Real Football, the Detroit Game

[Formula 21]

I agree. Do whatever it takes to put that first game in the win column. Especially since it's coming against a highly regarded team. And that includes signing one of their cuts and guaranteeing him a job for the season. Intelligence counts, Detroit has probably been practicing to play us for 4 weeks.

[blueman]

Good test of the coaching staff, see if they get everybody prepared, really don't want to see the team start out meh.

[Boltx]

Gonna be a tough game.

[Stinky Wizzleteats+]

Pshaaa nothing big about a first game home game....

[kets]

Good test of the coaching staff, see if they get everybody prepared, really don't want to see the team start out meh.

Are you talking about Norv here?

[RTPbolt]

I sure hope we dont go soft on offense on Detroit with too many runs. We know Detroit has a good Defense...i think we attack with the passing game and let that soften up the safeties so we can run.

[Panamamike]

I sure hope we dont go soft on offense on Detroit with too many runs. We know Detroit has a good Defense...i think we attack with the passing game and let that soften up the safeties so we can run.

A lot of important turnover on their D. They will need to prove they are still a good D, but I think they may be much more susceptible to the run than they were last season.

[Formula 21]

Since MM has 43 new players now, let's hope those Norv starts to the season are a thing of the past. Start fast and forget the December catch up games.

[richpjr]

Chargers open as a 3 point favorite

[Formula 21]

Chargers open as a 3 point favorite

yeah baby

[Iowachargers]

Doesn't the home team usually get 3 points anyways? So basically it's even.

[Stinky Wizzleteats+]

Scouting report: RBs Gordon, Abdullah meet again

Mugshot of Michael GehlkenBy Michael Gehlken | 5:55 p.m. Sept. 8, 2015



Detroit Lions running back Ameer Abdullah (21) is stopped by New York Jets cornerback Darrin Walls (30) during the first half of an NFL preseason football game, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2015, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Detroit Lions running back Ameer Abdullah (21) is stopped by New York Jets cornerback Darrin Walls (30) during the first half of an NFL preseason football game, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2015, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya) The Associated Press






















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The last time Melvin Gordon and Ameer Abdullah met in a game, chants of "Mel-vin Gor-don! Mel-vin Gor-don!" filled a snow-bleached Camp Randall Stadium. The third quarter ended with a 26-yard touchdown that pushed Gordon to 408 rushing yards, two more than LaDainian Tomlinson's single-game NCAA record.

That will be tough to top Sunday.

But it'll be a landmark day for both.

The Chargers will open the regular season against the Lions, as Gordon and Abdullah make their NFL debuts. It won't snow as it did last November in Madison. That the Chargers and fans will be wearing all white for annual "White Hot Sunday" is about as close as it can get.

There are many weapons in this Lions offense.

Abdullah is one.

Wide receiver Calvin Johnson has not played at all this preseason, but by all reports in Detroit, he seems prepared to distance himself from a 2014 season in which he was limited in large part to a high-ankle sprain.


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The missed time brought the emergence of another wide receiver.

Golden Tate does not have the same imposing build as Johnson — 5-foot-10 and 198 pounds compared to 6-foot-5, 237 — but he is a precise route runner who, despite not elite top-end speed, is about as dangerous as it gets after the catch. Nifty in space, he averaged 7.3 yards after the catch, most in the NFL among players with at least 60 catches.

Tate caught 99 passes for 1,331 yards and four touchdowns.

Now, second-round pick Abdullah is in the mix.

The former Nebraska star rushed seven times for 67 yards and a score in Detroit's exhibition opener. Trusted in protection, he figures to be involved in the passing game Sunday, too, as a threat out of the backfield.

In the draft run-up, Todd Gurley and Gordon widely were discussed as the top-two backs in the draft. Indeed, they were first off the board, Gurley taken 10th overall by the Rams with Gordon going 15th to the Chargers.

Gordon was asked in a phone interview before the draft who he felt was third best in the class.

"I really like Ameer," Gordon said. "When you're at the combine, you're evaluating the other running backs, too. You see the determination in guys' eyes. You see who really takes the game seriously. I'm out there, and I'm looking at running backs. I feel Ameer is going to be special."

Both could be.

Sunday is just the beginning.

New look

There's a different D-line in Detroit.

Jason Jones and Ziggy Ansah return at end. But in the interior, tackles Haloti Ngata and Tyrunn Walker are new to the crew, both added in March.

Ngata was acquired in a trade with Baltimore shortly after Ndamukong Suh cashed in with the Dolphins, who swim in the state income tax-less waters of Florida. Walker, a rotational player with the Saints last year, was signed days later.

Suh and Nick Fairley have manned the interior in the past.

Although an October knee injury ended Fairley's season, the duo was still a core part of the reason the Lions allowed an average of 69.3 rushing yards a game and 3.2 yards per carry, both best in the NFL. They were the one of three teams not to allow a 40-yard run all year (49ers, Eagles).

Quick hits

• Lions reserve cornerback Quandre Diggs is the younger brother of Quentin Jammer, retired cornerback who made 161 starts over 11 seasons with the Chargers between 2002 to 2012.

• The Chargers and Lions have met 10 times. San Diego is 4-0 at home in the series and 2-4 on the road. Detroit won the last game, played in 2011, that eliminated the Chargers from playoff contention. Jammer was among the starters.