Lions at Seahawks

Lions hope to minimize threat of Seahawks' rabid fans

John Niyo / The Detroit News

Seattle -- It'll be 25 years ago next month that the Seattle Seahawks held a retirement ceremony for arguably the franchise's most valuable player. Back in December 1984, they retired the jersey No. 12 in honor of the "12th Man" tradition of boisterous fan support at home games.

On Sunday, when the Lions visit Qwest Field, a prominent Seahawks fan will raise a No. 12 flag prior to kickoff as they have for every home game the last six years.

And Julian Peterson, one of three current Lions players who came to Detroit from Seattle in the offseason, says the Seahawks' home-field advantage is very real.

"They take serious pride in that," said Peterson, a Pro Bowl linebacker who spent the past three seasons in Seattle, and six before that playing for division rival San Francisco. "The crowd has signs up letting people know how many (times opponents) have jumped offside. I think last time I was there it was at 68 or something like that. And there's a guy there with boards (keeping track) and everything. Every time they make somebody (jump offside) they'll say, 'Hey, we got one!' and they'll slide the board in there and they'll be pointing to the (video) screen."

The Lions (1-6) don't need any reminders about their troubles on the road. They haven't won a regular-season game away from Ford Field in more than two full years -- not since getting a victory at Chicago in October 2007. The road losing streak stands at 15 games.

The Seahawks (2-5) are coming off a blowout loss at Dallas, but they have won both their games this season with shutouts at home: 28-0 against St. Louis and 41-0 over Jacksonville. And some of the credit goes to a noisy Qwest Field, designed with end zone seats above steel risers so "the noise will bounce off the (roof overhangs) and come right back down to the field," Peterson said.

The stadium also was designed with the Seattle weather in mind, as rain and wind -- and it'll be 48 degrees and raining Sunday -- are more prevalent on the visitors' sideline.

"Playing on the road in the NFL is tough anywhere you play, but they take pride in affecting the game and it's our job to not let them affect the game," Lions coach Jim Schwartz said. "It's just early in the game -- if you let the crowd affect you then it's going to get worse and worse. If you don't make it an issue, then it won't be an issue throughout the rest of the game. We need to start fast, we need to be able to do some things that'll silence the crowd. That's a big part of playing on the road."

Jacksonville quarterback David Garrard publicly doubted just how loud the Seattle crowd would be last month prior to experiencing it. But after the 41-0 rout -- Garrard was sacked four times and the Jaguars managed just 199 yards on offense -- who could argue?

"As the visiting team, your biggest job is to make sure you don't beat yourself, as far as jumping offsides and things like that," Peterson said. "If you can get some production early, the crowd will kind of die down a little bit and then you can get some things done."

If not, you can expect a quiet trip home.

Some other storylines to watch Sunday as the Lions try for only their second win on the West Coast since 1999:

Green with envy

Julian Peterson laughs off the revenge factor heading into his old turf. He was traded to Detroit back in March as the Seahawks looked to unload his salary while trying to hang on to fellow high-priced linebacker Leroy Hill.

"This is the NFL -- that's the way it is," Peterson said. "I never took it personal with San Francisco, I never took it personal with Seattle. But any team that you used to play for, you always want to go back and win, so you have the bragging rights later on."

But he did joke Friday that he'd warned his current teammates he may be too busy jawing with his old acquaintances on the opposing sideline to bother with the defensive huddle between plays. And he promised to point to his name on the back of his jersey after big plays, the way he routinely did in Seattle.

He won't, however, be wearing the garish green shoes he used to wear while playing for the Seahawks.

"Still got 'em, though," he said, laughing. "And you see the whole Seattle team has 'em now. I should get some money for them. Look, I'm the one that started all that."

Back together again

Calvin Johnson didn't enjoy watching the last two games from the sidelines due to a knee injury. His teammates didn't enjoy it much, either. And that group included quarterback Matthew Stafford, who returned to the lineup last week against St. Louis after missing two games with his own knee injury.

