: Matthew Stafford
Lions TE Eric Ebron (hamstring, doubtful) missed practi...
Lions TE Eric Ebron (hamstring, doubtful) missed practice again Friday and is doubtful for Week 7. Ebron’s likely absence will leave Matthew Stafford very shorthanded in the receiving department with Calvin Johnson also likely out.
Lions TE Eric Ebron (hamstring) missed practice Thursda...
Lions TE Eric Ebron (hamstring) missed practice Thursday after taking limited reps Wednesday. Midweek downgrades are never a good sign. Ebron seems doubtful for Week 7, leaving Matthew Stafford shorthanded in the receiving department with Calvin Johnson also likely out.
Lions QB Matthew Stafford has been sacked 11 times this season, putting him on pace for a career-high 44 this year. And it’s even worse than the numbers look, because Stafford isn’t dropping back to pass as much as he has the last couple years. This year Stafford has been sacked on 6.9 percent of his dropbacks. Last year he was sacked on 3.5 percent of his dropbacks. And those numbers don’t include the times Stafford has ended up running when he wanted to pass; Stafford is on pace for a career-high 68 rushing attempts in part because he’s been forced to run at times.
Despite all that, Stafford says things are fine with his offensive line.
There is one big problem on the Lions’ line, however: Detroit has been down to its third-string right tackle since starter LaAdrian Waddle and backup Corey Hilliard both suffered injuries in Week One. Garrett Reynolds has struggled filling in, particularly last week against the Jets, when Stafford was sacked four times.
Stafford's protection is something for fantasy owners to monitor moving forward, especially when the Lions face a team that is good at pressuring the quarterback. The Bills are tied for 4th in sacks (11) heading into Week 5.
Lions WR Calvin Johnson stood at his locker Sunday afternoon and laughed at the suggestion. His coach, Jim Caldwell, had said that Johnson at 90 percent was better than a lot of players at full strength.
Except Johnson, when he was asked if 90 percent was a fair barometer for his status, was not there.
“Nah,” Johnson said, laughing at the suggestion.
Johnson was limited during the Detroit Lions' 24-17 win over the New York Jets on Sunday after being questionable to play with an ankle injury suffered against Green Bay last week. He was used far less than he had been in the Lions’ first three games, when he was typically in the game for at least 75 percent of the plays.
On Sunday, he rarely played two plays in a row and was only targeted twice by quarterback Matthew Stafford, catching both of those passes for 12 yards. He didn’t have his typical explosiveness or speed and after the game was still noticeably limping.
“Went out there. It was tough but I figured from moving around [on Saturday] that I’d be able to get on the field a little bit,” Johnson said. “It’s good to be out there with the fellas. It sucks to be on the sideline and not be able to play at all. It sucks to have injuries, too, but that’s just part of the game.”
It looks like he was the dreaded decoy, leaving fantasy owners with just a couple of points from their stud WR. The good news is there were no setbacks and Johnson, though limited in practice last week, felt like he improved all last week. It's now a big question how Johnson is used in Week 5. The story said a similar approach will be taken with Johnson over the next week as the team prepares for the Bills. Johnson didn't practice Wednesday and Thursday and was limited on Friday of last week. The Week 5 game is a 1 p.m. contest so we'll know Johnson's status at least.
Lions WR Calvin Johnson (ankle, questionable) returned ...
Lions WR Calvin Johnson (ankle, questionable) returned to take limited reps Friday after missing practice earlier in the week and is questionable for Week 4. The practice is encouraging, but Johnson is not out of the woods yet. The Lions play early on Sunday, which helps. Golden Tate and Eric Ebron would get a big boost if Megatron can’t play. Matthew Stafford’s upside would take a huge hit if he is without his top receiver.
RB Reggie Bush figured to be a bigger part of the Detro...
RB Reggie Bush figured to be a bigger part of the Detroit Lions' game plan Sunday.
Offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi had stressed during the week he wanted to have more patience with the Lions' running game after two weeks of ineffectiveness. He also wanted to find a way for Bush, who has game-breaking speed, to be more involved.
Bush had 12 carries and 61 yards on Sunday, more yards than he gained in the first two weeks of the season combined on almost as many carries. He had 15 total carries the first two weeks combined.
