Detroit Lions (2-12) at San Francisco 49ers (6-8)
Week 16 Sunday December 27, 2009 4:05 PM EST
The Line: San Francisco 49ers – 12 1/2
Two teams with not a lot to play for but next year meet in San Francisco as the Forty-Niners host the Detroit Lions.
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San Francisco may be one of the better teams not to go to the playoffs this year and may be better than some of the teams who end up going. It isn’t because the 49ers didn’t have their share of chances, it was an inability to finish teams off and put them away. At least three times San Francisco lost games in the final minute where they led the game and let it slip away. Even so, the 49ers have some holes that they need to fill and while QB Alex Smith has the vote of confidence, it will be interesting to see if San Francisco goes out and addresses that position this offseason. These last two games will be an audition for Smith and a few others but the core of this team is in place as first round draft choice Michael Crabtree seems to be all e was billed to be, Frank Gore is a game breaker at running back, and Vernon Davis is showing why he was so highly sought. Defensively the Niners need to improve their pass defense but linebacker Patrick Willis is outstanding and isn’t just a leader of this team, he’s one of the best players at any position in the entire league. With Mike Singletary coaching, I don’t see San Francisco letting up anytime soon.
As the season winds down for the Detroit Lions, it’s hard to call two wins a success or improvement but for a team who didn’t win a game last year, they were markedly improved. At this point in this season the Lions have given it all they have and most of their core of young players are on the injured reserve and gone for the season. Mathew Stafford and Kevin Smith are gone from the offense and the entire secondary and then some are gone from the defense. The Lions have one of the longest injury lists in the league. Daunte Culpepper is in at QB and he’s thrown just one touchdown against five interceptions but Drew Stanton came in and got some quality time last week against Arizona. The Lions nearly had a big come from behind win against the Cardinals but their efforts fell just short. Maurice Morris had a nice day running the football as he went for 126 yards and a touchdown and he caught five passes out of the backfield. 
The Lions would love to get Calvin Johnson more involved but in order to do so, they are going to need to go out and get a viable option to play on the other side of him.
San Francisco is 5-0-2 against the spread following a game which they didn’t cover and 7-2-1 against the spread in their last eight home games. Detroit is 20601 against the spred in their last nine games and 1-5-1 against the spread in their last seven on the road.
Here we have a team with a losing record laying just a bunch of points against a team who covered against a playoff team a week ago. While it seems logical Detroit could cover for a second consecutive week in game which involves a Western road trip, the odds are against it. I give the Lions credit for being improved and for playing better football at times than I thought they were capable of but I think they get just blasted this week.
Mitch’s Pick: San Francisco – 12 1/2
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One reply on “ATS Pick: Detroit vs. San Francisco (Wk 16)”
San Francisco is only playing for pride, but they are still a much better team than Detroit. The Lions have only won two games, but they have done a fairly good job at covering double digit spreads. I’ll take the points in this one.