Tuesday Notes: No Word on Jon Kitna's Health

by Sean Yuille on Oct 14, 2008 2:35 AM EDT in Notes Comment 0 comments

The Lions aren't divulging any information about the status of Jon Kitna. He missed practice all last week and didn't even make the trip to Minnesota due to his back problems. Right now it is looking like he will miss the Texans game this upcoming Sunday, and there is some talk that he may be out even longer than another week or so.
Dan Orlovsky said this about the safety he caused on Sunday:

"When they started blowing the whistle, I was like, 'Did we false start or were they offsides or something?' " Orlovsky said. "And I looked, and I was just like, 'You're an idiot.' "
Bad play or not, Orlovsky is ready to start again if Kitna is too hurt to play this week.
Kevin Smith bruised his shoulder on the Lions' third play of Sunday's game. Smith caught a pass and tried to get to the first down marker but wound up a yard short. While trying to fight for extra yardage, he bruised his shoulder but stayed in the game and finished the first half. However, during halftime Smith tested his shoulder and didn't feel like it was strong enough for him to remain in the game, so he sat out the third and fourth quarters.
Rudi Johnson started the game for the Lions.
Brian Kelly returned to the starting lineup after not playing at all against the Bears.
The referee that upheld the Calvin Johnson fumble call in the fourth quarter had this to say about the play:

"In order to overturn any decision on the field, I have to have clear and visual evidence indisputable evidence of what I saw. From the shots that I got, his knee was on the ground as the ball was coming out. So the question is, was the ball coming out or was he firmly in control of the ball? It's impossible to tell. It's not indisputable that his knee was on the ground with control of the ball; therefore, I have to go with the call."
From the angles shown on TV, it looked pretty clear to me that Johnson's knee was down and he had control of the ball. Like I said in the game recap, he didn't lose the ball until a Vikings defender took it out of his hands, so it's not like it came loose or something like that.
Calvin Johnson didn't return after that play since he had blurry vision. He was hit in the helmet by one defender and bounced into the helmet of another, so it's no surprise that he was unable to return.
Shaun McDonald replaced Mike Furrey as the Lions' punt returner and seemed to have more success than Furrey.
As I posted in a FanShot yesterday, Leigh Bodden wants an apology for the blown pass interference call that sort of cost the Lions the game.
Chuck Darby left Sunday's game with a calf injury.
George Foster came in for Gosder Cherilus in the second half and played well. Manny Ramirez had a few good moments but was struggling for the most part, so he was replaced with Andy McCollum in the third quarter.