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No-Huddle Offense Of Patriots Could Make Substituting Tricky For Lions

By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak

ALLEN PARK (CBS DETROIT) - The defense of the Detroit Lions ranks first in the NFL, the offense of the New England Patriots ranks second in the NFL, and when they meet Sunday the pace of the game could factor heavily into which unit - and ultimately which team - finds success at Gillette Stadium.

Throughout the season, the Lions have substituted frequently along the defensive line, taking full advantage of their impressive depth in that area. This week, because of New England's no-huddle offense, Detroit might find its usual personnel changes more difficult to execute.

"It'll keep you from substituting as much as you'd like," Lions head coach Jim Caldwell said. "They do some things to ensure that, so that's always a big challenge."

Defensive end Jason Jones said it is easy to see on film how New England's speedy offense can discombobulate a defense.

"It's definitely something that we have to be prepared for because you see it on film all the time - you can't even get to the next play and they're already running the play," Jones said. "They do a great job of that. They catch you off guard substituting, they keep their same personnel in and run a play, so we've just got to make sure that we're on point with everything. We've got to make sure we get the calls in and make sure we're ready before they are."

The Patriots have clearly hit their stride offensively, putting up 42 points in four of their last six games - all of which were victories.

"We've just got to make plays up front, just handle our business," defensive tackle C.J. Mosley said. "Let them not be so much the well-oiled machine and just do things they're used to doing like that ... We've got to go out there and stop them from doing what they're good at doing."

Jones said keeping New England from finding a rhythm early will be key, especially since the Lions will be on the road and want to prevent the crowd from playing a bigger role for the Patriots than it will already.

"Probably get them in first-and-long, second-and-long, get them uncomfortable," Jones said. "They like second-and-one, second-and-three, third-and-one. They like those. That's manageable for them, but to get them behind schedule, third-and-long, second-and-long, I definitely think that would help us out."

The Lions rely heavily on All-Pro defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, who played 90 percent of the defensive snaps in Sunday's game against the Arizona Cardinals. Ziggy Ansah played 65 percent of snaps, Jones 63 percent, Mosley 58 percent and George Johnson 42 percent. Darryl Tapp, Andre Fluellen and Devin Taylor contributed at least a dozen snaps each, and Caraun Reid also played briefly.

"It's just good that we can just rely on each other," Mosley said. "Any time, any point in a game somebody's number gets called, it's just an awesome opportunity for that person, and hats off for anybody that's going to step up and make a play. A lot of our guys, we have some young guys, but all of our guys are hungry, say Suh being the hungriest and then me.

"That guy, man, is a complete competitor," Mosley added, "and he don't talk much, but his action speaks a lot. It rubs off on the rest of us."

 

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