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Detroit Lions at Minnesota Vikings NFL Predictions & Betting Line

Written October 10, 2008 by Jason Lowry

This weekend the Detroit Lions will continue to fight for their first win of the season when they head to Minnesota to take on the Vikings. The Lions have failed miserably to start the season going 0-4 and haven’t really been in single game this season, but it’s not like the Vikings (2-3) are turning many heads with their play, as they barely squeaked out their 2nd win of the season last week in New Orleans. The oddsmakers don’t seem to think the Lions have much of a chance this week as they come in 13 point underdogs to the Vikings at Bookmaker.com

The Detroit Lions haven’t been much to speak of at all this season, and it looks like they might be heading into the game this weekend without starting quarterback Jon Kitna, who has yet to practice this week. If Kitna can’t go the offense will likely be in the hands of 4th year player Dan Orlovsky who did see his first action last week throwing 13/23 for 97 yards and a interception. Neither Rudi Johnson or Kevin Smith were able to do much on the ground, and the Lions have yet to really use Roy Williams and Calvin Johnson in the same game. Williams led the way last week with 7 catches for 96 yards, but Johnson was held to just 2 catches for 16 yards. If Kitna can’t go look for this offense to really struggle against a pretty solid Vikings defense.

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As for the Lions defense its been about as bad as the offense if not worse so far this season. A prime example of how bad they are playing is Bears quarterback Kyle Orton looked like a star last week throwing for 334 yards and 2 scores, numbers Orton will rarely see. The Lions did do a better job against the run keeping the Bears rookie runner Matt Forte to just 36 yards on 15 carries. It might not be such an easy task this weekend with Adrian Peterson, but if the Lions want any chance they have to find a way to stop the star running back. Bet Lions +13 at Bookmaker.com

Speaking of Adrian Peterson and the Vikings offense, they continue to struggle moving the football consistently. Last week Peterson was really held in check by the Saints, as he he had just 32 yards on the ground. Gus Frerotte only completed 19 of 36 passes, but was able to rack up 222 yards and a score. Bernard Berrian had his best game in a Vikings uniform grabbing 6 balls for 110 yards and a touchdown, and if they can find a way to keep him going the offense will likely start moving in the right direction and get a few more points on the board. If the offense struggles this weekend against Detroit they could be calling for head coach Brad Childress’ job.

The Vikings defense has all kinds of talent, as they are loaded up front, but defensive end Jared Allen has really yet to make the impact this team thought he would have after coming over from the Chiefs. The defense continues to give up plenty of yards, and it doesn’t look like things are clicking just yet for this group. Last week cornerback Antoine Winfield likely saved this team, as he returned a block kick for a touchdown, and setup another Vikings score with a sack of Drew Breess where he was able to force and recover a fumble. The defense did a great job holding Reggie Bush and Duece McAllister in check, as they gave up just 55 yards on the ground, but the secondary gave up 330 yards through the air. The defense can play better than it has, and its likely they will feast on a Lions offense that has done little to nothing this season. Bet Vikings -13 at Bookmaker.com

Need some help on who to pick this weekend? Check out the latest plays from professional handicapper Jason Lowry in both the NCAA and NFL.