Tag: Kevin Smith

Lions can bolster playoff chances with win at Black Hole

Oakland, Calif. — The last time the Lions walked off the field at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, patrons showered them with shot glasses and batteries.

“That was fun,” Lions center Dominic Raiola said, chuckling. “Those are crazy fans. It gets you excited to play football.”

Neither team will need any environmental aids Sunday. The stakes are clear. The Lions (8-5) need to win to maintain control of their playoff aspirations. The Raiders (7-6) need to win to keep their playoff hopes alive, too.

“There’s no room for error, especially with all the other teams that are in the pack,” Raiola said of the playoffs chase. “Nobody is really out of it yet, so all we can do is keep on winning.”

The Lions hold the second and last wildcard spot in the NFC. Chicago (7-6), Dallas (7-6), Seattle (6-7) and Arizona (6-7) remain in the hunt.

“One at a time,” quarterback Matthew Stafford said. “As cliché as that sounds, that’s the way it has to be for us. We can’t look too far ahead. You see it on TV (playoff talk) and you hear it on the radio. Everybody knows what’s in front of us, but we have to go out there and execute it.

“This team has a great attitude right now. We understand what we have to do.”

Raiola wouldn’t mind another postgame “shower” from the fans at the Black Hole, because that would mean they won. The Lions’ last game in Oakland was a 36-21 season-opening win in 2007. It’s the only win the Lions have had on the West Coast in eight games the past 10 years.

“You hear the stories,” receiver Calvin Johnson said. “But, hey, I played (at Oakland) my first pro game and we won. We like playing on the road. We like going places and trying to shut up other teams’ fans.”

Coach Jim Schwartz said the venue — as crazy as the Black Hole can be — will be the least of the Lions’ concerns.

“We’ve had success on the road (4-2) and there’s not any difference from one place to another,” he said. “There’s a certain mentality that goes to playing on the road and you have to prepare for the crowd noise, but it’s not our first road trip — whether the fans are dressed as gladiators or anything else won’t affect us very much.”

What may impact the Lions, though, are injuries, particularly to a defense that has given up an average of 30 points the last four games.

They will play the Raiders without starting safety Louis Delmas, who did not travel with the team. He will miss his third straight game with a Grade 2 MCL tear.

Also out will be cornerback Aaron Berry (shoulder) and defensive end Lawrence Jackson (thigh).

Defensive end Willie Young (ankle), defensive tackle Nick Fairley (foot), outside linebacker Justin Durant (hamstring) and cornerback Eric Wright (hamstring) will be game-time decisions.

The defense will get a huge lift, though, from the return of two key starters — defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh (suspension) and cornerback Chris Houston (knee).

“Yeah, we got a lot more weapons (this week),” defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham said. “We are still banged up here or there, but every team is this time of the year. I think the biggest thing for our football team on defense is learning the attitude you got to have going into the final couple weeks; knowing how important each game is.

“We talked about four games to go; well now it is three games to go. They are all into it and focused, but they have been all year. It is just magnified now.”

The offense is expected to get back running back Kevin Smith (ankle), who practiced this week, albeit in a limited capacity. The question will be, how long will he last?

“I made it two quarters last time; hopefully I can go four,” he said.

This would be a good week for Johnson, the Lions’ quiet Pro Bowl receiver, to have a loud game. Defenses the last few weeks have gone to extreme measures to take him out of the mix, especially in the red zone. After scoring 11 touchdowns in the first eight games, he has one in the last five.

“He’s not a decoy at all, but if he’s taken away, then you have to go other places,” Schwartz said. “We never go in planning on using him as a decoy, but you also need to make smart decisions.

“We didn’t have any turnovers (against the Vikings), didn’t have any turnovers against New Orleans — two teams that were really trying their very best to take him out. If you press it too much, then you end up getting turnovers. Our game plan every week is to try to get him the ball, but we have to make smart decisions — smart decisions trump getting him the ball sometimes.”

