The injury bug has continued to hit the Detroit Lions as they prepare to line up against the 8-5 Arizona Cardinals this Sunday at Ford Field.
The Lions have already been without quarterback 
Smith suffered a knee injury at Baltimore while FitzSimmons has felt the lasting effects of a concussion.
Head Coach Jim Schwartz says the Lions wanted to be safe with FitzSimmons, but that he will be missed in the line-up. Smith had a good game at Baltimore – both in the running and passing games – up until the injury and his absence will also be felt for the remainder of the season.
“He’ll be missed,” said Schwartz. “He had some injuries earlier in the season, (but) he was putting them behind him and we were pleased with the way he was playing. I was encouraged by that.”
Although Smith’s production will be missed, Offensive Coordinator Scott Linehan looks beyond the negative side of losing a player to injury.
“You can look at it two ways,” he said. “You can look at it like it’s a setback or it’s an opportunity for someone else to show what they can do.”
With Smith out for the remainder of the season, Morris will fill in. Morris, an eight-year veteran, has played well throughout his career when stepping in for injured starters, most notably for Shaun Alexander during his time with the Seattle Seahawks.
So far this season, Morris has 42 carries for 156 yards and one touchdown, as well as 12 receptions for 105 yards.
“I’m excited for
Stafford is once again expected to miss this week’s game. Stafford sat out of the Baltimore contest after leaving the game in the fourth quarter against Cincinnati due to a hit on his injured shoulder.
Although Schwartz said that Stafford is progressing, the likelihood of him getting back on the field this week is low.
“He’s probably in the same boat that he was. He’s making progress,” he said. “We’ll see; things can change, but he’s not likely to play.
For Stafford, the prospect of having to sit out again is difficult to endure, but the young quarterback is taking his time to make sure that his injury does not become a chronic problem.
“It’s feeling alright. I’m just kind of taking it day-by-day,” he said. “I’m doing treatment on it once, twice, three times a day, whatever it takes. I’m just trying to get back out there.”
With Stafford out, quarterback
He and the offense will once again be up against a team fighting to clinch their division title. The Cardinals are coming off a 24-9 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football, and bring a defense that is known around the league for its playmaking ability.
“These guys are defending NFC Champions from a year ago,” said Linehan. “They got to the Super Bowl and represented the NFC and there’s a reason. I know they have a great offensive team and their defensive team plays very well off of that.”
A SOLID SECONDARY
While many teams struggle to play well on the road, the Cardinals have managed to do the opposite. In seven road games this season, the Cardinals’ defense has given up an average of 16.4 points per game, ranking third in the NFL.
One of the ways the Cardinals have achieved that ranking is by stopping opponents on third-down situations. Their 34.6-percent opponent third-down conversion percentage is tied for fourth in the NFL.
Something else that has helped the Cardinals’ defense has been the ability of its roster to stay healthy.
Within the Cardinals’ secondary, the team has started the same four players in every game this season. Cornerbacks Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Bryant McFadden as well as safeties Adrian Wilson and Antrel Rolle have put up consistent numbers while coming up with big plays.
Rolle and Wilson each have four interceptions on the year, and Rolle scored on a blocked field goal earlier in the season. Rodgers-Cromartie has contributed three interceptions of his own with one touchdown and has 29 passes defensed.
Linehan stressed the importance of not allowing the Cardinals’ secondary to touch the ball.
“I think probably one of the strengths of their team is their secondary,” he said. “They get their hands on the ball, they also intercept a lot of balls, so we’ve got to challenge them. We’ve got to protect the football as you do every week, but this is a secondary with great ball skills, which adds to the challenge.”
BRINGING PRESSURE FROM ALL ANGLES
The outstanding play in the secondary is supported by the tremendous pressure brought by the Cardinals’ defensive front. The defensive line is anchored by defensive tackle Darnell Dockett, who has established himself as a dominant interior player.
“They’ve got a really athletic front seven and they’ve got a defensive lineman that can absolutely wreck the game with his ability in Darnell Dockett,” Linehan said.
