Author: Paula Pasche

Cam Newton made headlines this week for all of the wrong reasons. But don’t expect that it will be a distraction when his Carolina Panthers play the Detroit Lions at Ford Field on Sunday.

Just expect two 3-1 teams going about their business.

No doubt, the mobile Newton can be a challenge for defenses. But the Panthers haven’t played this year’s version of the Lions’ defense.

Five Lions to watch:

1. Matthew Stafford ha thrown 137 passes without an interception. He’s coming off a win at the Vikings in which the Lions’ offense wasn’t all of that. In his defense, he was sacked six times. “Let’s say I’m not referring to the streak that he’s on right now. I’m just going to say that obviously he’s done a nice job in terms of navigating some very difficult terrain with a lot of people around you, getting the ball down field, making the proper decisions,’’ coach Jim Caldwell said. “There may have been a time or two that he maybe had to take a sack as opposed to throwing it up in the air. But I think he’s done a really nice job at that. But I think he’s been doing that for a while now when you look at just his trajectory over the years, he’s been improving in that area consistently.

“And we constantly preach that that’s the most important part of what we do is to win that turnover battle and so I think everybody’s kind of bought into it at this point in time. But we haven’t had any of those freaky interceptions. Sometimes it happened where there’s nothing you can do about it. You throw, it bounces off a guy’s hands and up in the air of another guy, and all you see is on the stats sheet, there was an interception but a quarterback there’s a lot of other factors involved,’’ Caldwell added.

2. Ameer Abdullah ran for 94 yards at Minnesota. Part of what makes the running back special is that h finds yards when it appears there is nowhere for him to go. “Really good runner, makes some plays, puts it where it needs to be a lot of times and then creates a lot, which is what you want out of a running back,’’ offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter said. “So, he made some nice runs last game, really high effort runs, kept fighting for yards and some of those ended up being really huge runs for our team. So, Ameer’s a good player, hope he keeps improving, getting better and let’s keep this thing going.”

3. Theo Riddick has not had a breakout game in the first quarter. “I think he gets attention. Whether that’s more than the past, it probably is a little bit, I mean I’m sure guys have their scouting reports and No. 25’s on there,’’ Cooter said. “He’s run a lot of routes over the years where he’s beaten guys and gotten open. I wouldn’t say defenses are drastically changing their structure, but every now and then might be a vital call, where Theo may have been one-on-one in the past and now he’s sort of doubled. There’s also been a time or two where he’s gotten open and we hadn’t hit the pass or whatever. It hasn’t been these things all happen during the year, especially for games like this. So, Theo’s still doing a really nice job, Theo’s going to be really productive for us.’’

4. Quietly TJ Jones has been quietly productive averaging 16 yards per catch with eight catches for 128 yards. “TJ’s extremely reliable. Good quickness, gets open a lot, catches the ball, versatile, can play multiple positions at receiver. Intelligent, can handle a pretty heavy workload mentally,” Cooter said. “Sometimes we put a lot on certain guys and he’s one of those guys. He’s been around here awhile, he’s been in a spot where he’s sort of playing every spot or maybe backing up every spot. Now, he’s in a spot where he’s sort of playing a bunch of reps, but he’s still expected to be able to play every other spot in the offense, and sort of handle the week-to-week mental challenge of different defensive looks, and who do I block on this play, and how are we running this route, is it a little different than last week, and all that stuff. He’s really good at that, the quarterback trusts him, where he’s going to be and I think that’s really valuable. TJ’s done a nice job, he’s got to keep coming, he’s not a finished product either, but we’re happy with TJ, he’s having a good year so far.”

5. Tahir Whitehead moved to the outside linebacker position after Jarrad Davis was drafted. “I think Tahir has embraced every time he’s moved. I don’t think he has to embrace anything. He likes playing football and he just wants to help our team win. So, I think that’s the big thing. He’s played well,’’ defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said. “He’s bounced around a little bit in terms of position but everywhere he’s been, he’s been productive for us. He just really has – again, he’s playing well this year. He’s playing probably more confident than ever. I guess that comes with being in the same system for a while. You kind of know the ins and outs. He kind of knows me, knows what I’m going to call maybe at certain times. So, I think that’s been good for him, and he’s played really well. I’m really happy for him.’’

PREDICTION: Lions 27, Panthers 17

ALLEN PARK — Last season, one definite shortcoming of the Detroit Lions defense was in creating turnovers.

So in the offseason the coaches emphasized it, the players worked on it and after four games, it is working.

“It’s a lot of fun. Eleven turnovers in four games, it’s a party at the ball, that’s the way we see it,’’ said weakside linebacker Tahir Whitehead who has one interception and two fumble recoveries.

(Photo courtesy of Detroit Lions)

Coach Jim Caldwell wouldn’t go so far as to say turnovers are contagious.

“Usually the more people that you have around the ball when the ball is loose, the better off your chances are at getting it. If you got guys hustling, tipped balls don’t typically hit the ground in this league,’’ Caldwell said. “If people are moving in the right direction at the right speed, then we should be able to get our fair share of them, things of that nature, but, contagious? No, I’ve certainly never been able to see that kind of virus going around a locker room.”

