A couple of teams coming off dismal seasons are looking to get started on the right foot. Of course, the Raiders have yet to sign their number one draft pick and still haven't officially named a starting QB for this game. Yeah, it's the Raiders. The Lions have weapons on offense, a 4000-yd passer, and despite their defensive needs, acquired more offensive personnel in the offseason including one of the best receiving talents to come into the league in quite some time. We'll see how they matchup against a Raiders defense that finished first against the pass in 2006.
Predicted Score: Lions 24, Raiders 20
Fantasy Focus Detroit: The story grabbing the headlines during Detroit's preseason was the health of running back Kevin Jones. His recovery from a Lis Franc foot injury is going well enough to keep him on the active roster but not well enough to start this game. Tatum Bell gets the call with small doses of T.J. Duckett. Despite his talent Calvin Johnson is not in the starting lineup… yet. Mike Furrey did have 98 receptions last year giving the Lions plenty of weapons through the air.
Start: QB Jon Kitna, RB Tatum Bell, WR Roy Williams, WR Mike Furrey
Consider: WR Calvin Johnson, WR Shaun McDonald
Sit: Lions D/ST, TE Dan Campbell
Oakland: Word out of Oakand is that Josh McCown will start this game at QB but head coach Lane Kiffin isn't making his plans public. In any case, the Raiders need to build up some offensive good will before considering their QB as a viable fantasy starter. Expect to see healthy dose of RB LaMont Jordan and watch rookie TE Zach Miller who is expected to be a big part of the offense in '07. Curry and Porter are your starting wide receivers.
Start: RB LaMont Jordan, WR Ronald Curry, TE Zach Miller
Note: Team statistics are shown as the average per game
through Weeks 12 to 17 of the 2006 season after deducting the best
and worst value from the data set. The exception is yards per rush attempt, completion %, yards per
pass completion, yards per pass attempt and the NFL averages, which are each calculated based on
totals through Weeks 12 to 17 with no adjustment.
Defense Stats Comparison
DET Defense
OAK Defense
NFL Average
Points against
27.8
21.8
21.1
Rushing yards
126.5
132.5
123.7
Rushing yards per attempt
4.03
3.83
4.30
Completion %
63.5%
58.3%
60.0%
Passing yards
223.8
136.0
201.8
Passing yards per completion
10.53
9.57
10.67
Passing yards per attempt
6.69
5.58
6.40
INT return
1.0
0.5
1.1
Fumble recoveries
1.3
0.3
0.7
Sacks
1.5
2.0
2.2
Weather
Check the current weather forecast for Oakland from Weather.com.
Team vs. Team History
Detroit Lions vs. Oakland Raiders
Season
Week
Date
Vis
Home
Score
Winner
2003
9
2003-11-02
OAK
DET
13-23
DET
Note: Only playoff games from the
2004 and 2005 seasons are included in the team vs. team history.
Playoff games from seasons prior to 2004 are not currently included in the database.
