The Detroit Lions get back on the field this week against the Green Bay Packers, and they will have to do it with a referee they are very familiar with on the call.

According to Football Zebras who revealed all of the Week 6 assignments, veteran referee Clete Blakeman will be in charge of Detroit’s first NFC North tangle of the year in Green Bay. After the Lions had several frustrating calls doom them against the Kansas City Chiefs, fans were no doubt looking ahead to see who would be taking over as the lead official in question this week.

In Blakeman, though, the Lions might end up having a very positive outcome considering his recent past with regards to the Lions and the successes they have had.

A Positive History With Detroit

Blakeman has called plenty of Lions games in the past few seasons, and the Lions haven’t had the issue that they have had with Walt Coleman’s crew. Quite the opposite, actually. Not only have the Lions not been doomed by a strange call or an odd rule interpretation by Blakeman’s crew, they have also won the games that he has called lately.

In each of the last four years, Blakeman’s crew has called a Detroit game, and the Lions have won. That includes 2018, where he was on the call for the Lions’ dominating win over the New England Patriots. Blakeman also called Detroit’s battle in 2017 with the Packers at Lambeau Field on Monday Night Football, which was a very decisive win by the Lions.

Ironically, in some of the wins, the Lions haven’t just won, but have blown out the competition. It probably has nothing to do with Blakeman himself, but Detroit will likely take all the good vibes they can heading on the road for a key divisional contest, especially as they are not early favorites to win.

Much Different Than Week 4

Just the opposite of Blakeman’s crew and the positivity they seem to bring the Lions has been Walt Coleman. Not only did Coleman find himself involved in another controversial game in Detroit in 2019, he presided over one in 2017 as well, as the Lions lost to the Atlanta Falcons via a 10 second runoff rule interpretation. Coleman also called Detroit’s game against the Houston Texans in 2012, which featured a controversial ruling on a long touchdown run.

The NFL stood by Coleman and his crew over the weekend, but to Lions fans, that won’t matter. They will likely remain frustrated with the referee and what he has represented to the team in recent history. For some reason, Coleman on the call means bad things for Detroit.

While the Lions aren’t likely to care week to week who they manage to get on the call for various games, it does matter to see a crew that the team has had good luck with before. As Coleman’s crew proved, often times, history matters with regards to this.

At the very least this week, the Lions will have some better feelings about Blakeman and company this week as they try to rebound on the road.

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