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: Tight end Sam LaPorta is all good after missing about a week in camp with a hip injury. He wasn't listed on Detroit's Wednesday or Thursday practice reports.
I expect LaPorta to have a monster year if he stays healthy. He's a one-on-one matchup nightmare alongside Detroit's other skill weapons. Talking to him in camp he loves this offense and how OC Drew Petzing uses tight ends. I wouldn't be surprised if we see numbers this year closer to his rookie season.
20man: Kennedy (5-10, 195) is a great story for any kid out there who wasn't blessed with great size or elite measurables but has a ton of heart, ambition and work ethic.
Kennedy has traveled between the practice squad and active roster since 2019 and has earned the trust of this coaching staff because he can do so many things and do them consistently well.
It's not flashy with Kennedy. He doesn't have Amon-Ra St. Brown’s all-around skillset or Jameson Williams’ speed or Isaac TeSlaa's size, but he can play all three of those spots and return kicks and play special teams. He's one of those glue pieces Dan Campbell talks about every good roster needing to complement the core.
I think he's getting a fair shot this year. Special teams coordinator Dave Fipp said Kennedy will return punts against New Orleans Sunday.
20man: I think that's an area Jahmyr Gibbs has put in the time and improved. It's his responsibility in those situations to step up and take on those blitzers and hold up long enough for quarterback Jared Goff to get rid of the football.
We saw a lot of blitzing from Kelvin Sheppard's defense this camp and I wonder if that was also to give the offense plenty of looks at it. Detroit ranked 15th in blitz passer rating last season (96.44) as Goff threw eight touchdowns to two interceptions. Those eight touchdowns ranked 16th across the league.
There's room for improvement there, but also consider this: It can be dangerous to blitz this Lions offense leaving one-on-one matchups for St. Brown, Williams, TeSlaa and LaPorta. It just takes that one where Gibbs sticks his head in there and stones the blitzer and Goff's eyes get really big at what's developing downfield. Blitzers beware against this collection of weapons.
20man: Going into Week 1 and the first month of the season without starting safeties Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch certainly isn't ideal, but it's something the Lions anticipated and planned for accordingly.
Veterans Chuck Clark and Avonte Maddox have 122 NFL starts between them. I'd also throw Thomas Harper into that mix too, because I see him working into the game plan some as well.
We talked to assistant head coach/safeties coach Jim O'Neil this week and when he was asked about Clark and Maddox, he talked about the veteran presence and communication in the middle with the safeties and MIKE linebacker Jack Campbell, and said it's some of the best he's been around.
"(Maddox) and (Clark) both their ability to process information pre-snap and then put themselves or their teammates in a position to make plays is what really stands out to me as their superpower," O'Neil said.
That's important to note when the biggest theme defensively this offseason was limiting explosive plays, which defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard counted as 105 (82 pass and 23 runs) last year. An explosive play by Detroit's defensive metrics is a 17-yard pass or 12-yard run. He said 30 to 40 percent of those plays had no business being on tape because of correctable mistakes.
There might not be as many takeaways or flashy plays coming from that position without Joseph and Branch, but if Clark, Maddox and Thomas play sound football, make the plays in front of them while getting everyone in the right spots, the Lions will be just fine with that.
20man: I talked about Clark and Maddox above. We'll have to see what that looks like in a live game situation before we can make any big picture determinations about Detroit's secondary.
I personally like the cornerback combination of D.J. Reed and Rock Ya-Sin. I thought Ya-Sin was an upgrade last year when he got the opportunity to play and he had a good camp. Behind those two there's some question marks, but I like the top two.
What the team does in the nickel will be interesting. Will it be the veteran Roger McCreary or the rookie Keith Abney II? Will Christian Izien's groin injury allow him to be in the mix? Will it be just one player there or will they rotate based on situation and matchup? I was impressed by Abney in camp, but he's a rookie and there's always ups and down in this league with first-year players.
This might be the deepest collection of front seven talent and depth I've seen in my 18 years covering the team. That can only help those players in the secondary.
20man: It's a fair question, and I wish I had a clearer answer for you.
The last update we got from Campbell was Monday when he said Joseph was back in the building after taking some time away to deal with a personal issue during camp. He's doing good and is ramping up his rehab.
The team placed Joseph on IR to start the year so the earliest we could see him is Week 5 in Arizona. What will that look like? Hopefully, the knee gets to a point where Joseph feels confident playing on it and then we'll just have to see how it responds to him playing and what that looks like moving forward.
20man: There's always that possibility. I think sometimes it's hard for players to get into the rhythm of the game when they're rotating in and out. Offensive line play, in particular, is tough in that regard. Maybe the sets are a little different and the players around them have to adjust to that.
Offenses are always looking for those little advantages and trying to set up a defense based off a previous play that might not have the counter play until three quarters later. Sometimes a team can lose some of that when rotating between different players.
Long-term, Campbell is still trying to figure out the starting left guard spot. Part of it is Bartch missing so much time in training camp due to injury. They just didn't get to see enough of him. What they did see the last week they really liked and has prompted this early competition.
Maybe they figure it out in practice this week before Sunday. Both players are splitting reps in practice all week. If not, the play Sunday could go a long way in determining the role moving forward.
20man: Look no further than No. 17 overall pick Blake Miller, who's making his first career start at right tackle Sunday. I don't expect it to be perfect with Miller, but there was clear progression throughout camp. Going against Aidan Hutchinson as much as he did this summer will only help him in the long run.
Second-round pick Derrick Moore was back at practice this week but limited. We'll have to see if he's ready to go by Sunday. Inactives will come out 90 minutes before kickoff. If active, I expect him to be a situational pass rusher against the Saints.
Not sure what we'll see from Jimmy Rolder if he's active. He's only recently returned to the field after missing most of camp with a hamstring injury. I'd expect an extensive role on special teams if he plays.
Abney could get reps in the nickel and will play special teams. I thought he was a good fit for this defense in the slot in training camp. Skyler Gill-Howard could also get some situational pass rush reps along the interior of the defensive line, if active.
Edge rusher Eric O'Neill would be the other rookie to watch out for. I don't expect all five edge rushers on the roster to be active, so it might come down to a numbers game. If he is active, I expect he'll play on special teams and potentially some situational reps on defense.
Miller is the big one, though. He will start and is expected to play a key role along Detroit's offensive line.
20man: I think it's got to be center Juice Scruggs. The Lions signed Cade Mays in free agency to a three-year deal to be the anchor in the middle of their offensive line. A wrist injury suffered in training camp will keep him out until sometime in October.
In steps the veteran Scruggs, who has starting experience at both center and guard and finished camp strong. Goff talked this week about the good chemistry they've built over the last week particularly. Detroit needs Scruggs to play well and hold down the fort until Mays gets back.
20man: All I've heard around the Meijer Performance Center are good things regarding Petzing and the early impression he's made on the players and fellow coaches. He and Goff have a good relationship that's been built on the give and take that every good OC/QB has.
Petzing has brought some clarity to some concepts and a calm on that side of the football. He's been open to suggestions. There are some core principles Petzing adheres to, and Goff has been good taking on some of those things and making them his own.
We get our first look Sunday of how Petzing plans to deploy all of Detroit's skill weapons and his cadence to play-calling.
