ALLEN PARK, Mich. – Each week, we’ll answer some questions on Saturday for a Detroit Lions Mailbag. To submit questions for a future Mailbag, use the hashtag #LionsMailbag on Twitter, email me at michael.rothstein@espn.com or shoot me a note on Facebook.
With that, on to your questions this week.
@mikerothstein any opinion on Abdullah's workload going forward after his continued fumbling? #Day8Forever
— Jesse Martin (@MazeOrBowie) November 9, 2017
This is a very fair question, Jesse, especially since it appeared the Lions benched Ameer Abdullah after his second fumble Monday night against Green Bay. Abdullah, though, has been pretty good with the ball for the most part. He had 154 carries -- I’m not including receptions in here -- between fumbles. That’s not a bad ratio at all.
More important for Abdullah, he took ownership of it after the game -- saying that putting two balls on the ground was “inexcusable.” Detroit still appears to have confidence in him, too. Offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter admitted Abdullah didn’t have his best day. But then he backed his player.
“He’s a guy that’s been really somebody we’ve trusted around here to handle himself the right way, to do things the right way, to protect the ball the right way,” Cooter said. “I think moving forward, we’ll gain that confidence level right back to where it’s always been.
“When you have a game that’s not quite living up to what you would like it to as a player, sometimes you got to just throw that thing away, fix the problem, and move forward. And I think he’ll do that.”
The Lions have to hope he will. Fumble issues were one of the concerns about Abdullah coming out of Nebraska, but he proved this season that they have been fixed for the most part. Considering Detroit’s lackluster run game -- No. 29 in the NFL in yards per game and No. 30 in yards per attempt -- the Lions need Abdullah to make sure Monday was an anomaly. Abdullah is still the Lions’ best back by far and the only one averaging over 3.0 yards per carry (he’s at 3.42).
Oh -- and as an aside, the Day 8 reference Jesse mentions is our floor in college. Jesse and I both lived in Day Hall, Floor 8, our freshman year at Syracuse.
#LionsMailbag Do you think the Lions convert Jamal Agnew to a full time offensive player. Or does he have a future as a corner.
— Bo Wilinski (@Bo__ski) November 10, 2017
This has been a popular question of late, so I went to Jim Caldwell with it directly. Agnew hasn’t gotten much run on defense this season as a reserve slot corner. Actually, Jamal Agnew has more offensive snaps (five) than defensive snaps (one).
But the Lions still view him as a defensive player despite his potential for offensive explosion.
“I don’t foresee that transition,” Caldwell said. “He is what he is. I think he’s a very, very good nickel, but he also does obviously some things for us in the return game as well.”
In reality, Agnew’s primary value as a rookie -- and likely next year as well -- is as a returner. And he’s been dynamic there. He’s returned two for touchdowns, the only player in the league to do that this year. And he’s averaging 19.4 yards per return, almost six yards better than the No. 2 returner in the league, Baltimore’s Michael Campanaro, who is averaging 13.79 yards per return. Heck, Agnew might end up as a Pro Bowler as a rookie because of his return skills.
besides stafford, who do you think would be the lions biggest loss to injury? #lionsmailbag
— Tina (@Betty241) November 9, 2017
The answer is more complicated than you think, but I would go with cornerback Darius Slay. Slay is, in my opinion, either Detroit’s second- or third-best player. But he plays one of the most important positions in the game and he’s shown the ability this season to lock down an opponent’s top outside receiver. He’s done it to Jordy Nelson, to Antonio Brown and to Odell Beckham Jr. He’s also intercepted three passes -- tied for third in the NFL.
One of the players he’s tied with is his teammate, Glover Quin, who was the other player I considered in this question. Quin is one of the best free safeties -- if not the best free safety -- in the NFL. He has 41 tackles, three interceptions and three pass breakups -- all good stats. But his value to the team is more than that. He’s the defense’s leader and heart. One Lions player told me earlier this week that Quin is to Detroit’s defense what Matthew Stafford is to the offense. That’s pretty high praise and shows his value to the club.
If either player was lost for a significant amount of time, Detroit would have big defensive issues.