improvement than the way Los Angeles turned things around. New England’s run defense was horrible during the season. They ranked 27th in yards per carry allowed during the season (4.9) and 22nd in percentage of rushes allowed that earned a first down (25.3). As usual for a Patriots defense, they stiffen up in the red zone. They’ve only allowed seven rushing touchdowns (t-seventh) and 4.86 points per red zone trip (t-14th).Player to watch: Gurley. Gurley said all the right things after being a no-show at the NFC Championship Game, but something tells me he’s going to be extra motivated this week. The Rams running back makes a living breaking tackles, but unfortunately for him, the Patriots don’t miss many. Advantage: Rams +1. Normally, I’d give the Rams a huge advantage here, but like with Los Angeles’ run defense, I can’t ignore how the Patriots are playing right now. This is going to be an epic battle in the trenches, but I still have to give an edge to literally the best rushing attack in the league.PredictionThe Rams come out with a +0.5 advantage. It’s hard to argue anything other than the Los Angeles Rams being the better team on paper. The purpose of this preview has always been to ignore the incalculable intangibles and narratives Ty Johnson Jersey 2019 , and just look at the numbers. The numbers favor the Rams, that much is clear—although not by much.So by On Paper law, I have to pick the Rams in this game. However, I feel like I need to also admit I think the Patriots will win this game. New England is a chameleon of a team, and I believe there is no team that goes into a game more prepared than the Patriots. Coaching has a huge impact on games, and while I respect the hell out of Sean McVay, he has a long ways to go to prove he’s at Belichick’s level.With that aside, let’s put coaching aside and look at the number. The Patriots defense isn’t statistically good enough to hang with the Rams offense. You could say the same about the Rams defense, but they’re cooking right now with Aqib Talib back and Ndamukong Suh playing at the top of his game. 31-28 Rams. How much can last year’s class contribute in 2019?"WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Detroit Lions NewsDetroit Lions NotesDetroit Lions AnalysisDetroit Lions TransactionsDetroit Lions Game RecapsDetroit Lions AnalysisDetroit Lions 2018 NFL DraftBreaking down expectations of Detroit Lions’ 2018 draft class in Year 2New,115commentsHow much can last year’s class contribute in 2019?EDTShareTweetShareShareBreaking down expectations of Detroit Lions’ 2018 draft class in Year 2Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY SportsIt isn’t exactly the busiest portion of the offseason, but rather than rank Lions players by high school nickname or find some funny way to talk about how the Lions are so far removed from truly dreadful drafting that they don’t even get honorable mentions anymore on some draft bust lists, we’re going to keep our eyes forward to the 2019 season. With the draft signings now coming in from the 2019 class, I wanted to take a look back at the 2018 group, and see how they may fit into Matt Patricia’s squad in year two.G Frank Ragnow (First round, 20th overall)2018 status: Starting left guard all year2019 status: Starting left guard (?) all yearRagnow came as a surprise to many Lions fans when he was selected, in part due to how quiet the team kept their interest. A favorite to land with the Cincinnati Bengals, who went right after the Lions, the New England Patriots, or the Minnesota Vikings, the former Arkansas Razorback was a coveted player the Lions felt they could plug into their interior line and get immediate production from. It was rocky at first, but Ragnow held on and eventually came into his own as he went from struggling rookie to solid starter to promising line anchor over the course of a season.2019 is likely going to see Ragnow right where he was the year prior, starting at left guard between Taylor Decker, whose fifth year option was recently applied, and 2016 third-round pick Graham Glasgow. With Glasgow facing a new contract, the left side of the line should be shored up. Having said that, right guard is a mess, with the “best” options being 2018 bench starter Kenny Wiggins and journeyman Oday Aboushi, neither of which inspire confidence. If the Lions seek out someone like Andy Levitre in the remaining free agent pool, or make a surprise trade, it’s possible the line shuffles a bit and Ragnow would be the most likely candidate to slide into RG. He’s played there before, and while keeping line cohesion