To get Johnson the ball downfield, the offensive line is going to have to give Stafford a few extra seconds. There were several plays against the Vikings where Johnson got open but Stafford didn’t have time to wait for the route to develop.

“It’s all about being a great offense,” Stafford said. “He’s a great player and when we have one-on-one shots, we’re going to take them. But teams aren’t giving us those very often. We had some plays called last week to get him the ball downfield but for one reason or another it didn’t work out.

“But the great thing about Calvin is, he only wants to do one thing and that’s win games. That’s what you love about the guy.”

Said Johnson, “Man, as long as we’re winning, that’s going to keep everybody happy. That’s what everybody wants.”

So the Lions continue their own version of March Madness; it’s survive and advance time. If they win out, they end their 11-year playoff drought.

“We are excited about the possibilities,” defensive end Cliff Avril said. “But we are even more excited to be playing games that matter in December. We need to keep winning to have a chance to make something special happen. I think we are up for the task.”

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Lions at Raiders

Kickoff: 4:05 p.m. Sunday, Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, Calif.
TV/radio: Fox/97.1
Records: Detroit 8-5, Oakland 7-6
Series: Oakland leads 6-4 (Detroit 36-21, Sept. 9, 2007)
Line: Lions by 1

Kevin Smith works as Lions’ No. 3 RB while Jahvid Best sits


Chris McCosky/ The Detroit News

Allen Park — Jahvid Best (concussion), as expected, was not cleared for practice Tuesday, amid reports that he will miss his third straight game Sunday.

ESPN, citing an anonymous league source, reported that Best would not play at Chicago. The team has not officially ruled him out.

Running back Kevin Smith, waived by the Lions after last season, was signed Monday and was working in as the No. 3 running back early in practice Tuesday.

Veteran guard Leonard Davis, signed Sunday, was working at No. 2 right guard Tuesday.

Defensive tackle Sammie Hill (foot) was the only other player not practicing. Rookie tackle Nick Fairley (foot) was practicing, though he still looked limited in the early drills.

Receiver and special teams ace Rashied Davis, who has missed six games with a foot injury, was back and looked to be at full strength. He worked as one of the gunners on the first punt coverage unit.

The Lions also made a practice squad move, signing former LSU receiver Terrence Tolliver and releasing offensive tackle Casey Bender.

Lions keep making moves in midst of labor unrest


Tim Twentyman / The Detroit News

Allen Park — With all eyes focused on the labor unrest in the NFL Thursday, the Lions were busy shaping up their 2011 roster.

The team decided to part ways with veterans Kevin Smith and Julian Peterson while offering restricted free-agent tenders to a number of other players, including linebacker Zack Follett.

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The Lions did not offer a tender to former starting running back Smith, 24, making the fourth-year player a free agent. That doesn’t rule out the chance of Smith re-signing with the Lions, but it seems unlikely at this point.

With Jahvid Best expected to be the back-of-the-future and Maurice Morris coming on strong at the end of last season, the Lions felt Smith was expendable.

That’s good news for Best, a third-year pro out of Cal who thought his career might be over after he was carted off the field with a neck injury while covering a fourth-quarter kickoff during a 28-20 loss to the Giants at the Meadowlands on Oct. 17.

A third-round pick in 2008, Smith showed potential after running for 976 yards as a rookie. But injuries have derailed the last two seasons for Smith, who has rushed for 880 yards combined over that span.

Smith’s 2009 season ended because of a torn ACL. He played in only six games last season and finished it on injured reserve because of torn ligaments in his thumb. He also had a shoulder injury.

Smith rushed for 1,856 yards and 12 touchdowns in three seasons with the Lions.

The Peterson move was expected as Lions general manager Martin Mayhew confirmed to reporters last month that the move was imminent.

“We had a meeting, a great meeting, and I thanked him for his two years of service,” Mayhew said.

Peterson, 32, who was scheduled to make $8 million next season, made 15 starts last season and had 83 tackles.

