Thursday Notes: Kevin Smith Laughs at Shaun Alexander

by Sean Yuille on Sep 18, 2008 1:54 AM EDT in Notes Comment 0 comments

Rookie running back Kevin Smith was asked about Shaun Alexander's recent visit with the Lions in his latest "Ten Texts" interview on Pro Football Talk, and his responses were quite interesting.

Q: What was your reaction to the news that they brought in Shaun Alexander for a workout?

A: LOL.

Q: That’s it?

A: Yup, I just laughed.

I'm surprised that Smith was so candid with his thoughts about Shaun Alexander, but maybe that speaks more about the view of Alexander around the league. After all, he has quickly gone from being an MVP to not even being able to find a job with any team in the NFL. I wouldn't necessarily laugh at that myself, but I guess Smith isn't too worried about any added competition, especially from Alexander.
Contrary to a report by an Austin TV station, Cedric Benson likely will not be signed by the Lions anytime soon. It has been said repeatedly that the Lions are simply doing their homework and putting together a short list in case an injury happens to one of their running backs. I had a hard time believing that was the case simply because we were told the same thing when Rudi Johnson worked out for the Lions and he did end up signing. I guess this situation is different, though, as the Lions appear to be set with who they have at running back for the time being.
Early indications are that Gosder Cherilus will start at right tackle for the Lions on Sunday.
Dick Stockton will be the play-by-play announcer for the Lions-49ers game and Brian Baldinger and Brian Billick will both add color commentary.
The broadcast maps for this weekend's games are out.
Even though he isn't supposed to be 100% healthy until early October, Drew Stanton is ready to play if something happens to Jon Kitna and Dan Orlovsky.
Drew Stanton, Corey Smith, Cory Redding, and Gerald Alexander are on this week's injury report.
Here's a shocker: There are still tickets available for the Lions' next home game (on October 5 against Chicago). The team is pushing the "Pepsi Pack" just as they did for the Packers game, so it's pretty much a guarantee that this game is headed for a blackout unless a company steps in again and buys the unsold tickets.
The Vikings have benched Tarvaris Jackson and will start Gus Frerotte at quarterback this Sunday. Jackson struggled during the first two games of the season and is one of the reasons why the Vikes are 0-2. Frerotte certainly doesn't seem like he is that big of an upgrade, but he can't really be worse than Jackson.