2007 Pre-Season: Lions at Colts

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Kickoff Weekend and the regular season inch closer with tonight's pre-season game against Detroit. The third pre-season game is usually the "tune-up" for the regular season. Presumed starters play well into the third quarter. The week prior is game planned as if it were a real game. It's the dress rehearsal for the season. Here's what I'm looking at:

• The defense gets a big challenge tonight. Detroit's offense is exactly the kind of offense the Colts defense typically DESTROYS. They throw a lot. They do a lot of 5-step drops. They like to spread it out and get the ball to their WRs. This means no TEs and no FBs chipping Freeney, Mathis, and the other pass rushers. Guys like Ed Johnson and Quinn Pitcock will get some serious playing time.
• Marlin and Kelvin did great last week. This week, they get Calvin Johnson and Roy Williams. Have fun guys. Another great test for the secondary.
• Bob Sanders will play. Is he fully healthy? Lemme put it this way... he damn well better be.
• Can somebody please standout as a back-up RB, PLEASE! DeDe Dorsey is fighting for his job tonight. He's been awful in pre-season. I'm interested in seeing Clifton Dawson do some things.
• The Lions cut KR Eddie Drummond this week. I bet he's pissed, because if he'd gotten to play this game he'd probably get to keep his job. The ST for Indy were embarrassing last week, and ST coach Russ Purnell should be coaching for his job. They better show improvement or I might just... write... bad stuff about them... and stuff.
• Ugoh. Ugoh. Ugoh. The amount of pressure on this kid makes his transition from promising draftee to full-time LT one of the more compelling  on-the-field stories of the entire pre-season, right up there with the "Will Brady Quinn start?" stories. He has progressed with each practice, each game. He's gone up against two very good defenses and hasn't seemed rattled. Now he gets Detroit, a team known for bad defense. How will he respond?
• I expect a lot of Gonzo tonight. Manning wants to get him the ball.

One of the best blogs in SB Nation, Pride of Detroit, covers the Lions tonight for us. Head writer SeanYuille is a blogging god, and like he does every year he has me believing that Detroit's offense can be very potent. Fans want to see Calvin Johnson in that Mike Martz zany-whackadoo-offense. Here's to a well played, clean game with no injuries for either team.

And Go Colts! This is an open game thread.