Switching to players that will be wearing Honolulu Blue when camp starts, the Lions offered linebacker Zack Follett an exclusive rights tender for next season.

“I didn’t even know if they would offer me a contract,” Follett said. “I’m just thankful to be offered the opportunity to play for another year.

“I still don’t know if my neck will keep holding up, but I don’t think this contract would have been offered if they didn’t think that it could.”

Follett was placed on injured reserve following the incident in New York, and later told reporters he didn’t know if he’d ever play again after suffering a displaced disk that tapped his spinal cord.

Follett said he’s been intensively rehabbing his neck and feels he’s ready for camp. But he also said there is one more hurdle to cross.

“I haven’t hit anybody yet, so we’ll see,” he said. “Before I actually go back into camp to make it a full go we’ll do another series of tests to make sure there’s more space between the disk and my spinal cord and make sure I won’t be doing any permanent damage.

“It’s a little scary because the one thing the doctors did tell me is that by playing more, my situation can only get worse, and that’s the risk factor that’s involved here.”

The Lions gave fifth-year guard Dylan Gandy and special teams Pro Bowl alternate John Wendling original-round tenders on Thursday and reportedly issued tenders to some of their other four- and five-year players, including cornerback Chris Houston and kicker Dave Rayner.

The original-round tender for Gandy and Wendling mean that another team can offer them a contract but the Lions have the right to match that offer or let them sign with the other team for a fourth-round pick in Gandy’s case and a sixth-round pick for Wendling, the round they were originally drafted in.

Those players could ultimately test the free-agent market as unrestricted free agents, though, depending on the language in the new collective bargaining agreement — whenever it’s agreed upon — as it pertains to free-agent eligibility.

In last year’s uncapped season, free agency changed from four to six years, but it could revert back to four years in the new deal.

The Lions also extended exclusive rights original-round tenders to fullback Jerome Felton (fifth round) and defensive tackle Andre Fluellen (third round).

They also reportedly gave a second-round tender to defensive end Turk McBride.

ttwentyman@detnews.com

ttwentyman@detnews.com

Lions unlikely to make significant changes in 2011


Chris McCosky / The Detroit News

Allen Park— There have been times after the season’s final game when Dominic Raiola could look around and count on his hands the number of players likely to return.

That count took a lot longer after this year’s final game.

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“I know the nucleus of this team is coming back,” he said. “We’ve walked out of here in the past not knowing what was going to happen. But I see most of these guys, coming back.”

That, as much as the season-ending four-game winning streak, is fueling optimism.

“Across the board, offense and defense, we are still looking to improve the roster,” coach Jim Schwartz said Monday. “We are still looking to improve our starting 22. But we aren’t looking at an overhaul. Even at the spots where we do have need, it’s not like it was last year with the defensive backs where we erased everybody except Louis Delmas.

“There are a lot of guys here that we will continue moving forward with, and a lot of them might not be starters.”

Every starter and main backup on offense is expected to return for 2011.

On defense, starting defensive end Cliff Avril can be a restricted free agent (pending a new collective bargaining agreement), while starting cornerback Chris Houston and defensive end Turk McBride could become restricted free agents.

The Lions, however, can tender offers to all three.

Among those who likely have played their final games in Detroit are outside linebacker Julian Peterson, cornerback Nathan Vasher (unrestricted) and safety C.C. Brown (unrestricted).

Outside linebacker Landon Johnson is also unrestricted, but the Lions may try to keep him.

“We have talked before about having to address the starting 22 before you can address your depth,” Schwartz said. “What has happened this year is, because of the injuries and other things, we have been able to address a lot of the depth issues. Now we have to start adding pieces to the starting 22.”

Offense Quarterbacks

The top two are set. Matthew Stafford , who said Monday his shoulder was nearly back to full strength, is the starter, and Shaun Hill , who led the team to three victories, is No. 2.

