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Lions bye week comes at a great time

The Detroit Lions, losers of their last three games, are hoping some time off to nurse their wounds will help and their bye week could not have come at a better time.

While all their losses have been by eight points or less, the continued losses have to take a toll on the players and coaches and, with their next two games on the road against top opponents (the Eagles on Oct. 14th and the Bears on Oct 22nd) things are not going to get easier.

“The bye is about enjoying time away,” WR Nate Burleson said. “But in the back of your mind, understand where we are as a team. We’re not going into the bye feared by every other team in the NFL, we’re going into the bye forgotten. We need to come back angry for Week 6. We have to prove something”

We will see if the Lions can bounce back in Philly. In the meantime, be sure to secure your tickets for the next home game against the Seattle Seahawks on October 28th and help to cheer your Lions to victory!

Matthew Stafford proves he can stay healthy, is on pace for Lions’ records

Vikings at Lions | 1 p.m. Sunday, Fox

Chris McCosky/ The Detroit News

Allen Park— Start with a subplot.

Who had Matthew Stafford getting to Game 13 without missing a start? Outside of the coaching staff and Stafford himself, probably not too many.

Stafford, who started just 13 games in his first two seasons combined, will make his 13th straight start against the Vikings on Sunday.

“I never had any concerns of myself,” Stafford said Wednesday when asked if he felt he’d beaten the “fragile” tag. “You guys can answer that question. I am just where I expected to be — healthy and ready to go this week.”

He’s fought through an ankle injury and a fractured index finger on his throwing hand. He’s also fought through a few erratic weeks. Through it all, he’s on a pace to record the most productive season any Lions quarterback has ever had.

“We’ve never doubted his toughness or his durability or anything like that in here,” center Dominic Raiola said. “That’s never been an issue with us. We have complete faith in his ability to lead this offense and get it where we want to go.”

Stafford has thrown for 3,527 yards this season. That’s 811 yards shy of Scott Mitchell’s 1995 team record of 4,338. He needs to average just 203 yards over the last four games to eclipse the record.

He is five touchdown passes shy of Mitchell’s single-season mark of 32. He’s also in range of breaking Jon Kitna’s single-season completion percentage mark of 63.3. Stafford has completed 63 percent through 12 games.

“I don’t think about that stuff,” Stafford said. “All that matters is winning games.”

Playing for something

Which brings us around to the main plot for Sunday — can the Lions shake off all the injuries, fines, suspensions and negativity they’ve dealt with the past couple of weeks and get back to winning games?

“I think the problem for our team, if there is one, is we don’t think we are 7-5,” defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham said. “I think if we start thinking that way, we are going to play that way.”

At the start of the week, Cunningham wrote two large numbers on the board inside the defensive meeting room — a seven and a five.

“I said it was about time we start acting like that team,” Cunningham said. “You lose some and you win some in the NFL, but the final result is to get to the playoffs. People need to start focusing on that in our room.

“We’re not some pushover team. We will play anybody at any time. I am not going to make excuses about injuries, but let’s line up our 11 starters against theirs and see what happens. We will get that chance again down the road and I can’t wait.”

For this week, though, Cunningham’s defense will line up without as many as six key players. All-Pro defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh is serving the second of his two-game suspension. His replacement, rookie Nick Fairley, isn’t likely to play because of a foot injury.

Defensive end Lawrence Jackson (thigh) already has been ruled out.

In the secondary, starting cornerback Chris Houston and starting safety Louis Delmas are expected to miss their second straight games with knee injuries.

Outside linebacker Justin Durant (hamstring) didn’t practice Thursday or Friday and he’s questionable.

“Ain’t nothing to it,” veteran defensive tackle Corey Williams said. “We have guys who will step up if other guys can’t play. Gun’s right, man. We have to realize that we do have something to play for. We’re not just trying to finish off these final games. We’ve got a reason. It’s been 11 years since this team has been in the playoffs.

“We had a good week (of practice); crisp and sharp. We just need to get that winning taste back in our mouths.”

Discipline wanted

The Lions started 5-0. They have gone 2-5 since. Yet, they still control their wild-card destiny. If they can win three of the last four, they stand a good chance of getting in. The question is, can they reclaim that “winning taste” they had earlier in the season. Or are they beyond reclamation.

“I don’t know about reclamation,” said defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch. “We still have everything in front of us — all our goals that we set out for ourselves. Essentially, our playoffs start this week. We are neck and neck with a bunch of teams, so this is a must-win if we want to keep our playoff hopes alive.”

You have to wonder, though, if they are capable of staying out of their own way. The foolishness has gone on all season.

