(Sportsbooks) - Steve Mariucci patiently waited seven months for his regular season debut with the
Detroit Lions. It turned out to be well worth the wait as he led his new club to a 42-24 shellacking of the
Arizona Cardinals at Ford Field.
The Lions and Mariucci have no time to rest on their laurels, though, as they head to Lambeau Field this Sunday for a contest against the grumpy Green Bay Packers.
"Starting off with a win is a great thing and a necessary thing and very important to us so on we go," Mariucci said. "We know that we have a tough schedule out in front of us. We have to be a better team if we are going to compete with the next four opponents before our bye week."
Second-year quarterback Joey Harrington led the Lions' resurgence in the opener, completing 17-of-30 passes for 195 yards and four touchdowns. Harrington and third overall pick Charles Rogers hooked up for a pair of scores in the contest.
"I liked his efficiency and his decision making," Mariucci said of Harrington. "No sacks. No turnovers and he spread the ball around to a bunch of different receivers. I don't remember him forcing the ball into coverage. On the sideline, he was telling me what he saw. He has to see things and pull the trigger. He did a good job with that."
Harrington seemed more comfortable in the pocket in his second season-opener, surveying the field and more often than not finding the open receiver. The Oregon product, who threw 16 interceptions compared to 12 touchdowns in 2002, avoided the big mistake in the contest. A big reason for Harrington's success was the efficiency of the offensive line, which didn't surrender a sack.
"I felt pressured maybe twice all game," Harrington said. "To go through an entire game and barely get touched is a great performance by them."
The Lions have one of the most impressive offensive lines in the NFL anchored by tackles Stockar McDougle and Jeff Backus. Last season, Detroit surrendered an NFL-low 20 sacks. The Lions will have a major challenge on their hands with Green Bay defensive ends Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila and Joe Johnson coming off the edge. Gbaja-Biamila and linebacker Hannibal Navies each tallied a sack in the opener.
Harrington will need time to find Rogers and the rest of the receiving corps, which lacks a big name. Rogers did have two touchdown catches, but finished with only four receptions for a total of 38 yards in the opener. The Michigan State product was happy with his first NFL effort.
"I feel good about both of them," Rogers said of his touchdown catches. "I'm just glad my first game panned out with a win and I was able to contribute."
WHO WILL RUN?
Detroit is still tweaking its running game with James Stewart out for the season with a shoulder injury. The Lions used a running back-by-committee system against the Cardinals and it only netted 66 total yards on the ground.
Recently acquired Olandis Gary received the bulk of the carries, posting 44 yards on 12 attempts (3.7 ypc). Mariucci hopes to improve the production this week.
"I'd like to see our running game improve," Mariucci said. "We didn't have a lot of snaps in the game. We only had four possessions in the first half and scored on two of them. We'd like to have the ball more often, more plays and more yards."
SECONDARY SHIFT
Detroit is fortunate that Green Bay is limping in its receiving corps considering the state of its secondary. The Lions have a completely revamped secondary since the preseason with CB Chris Cash out for the season and CB Chris Watson hurt.
The Lions have added corners Otis Smith, Alex Molden and rookie Roderick Babers in the last week. Detroit allowed Arizona to throw for 344 yards in the opener.
"Going into the game we knew that our secondary was going to be a concern because of the lack of practice time and lack of preparation time with several of them," Mariucci said. "A couple of guys like Chris Cash and Chris Watson are not with us because of injuries and Dr? Bly hadn't practiced. Otis Smith was new and on and on. We were a bit concerned going into the game. We have to continue to patch that up and make it better."
UP NEXT: Detroit returns home to host the arch-rival Minnesota Vikings next week.
