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DETROIT — With three games left, the Detroit Lions know what they have to do to make the playoffs.<\/p>\n
Win, win and win (and get some help, thanks to the Chicago Bears beating the Green Bay Packers on Saturday).<\/p>\n
It all starts with Sunday afternoon\u2019s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Detroit\u2019s home finale. We\u2019re examining the center options if Graham Glasgow can\u2019t play and David Montgomery\u2019s role in this week\u2019s projected depth chart ahead of Week 16\u2019s game:<\/p>\n
1. Jared Goff<\/p>\n
2. Kyle Allen<\/p>\n
Jared Goff did his best to will the Lions to victory last weekend in Los Angeles. Goff has thrown for 300-plus passing yards in back-to-back games and hasn\u2019t turned the ball over in three straight. He\u2019ll need to bank on Jameson Williams and Amon-Ra St. Brown once again, but that\u2019s been the strength of this team recently.<\/p>\n
1. Jahmyr Gibbs<\/p>\n
2. David Montgomery<\/p>\n
3. Jacob Saylors<\/p>\n
4. Sione Vaki<\/p>\n
The talk of the week has been about getting David Montgomery more snaps. The Lions deployed both Jahmyr Gibbs and Montgomery at the same time on six snaps last week. If they want to get Montgomery more chances, without cutting into Gibbs\u2019 work, that seems like the best path forward for this Sam LaPorta-less offense.<\/p>\n
Montgomery hasn\u2019t had double-digit carries since six games ago. He\u2019s played fewer than 20 snaps in back-to-back weeks — the only two times he\u2019s played so sparingly all season.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd it\u2019s something I think about a lot, is how do we get them all involved?\u201d Lions coach Dan Campbell said this week. \u201cHe\u2019s one of those, when they\u2019re all involved, we\u2019re just better. We\u2019re a better offense. Where do we get him touches? Where do we find them? So, I do. I think about him a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n
1. Amon-Ra St. Brown<\/p>\n
2. Jameson Williams<\/p>\n
3. Isaac TeSlaa<\/p>\n
4. Kalif Raymond<\/p>\n
5. Tom Kennedy<\/p>\n
6. Dominic Lovett<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been the St. Brown and Williams show recently, and that\u2019s a very good thing.<\/p>\n
Of the last 69 targets sent to a tight end or wide receiver, 53 of those have gone to the team\u2019s top two pass catchers. Williams has caught a career-best seven catches in three straight games. St. Brown just became the first player in NFL history to catch 90 passes in their first five seasons.<\/p>\n
Feed the beast(s).<\/p>\n
1. Anthony Firkser<\/p>\n
2. Shane Zylstra<\/p>\n
3. Giovanni Ricci<\/p>\n
Shane Zylstra led the tight ends with 37 snaps in the previous game. Anthony Firkser was next in line with 22 and Giovanni Ricci saw 12 reps as a practice squad elevation. They aren\u2019t seeing many targets, but that\u2019s where things stand at tight end right now.<\/p>\n
Starters: <\/b>LT Taylor Decker, LG Christian Mahogany, C Trystan Colon, RG Tate Ratledge, RT Penei Sewell<\/p>\n
Reserves: <\/b>OT Dan Skipper, iOL Michael Niese, OG Kayode Awosika, iOL Kingsley Eguakun<\/p>\n
Questionable: <\/b>LT Taylor Decker (shoulder\/rest), C Graham Glasgow (knee), iOL Trystan Colon (wrist), LG Christian Mahogany (fibula)<\/p>\n
Out: <\/b>OT Giovanni Manu (knee)<\/p>\n
One of the tougher calls of the season was what to project at center for Sunday. Graham Glasgow missed the team\u2019s only two real practices of the week due to a knee injury. He missed the Thanksgiving game due to a knee injury and dealt with issues down the stretch last year. Trystan Colon should be an easy name to project there. But a wrist injury paired with some recent struggles makes that more difficult to do right now.<\/p>\n
Kingsley Eguakun\u2019s elevation was an easy one to project based on those two injuries. But might it be for more than just an extra body? Eguakun has spent the last two years on the team\u2019s practice squad, appearing in two games this season with three snaps on offense and another 11 on special teams. It wouldn\u2019t be the most shocking thing. But my take is that Colon will get another shot at center off the bat, with Eguakun ready to roll as Glasgow nurses his knee. Colon has struggled mightily through his three starts between center and guard. So, don\u2019t be surprised if the Lions keep an open mind if Glasgow can\u2019t play.<\/p>\n
Left guard Christian Mahogany was activated on Saturday and appears ready to make his return. He\u2019s been out since the loss to the Minnesota Vikings in the first game after the bye due to a fibula injury. When it comes to Taylor Decker? He\u2019s a warrior, and at this point, it would be shocking not to see him out there.<\/p>\n