Going back to post-whistle fouls against Gosder Cherilus and Stephen Peterman in Week 1, to coach Jim Schwartz’s on-field woofing with Cowboys’ receiver Dez Bryant to his postgame verbal shot at Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, to his handshake dustup with 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh, to a tunnel scuffle before the game against Atlanta, to the team’s open mocking of Denver quarterback Tim Tebow, to Suh’s stomp on Thanksgiving Day, to the three post-whistle fouls last Sunday in New Orleans — it’s been one thing after another.

Officials may or may not be watching with a more wary eye, but opponents will certainly be looking to push their buttons and trigger the temper.

“Officials officiate what they see,” Schwartz said. “But as far as other teams pushing the issue, that’s a reality in the NFL and that’s something the last two weeks we haven’t done a good job responding to.”

Schwartz has spoken privately to the team captains and the captains have carried his message to the players. Whether the message has sunk in, the jury is still out.

“I don’t know that it’s a reflection of the leadership or the coaching,” Vanden Bosch said. “I think the mistakes are on the individual. Guys need to understand that you can’t do things because you feel you’ve been wronged (on the field) and go after guys. You have to understand that has an effect on what we’re doing as a team.

“We are an aggressive team and we have a history of not backing down. We need to understand that’s what we are — a physical, aggressive team. But we need to handle that between the whistles.”

As Schwartz said repeatedly this week — it’s down to a four-game season and the margin for error, for selfishness, for any on-field indiscretion is nil.

“We understand we can’t continue to beat ourselves anymore,” Vanden Bosch said. “We’re a good team, we just need to be a little more disciplined. If we play the way we’re capable of playing, and play smart, everything should work out for us.”

Vikings at Lions

Kickoff: 1 p.m. Sunday, Ford Field, Detroit

TV/radio: Fox/97.1

Records: Minnesota 2-10, Detroit 7-5

Line: Lions by 91/2

Series: Minnesota leads 66-32-2 (Detroit 26-23, OT, Sept. 25, 2010)

Did you know? Of their four remaining games, the Lions play two teams with winning records (Raiders and Packers).

chris.mccosky@detnews.com

(313) 222-1489

Cam Newton poses a dilemma for Lions defense

Chris McCosky/ The Detroit News

Allen Park— So if you are the Lions on Sunday, do you blitz Cam Newton? Don’t be too hasty with your answer.

On the plus side, the Titans last week were able to confuse and frustrate Newton, Carolina’s prized rookie quarterback, with some well-disguised and well-timed blitz packages.

The Lions had good success blitzing another young, athletic quarterback — Denver’s Tim Tebow — three weeks ago.

But Newton is different. He’s faster than Tebow. Newton covers 40 yards in 4.5 seconds, and he’s more elusive.

“His running style is similar to Vince Young,” defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh said. “He’s big and he has those long strides. He can really hurt you in the open field.”

More to the point, Newton throws the ball better and more willingly than Tebow.

And, when you blitz a young quarterback, you sometimes bail him out because you take away his guesswork and streamline his options.

“It’s pretty simple,” Lions defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham said. “When you blitz, you are playing man-to-man. He just picks out his guy and fires it to Steve Smith or (tight end Greg Olsen).”

Take into consideration also the Lions aren’t a blitzing team. They are built to bring pressure with their four down linemen and they are very good at that. Twenty-two of their 26 sacks this year have come from defensive linemen.

Throw all that into the equation and it’s not an easy call.

Cunningham, naturally, wasn’t giving away the game plan, but he did acknowledge the unique challenge Newton presents.

“He’s a powerful human being,” he said. “He looks like a defensive end. Like our guy, Matt Stafford, people will watch out before they mess with him again (after he rag-dolled Bears cornerback D.J. Moore last week). Cam’s the same way.”

“They flex him out sometimes at wide receiver and play out of the wildcat. I saw him block (Tim) Jennings from Chicago. He knocked him down and when Jennings tried to get back up he knocked him down again. We are dealing with a heck of a quarterback.”

Newton, the first pick in the draft, already has thrown for 2,605 yards — the most ever by a rookie through nine games. He’s thrown 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, and run for 374 yards and seven touchdowns.

“The Titans did a real good job,” said middle linebacker Stephen Tulloch, a former Titan. “They did a ton of zone blitzing where he has one look and you drop into another look. They were able to get their hands on some balls and get five sacks. They had him scrambling and they were able to get to him.”

“That’s what you have to do to him — bring pressure and make it a long day.”

When Newton looked at the Lions on film this week, he saw a defense that can put extreme pressure on quarterbacks without blitzing. From the sound of it, that worries him more than facing a blitzing team.

