Author: Paula Pasche

ALLEN PARK — Matthew Stafford’s hand might not be 100 percent, but he is expected to start when the Lions (6-6) play at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-8) on Sunday. He’s officially listed as questionable.

The Lions still have a slim chance at a postseason wild-card berth so it’s a huge game for them. The Bucs are just looking to wrap up a disappointing season.

Coach Jim Caldwell maintains an even keel whether his team is coming off a win or a loss. That’s the message he gets to the team also.

“Even our first game there’s a sense of urgency, the first game of the season, second, to third. Every single game there’s a sense of urgency. Circumstances may change in that regard, but in how we approach it, those kinds of things, that does not change. And that’s the great thing about coaching really to be honest with you,’’ Caldwell said on Thursday. “This time of the year in certain situations you get a real sense of the essence of the human spirit within you guys, and staff, and those kinds of things. So, it’s a real good challenge and thankfully I got a healthy disregard for what other people might think is impossible, so that helps as well.”

(Photo courtesy of Detroit Lions)

Five things to watch:

1. Again, the Lions have to get off to a faster start. They’ve been outscored 36-3 in the first quarters of the past four games. They won the first two and lost the most recent two. They know they need to start fast, they focus on it and talk about it, but have not been able to make it happen.

“Every one is a different story. At the end of the day — Coach (Caldwell) has said it a hundred times, I mean, hey, you’d love to be up early. That makes the game a whole lot — you’re in more control of the game and you can go from there. At the same time, pretty much we play ball around here to win the game at the end of the game, so we’re trying to win that, trying to have more points than they do at the end,’’ Cooter said.

2. Again, the Lions need to run the ball better. Last Sunday, rookie Tion Green got his first NFL touches and performed decently. His first carry went for 33 yards, he also had a 6-yard touchdown run. That performance may have earned him an increased role this week.

“Tion had a couple nice runs, some of those were really well blocked which is encouraging to see from a blocking standpoint as well, but Tion I think made the most of those runs,’’ Cooter said. “Had a couple of, sort of, young player mistakes along the way as all the young players do and he’s working on fixing some of that stuff this week. But we’re encouraged by what we saw, I think he pretty much made the most of the carries that he got.’’

3. Jim Caldwell and defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said the defensive end Dwight Freeney played fine in his first game with the Lions last week. They also said the lack of quarterback pressure was not all on him, but it needs to improved. The Lions didn’t sack Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco even once. The Lions have just three sacks in the last three games.

“I think he did OK. But I think overall, I’m looking at more overall, we just didn’t get enough pressure. We didn’t get enough,’’ Austin said. “We did not harass the quarterback enough last week. That’s something we have to do better. So, I’m again, continuing to look at ways to try and improve our rush, to try to improve our ability to get pressure on the passer.”

4. The secondary needs to step up against quarterback Jameis Winston and the Bucs who have the NFL’s fifth-best passing offense averaging 261.6 yards per game. Mike Evans and DeSean Jackson are dangerous at wide receiver. Austin said that Quandre Diggs will start again at strong safety in place of Nevin Lawson. Diggs, typically the nickel back, is clearly a playmaker no matter the position.

“Sometimes when you play up, or you play out as a corner, and then you move back, sometimes things are a little different, but he can handle it,’’ Austin said. “I thought he did a good job last week in his first appearance playing full-time in that position. So, we’ll continue to move forward with it.”

5. Then there’s a laundry list: Hold onto the ball. The Lions have eight interceptions and nine lost fumbles. Giveaways in the first half are one reason they’ve had slow starts. … The Lions have not had an interception in the past three games. …  Wide receivers and tight ends must not drop the ball. … Matt Prater must bust his mini-slump after missing a field goal and extra point last Sunday.

Prediction: Lions 27, Bucs 13

ALLEN PARK — Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford threw passes in Thursday’s practice, after not attempting a pass in the portion open to the media on Wednesday.

Stafford had his right, throwing hand stepped on in Sunday’s loss at Baltimore. X-rays showed no broken bones but it is severely bruised. The quarterback, in his ninth season, is known for his toughness.

He has started 108 consecutive games and, if the practice is any indication, it looks like Stafford could start on Sunday when the Lions visit Tampa. The ball looked like it had its usual Stafford zip.

Coach Jim Caldwell offered no clues about Stafford’s possible availability in his pre-practice press conference.

If Stafford can’t go, Jake Rudock will get his first NFL start.

“Obviously we get a chance to see (Rudock) every day. I mean he’s working, and in every area he’s improved throughout the year. And I think that’s what you find with a young quarterback, they just continue to get better and he’s improving in all areas,’’ Caldwell said.

If Rudock is the starter, offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter said he’ll have a game-plan that plays to Rudock’s strengths. At the very least there would likely be less downfield shots than Stafford attempts. No slam on Rudock, but Stafford has the strongest arm in the NFL.

Rudock finished Sunday’s game completing 3 of 5 attempts for 24 yards with an interception.

“Obviously any reps you get in the course of a ballgame’s going to help you one way or another. You’re going to learn from it, it gives you a little bit of experience. It kind of gets the nerves out of there a little bit just in terms of getting a guy familiar with his footing, but he’s played preseason games and those kinds of things, but regular seasons a little bit different,’’ Caldwell said. “So, that’s helpful but obviously it’s not much of a sample size for him, it’s just very few, but he’ll be fine.”

Buccaneers coach Dirk Koetter said on a conference call on Wednesday, he was aware of Stafford’s hand injury and they would go after it.

Caldwell said he knows Koetter and said that comment “was in jest.”

ALLEN PARK — While the X-rays on Matthew Stafford’s right, throwing hand were negative after Sunday’s loss at Baltimore, the injury is not insignificant.

It’s unclear if Stafford will be available to start on Sunday when the Lions play the Bucs in Tampa Bay.

Stafford was limited in practice on Wednesday. He did not throw in the portion open to the media, but he worked on hand-offs.

“He’s not out of the woods yet, we have to see what he can do as the week goes on. It’s not some insignificant injury, that’s not the case. It’s something that he’s going to have to work at,  deal with in the course of the week to see where he is. It’s not like he’s out of the woods,’’ coach Jim Caldwell said on Wednesday morning.

Stafford said on Wednesday morning that he will take it day by day this week. He wouldn’t address whether he plans to play on Sunday. He said he’s in less pain than he was immediately after it was injured on Sunday.

Stafford, who has started 108 straight games, has played with hand injuries before. “Yeah, every one of them is different. This one is just the same. So, you got to kind of figure out what feels good, what doesn’t, and go from there,” Stafford said.

At his weekly press conference on Wednesday he was asked to show the media his hand and he said he’d would rather not.

The incident occurred in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game just after Stafford threw an interception. His hand was stepped on in a pile-up. In no way did it appear intentional. He left the game and immediately went to the locker room for X-rays. Jake Rudock took over at quarterback.

Stafford has started 108 straight games going back to Week 1 of the 2011 season.