Starters:<\/b> EDGE Aidan Hutchinson, DL Alim McNeill, DT D.J. Reader, EDGE Al-Quadin Muhammad<\/p>\n
Reserves:<\/b> EDGE Marcus Davenport, DT Tyleik Williams, DL Roy Lopez, DL Tyler Lacy, DL Mekhi Wingo, EDGE Tyrus Wheat<\/p>\n
The thinking for this group Sunday is not get frustrated and to keep rushing. Aaron Rodgers gets the ball out quicker than any other primary starting quarterback. The veteran Steelers quarterback, 42, is wisely avoiding taking too many hits, as well.<\/p>\n
Marcus Davenport was up to 56 defensive snaps in Los Angeles. Alim McNeill played the same amount, too. But the Lions need more from those two if they are going to find a defensive spark through these final three games. McNeill was kept off the box score despite playing so much. Davenport had one quarterback hit and two tackles. The Lions need more.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut Alim is a guy that we feel like — now Alim has not been playing bad,\u201d defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard said this week. \u201cBut the caliber of player that Alim is and the standard he\u2019s set for himself is to impact football games. And he feels like — he told me, \u2018Coach, I haven\u2019t been doing that. I haven\u2019t been giving you what I should.\u2019 And I told him, \u2018Listen, just make sure you\u2019re staying within the framework of the scheme,\u2019 because what you could start to do when you start to hear all this outside noise, you start to kind of feel pressure on yourself, \u2018I\u2019ve got to make a play.\u2019 And then you\u2019re going so far off the reservation, you\u2019re doing more harm than good.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust kind of find that fine balance. Understand you do need to play better and you do need to impact the game better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Starters:<\/b> (WILL) Alex Anzalone, (MIKE) Jack Campbell and (SAM) Derrick Barnes<\/p>\n
Reserves:<\/b> Trevor Nowaske, Grant Stuard, Malcolm Rodriguez<\/p>\n
More of the same from this group. The Lions continue to play a ton of base defense with all three on the field. That is very likely to happen again with the Steelers and all of their jumbo packages. Jack Campbell is playing like an All-Pro, and Alex Anzalone is as good as they get regarding coverage linebackers.<\/p>\n
Derrick Barnes bringing more to the pass rush would bring a lot of good. He continues to get chances, with 20 pressures and four sacks across 168 pass-rushing attempts. He hasn\u2019t had a sack since the first game after the bye against the Minnesota Vikings. Barnes has only six pressures across the last six games.<\/p>\n
Starters: <\/b>CB D.J. Reed, CB Amik Robertson, S Avonte Maddox, S Thomas Harper<\/p>\n
Reserves: <\/b>CB Rock Ya-Sin, CB Khalil Dorsey, S Jalen Mills, CB Nick Whiteside, S Daniel Thomas<\/p>\n
Questionable: <\/b>Amik Robertson (hand)<\/p>\n
Out: <\/b>S Kerby Joseph (knee, placed on IR)<\/p>\n
Amik Robertson is the main question mark this weekend. He suffered a hand injury in the fourth quarter last Sunday and was practicing with a big club on his left hand. But the team was hopeful all week about his chances to play, and Robertson said that was the plan. Now, he\u2019s just deciding whether or not to keep the club on or off for Sunday.<\/p>\n
Robertson handled the most snaps in the slot last week while also logging 24 at outside cornerback. That will likely continue, with Robertson sliding inside and Rock Ya-Sin going outside whenever the Lions find themselves in nickel. Detroit\u2019s defense also needs more from this group. DJ Reed and Robertson have been beaten up pretty badly over the previous month.<\/p>\n
No other cornerbacks have allowed more catches or yards in coverage than Robertson this season, per Pro Football Focus. And no other cornerbacks have allowed more catches than Reed or Robertson over the last four games.<\/p>\n
K Jake Bates<\/p>\n
P Jack Fox<\/p>\n
LS Hogan Hatten<\/p>\n
KR Jacob Saylors, Tom Kennedy<\/p>\n
PR Kalif Raymond<\/p>\n
The Lions tried to get Kalif Raymond and Tom Kennedy on the field at the same time on one punt return. But it almost resulted in disaster. I\u2019d expect Raymond to handle punts and Kennedy to stick on kickoff returns.<\/p>\n Glasgow didn’t practice on Thursday and Friday, and previously missed the Thanksgiving game due to a knee injury.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":40170,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-detroit-lions"],"yoast_head":"\n