ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- Happy holidays to those who are celebrating this week. Your gift? The weekly Detroit Lions Mailbag a day early. To ask a question for a future Lions Mailbag, use the hashtag #LionsMailbag on Twitter or email me at michael.rothstein@espn.com.
Look forward to your questions.
CJ asks via email: How can the Lions improve their O-Line run blocking next year? Even if they move Graham Glasgow to center, that only opens up one guard spot. What's going on with the right side? Is it an issue with performance or injury? Or a bit of both? It kind of seems now like the Lions are hamstrung with those contracts.
CJ,
This is a very good question and something the Lions are going to have to address. With the center position, it remains to be seen whether Detroit chooses to bring back Travis Swanson, but if Glasgow plays well with Swanson out with a concussion, that could push things toward moving Glasgow there full-time. The one guard spot could be filled by free agency, the draft or perhaps Joe Dahl. The Lions invested a lot in the right side of the offensive line, but injuries have been brutal there. T.J. Lang has been playing hurt for weeks and Rick Wagner's ankle injury is costly. I expect both guys will be better with an offseason, though. Lang has played well when he's been in there. Wagner, in my opinion, has been OK. I wouldn't be surprised if the Lions take an interior lineman -- or two -- in the draft considering their potential hole at left guard and Lang's age at right guard. They can have Lang groom a draft pick for a season or two, similar to what the Lions did with Dominic Raiola and Travis Swanson. As far as the overall blocking, that's a big-picture question and in my opinion relates to scheme and coaching instead of talent. Don't forget, too, that Taylor Decker missed half the season, so the Lions haven't really had the offensive line they envisioned pretty much all season.
Do you see any regression of Stafford with the hand injury? He checked down a bit more than normal Sunday but i think that was the defense as well. Is he zipping it in practice still?
— Tyler Bantle (@tsbantle) December 14, 2017
Tyler,
I have not. Some of Matthew Stafford's passes didn't look the best against the Buccaneers -- the two interceptions, for instance, were bad throws. But overall, I don't see a dip in his velocity like you did last season with the injured middle finger on the throwing hand. From what I've seen in practice this week, he's been throwing like normal. He's also practiced fully, so that's a good sign as well. Much less concern from me this week about the hand than there was a week ago when we didn't really know what was going on with it.
asking previous question... Any Correlation between coach Nash and the Lions barrage of serious injuries? #LionsMailbag
— Mike Holleman (@Mike_Holleman) December 13, 2017
Mike,
This is a completely fair question -- and one that was asked last season as well. Actually, I even asked Jim Caldwell last year about whether he was concerned about Nash's system and effectiveness because of injuries the Lions dealt with. He said at the time "none whatsoever." As far as this season, injuries are going to happen. Particularly with Stafford, there's only so much Nash can do since Stafford was hit a lot early and a stepped-on hand is a stepped-on hand. He can't prevent concussions, and Lang and Ezekiel Ansah over the past two seasons just seem to be guys who get hurt. That said, there were concerns about the amount of injuries when he was in New England, too, so it's a reasonable question. As far as this season, I look around the league and don't really see anything out of the ordinary with the Lions, so I wouldn't look too much at Nash and his system -- but the question has definitely been asked before and it's always something to monitor.
If the Lions finish 10-6 (not likely) and still miss the playoffs (100% certain) do they still retain the coaching staff?
— proof (@xproofx) December 14, 2017
Some version of this question has been asked for weeks now. A 10-6 record and not making the playoffs could make it tough for Detroit to fire Caldwell, in my opinion. Not saying they will or won't do it, but winning four in a row and knocking off Aaron Rodgers (provided he plays) in the season finale might be enough to save his job regardless of what happens, especially considering the tiebreaker situation. I do not believe Caldwell's future has been decided yet by the front office.