Next time the Lions create a turnover, take a close look and you’ll see plenty of Honolulu blue swarming the ball.

The Lions are tied with the Baltimore Ravens for most takeaways in the NFL with 11.

They are leading the NFL in the takeaway/giveaway category with a plus-nine. The offense has lost one fumble and Matthew Stafford threw an interception. So they are doing their part too.

Whitehead says it’s a mindset.

“If you don’t talk about it then it’s not going to happen. If you don’t work at it, if you don’t work at forcing a turnover, getting the ball out, if you don’t work at ‘OK how to recover the ball when it’s on the ground and make sure the offense ends up with the ball at the end of the play.’ Then it’s not going to happen. It’s been a topic of conversation this year and it’s ongoing,’’ Whitehead said.

Safety Glover Quin and cornerback Darius Slay each have a pair of interceptions while Whitehead, Miles Killebrew and Tavon Wilson each have one. They also have four fumble recoveries. In 16 games in 2016, the Lions had a total of 10 interceptions and seven fumble recoveries.

“Everybody wants a piece of the pie, they’re like, ‘I’m next in line, it’s my turn,’’’ Whitehead said.

“You definitely get guys that pushing each other, challenging each other to get to that ball. It’s like OK I’m going to get the opportunity this time, and that’s the way the defense, that’s how we’re made that’s how we practice,” Whitehead said.

Exactly.

Caldwell and defensive coordinator Teryl Austin have specific drills and methods to use.

“We have a period of time during the spring where receivers or any ball carrier that’s going back to the huddle running with the ball is free game to try to strip the ball out of their arms, all the way up to them handing it to the manager,’’ Caldwell said. “No. 1, it gets us in the mindset that we’re trying to get it out. No. 2, it makes certain that the guys that have the ball in their hands are concentrating, I mean they could be crossing the line of scrimmage with that ball and there’s a defensive guy that’s trying to knock it out of their arms. Now, we have to put certain restraints on certain guys because there’s certain guys a little bit too strong for their own good, and the quarterbacks are off limits obviously, which I think you would quite understand. But nevertheless, I think that part of it.

“But then also, we had defensively in particular, had set up circuit training, just to work on a little bit of what we’ve been talking about and preaching. And I think the emphasis in itself (is important). There’s an old Bo Schembechler term, I think he used to always say, ‘You achieve what you emphasize.’ And I think in this particular case, we gave it a little bit more emphasis, and hopefully it’ll pay off for us for the entire year,’’ Caldwell added.

In other words, it’s not pure luck. It’s hard work that leads to creating turnovers.

“Bottom line. If we get an interception, it’s because we’re running to the ball. We’re in the right spots. So, I won’t ever qualify any turnover as well it’s something that they did. It’s something we did,’’ Austin said. “So, we’ll keep going until something does change. But I think we got a chance to be a pretty good defense we just got to continue to improve each week.”

ALLEN PARK >> Funny, Darren Fells doesn’t feel like he’s 31 years old.

There’s a good reason for that. The Detroit Lions tight end has only been playing in the NFL since 2013. So his body is not beat up like you might expect from a 31-year-old tight end.

“It’s a lot of fun for me to come in here and try to do things to turn people’s heads that his old man can still do a few things,’’ Fells said on Wednesday.

(Photo courtesy of Detroit Lions)

Fells didn’t play football in high school — instead focusing on basketball. That led to a scholarship in basketball at UC Irvine.

After playing professional basketball from 2008-2012 in Belgium, Finland, France, Mexico and Argentina, he decided to give the NFL a try.

He’s in his first season with the Lions after he spent 2014 through 2016 with the Arizona Cardinals.

“In basketball the biggest beating you take is a lot of jumping on your knees here and there. I wasn’t the most explosive guy so I didn’t take that much beating on my knees,’’ Fells said. “It’s drastically different (than football).’’

Five things to know about Fells:

1. He had his best game with the Lions in the win at the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday when he had four catches that were all first-down conversions. Fans started to notice No. 87.

2. On those catches he started out blocking, then got open for Matthew Stafford to find him. “It’s definitely a huge weapon especially since I’m seen as a blocking tight end first, they’re not going to really respect me in that aspect,’’ Fells said. “It helps me get open a lot more, I don’t have the speed (Eric) Ebron has to get open.’’

3. When the Lions signed him as a free agent they saw more than a blocking tight end in the 6-foot-7 Fells. “That was the first thing they actually said to me is they were surprised I wasn’t doing more as a receiving tight end, especially being 6-7,’’ Fells said. The Lions felt with his basketball background that he could go up for a pass like he did for rebounds.

4. The Lions started working with him in OTAS and training camp testing out different routes. Obviously he passed the test.

5. Stafford has been happy with the play of Fells along with Ebron and rookie tight end Mike Roberts. “ think our guys did a nice job, and you’re going to see it in the pass game and the stats and stuff, but I think they did a really nice job on the run game too. We asked them to block the defensive ends one-on-one a lot of times in the run game and in the pass game, and they did a heck of a job, so hats off to all three of those guys for pulling their weight in the run game, and then getting some big conversions from Fells early, Ebron had a couple nice plays and obviously the one to Mike Roberts was a big one as well,’’ Stafford said.