The Lions would love to re-sign Drew Stanton as the No. 3, but as an unrestricted free agent, he will be looking to compete for a No. 1 or No. 2 spot somewhere. Still, if no suitable opportunities come his way, he said he would have no trouble returning as the third option.

Running backs

The top two spots are set — probably. Jahvid Best (turf toe) said he will need at least eight weeks of rest to completely heal. He should be ready to resume the starting role next season.

Maurice Morris , entering his 10th season, will have the first shot to win the backup role, but the Lions are expected to bring in one and probably two other backs.

They will have to decide whether to bring back Kevin Smith , who has had health issues the last three seasons, and underachieving second-year man Aaron Brown . The guess is Smith comes back, not Brown.

FB Jerome Felton could be a restricted free agent, but the Lions are expected to bring him back.

Receivers

Calvin Johnson and Nate Burleson will be back, as will return ace and jack-of-all-trades Stefan Logan .

But the Lions will be looking to upgrade the depth.

Bryant Johnson , who has one year left on his contract ($3 million), was unproductive all season.

Derrick Williams , a former third-round pick, has been a disappointment the last two seasons.

Tight ends

Absolutely set with Brandon Pettigrew , Tony Scheffler and Will Heller signed through next season.

Line

The starters are expected back, although there is some concern about RG Stephen Peterman , who struggled at times (partly due to a lingering foot injury).

Corey Hilliard , who filled in admirably when RT Gosder Cherilus went down, can be a restricted free agent. It’s hard to imagine the Lions letting him go, but some team could swoop in and steal him.

The Lions signed veteran T Tony Ugoh late, but he wasn’t able to get on the field before rookie Jason Fox did, so it’s doubtful he’s part of the plan.

Defense Line

At end, Kyle Vanden Bosch is expected to make a full recovery from neck surgery and start. E Lawrence Jackson also will return. And it seems improbable the Lions wouldn’t re-sign Cliff Avril and Turk McBride .

It will be interesting to see what they do about rookie Willie Young . They love his athleticism, but he’s going to have to show them a lot more maturity and a stronger work ethic next season.

At tackle, starters Ndamukong Suh and Corey Williams , as well as top reserve Sammie Hill , are back. The Lions will have to make a decision on backup Andre Fluellen , who can be a restricted free agent.

Linebackers

This is one of the biggest areas of need.

DeAndre Levy will return and probably start at middle linebacker. But there he might be moved outside, depending on whom the Lions draft or acquire through trade or free agency.

Most likely there will be two new starters on the outside. The Lions aren’t bringing back Julian Peterson and his $8 million contact. And Zach Follett , the starter before suffering a serious neck injury, may not be ready.

Bobby Carpenter and Ashlee Palmer will likely return, but not as starters.

Landon Johnson is a tricky one. They loved his play, but he has a history of concussions.

The Lions also will have to make a decision on Jordon Dizon , an undersized middle linebacker who blew out his knee in the first exhibition.

Backs

The Lions probably will invest significantly to bring Chris Houston back. He showed he could be a shutdown cornerback on the left side and drafting at No. 13, they aren’t likely to get the impact player they hoped for.

The right side corner spot is wide open. Alphonso Smith probably will get the first shot to win it. Tye Hill , Aaron Berry , Brandon McDonald , Prince Miller , Jack Williams and Eric King could be in the mix.

At safety, Louis Delmas is the only sure bet.

The Lions liked the development of rookie Amari Spievey , and veteran John Wendling is a valuable special teams player.

Special teams

The Lions may have a camp battle for the kicking spot.

Jason Hanson is coming off surgery the last two seasons. Although he is the incumbent, and coach Jim Schwartz said Monday his confidence hasn’t wavered, Dave Rayner has earned at least the right to compete.

Coaching staff

All the coaches are under contract and expected back.

Offensive coordinator Scott Linehan ‘s name may come up regarding coaching vacancies, but he has said numerous times he is content with his role in Detroit.