Matthew Stafford Returns to Practice; Jon Jansen Elevated to Starting LG?
by Sean Yuille on Oct 27, 2009 11:51 PM EDT
in News
36 comments
The Lions returned to practice on Tuesday after having the weekend off, and a few injured players who sat out on Friday were back on the field, joining their teammates for what probably was the practice with the most participation in at least the last few weeks.
The most notable player to return to practice was Matthew Stafford, who took approximately half of the reps on Tuesday. He seemed to be happy with how his knee held up, though he didn't feel comfortable giving a percentage on how healthy he is. Even if he had shared one, it wouldn't really mean anything until Wednesday's practice. I say that because no one will really know how healthy Stafford is until his knee has a day to recover from Tuesday's practice. If it swells up again, then chances are we will have to wait at least another week for Stafford's return to game action. If it is fine and looks/feels like nothing happened on Tuesday, then the odds of him playing on Sunday greatly increase. I don't want to get my hopes up just yet, but Tuesday brought more positive news on Stafford than I expected.
One of the other notable injured players, Calvin Johnson, did not return to practice on Tuesday. He did do some running on the sideline, but that was about it for Megatron. Calvin did say that he is "optimistic," but he also admitted that he's "not positive about what's going to happen." The best thing to do with Calvin is take a wait and see approach. If he suddenly feels well enough to practice sometime this week, he could also return to game action on Sunday against the Rams.
Staying on the topic of injuries, Dewayne White, Sammie Hill, and Ko Simpson all returned to practice on Tuesday as well. Jerome Felton and Jason Hunter didn't get back on the field, but even so, it's nice to see so many of the injured players start to participate in practice again. Hopefully that means that the Lions will be almost at full strength on Sunday, and as the season continues, hopefully it means that I will have to spend less time typing up the injury report each week.
One other thing I want to mention is unrelated to injuries, but it does involve a change to the starting lineup. According to John Niyo, Jon Jansen "appears to be the new starting left guard," and Daniel Loper has shifted to right tackle to be Gosder Cherilus' backup. It's obvious that the Lions want to find an offensive line combination that will work, so here's to hoping that Jansen is the answer at left guard, even though he has never started at a position other than right tackle in his career.
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Jon Jansen
I see it as a good move that he will be starting next to Backus, they know each from college and they should almost think alike. This just may solidify that side of the line, and allow Smith to run that way more often.
by Rustyj517 on Oct 28, 2009 12:57 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Jansen is a good move...
I thought he played well at RT when Gos was out. I was wishing that Jansen would be moved to RT. And give Gosder a shot at LT.
by JCruize on Oct 28, 2009 1:57 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
You know that is what I was hoping for....
But it looks like they want to keep Backus at LT for some unknown and completely opaque reason.
by KDawg on Oct 28, 2009 2:51 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I'm glad to hear Jansen may be starting somewhere on the line though.....
I knew he had something left in the tank….:o)
by KDawg on Oct 28, 2009 2:51 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Good to hear that some of our defensive starters are coming back.
I especially want to see Hill back in action. I think we will need a good defensive performance on Sunday to win. I don’t have a lot of confidence in the offence right now.
by NorthLeft12 on Oct 28, 2009 7:26 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
+100
I think the defense will be immensely improved with the very underrated (IMO) DeWayne White back in the line-up. I hope both Hill and White play and it’s a shame we lost DeVries to injury in the pre-season. He would have been a huge boost for the team.
PLEASE DEFENSE do not let Bulger complete 20-26 for 297 yards and 3 TD’s (the usual stat line of any opposing QB against the Lions). I think we should be really concerned with the Rams – they’re looking at US as their only win this year – they’re gonna be fired up to play.
I spray paint my dog Honolulu Blue and Silver
Pic - me and the great Herman Moore
by NYCLionsfan on Oct 28, 2009 8:30 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
LARRY JOHNSON
U GUYS THINK LJ COULD BE WEARING LIONS COLORS SOON…..REPORT OUT THERE THAT KC IS GOING TO RELEASE HIM??
by BUNK517 on Oct 28, 2009 9:35 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
God, I hope not.
I would be shocked if Mayhew/Schwartz wanted to pick him up.
by NorthLeft12 on Oct 28, 2009 9:40 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
MAYBE A CHANGE OF SCENE….WE NEED SOMEONE TO GET THOSE TOUGH 2-3 YARD GAINS.
by BUNK517 on Oct 28, 2009 9:51 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I think that's probably his average yards per carry, too
What? He can’t block a dead gopher? Humph, details.
by GRLion on Oct 28, 2009 11:21 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
He could not possibly be worse than Morris......
Not only is he younger, but he is better than Morris in my opinion, by far.
by KDawg on Oct 28, 2009 2:53 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I hope not too
I would rather see Jerome Felton, Maurice Morris and others get carries rather than this ass*ole.
I spray paint my dog Honolulu Blue and Silver
Pic - me and the great Herman Moore
by NYCLionsfan on Oct 28, 2009 10:01 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
No thanks
That guy showed what an idiot he is in the last few days.