Dockett leads all NFL defensive tackles with 7.0 sacks this season. His 20.0 sacks since 2007 are also the most from any player at that position over that period of time. Along with Dockett, the Cardinals have been able to count on sacks from defensive end Calais Campbell. Campbell has 6.0 sacks on the season.
While Dockett and Campbell’s numbers are impressive, the Cardinals have been able to spread the sacks around the entire defense. The team’s 36.0 sacks this season are tied for fourth in the NFL, and 13 different players have notched at least one sack this season.
Tackle
“The guys that they have can play multiple positions and what they do in passing situations is a little bit different—it’s kind of similar to what Pittsburgh does,” he said. “They have personnel that they can create mismatches with and play at different spots and take advantage of their guys’ skills and pass-rush abilities.”
Against a defense that likes to attack, the Lions’ offense will have to stand up to the challenge in order to be successful.
“Our challenge is to play great team offense and, as a group, try to do our job as far as neutralizing their strengths and hopefully, if we’re able to run the ball and not turn the ball over, that gives us a chance.”
REBOUNDING AFTER A TOUGH WEEK
After a difficult performance at Baltimore last Sunday, the Lions defense will look to rebound this week.
“We took it on the chin,” linebacker
The setback was unexpected as the defense turned in one of its best performances of the season the week before.
“We didn’t back up our performance in Cincinnati and that’s what true defensive teams do,” Foote said. “We have shown signs this season; taken a couple steps and forward then we’d take some back.
“You can’t keep putting out efforts like that as a team, as a whole and also as an individual. For your livelihood you have to come out and get that nasty taste out of your mouth.”
Now the defense will have one of the best offenses in the NFL to contend with in the Arizona Cardinals.
LIMITING OFFENSIVE THREATS
The Cardinals’ passing game has been their strength the last couple of seasons but, with an improved running game, it could become more of a challenge for defenses.
“Their running game has gotten a lot better with the two running backs and they’re some big guys, too,” said safety
Veteran quarterback Kurt Warner plays a key role in the Cardinals’ seventh-ranked passing game, throwing for 3,181 yards and 23 touchdowns.
With what is considered one of the best receiving tandems in the NFL in Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin, Warner and the Cardinals take their share of shots down the field. But, as Defensive Coordinator Gunther Cunningham says, their offense is still controlled.
“There’s some deep crossing routes and some go routes they will throw to Fitzgerald, but a lot of the difficult time you have is when they work you underneath," said Cunningham. "That’s how they generate the first down.”
Fitzgerald is fourth in the NFC in receiving with 991 yards on 85 catches and is also is tied for first with the most touchdowns among receivers with 10. Boldin is not far behind Fitzgerald with 803 yards on 68 catches and four touchdowns.
“Arizona has the two best receivers in the NFL on one team,” Cunningham said, “and Fitzgerald is the best one I’ve seen in a long time. He's strong and powerful and obviously the statistics prove the point."
CONTROLLING THE LINE OF SCRIMMAGE
The addition of rookie Beanie Wells has made a significant difference for the Cardinals, who now have the duo of he and Tim Hightower in their offensive backfield.
The pair has got increasingly better over the course of the season, upping their average yards per game to 126.6 over the past seven games after starting the season averaging just 64.9 rushing yards over the first seven games.
Hightower and Wells are currently combined for 1,134 yards and 11 touchdowns.
“The big change this year is they can power run with the best of them,” Head Coach Jim Schwartz said. “They can still throw with the best of them and go four wide receivers with the best of them, but their run game has improved.
“Hightower and Beanie Wells are really impressive and they’re splitting reps but they’re running the old power running game, which has that downhill mentality.”
Also contributing to the progress has been the Cardinals’ offensive line, which has remained consistent throughout the season in both performance and starts. Just one game has been missed among the starters in the group throughout the entire season.
“Their running game is definitely a thing that we do have to stop because if you don’t stop the run then there’s no point in throwing,” Avril said.
“If we can get them to being a one-dimensional team which, they already like to throw, so if you can just make that happen and coverage and the D-line play together, I think we could have a good game.”