“They’ve got an arsenal,” Newton told the Charlotte Observer about the Lions. “They get after the quarterback. They create (pressure). They wreak havoc…They’re getting a lot of help from their down linemen. That’s very rare nowadays. These guys are unique because those four down linemen wreak havoc. What that allows is everybody’s in coverage.

“And when that quarterback gets pressure, there’s only so much he can do. …”

You’re not going to take shots downfield if you’ve got pressure. I’m sorry, you’re just not going to do it. We know that’s a big thing coming into this week.”

The Lions have been able to stifle the other mobile quarterbacks they’ve faced this season — Tampa Bay’s Josh Freeman, Minnesota’s Donovan McNabb and Tebow. And in all three games, Tulloch was used as a spy, assigned to track the quarterback wherever he went on the field.

The Lions aren’t saying if they will use a spy on Newton, but the Panthers are expecting it.

“The spy thing, people have done that to us in the past and people are going to do it to us in the future,” offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski told the Charlotte Observer. “It didn’t really have an effect on us.”

Lions defensive end Cliff Avril put it this way: “We don’t change for them; we try to make them change for us.”

Bottom line: Blitzing a dynamic talent like Newton comes with an extremely high risk-reward ratio. It can make you or break you on any given play.

“It’s a difficult task, that’s why I haven’t gotten much sleep,” Cunningham said. “When he scrambles, he can throw the ball on the money. But there are also times when he gets erratic. That’s when we have to get the football.”

chris.mccosky@detnews.com

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Looking for a team, Dre Bly drops in on Lions workout

Chris McCosky / / The Detroit News

Beverly Hills — There was an old, familiar face at the Lions’ voluntary workout Wednesday.

Former Lion Dre Bly became the first cornerback to join the mini-camp, even though he is currently without a team.

“I am just trying to stay ready, just in case,” said Bly, who still resides in the area. “With the CBA (collective bargaining agreement) going on, you never know what’s going to happen. I’m just going to stay ready.”

Bly, a two-time Pro Bowler who will turn 34 on Sunday, did not play last season after being cut by the Lions on Sept. 4. He had been with the Lions from 2003-06 and was brought back to mentor a young secondary last summer.

Just as Bly appeared to have won the nickel back role, general manager Martin Mayhew had the opportunity to acquire a younger cornerback, Alphonso Smith, from Denver. Thus, Bly was released.

“I was out of town when I got released,” Bly said. “I went to the LSU-North Carolina game in Atlanta and I got a call from a scout, and then I talked to Martin. I never came back in to talk to the coaches. Usually you do that after you are released, but I was a little disappointed because I felt like it was the perfect situation for me.

“Being an older guy, a vet, I understood where I was at this stage of my career and I thought I’d be a good fit. I was excited to be back. So it was disappointing, but I understand that it’s a business. They went young. That’s what happened.”

Bly got a few calls after he was released and he worked out for the Giants, but nothing came of it.

“I miss the game because I still feel I can play,” said Bly, who hopes to get some offers once the lockout is settled. “Being out a full year is going to make it hard, but still, I didn’t take that pounding and I’ve been relatively healthy. I still feel I can play.”

The Lions, who had 31 players at the session Wednesday, will conclude the workouts Thursday.

Lions might appeal draft penalties from tampering charges

Chris McCosky / The Detroit News

Indianapolis — Lions coach Jim Schwartz, addressing the media at the NFL Scouting Combine on Thursday, indicated the Lions might appeal the league’s ruling on tampering charges filed against them by the Kansas City Chiefs.

“I think that too much has been said about something that should be confidential,” Schwartz said. “I am disappointed so much has come out.

“We have received that notification and I believe firmly in our case and that they reached the wrong conclusion. We still have some options we can pursue.”

The Lions have until Monday to file an appeal.

After a six-month investigation, the league ordered the Lions to forfeit their seventh-round pick in the 2011 draft and switch fifth-round picks with the Chiefs — losing the ninth pick and gaining the 23rd.

The tampering incident involved, at least partly, some comments made by defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham in reference to then-Chiefs safety Jarrad Page. Commissioner Roger Goodell ruled that the Lions made “impermissible contact with a player (or his agent).”

“An appeal is one of our options,” Schwartz said. “But, again, I will leave it at that. Too much has been said about this already.”

Schwartz was also loathe to discuss the rehab of quarterback Matthew Stafford’s surgically-repaired throwing shoulder. Schwartz was asked if he was worried that a potential lockout might interrupt the rehab process.

“Our rehab schedule is the way it has been with all of our players and hopefully we will continue on that track,” he said. “You are talking about ‘if.’ We’re not counting on ifs. We are going ahead the way we did it in the past. I feel optimistic he’ll have a good rehab.”

ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. changes tune on Lions’ pick at No. 13

Tim Twentyman / The Detroit News

ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. has released his second mock draft — and he’s changed his mind on the Lions pick at No. 13.

He has Detroit selecting Colorado cornerback Jimmy Smith, after originally going with UCLA linebacker Akeem Ayers.

“Smith is a late riser, a good player on a bad team and a guy who got less attention partly because quarterbacks wouldn’t put a ball near him this past season,” Kiper writes. “But the film is stacking up now, and it proves why NFL personnel are really high on him. The final test for Smith will be whether he grades out well in Indianapolis (combine). Based on what I know, he will, and he offers the Lions the cornerback help they need without having to sacrifice on value at this stage in the draft.”

Kiper still has Auburn tackle Nick Fairley going No. 1 overall to the Panthers.

The biggest riser on the board is Auburn quarterback Cam Newton. After predicting he’d be the 10th pick by the Redskins in his first mock draft, Kiper now is forecasting Newton to be off the board at No. 3 to the Bills.

ttwentyman@detnews.com

Lions place Matthew Stafford on injured reserve

Chris McCosky / The Detroit News

Allen Park— There was hope in his heart right up until the moment he was told that his season was over. But in his head, and certainly in his ailing right shoulder, he knew it was over a couple of weeks ago.

The Lions, needing a roster spot because of the uncertain health status of safety Louis Delmas, placed quarterback Matthew Stafford on injured reserve Friday.

“I would have loved for it to have felt better and have a chance to come back and play, but with the roster situation, I completely understand,” said Stafford, who has twice separated his right shoulder this season, the second time Nov. 7 against the Jets. “I am disappointed it had to end like this but it’s part of the business.”

Delmas, still feeling post-concussion symptoms from last Sunday, hasn’t practiced all week and is doubtful for Sunday’s game against the Dolphins. Safety Randy Phillips was signed off the practice squad and will be in uniform.

“We were hoping Matt would’ve been able to come back; his rehab was going good,” coach Jim Schwartz said. “But when he threw a couple of weeks ago, he wasn’t at the point where he could keep throwing. We were waiting for that time to come, and when it passed this week it was obvious he wasn’t going to play this week and his chances for next week were slim.”

Stafford said doctors have assured him the rehab process is going well and surgery will not be required. He said he expects to be at full health when the Lions begin off-season training in March.

“I didn’t know what to expect when I threw (two weeks ago) and it just didn’t react great,” he said. “It was a little bit sorer than I had hoped. I talked to the doctors and I don’t need surgery; it just takes time. You do it twice (the injury) in a season and it’s going to take time.”

Stafford, 22, now has finished his first two professional seasons on IR. His rookie season was ended after 10 games because of left shoulder and knee injuries. He played in three games this season, finishing only one, separating his right shoulder in the opener in Chicago and then again against the Jets.

He has started 13 games and finished only eight in two seasons. Still, he won the only game he finished this year (vs. Washington) and the Lions were leading in the other two when he got hurt. He completed 59.4 percent of passes this season, with six touchdowns and an interception.

“The administrative detail of putting him on IR has nothing to do with his long-term prospects,” Schwartz said. “We wanted him to come back and play if he passed all the various criteria that we set up, but it never got to that point.

“It does nothing to take away what his long-term prospects are as far as leading this team next year and into the future. We don’t expect any kind of carry-over. This is a setback for this year. It doesn’t change anything for 2011 and beyond.”

Stafford said he didn’t consider this a lost season.

“I think I learned a lot this year, even though it was different than the way I wanted to learn it,” he said. “Mentally, I was in every meeting. I’ve been at every practice and every game. I took a lot away from this year in terms of learning what it takes to win. It was just not on the field, but off the field.”

The hardest part, Stafford said, was not being able to play on Sundays.

“I am not disappointed in the fact that I didn’t get to go out and throw a bunch of touchdowns and no picks,” he said. “I’m disappointed I didn’t get to be out there on Sunday with the guys. That’s the best part of being in this profession. You work all week and you practice, but playing in front of the fans and being out there with the guys, that’s what I miss most.”

The Lions spent this week readying two quarterbacks to start against the Dolphins, but it looks like Shaun Hill will get the nod.

Hill, four weeks after breaking a knuckle on his right index finger, took first-team reps during the early portion of practice both Wednesday and Friday.

Drew Stanton, who has a separated left shoulder, took first-team reps Thursday.

The Lions have divided the reps between them this week, obviously, because with the injuries, both are one hit away from being knocked out of the game.