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Health Issues Are Looming Over The Heads Of The Detroit Lions
Detroit has their head hanging low after the loss to the New York Giants. Fans are screaming “Same Old Lions!” as they have seem to lost faith in the team with a lead still in the division, but a tough schedule ahead. Detroit is dealing with some health issues, as that is part of the reason for peoples lack of faith in the team down the stretch.
If you would like to see your questions appear here next week, comment on our Facebook post, tweet me @BKnappBlogs, email me at intern@detroitlionspodcast.com, or call in to the podcast. Here are this week’s questions.
Question 1: Will The Darius Slay Injury Hurt Us?
Oh yea. We have already lost our slot cornerback in Quandre Diggs for the season. So losing Slay for a long period of time, this late in the year, will hurt Detroit greatly. We saw Asa Jackson get burned by Odell Beckham Jr. twice, once leading to a score. Nevin Lawson is the best cornerback on this team now.
While he has been doing good this year, losing your number one and three cornerbacks isn’t good. Adairius Barnes might get called back up from the practice squad, and Asa Jackson could stay on the team. That means Nevin Lawson and Johnson Bademosi would start, leaving Barnes and Jackson to do the rest of the work.
There hasn’t been a timetable for how long Slay will be out, but going up against Dez Bryant, Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb won’t be easy if Slay isn’t on the field.
Question 2: When Can We Expect Ameer Abdullah Back?
Not much has been said about Abdullah. People are expecting him to return this week, but with no official news of him coming back or practicing, I wouldn’t expect him back this week. Against Green Bay is a possibility, but if Detroit can make the playoffs, that is when I would expect Abdullah to return.
Losing him has been a huge loss this year, and with Riddick banged up as well, the run game as relied on Dwayne Washington and Zach Zenner. Who haven’t been able to provide much help on the ground or in the air. The sooner that Abdullah comes back the better, but you don’t want to rush him back coming off his injury.
Question 3: Based Off Of Strength Of Schedule, What is Your Prediction On The Chance Of Playoffs After The Loss To New York?
Getting in just got a lot harder. Detroit has to travel to Dallas to play the Cowboys on Monday Night Football. Detroit will probably lose to Dallas, while Green Bay will defeat the Vikings. Overall, it will come down to week 17, in a game that could end up being changed to Sunday Night.
Having Detroit play at home on week 17, with playoff implications and it being on prime time does help a lot. If Slay and Abdullah aren’t back, it will be tougher for the team. For wildcard situations, we need Tampa to keep on struggling, along with Washington. If they can struggle while Detroit does as well, Detroit could still make it in as the six seed.
Detroit winning one of the next two games would be huge. I would prefer we lose to Dallas then beat Green Bay at home to lock up the division title and a home playoff game. Now if Detroit were to win both games and compete for the number two seed, well that would be amazing, but for now let’s focus on Dallas and see if we can steal one in their place.
Overall my prediction on making the playoffs is 50 percent, a win this week would boost it to 75 percent, while a loss would knock me down to a 33 percent chance.
Thanks for reading! We will be taking and answering your questions via Facebook, Twitter, Reddit and even the Podcast! Don’t forget to follow me and ask questions on Twitter @BKnappBlogs, find and send me questions on Reddit at /u/sportsguy4life. I also have an email you can send questions to at intern@detroitlionspodcast.com. Call in to the live post-game show and ask me questions and share your thoughts on the Detroit Lions subreddit.
