It's the final week of the preseason, and we're finally at home after two weeks on the road. It'll be another tough physical battle as we welcome the Pittsburgh Steelers into the Lions' Den. The good news for the Steelers' social team is that Fields will be sure to give them one clip to post before he inevitably flops against us yet again. The bad news is that he'll look like he's on a Wildgoose chase as he runs for his life away from our DL (yes, I totally didn't force that pun in because of the DB we signed on Wednesday).
You know the drill by now. Here are some things I'll be looking for when I watch the condensed game after work on Saturday night.
Wham Bam, Thank You, Ma'am: The top 4 running backs are certainly locked in with Monty, Gibbs, Reynolds and Vaki. However, Jermar Jefferson, Zonovan "Bam" Knight and Jake Funk all could potentially steal a spot on the 53 with a good performance on Saturday. At worst, one of them will be on the practice squad as a reserve option in case of injury. Of the three, Knight has been the best at carrying the ball (63.3 rushing grade), catching the ball (67.1 receiving grade), pass blocking (81.6), and special teams (63.7). I would definitely give him the leg at this point, but Dan has talked up Jermar's improvement in camp so I wouldn't exactly rule him out either. Unfortunately for Jake, I don't think he's found his place to play that Funky music like WIld Cherry requested him to.
X Marks the Spot: Yes, yes, I've spoken on this topic too much at this point. Just like the above, the "starters" are locked in with the Sun God, Jamo and Leaf. Isaiah Williams has played his way onto the roster at this point with his contributions from the slot (73.0 receiving grade) and in the return game (70.2 special grade). But, as I have banged on about so much I might as well be a drummer playing In the Air Tonight at the school talent show, we are missing a physical presence on the outside that none of the aforementioned receivers offer. Yes, we could split LaGoata or Wright outside but that would be pulling them away from where they're best. Yes, an X receiver would likely be the sixth option on the team at best. Yes, Josh Reynolds might have cost us a chance to make the Super Bowl and then scurried off to Denver with his tail between his legs. But we need to replace what he offered in the offence, even if that replacement cannot fully replace his numbers. Of the receivers to have taken snaps for us this off-season, all 4 X options entering the games are at the bottom for receiving grades on the team. Davis is currently leading this group in grade (59.7) and standing in my eyes, but could the team fall into the sunken-cost fallacy with DPJ (58.6)? Fountain unfortunately has fallen off the face of the earth in the battle (56.0), despite arguably entering the games as my favourite to win the job. But hey ho, can't win them all. A good game from any of these three could tip the scales in their favour and win them a spot on the initial 53, and a meh game from all of them could mean we need to look at a different treasure map for a new X.
On the Edge of Glory: Yes, same old story here as well. Hutch, Davenport and Paschal are the top 3 edges. Wingo and Levi will fill in behind Paschal at the closed/big defensive end spot as and when required. However, we cannot enter the season with three "pure" edges. This presents an opportunity for the SAM rejects to get a spot on the 53 as the third option at the open/rush end spot. If one goes by PFF grades, Mitchell Agude is the leader in the clubhouse with a 73.9 defence grade, room-leading 71.4 run defence and 78.6 coverage grades, and a 58.7 pass-rushing grade. Former Duke and Rebel (nice mix there) Isaac Ukwu leads the room in sacks with 2, but sub-60 grades in defence, run defence and pass-rush could hinder him, though he has graded out better than Mathieu Betts and James Houston in everything except Betts' 63.2 run defence grade. Despite entering camp as fairly unheralded players (except for those who listened to our rookie minicamp episode), Agude and Ukwu could force the bigger-name players to find spots elsewhere.
Rounding the Final Corner of the Race: Yes, yes, yes, another room where all the top positions are already sorted and locked in. That's how good of a team we are now. Dan said as much in his press conference on Tuesday when he said there are only five or so spots on the 53 to be decided. In my mind, the most obvious are the last two corner spots, X WR, and long snapper (go Hogan Hatten!). This battle is between three players: Khalil Dorsey, Kindle Vildor, and Steven Gilmore. Dorsey offers the best special teams upside which is always key in these bottom-of-the-roster position battles. Vildor offers the best coverage, which is the main function of the cornerback position. Gilmore offers the best run defence and youth, and we know the team likes their corners to be able to make plays in the run game. For me, I would lean towards the more experienced guys due to their familiarity with the scheme, which is seemingly what the team is doing as they were the starting outside corners against the Chiefs. However, if Gilly shows that he's learnt from last week's gamble and locks down his guy more often than not, he's got a real shot of bumping one of the other two into a practice squad spot.
How do you see the game going? Will the Lions end preseason with a dub, or will the Steelers perform a smash-and-grab robbery?
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There is a player, lots of potential still ,loved by some, at a key position ,who just hasn't met performance / availability standards expected by Dan. Could this game really,really, be the end for him if he doesn't show up & do the business ?
Who am I talking about........James Houston !