Every week during the regular season Tim Twentyman will answer 10 good questions from his X account @ttwentyman in a feature we call "10 Questions with Twentyman."
20man: Defensively, we are expected to see defensive lineman Josh Paschal, linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez, cornerback D.J. Reed, edge rusher Marcus Davenport and cornerback Khalil Dorsey all back at some point this season. Paschal and Rodriguez are back at practice already and we could see both back in the lineup this month. Reed is back working off to the side of practice, and I'd anticipate his return sometime this month as well. My expectation for Davenport is sometime in December, but we'll see. Offensively, Christian Mahogany is expected back sometime in late December.
I don't see players like Jamarco Jones, Ennis Rakestraw Jr. or Levi Onwuzurike coming back this season.
20man: Might be a little case of recency bias here. Obviously it wasn't good enough last week giving up the 61-yard return that turned into an opening possession touchdown for Minnesota, but that was the first 40-plus yard return Detroit has given up on a kickoff all season. They rank 16th in opponent average starting position after the kickoff (30.0-yard line) and they rank 10th in percentage of 20-plus-yard returns they've allowed. It wasn't good enough last week, and special teams coordinator Dave Fipp expressed that Thursday when we talked to him, but I don't believe it's been a big issue all season.
20man: I did not expect the Lions to be serious players, meaning I didn't anticipate them giving up high-end draft capital for a rental player. I expected GM Brad Holmes to call around and see if there was a depth player in the secondary or upfront along the offensive line that fit them for the right price. It should be noted offensive linemen don't become available very often at the trade deadline. Holmes looked around and in the end, the value didn't fit the price and wasn't identified as an upgrade to their current depth and who they know they have coming back from injury.
In the secondary, they have Reed coming back and they have solid depth back there as proven in the win over Tampa Bay. The same goes upfront along the defensive line where they are deep with more players returning and are second in the NFL in sacks. They also have more faith in their depth along the offensive line than any outside resources.
20man: Before Mahogany suffered an injury last week, the only real change that was possible was at center if they thought the veteran Trystan Colon was a better option than Graham Glasgow. I don't think they are there yet, but they certainly could explore that option if they don't get more consistent play from that position moving forward.
With Mahogany now out indefinitely, I think Kayode Awosika moves into the left guard spot. He's earned the trust of the coaching staff. They'll watch how the rookie Miles Frazier progresses now that he's back at practice and see if he can fit into the conversation too.
20man: Unfortunately, Mekhi Wingo is caught up in a numbers game in a healthy defensive tackle group. He's not cracking the top four of Alim McNeill, DJ Reader, Tyleik Williams and Roy Lopez. Then there's Pat O'Connor, who this coaching staff has a lot of trust in. Veteran Tyler Lacy also has some position flex being able to play inside and the big end. The Lions like Wingo, he's just caught up in a numbers game on gameday with roster restrictions and inactive rules.
20man: Fair question. I think when they talk about fit, they are speaking more about the fit on the field and in the schemes and not so much personality or locker room fit, though that's obviously important too given the culture Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell have built.
Campbell talked about this the other day when asked about the trade deadline and he made the point they feel more comfortable relying on players in the system – players they've drafted or signed and have been around for years or months – because they not only know their strengths, but maybe more importantly, they also know their warts. That's a pretty important piece of information. It's hard to coach around a player's weaknesses midseason when you're just becoming aware of them.
20man: They list Glasgow as an offensive lineman because he can play center or guard. Colon can do both too, but he specializes more as a center and doesn't have as much versatility as Glasgow. Much like how they list Brian Branch as a defensive back and not a safety. I expect Glasgow to be at center Sunday.
20man: Offensive coordinator John Morton has been doing this a long time, not necessarily play calling, but coaching offensive football in the NFL. He's been on the staff for some dynamic offenses. The Lions rank second in points scored (29.9), 11th in total offense and ninth in rushing (125.1).
The Lions want Jamhyr Gibbs on the field more because of his dynamic playmaking and because of that, we've seen him take more of a 60-40 split in the backfield. Unfortunately, it hasn't resulted in more total scrimmage yards for Gibbs at this point. I believe it's because Detroit isn't getting the same kind of offensive line play as we've seen before. There's been less time to throw the ball and not as many holes and second level blocks to spring big plays. That's been the bigger issue in the lack of overall production from Gibbs and David Montgomery, in my opinion.
I do believe the Lions can utilize Gibbs more in some of the option routes and passing concepts down the field more than just in the flat or a swing option. Gibbs is capable of that, especially in the red zone and on third down, and I hope we see it more moving forward.
20man: Strategic play calling, formation adjustments and even something as easy as increasing tempo can help an offensive line. The Lions also have one of the best slot receivers in the NFL in Amon-Ra St. Brown and the implementation of a quicker passing game, utilizing the slot and the tight ends can help. Playing more 12 personnel with two tight ends to help block and leaving the running back in to help in pass protection are all ways the Lions can help those guys up front.
Morton said Thursday they are going to do what they do and trust the players they plug in to run their scheme.
20man: This is a good football team that didn't play well last week and lost to a team that didn't make as many self-inflicted wounds as the Lions did. It happens in this league. Despite the three losses, I don't see a ton of glaring weaknesses on this team. They are one of the top scoring teams in the league and rank in the top half in the league in every major statistical category on defense.
The biggest weakness I see right now is their third-down offense where they rank 25th (36.3 percent). That's causing a lot of the problems we're seeing on offense in terms of extending drives and limiting plays and thus opportunities for their playmakers to make plays.
In terms of the preparation for Washington, Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard said nothing changes offensively with Marcus Mariota at quarterback.
Teams go through the tape on Monday and address the problems that came up the previous week. Come Wednesday, the game plan is installed and it's all about Washington. Trust me, the Lions aren't taking the Commanders lightly, even with all their injuries, especially coming off a loss to Minnesota last week.
