Jones set to play - 11/28/2006
Source: Detroit News Kevin Jones has recovered from a sprained left ankle to return to his role as the workhorse tailback for the Lions.
Jones tested the injured ankle for the first time in a week during practice Monday. He went out in the first quarter of Detroit's loss Nov. 19 at Arizona and did not play in the Thanksgiving Day loss to Miami.
Jones expects to play Sunday at New England.
"It's a little sore," Jones said after practice. "I feel good enough right now -- a lot better than I did. I could barely jog last week. I ran today and did some cutting.
"I know definitely I'm going to have some pain. I did have a pretty bad sprain on the foot and ankle. I'm just going to try to get through it and finish strong."
Without Jones, the Lions had no running game against the Dolphins. Arlen Harris and Aveion Cason combined for 21 yards on 10 carries.
Jones rushed for 636 yards, six touchdowns and a 4.2-yard average in the first 10 games. His 50 receptions are a career best and he has a touchdown reception.
Injury update
The Lions made an exchange of defensive tackles on the roster Monday -- Shaun Cody was put on injured reserve while Shaun Rogers was activated.
Cody played only one series the past six games because of a dislocated big toe.
Rogers was suspended for four games for violating the NFL's policy on steroids and related substances. He was eligible to play last week but was not activated. He is recovering from surgery on his right knee.
Rogers did not take part in practice Monday but did some individual work. He could practice Wednesday unless he has a setback, coach Rod Marinelli said.
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Rogers leaves big void - 10/19/2006
Source: Detroit News Cory Redding has been friends with Shaun Rogers for a dozen years and a Lions teammate for four seasons.
Now Redding has to help fill Rogers' position at defensive tackle.
Rogers has been suspended by the NFL the next four games for using a banned substance. A urine sample taken early in training camp tested positive.
The announcement made Wednesday by the NFL did not identify the substance, but he reportedly used an over-the-counter supplement to help lose weight.
Rogers cannot return to the active roster until Nov. 20, three days before the Lions play the Dolphins on Thanksgiving Day.
"It's a definite blow to us," said Redding, who also played with Rogers at the University of Texas. "That's what happened. We can't fold under this right now. Guys have to step up, fill in. I'm going to miss my big guy to my right.
"Things like that happen. He made a mistake. We're going to live with it as a family."
With Rogers gone, Redding and Marcus Bell will start at defensive tackle against the Jets on Sunday at the Meadowlands. There will be a new starting tandem at tackle. Shaun Cody will miss a second straight game because of a dislocated toe.
Redding starts regularly at left end and moved to tackle last week. Tyoka Jackson and Cleveland Pinkney, signed off the practice squad to take Rogers' spot, are the backups.
Playing without the 340-pound Rogers, a Pro Bowl tackle the last two years, and Cody leaves a void on what has been a strong unit.
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Injury wave strikes Lions - 10/10/2006
Source: The Detroit News Damien Woody could feel his teammates' pain. He could see it, too.
Neither felt good.
The decimation of the Lions' roster continued in Sunday's loss in Minnesota, and Woody was one of the casualties. He went out on the fifth play of the game because of a sprained left foot.
Woody wasn't even the first to get injured. On the third play, wide receiver Roy Williams was hit in the back by safety Darren Sharper after making a catch for a 7-yard gain. Williams went out because of a back stinger.
Woody and Williams rode to the locker room for treatment on the same cart. They didn't return, and Woody watched on television as the injury string continued.
"I was watching everybody else on TV getting hurt," Woody said Monday. "I've never seen anything like that."
Williams is day-to-day and will be reevaluated Wednesday, when the team practices.
Injuries hit across the board, and the offensive line -- already battered -- was hit the hardest. Right tackle Barry Stokes went out late (sprained ankle). Stokes did not start the previous two games (hamstring).
Defensive tackle Shaun Cody has a dislocated left big toe and linebacker Paris Lenon went out because of a neck injury.
Cody and Woody appear to have the most serious injuries. Both will have further tests. Woody did not offer much hope for playing Sunday against Buffalo.
"It's pretty bleak right now," he said.
Two other projected starters on the offensive line -- Ross Verba (strained hamstring) at left guard and Rex Tucker (bruised left knee) at right tackle -- have played sparingly. Tucker is closer to returning, coach Rod Marinelli said at his weekly news conference.
The Lions might face the Bills without three players who were supposed to be opening-day starters -- Verba, Woody and Tucker -- and Stokes, the No. 1 reserve. |
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Lions 0-5 after collapse - 10/09/2006
Source: The Detroit News For three quarters, it looked like the 2006 Tigers showed up wearing the Lions' uniforms and would drag the Lions out of their losing streak.
They weren't the same old Lions. They could hit. They could catch. They couldn't run, but they had a 17-3 lead over the Minnesota Vikings and were cruising to their first win under head coach Rod Marinelli.
That's when the 2006 Lions took over. They stopped hitting, stopped catching, still couldn't run, and collapsed under the siege of a stunning 23-point fourth quarter by the Vikings to lose, 26-17, at the Metrodome on Sunday afternoon.
It was vintage Lions. Too good to be true -- and it wasn't.
Their record sank to 0-5, and they are facing a harsh comparison in their next game. They play the Buffalo Bills at Ford Field on Sunday. Later in the day, their next-door-neighbor Tigers host the Oakland A's at Comerica Park in the American League Championship Series -- assuming neither team sweeps.
They were beaten up on the field and on the scoreboard by the Vikings. Three Lions starters left the game with injuries and did not return -- wide receiver Roy Williams, guard Damien Woody and defensive tackle Shaun Cody. |
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Lions cornerback Bly aims to win - 10/01/2006
Source: Detroit Free Press A few minutes later he was back again, claiming the last unoccupied chair at a card table in the Lions' locker room. The game was dominos, and when Dré Bly rejoined the group, the four other players at the table -- Shaun Cody, Cory Redding, Marcus Bell and Boss Bailey -- all knew the intensity level had just kicked up a notch.
Donté Curry, sitting in front of his locker, looked up from his lunch plate.
"Watch," Curry said. "Dré is very competitive. He's spoiled. Whatever it is he plays, he has to win. When he doesn't win, he'll pout and we'll jump on him. He won't say nothing, just leave." |