Stafford was 14-of-33 for 168 yards with one interception and a rushing touchdown against the Rams. But while there might have been some rust, it was the half-dozen drops from his receivers that really ruined the day for the Lions' offense.

Johnson's expected return Sunday certainly should provide a lift in that regard. The release of No. 4 receiver John Standeford on Saturday -- defensive tackle Joe Cohen was signed from the practice squad to take his place on the 53-man roster -- all but guarantees Johnson will be active against Seattle. And the last time both Stafford and Johnson were on the field together was at Chicago, when they hooked up for five receptions for 119 yards in the first half, forcing the Bears to change their coverage.

"He's obviously a big weapon for us, a focal point in our offense and somebody that the defense really has to account for," Stafford said. "He's not just a guy that you can bump-and-run with because he's so big. You've got to put help over the top a lot of times and teams don't like to single him up, so it changes their philosophy.

"They usually are less aggressive to his side, or if they are aggressive they cloud it up with a blitz. They do some different stuff to try and take him away, but we always try to move him around some and give them different looks."

Gus Bradley, the Seahawks' defensive coordinator, was asked about trying to disguise blitzes against a rookie quarterback.

"Now Stafford, he's pretty good at (picking up blitzes)," Bradley said. "And the big reason for him is he just looks out to Johnson, when he's there. And he says, 'You know what? I may be wrong or I may be right, but I'll throw it up to him and it's a 50-50 ball.' But, you know, he recognizes pressures pretty good. That's what he did against Chicago. They were trying to show and bluff and he did a pretty good job with it."

Pressure point

The Lions didn't have a sack last week against St. Louis. But defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham wasn't all that upset about the pressure his unit put on Marc Bulger, who runs an offense that's similar to the one Matt Hasselbeck quarterbacks in Seattle.

"That's the West Coast system: It's all five-step quicks and get the ball out, and Seattle does the same thing," Cunningham said. "The thing I liked was we got an interception off a batted ball (by defensive end Dewayne White) -- that's what you have to do."

But a little more pressure wouldn't hurt Sunday. Because while the scheme might be similar, Hasselbeck, struggling a bit this season with poor pass protection and a rib injury, has considerably more to work with in his receiving corps. T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Nate Burleson and Deion Branch all are veteran wideouts with 1,000 yard seasons previously in their careers.

And the Lions' pass defense has been brutally bad at times this season: Opposing quarterbacks are completing 70.5 percent of their passes and 7.9 yards per attempt, both of which rank the Lions in the bottom three in the NFL. Losing Demarcus Faggins to a season-ending groin injury last week won't help. Either Anthony Henry, an early-season starter who's still in the doghouse, or cornerback Jason David, who was signed as a free agent Tuesday, will be the fourth cornerback Sunday.

I think were on the right track secondary-wise," coach Jim Schwartz said. "We gave up a lot of completions early (in the season); we played some really good offenses. But I think we're settling down and I think we need to get their completion percentages down. We don't necessarily mind a high completion percentage if you're not giving up big plays. Our problem was, we were giving up a high completion (percentage), but then every once in a while it was a big play -- tackling and a couple busted coverages."

Feeling left out

A bye-week move designed to halt a revolving door at left guard apparently didn't stick. Veteran lineman Jon Jansen made the switch from backup right tackle to starting left guard for last week's game at St. Louis. And while he looked comfortable run blocking, Jansen struggled at times with his pass protection, including a pair of costly holding penalties on the Lions' final fourth-quarter drive.

"Average," Jansen said, when asked to evaluate his play against the Rams. "There's some things that I did well, and there's some areas where I really need to improve on."

He may not get that chance, though. Manny Ramirez may get his fifth start of the season at left guard ahead of Daniel Loper against Seattle. Jansen returned to working at right tackle in practice late in the week, with only limited reps at left guard. He wasn't happy about it, but he said he understood.

"We're at a point now where we need people to produce, and that's the business we're in," Jansen said. "You've got to produce."

john.niyo@detnews.com