The Detroit Lions have trimmed their availability down for the season opener against the New Orleans Saints, and the biggest change is that defensive back Christian Izien will not suit up after being listed as questionable on Friday’s injury report.
Dan Campbell said the decision was influenced by the fact that the Lions are back on Thursday next week, a factor that played into whether Izien would be used in the opener at Ford Field.
There is good news on the rookie front: defensive end Derrick Moore is active and will make his NFL debut after a solid week of practice.
On the defensive side, second-year coordinator Kelvin Sheppard has been stressing that a scheme doesn’t fully come together overnight. He said the process is still about layering in the finer points, not just teaching assignments.
“No, I wouldn't even, I think it's just come with time," said Sheppard. "You look at the historical great defenses, I'm talking about the historic.
When I say historic great, over time, 20 years, 30 years where guys have played pretty good defense at an organization, it's been carryover in scheme. You look at Baltimore, you look at Pittsburgh.
I mean, (Browns senior defensive assistant) Dom Capers, me and Dom talked about that when I was afforded the opportunity to work side by side with him. It's the carryover in scheme.
So now, it's not so much time on task trying to get guys to know their assignment. It's now the nuances within it, understanding how teams are going to attack this, understanding the weak points," Sheppard commented further.
"Understanding why we're asking you on this play to leverage it versus spill it and so on and so forth. It's just the depths that you're able to get to that takes time.
That's with anything really.”
Sheppard also pointed to the expectation that, with several players back in the mix, the unit should be better and more consistent against the run.
In Other News...
Lions Escape Saints But A Bigger Concern Just Took Center Stage
The Lions left New Orleans with a win, but it came with a lot of noise attached to it. Detroit needed overtime to get past the Saints, and while the offense leaned hard on Jahmyr Gibbs, who piled up 156 rushing yards and two touchdowns, the bigger takeaway was how much the secondary struggled to hold up for much of the night. The defensive line did its part with five sacks, and special teams flashed better coverage with several key tackles, but the back end was exposed repeatedly.
Jameson Williams also had a rough outing with multiple drops, adding to the uneven feel of a game Detroit controlled only in stretches. For a team with bigger expectations than simply surviving close ones, the concern is less about the win itself than the way the Saints were able to test the Lions through the air. The front seven gave them enough chances to escape, but the secondarys performance is the sort of issue that tends to linger after the postgame celebration fades. [Read more 🡒]
Lions Suddenly Have A Joey Porter Jr. Question Worth Watching
The cornerback market suddenly has a name that would have to get the Lions attention. Joey Porter Jr. has reportedly asked the Steelers for a trade as extension talks have stalled, and Pittsburgh is at least willing to listen, even if its current asking price appears steep. For Detroit, it is the kind of opening that is hard to ignore: a young defensive back with upside becoming available, and a team that still has a clear need at the position.
Nothing formal is happening yet, but that is part of what makes this worth watching. The Lions have the cap flexibility to explore a move if the price softens, and Porters situation could become one of the more interesting fallback options on the market. For now, it is simply a question of whether the Steelers lower their demands enough for Detroit, or anyone else, to get serious. [Read more 🡒]
Lions Already Have A Backfield Problem Fans Didnt Expect
The Lions spent the spring reshaping their backfield around Jahmyr Gibbs, moving on from David Montgomery and planning for a new pecking order behind their lead runner. The idea was simple enough: Gibbs would handle the featured work, Isiah Pacheco would fill the Montgomery role, and Detroit could keep the ground game balanced without overcomplicating things.
Instead, the early returns have already created a wrinkle. Pacheco opening the season on injured reserve left the backup job unsettled, and Dan Campbell pointed to Jacob Saykors and Sione Vaki sharing those reps. In Week 1, Gibbs saw plenty of work and produced, Vaki logged more snaps than Saykors but had a rough outing, and Montgomery made his Texans debut by scoring three total touchdowns, leaving the Lions with a familiar question in a very different form. [Read more 🡒]