Rudock's status: Rookie Jake Rudock's status on the Lions' QB depth is the same on the practice squad as it would have been on the 53-man active roster. He's still No. 3 behind starter Matthew Stafford and backup Dan Orlovsky, and he'll run the scout team in practice. That hasn't changed, either. His income is lower, but he'll get the same intensity of coaching and a chance to develop. – Mike O'Hara
Struggling too: The Lions' first-team offense isn't the only one that struggled to put the ball in the end zone in the preseason. The Lions starters had nine possessions and came away with just nine points (three field goals). The Colts, who the Lions play Sunday in Indianapolis, had seven possessions with their starters in the preseason and recorded two field goals, three punts, a fumble and one turnover on downs. – *Tim Twentyman
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Quinn's Detroit Lions roster: From the day he was hired as GM, Quinn has said he is not building the New England Patriots in Detroit, and his roster decisions showed that. One example: he did not keep a Wes Welker-Julian Edelman short receiver. Jace Billingsley, who's 5-9, was signed to the practice squad. – Mike O'Hara
Depth chart update: Since the first unofficial depth chart was released before the first preseason game back in early August, Rafael Bush has been listed as the Lions' starting strong safety alongside Glover Quin. That has changed with the release of the regular season depth chart. Tavon Wilson is now listed as the starter. He should start at strong safety Sunday in Indianapolis. – Tim Twentyman
QBs – Go with two: That's the trend in the NFC North – keeping two quarterbacks on the 53-man roster. The Vikings (Sam Bradford and Shaun Hill), Bears (Jay Cutler, Bryan Hoyer) and Lions (Stafford, Orlovsky) kept two. The Packers kept three (Aaron Rodgers, Brett Hundley, Joe Callahan). The Bears have Matt Barkley on the practice squad and Connor Shaw on injured reserve. The Vikings have Joel Stave on the practice squad and Teddy Bridgewater on injured reserve. – Mike O'Hara
Banged up: Four projected starters for the Colts did not practice to start the week Monday, three of them on the defensive side of the ball. Cornerback Vontae Davis (ankle) almost certainly will not play Sunday, according to reports out of Indy. Linebacker Sio Moore (hamstring) remains a question mark. Defensive end Kendall Langford (knee) also sat out practice. Langford has played in 128-straight games.
Nickel corner Darius Butler (ankle) remained sidelined Monday. Then there's defensive tackle Henry Anderson (knee) and safety Clayton Geathers (foot), who were both limited in practice Monday, and could also sit Sunday. – Tim Twentyman
Crimson Tide practice: Looking ahead to Sunday's game at Indy, at times one battle will look like an Alabama practice drill in a matchup of rookies. Colts center Ryan Kelly and Lions defensive tackle A'Shawn Robinson were teammates for three years and competed against each other in practice. They were two of the highest rated players at their position in this year's draft. Should be an interesting battle – but for keeps. – *Mike O'Hara
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DL heavy: It's not a big surprise the Lions kept 11 defensive linemen on the 53-man roster out of camp. Head coach Jim Caldwell said the team was going to keep the best 53 players, and defensive line was by far their deepest position group. Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin is going to be able to run a lot of different players into the game upfront and keep those guys relatively fresh. – Tim Twentyman
Down to business: The atmosphere at practice changes every year at this time, and it was no different Monday. Last week's two cuts from 90 and 75 players put the roster at 53 – plus 10 on the practice squad – and the mood was a lot quieter with the first regular-season game approaching. Now it's for real. – Mike O'Hara
Return ability: With TJ Jones now on the practice squad, it will be interesting to see who returns kicks and punts Sunday in Indy. Ameer Abdullah led the league with a 29.3 average per kickoff return last year, but he's now the team's unquestioned No. 1 running back. Will he continue to return kicks too? Could it be the rookie Dwayne Washington, who was good in that role in the preseason? Will receiver Andre Roberts return punts? Or could Golden Tate go back there? We'll see Sunday. – Tim Twentyman