Bush was also targeted eight times by quarterback Matthew Stafford, the most Bush has been targeted this season as a receiver. He caught six of those passes for 38 yards. The Lions' rushing game is still struggling -- a 3.0 yards per carry average is not going to please Lombardi or Jim Caldwell -- but Bush showed signs of life late Sunday with a 26-yard TD run. Heading into this week, Joique Bell was considered the team's RB1, at least based on his snaps. Bell still had 15 carries but for only 33 and did not catch a pass. It seems like the team made it a point to get Bush more involved. Both will continue to have low-end RB2 and flex values but depending on game plan, one could be more involved than the other.
The Lions have released a favorite receiver of Matthew Stafford. Kris Durham, a former college teammate and roommate of Stafford’s, was cut today.
Durham played well at times for the Lions, but when Detroit signed Golden Tate this offseason there was one less roster spot available for a wide receiver, and it appears that Durham will lose the numbers game to be one of the backups behind Tate and Calvin Johnson.
The Lions were very deep at WR in camp this year and unfortunately for Durham he's the odd man out. For now it appears to be good news for often-injury Ryan Broyles who is back healthy and has looked good.
The Lions ran screens 67 times last season according to...
The Lions ran screens 67 times last season according to ESPN Stats & Information, completing 52 of those passes. While the 77.6 completion percentage isn’t great, Detroit gained 525 yards on screens last season, good enough for third in the NFL.
The Lions averaged 7.84 yards per screen and scored three touchdowns using them last season. The yards per screen, total yards, attempts, passer rating and touchdowns were all Top 5 in the league last season.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford's screen numbers would have been higher, too, except the Lions led the league with five dropped screens and were the only team to fumble twice on screen passes, losing one.
Last season’s overall success, though, is part of the reason why the Lions appear unconcerned about the team’s screens this preseason. While the Lions had a perfectly set up screen go for 36 yards with RB Theo Riddick against Oakland, there have been other screens that have been blown up pretty easily.
The Lions have the talent to run screens and be successful and it looks like it's going to be a big part of the offense again this season. They are looking to better some numbers, including drops. However, Reggie Bush was said to be struggling in that department recently in camp.
Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford is off to an exceptional start to the preseason, completing 11-14 passes for 106 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions. Two of those incompletions were drops by running back Reggie Bush.
Bush's hands have been an issue much of his eight-year career. He had the NFL's worst drop rate among players with 50 or more targets last season, letting nine passes slip through his hands. He also fumbled five times, losing four.
After dropping a pass in each of the team's first two preseason contests, there would seem to be cause for concern, but neither the tailback or coach Jim Caldwell are worried about the issue lingering into the regular season.
"It's just a matter of getting the timing down, here and there," Bush said. "That's what the preseason is for, getting that timing down with the quarterback. It will get there."
The Lions are implementing a new offensive scheme this season, and many of the routes and alignments for the running backs and receivers have been tweaked. Bush believes he and Stafford just need to continue to work on their timing together on the practice field, the story went on to say. Unfortunately for Bush, Joique Bell and Theo Riddick are capable receivers out of the backfield too, so if it continues to be an issue, he may end up losing snaps. Bush has an ADP of the fourth round with Bell's being in the sixth.
QB Dan Orlovsky signed with the Detroit Lions with the ...
QB Dan Orlovsky signed with the Detroit Lions with the understanding he would be Matthew Stafford's backup.
Then he went out for his preseason debut and got smoked by the team's No. 3 quarterback.
Orlovsky was a disaster Saturday night against the Cleveland Browns, while Kellen Moore completed 11 of 13 passes and fired a game-winner to Corey Fuller to lift Detroit (1-0) to a 13-12 comback win.
That's sure to light up talk radio and Twitter -- and our MLive comments section -- with demands for Moore to replace Orlovsky. But coach Jim Caldwell, Orlovsky and even Moore himself did their best after the game to dispel any notion that there's a (backup) quarterback controversy brewing behind Stafford.
- Never Start an Injured Player
- Get the latest news, content and rankings updates in your inbox.
- Close