Pride of Detroit, SB Nation's Lions Blog
by Sean Yuille on Oct 28, 2009 10:20 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Larry Johnson is a beast.
Put the kid to work and his feet will run instead of his mouth.
I’d say he’s better than Cedric Benson.
by CLF on Oct 28, 2009 10:31 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I agree
He is not happy, and who would be in KC? The Lions are a team on the rise…..Larry Johnson might end up liking it in Detroit.
by KDawg on Oct 28, 2009 2:54 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I don't think he would like it unless he is a starter
Which obviously isn’t going to happen.
Pride of Detroit, SB Nation's Lions Blog
by Sean Yuille on Oct 28, 2009 6:32 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
+100
2009 = The start of the Lions Golden Age (We hope).
by Hyperion Ecta on Oct 28, 2009 7:14 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Blackout
Anyone know what the Blackout status is for this Sunday. I was planning on going to the game but I haven’t decided whether or not I should buy tickets before going down there or not.
by Mushy on Oct 28, 2009 9:41 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Haven't heard anything
But I’d imagine there are quite a few tickets left.
Pride of Detroit, SB Nation's Lions Blog
by Sean Yuille on Oct 28, 2009 10:21 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Jansen at guard is good, but
if you ask me, they’re moving the wrong tackle to left guard. You know what I’m talking about.
by VoiceoftheLions on Oct 28, 2009 11:31 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I agree
Backus to LG, Cherilus to LT, and Jansen to RT……that is what I would like to see. At least find out if it would work better than what we have now.
by KDawg on Oct 28, 2009 2:55 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
.....and Ramirez to RG, and Peterman to DT
I want to see more of Peterman on defense!
(hopefully it just wasn’t a novelty that we got away with for a couple plays)
What? He can’t block a dead gopher? Humph, details.
by GRLion on Oct 30, 2009 1:39 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
schwartz has done a great job of hiding the exact injury status on this team
and he seems to have the players now too sharing the same vagueness on their injuries…it feels great…but i don’t know what % of likelihood it is for me to play…i did more today than i have in the last two weeks & i am optimistic about playing…but i’m not positive on if it will happen…i love it!! they are buying everything schwartz is selling…i love the track the team is on…one day soon we will be in a very good place watching a very competitive team from top to bottom, solid on the field & off the field too.
by londonlion on Oct 28, 2009 12:57 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Stafford practiced again today
which is great to here. Barring any setbacks I’d expect to him start against St. Louis after two straight days of practice.
The bad news is CJ was held out again today.
by Stones1981 on Oct 28, 2009 2:03 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
johnson in motown....
seriously, a few years ago, larry johnson was a beast. what happened? took too much punishment in kc with the inconsistent coaching, qb, o-line, and wide receiver play. kevin smith is a decent back, but if we don’t get this line fixed, the same thing is going to happen to him. i think that johnson and smith would be a good 1-2 punch, but the only way i’d even entertain larry johnson in motown is with vastly improved o-line play.
i agree with k-dawg’s offensive line moves, and next year’s first pick has to be a tackle. period.
by big smoove on Oct 28, 2009 3:30 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Stafford Practices on Wednesday
NFL.com just reported about 2 hours ago that :
“Stafford participated without limitations in the parts of practice that the media was allowed to watch Wednesday.” But that Calvin Johnson did not practice again today.
I am cautiously optimistic about Sunday
by Lions-fan-SLC on Oct 28, 2009 4:00 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I just hope he isn't gun shy after this......
I’m glad to hear he is likely back……but if he plays scared, it will do us no good. This will be a good test of his mental makeup.
by KDawg on Oct 28, 2009 5:01 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
hmmm...
Good point. Let’s hope he still has a bit of swagger, I’m not expecting him to break any 20 yd runs though.
2009 = The start of the Lions Golden Age (We hope).
by Hyperion Ecta on Oct 28, 2009 7:15 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I'm expecting Stafford to play aggressively on Sunday.....and play well
For me, it all still goes back to that moment in the elevator after beating the Redskins, when Schwartz told Stafford, “Don’t you ever get conservative on me.” Stafford overcompensated on the conservative side in Game 2, but regained his aggressiveness and balance to beat the ‘Skins in Week 3. Lesson learned. I’m sure Schwartz is reminding Staff of that this week. Lesson remembered.
What? He can’t block a dead gopher? Humph, details.
by GRLion on Oct 30, 2009 1:49 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
He's had this injury before...
I think he’s going to learn from it and make himself more ellusive.
by CLF on Oct 30, 2009 1:26 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
i would like to see L.J on the Lions he wouldn t be as bad as K.S is doing he an t geting much yards either could be a good 1 2 punch
by Detroit_lionchief on Oct 28, 2009 5:26 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Jansen at LG
Okay, so that didn’t work. If we are just making change for change’s sake, then how about playing the guards at tackle?
by lion fan on Nov 4, 2009 6:34 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
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