Tahir Whitehead (Reading the Defense 10/15) (1 Viewer)

I was a little disappointed when I opened the article this week, as one of the things I really wanted to get some other opinions on was the usage of Tahir Whitehead last week and going forward. However, this appears to be something that was either missed or ignored.

Despite the strong boxscore for Whitehead, he only played in 50/69 snaps. Per here, Josh Bynes replaced him in the nickel packages on 19 snaps. Despite this, Whitehead was still listed as an every-down backer in the article; and the DET specific paragraph didn't mention this.

Would love to get Jene and others thoughts on this going forward.

In addition, he was listed as an IDP upgrade in the waiver report based on his stats. I'm wondering if he should actually be a slight downgrade.

Thanks for pointing this out. My apologies for missing it.

I'm not a big fan of Josh Bynes and I'm not certain this will continue. I'd think they'd want to have Whitehead's interior blitzing presence and ability to play the run between the tackles, but suppose it's understandable if they feel Bynes is better in coverage (which I'm not certain I'd agree with).

This week's matchup against the Saints will tell the tale. The Saints aren't the spread team they used to be and Jimmy Graham may not be on the field, but there will be enough passing situations to give us an indication of what the Lions want to do over the rest of the season.

I'd not make any moves with Whitehead yet. If you were using him as a LB3, I think you can continue to do so. And this will be akin to the Preston Brown and Avery Williamson situations. Durability issues on the depth chart and solid play as a platoon player will make it difficult to drop Whitehead unless your rosters are shallow.

Just watched his 2 int's.

The first one was on 1st and 10 and was tipped by running back Asiata.

The second one was on 3rd and 2 and was tipped at the line by Darryl Tapp.

Right place right time.

The Man With No Name said:

Just watched his 2 int's.

The first one was on 1st and 10 and was tipped by running back Asiata.

The second one was on 3rd and 2 and was tipped at the line by Darryl Tapp.

Right place right time.

Click to expand...

Not many LB's make INT's in coverage. Being able to make those plays when presented is a plus in my book. That being said, much like Jenkins earlier this year, that game is going to be a nice exception. As long as he can keep the normal weekly stats going he's a solid play.

Whitehead 61/75
Bynes 15/75 (7 coverage)