is important, it is even more so to have five viable starters.RB Kerryon Johnson (Second round, 43rd overall)2018 status: RB2/3 to start, elite starter for a stretch before being placed on IR to end season2019 status: RB1A in a committeeLook, it would be awesome if we could talk about the exciting moments Johnson had as a rookie in the light of him being a starter in a ground-and-pound run game. As it is, Johnson has faced injuries at every stage of his football career and with his season ending as it did, I don’t see the Lions giving him a larger workload. The team now has two backs who can run inside and outside zone along with power after signing C.J. Anderson in free agency, and they’re likely to get a nearly identical amount of snaps to keep each fresh and, hopefully, healthy. This is a situation where it’s even possible Johnson doesn’t lead the team in touches this season, but as long as they’re getting efficient production and he remains healthy I have no concerns about his role this year.S Tracy Walker (Third round Ty Johnson Jersey Mens , 82nd overall)2018 Status: Sub package safety and special teams2019 Status: Starting FSI’m not going to mince words, I’m really excited to see Tracy Walker this year. He was an absolute stunner when the Lions selected him in the third round, and people immediately fell into one of three camps: fans who shared the team’s excitement with the pick despite him being an unknown, fans angry with the pick because he was an unknown, and liars who said they watched him and knew he would be a steal. Walker was projected to go on Day 3, but the team celebrated as if they’d somehow nabbed J.J. Watt outside of the top 10. Their enthusiasm was justified, as Walker ended up as one of the highest graded rookies in 2018, though he did have very limited snaps.The 2019 safety room has Quandre Diggs, newly drafted Will Harris, returning former spot starter Tavon Wilson and special teams standouts Charles Washington and Miles Killebrew. It’s not a stacked room, but it is crowded all the same. I still see Walker working his way into the lineup from Day 1 and earning a prominent role in the defense. With Walker, Diggs, and Harris all being able to play both safety spots and drop to the slot if needed, the coverage options are near limitless.DL Da’Shawn Hand (Fourth round, 114th overall)2018 status: PFWA, ESPN, and PFF all-rookie defensive lineman2019 status: Possible Pro BowlerIf you haven’t finished guzzling the kool-aid yet, Hand is a pitcher and a half of the Blue Hope Juice all by his lonesome. Drafted with almost no buzz at all, despite the Lions trading back into the round to get him, expectations weren’t super high. The Lions defensive line was viewed as an underwhelming unit and Hand underwhelmed as a former five-star recruit on the vaunted Alabama defensive line. fall to the middle if Day 3. Despite many projecting him to the interior of the offensive line due to his size and athletic profile, the Lions made it clear they saw Crosby as a tackle, trotting out everyone and their mother to fill T.J. Lang’s spot when he went down hurt rather than giving the rookie a shot. He eventually got some work at tackle while Rick Wagner nursed injury and he held his own.Always the optimists, there are some that thought the Lions should have cut Wagner to start Crosby in 2019 and save some cap space. Considering the team isn’t desperate for cap relief (isn’t that nice?) and that Crosby did alright, not great—like Tracy Walker did in reserve duty—there’s little reason to thrust Crosby into a role he may not be ready for just yet. Until we see how he looks in camp, I think his 2019 looks much the same as his 2018 did.FB Nick Bawden (Seventh round, 237th overall)2018 status: Torn ACL early in camp, season lost2019 status: Starting fullback in an offense that will use oneBawden has largely been the forgotten man on the Lions roster. With the signing of Jesse James, selection of T.J. Hockenson and Isaac Nauta, and signing of enough tight ends to nearly bring it to double digits, it’s almost as if the Lions didn’t draft the lead blocker of multiple 2,000 yard backs last season.Until I have reason to believe otherwise, I think the fullback, and thus H-back, job is Bawden’s to lose. Any time I question that, I go back and watch a little tape and all the worry just washes away. I don’t see anyone in camp taking that job from him, and that’s including the option of retaining a lineman to do the deed, as the team did on occasion in Bawden’s unplanned absence. If he’s healthy and back to form, he has Vonta Leach upside.