Every week during the regular season Tim Twentyman will answer 10 good questions from his Twitter account @ttwentyman in a feature we call "10 Questions with Twentyman."
20man: Good observation. I saw a lot of that as well when I re-watched the tape, especially from some of the young guys. It was something defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn talked about Thursday when speaking to media. He said he was disappointed and encouraged at the same time watching the film because he saw a lot of correctable mistakes like guys abandoning their assignments to try and make a play. Some of that is Week 1 jitters, but it has to be corrected. Glenn has made it a point of emphasis.
"You see a group of men that came out very excited, probably overly excited, and some of the responsibilities kind of went out the window," he said. "And a lot of our young guys, a lot of our young guys, even some of our vets, I think going into the second game will be more calm, and we get back to just doing our responsibility and doing our job."
20man: I asked Ben Johnson Thursday what he liked about last week and what needs to improve, and he was pretty straight forward about improving the passing game. There were some bad reads, off-target throws and drops, which we didn't see a lot of in camp.
With Swift dealing with an ankle injury and not practicing Wednesday or Thursday, I'm guessing the passing attack will factor more into the game plan this week, especially with Washington struggling in that aspect of their defense last week against the Jaguars.
20man: I don't think it's ridiculous, but we have to remember it is a long season. Glenn told a story Thursday about his playing days with the Jets and how one year they started 0-2 and finished 13-3.
The season isn't over if the Lions start 0-2, but consider this, since 1990, only 30 of the 265 teams that have started a season 0-2 have made the playoffs. That's 11.3 percent. Only 15 of those teams went on to win the division (5.7 percent) and only three have ever made the Super Bowl (1.1 percent).
20man: That might be a necessity this week depending on the status of Amani Oruwariye, who left the open portion of Thursday's practice with a back injury.
But if both players are healthy and on the field together, I think Glenn and defensive backs coach Aubrey Pleasant would prefer for each guy to play a side. Jeff Okudah was the left corner Sunday and has been in that spot most of camp. Oruwariye was on the right side against Philadelphia and has been there all through camp.
I think coaches feel good about both players' ability to match up with an opponent's top receiver, and when both are healthy, I wouldn't expect to see one travel with an opponent's No. 1 receiver, but instead just play a side.
20man: That's the big storyline for the Lions leading up to Sunday.
Already without Big V at right guard, center Frank Ragnow is dealing with groin and foot injuries and didn't practice Wednesday or Thursday. Ragnow doesn't need to practice to play Sunday, but it's certainly not ideal to miss any practice time when facing a good defensive front like Washington.
Now the Lions are also dealing with a finger injury for left guard Jonah Jackson that forced him to miss practice Thursday. We'll hear from Dan Campbell late Friday morning on the extent of that injury and if it could prevent Jackson from playing Sunday.
Evan Brown can play center or guard. He's one of the better backups in the league. The Lions also have Drew Forbes and Kayode Awosika on the 53-man roster at guard. Ross Pierschbacher and Dan Skipper are on practice squad and can play guard. We'll know 90 minutes before kickoff who is officially in or out, but it's disappointing to be talking about these injuries upfront in Week 2 when the offensive line was expected to be a strength of this team.
20man: The best ability is availability, but I'm always a little cautious to write a player off early in their career or label them as injury-prone, because I started covering the Lions for The Detroit News in 2009 when they drafted quarterback Matthew Stafford.
Stafford missed six games as a rookie and 13 the following year due to injury. He was labeled injury-prone and a bust, but he went on to play the next eight years without missing a game. Of that group, I worry about Levi Onwuzurike the most because back injuries can be finicky sometimes and it's now year two of dealing with it. Not ideal for a second-round pick, for sure.
Ifeatu Melifonwu has dealt with two separate soft tissue injuries. Last year it was a quad, this year a hamstring. That's not too concerning to me. Those injuries happen.
Josh Paschal had corrective surgery for a sports hernia and that shouldn't be an issue moving forward. We should see him at some point this season.
Give these guys a little more time to heal up and see if they can get past the injuries.
20man: I didn't even realize they didn't have a single turnover in the preseason until you mentioned it.
Turnovers are the No. 1 statistic in determining wins and losses in most NFL games. The Lions were minus-four in turnover differential last season, which was bottom third in the league.
The team works on fumble drills in practice and they preach going after the football. I think one area that would really help in creating turnovers is generating consistent pressure on the quarterback. To me, that's where a lot of turnovers start. Strip sacks and forcing quarterbacks to speed up their clock and make bad decisions or bad throws. I think once the pass rush ramps up, the turnovers will start to come. I wouldn't be surprised if they get a couple Sunday against Washington.
20man: I think that unit has a chance to be really good. We know what Amon-Ra St. Brown can do in the slot. He's caught at least eight passes in seven straight games. DJ Chark has been a 1,000-yard receiver in this league, and showed Sunday why he's considered one of the better 50-50 ball receivers in the league when he went up and got that touchdown with Eagles cornerback Darius Slay all over him.
Jameson Williams is going to provide another speed element opposite Chark that will stress the defense. If they stay healthy, I think it can be a really strong room.
20man: I expect Stenberg to be better than he was last week. First start, there's a lot he learned from the tape. He's a really good run blocker, it's just the pass pro where he needs to keep improving. If Jackson plays, I'd suspect they shift the protection Stenberg's way like they did about 90 percent of the time last week. If Jackson doesn't play, it will be interesting to see how they decide to play it.
20man: Tracy Walker was the leading tackler on the team last season (105) and one of only five NFL safeties to produce at least 100 tackles, one interception and 1.0 sack. He had 11 tackles, a sack, a pass defended and a tackle for loss before the ejection. He said after the game he regretted the ejection, and that he let his emotions get the best of him.
I like Walker as a player. The one thing he needs to do more of is creating turnovers. He knows it. It was a point of emphasis for him this offseason. When he gets his hands on the football he's got to catch it. He let too many potential interceptions drop to the ground last season. He's hit the jugs machines after practice to work on it.
Walker is a captain, team leader and playmaker at 27 years old.
