Burning Questions Return: Rams-Lions First Look
Burning Questions | by Mike O'Hara | 10.30.2009/8:34AM
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Yes, they’re coming back – Burning Questions, which I used to write for The Detroit News, starting Sunday evening right after the Rams-Lions game at Ford Field.
I’m here to serve. Readers asked for them. They get what they want.
Going into the game, there are some interesting issues that bear watching. They include the following:
Jon Jansen: will his start at left guard shore up a trouble spot on the offensive line? I think it will.
“He’s a smart guy, a tough guy, he’s physical,” said center Dominic Raiola.
If nothing else, the Lions can temporarily erase a terrible drafting error made in 1999. Late in the first round, they drafted offensive tackle Aaron Gibson of Wisconsin – leaving Jansen on the board for the Redskins to take on the second round.
Gibson had so little discipline that he seldom made his playing weight of 380 pounds – at least. Gibson also had a history of shoulder injuries in college that apparently went undetected by the previous personnel regime – and this was two years before Matt Millen’s arrival.
The Lions cut Gibson early in the 2001 season. Jansen was a solid right tackle for the Redskins for most of his 10 seasons in Washington. He could extend his career if he pans out at left guard.
Matthew Stafford: Barring some accident, he will return to start at quarterback. The Lions have missed him. In the two games that Daunte Culpepper started with Stafford out with an injured right knee, it became clearer by the play that the coaches made the right choice by starting Stafford from the beginning of the season.
He can read defenses and throw the ball, and he gives the Lions their best chance to win.
Calvin Johnson: He returns from the injured list to start at wide receiver. That’s a huge lift for the offense. Johnson is a stud. Any question about his toughness is misplaced – or made-up fodder for talk shows.
Johnson has missed two starts in his career – none in three years at Georgia Tech, one his rookie year with the Lions and one this year.
You want an example of toughness?
In Game 16 of last season, when the Lions went to Green Bay with a 0-15 record, it was 22 degrees and windy—- and nothing to play for. Johnson caught nine passes for 102 yards and two touchdowns. He never stopped competing.
I’ll take that kind of toughness any day.
Kevin Smith: He told a reporter for the Free Press that he’s had a “leak in his passion tent.” Well, well. I’ve heard of worse slips on camping trips – but all kidding aside, why would a second-year tailback with everything to prove have any issues about passion?
Time to step it up for Kevin Smith. Actually, it’s about six games past time.
Defense: Sammie Hill and Dewayne White are back on the line. Ko Simpson returns at safety. The defense has to make a stand.
Winning: That’s all that counts Sunday. In my Monday Countdown on The Detroit News website – detnews.com – I called this a must-win game for coach Jim Schwartz.
Let me clarify that statement this way: IT’S A MUST WIN!!! Got that???
Lose to the Rams, and you look at the last nine games wondering if you can beat anyone.
Losing to the Rams won’t mean that the Mayhew-Lewand—Schwartz triumvirate is destined to fail forever. But it will mean that they’re headed for another joyless, meaningless season, and there has been more than enough of that.
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