Q&A with Peter Schrager: The Detroit Lions are Making the Playoffs
SI All Lions caught up with Peter Schrager, co-host of NFL Network's Good Morning Football, to learn more about his thoughts regarding the 2020 Detroit Lions and why he thinks the playoffs are in Detroit's future this season.
*Questions and answers edited for clarity.
John Maakaron: Peter, everyone is curious about this edition of the 2020 Lions ahead of a crucial season. Matt Patricia's third year, a returning Matthew Stafford -- what's your assessment of this year's edition of the Lions?
Peter Schrager: I've heard a lot from Lions fans over the past few days because I picked them to go to the playoffs on the same day that the person who does the NFL power rankings on NFL Network had them listed, 30th of 32 teams.
I'm saying they will be one of the top 16 teams in the league and they'll be one of the top 14 teams making the playoffs. I look at the way this offseason went for Detroit and the way this team and this locker room and this franchise bound together -- came together and showed such great unity and a lot of ways both on the field and off. It's a different organization. I think Stafford is healthy. We had him on our show, said he feels great. I think (Kenny) Golladay's an elite number one wide receiver. I think Matt Patricia has everybody buying in, which was not the case for the first two years.
Nothing against those guys, but they're no longer there in the locker room. These are Patricia's guys from top to bottom. A unified team, especially this year with what's going on in the world, this team is going to be just fine and is going to find themselves on the other side of the games, as opposed to the losing side, more than not.
Running Back Adrian Peterson
© Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Maakaron: Last season Detroit's offense prior to Stafford's injury was playing at a high level under Darrell Bevell and then this year went and drafted D'Andre Swift and brought in Adrian Peterson. What was your reaction to some of the moves made earlier this week in terms of trying to bolster an already productive offense?
Schrager: I don't know how long it's going to take D'Andre Swift, but I don't think it's going to be immediate. This is one of those deals where he's a rookie -- still figuring things out. There might be some minor injury woes and Kerryon Johnson is going to be fine. They like the special team's guy they had last year who plays some offense as well.
Adrian Peterson can give you 20 carries tomorrow. Right out of bed. I think just for the early part of the season, this is a nice piece of security to have in that running back room. He immediately becomes a veteran leader. You saw Kerryon Johnson's comments about that -- how cool it was that Adrian Peterson will be joining.
Long term, it's Swift and Johnson. In the short term, it might be Adrian Peterson. I think he brings a ton immediately. He doesn't need to be taught the playbook. He doesn't need to have to learn how to pass protect. That's what he does and it's in his nature. Not sure you're going to see many passes being caught out of the backfield for him. That's what those other guys will do. For just I need three yards, Adrian Peterson, he'll help and help immensely.
Maakaron: Everyone in Detroit is wondering, how can the defense bounce back after struggling in 2019. They went out with the No. 3 overall pick and selected Jeff Okudah. What do you think he can bring to the Lions his rookie season in Detroit?
Schrager: I hate to be such a wet blanket. I don't expect Okudah to be lights out from day one. Cornerback's really hard and there was no preseason. There is no training camp. So I would say, long term, I don't know if he even starts day one.
We'll see how that goes once the game actually starts and who's one on one against Allen Robinson on Sunday? I look at it from an overall difference with a new defensive coordinator, a new scheme, and really just a new energy to this team. That's where you're going to really see improved stuff.
They were up by, what, fifteen points against the Cardinals and tied. They were up on the Chiefs and they lost. They were up on the Bears on Thanksgiving and lost. Being able to close the door on some of these games is what's huge. Darius Slay was a great player. I don't think they're going to have this huge drop off without him, though.
Detroit Lions Quarterback Matthew Stafford
© Kirthmon F. Dozier via Imagn Content Services, LLC
Maakaron: You have the Detroit Lions making the playoffs. What one or two things must they accomplish this year in order to live up to your expectations?
Schrager: They got to protect Matt Stafford. They have to. He's got to play sixteen games. Matt Stafford's out for four weeks, and they're going to the backup quarterback, and it's Chase Daniels in by week three -- then it's not happening.
It's no offense to Chase, but he is a great backup quarterback. He's not a playoff-caliber quarterback at this point in his career. So Stafford needs to stay healthy. That's everything from Patricia keeping him upright to the offensive line.
The other thing is the defense has to make a stop at the end of the game and one of these games. You can't have Bashaud Breeland picking the ball up in the end zone and running it back seventy yards or 100 yards like last year when everyone else is just staring at the ball. So that one was on the offense. I guess you could say they fumbled that on the one-yard line, whatever. But those losses can't happen. Got to be able to close the door. So I'd say Stafford being healthy and the defense keeping teams under 25 points, that would really be helpful.
Maakaron: Everybody has lived through a global pandemic. Now football is back. How excited are you for the return of actual football that's going to be played all throughout this weekend?
Schrager: I'm really pumped, man. I want to get rah-rah and into it, and we do it on the show. I don't know if it'll hit me until we finally see it. When those Sunday balls at 1:00 p.m. all get kicked off at the same time and you're like, 'Oh, my gosh, my fantasy lineup is lighting up. There's an upset going on in this city. Wow, that rookie just made a play in that one.' We haven't felt that collectively as a country.
I know it sounds rather dramatic, but with so much divisiveness and so much acrimony everywhere -- it'll be nice that on Sunday, I think trending on Twitter won't be some horrific story in the news. It's going to be some player in the NFL who made a pretty cool play. It's almost like a relief. We got here somehow. We got here. And let's just make sure we keep kicking off on Sunday.
