Detroit Lions Weblog

Could the Lions use C-Rog NOW?

The Lions will a little short-handed this Sunday against the Carolina Panthers. They in all likelihood will be without Charles Rogers (4 game suspension), and Roy Williams (strained quadriceps). That means veteran Kevin Johnson, rookie Mike Williams, and injured Scottie Vines and Eddie Drummond will need to pick up the slack. The Lions brought former first round draft pick Troy Edwards in for a workout, have Glenn Martinez they could sign from off of the practice squad, and also both DB’s Dre Bly and R. W. McQuarters have offered to pull double duty by helping run patterns (Where’s Mike McMahon when you need him).

I think it also safe to expect more double Tight End formations with Casey
FitzSimmons and Marcus Pollard. The Lions have really been let down by Charles Rogers. It is far from surprising that things would work out this way for the Lions after Rogers’s suspension. The Lions really need McQuarters and Bly to concentrate on their tasks at hand, so it will be very interesting to see how the Lions plan to remedy their current lack of depth at the position. In many ways, the best way to beat the Panthers is to throw the ball. Since that is the most deficient aspect of the Lions offense and they are suffering from a lack of depth in their receiver corps, it is hard to expect the Lions will be able to exploit this weakness on Sunday. Maybe Drummond will have to let McQuarters take punt returns so that Drummond can focus on kickoff returns and taking a more active role in the offense.

More is being made each day about the Lions problems in the locker room. Many are focusing on Dre Bly pointing out to Joey Harrington that he missed a wide open receiver last Sunday. Also, Roy Williams has made some statements in regards to Kevin Jones in a SI.com article, as well as all but saying that the starting QB job will be Garcia’s when he is healthy. You certainly can’t question the resillience of Joey Harrington, a lesser man would have given up long ago. I do firmly believe he will never amount to a decent starting NFL QB but has exhibited some of the heart and toughness that Lions fans believe he is so deficient of in spite of the ever growing tide that is demanding ouster.