Ask Kyle: On expectations for Dwayne Washington, what to do with Laken Tomlinson
ALLEN PARK -- The Detroit Lions travel to Lambeau Field on Sunday to face the Green Bay Packers. And they'll do so extremely short-handed.
They'll be counting on a bunch of backups to help them try to win a second straight game in cheese country. Guys like rookie tailback Dwayne Washington. This week's mailbag delves into the expectations for Washington, fellow rookie Miles Killebrew, and a host of other topics.
Thanks, as always, to everyone who participated -- and a special thanks to @hottdudes on Twitter for inspiring the theme of this week's 'bag.
Q: If this Lions' season were a Nicolas Cage movie, which Nicolas Cage movie would it be? -- @hottdudes
A: It's gotta be "Leaving Las Vegas," right? Because of all the drinking required to get through it? Although I'd also accept "Lord Of War" because of all the death and destruction and, you know, injuries of all kinds.
Q: Dwayne Washington is our leading rusher tomorrow...by a lot. Buying or selling? -- Bruce Walker
A: It's possible, but if I were a betting man (I'm not, mom, I promise), my money would be on Theo Riddick. He's going to get the start, and the bulk of Detroit's carries. Washington will be involved, no question, and I think he'll get some looks in the red zone, particularly at the goal line. He is definitely Detroit's short-yardage back right now.
But we're talking overall rushing leader, and I think there's a lot to like about Riddick 4.0. I mean, this guy already has the second-most rushing yardage of his career. With 52 yards against Green Bay, he'll set a new high. And he's done it while working as the No. 2 rusher behind Abdullah.
Now that Abdullah is out for at least two months while recovering from foot surgery, Riddick is going to be the back Detroit leans on most. He's always been an elusive kind of guy, but the Lions really worked on the mental components of the position with him this offseason. He's seeing the field better now, making quicker decisions and we're all seeing the results.
I'm reminded of
that Week 1 carry where he tried to work left, almost immediately started his cutback after getting the handoff, and then found himself in a rushing lane with only one man to beat in a phone booth. (Of course, he beat him.) I asked Riddick offhand in the locker room the other day whether he actually anticipated that lane being there, or if he just got lucky. "I knew it was there," he said. And gave me a wink.
Yeah. He's feeling it.
Q: Is there a player that has been performing well so far but hasn't gotten a lot of attention? -- Kenneth Gabbert
A: I'm not sure how many people have noticed or not, but I'm highly surprised by what I've seen out of center Travis Swanson. If there's a more improved player from last year to this year, I've not seen it. He's gone from probably the club's worst starter in 2015 to, hey presto, pretty solid through two weeks.
Swanson ranked 33rd among centers last year according to ProFootballFocus. He's fifth right now. I know some people put more stock in PFF than others, but no matter how you cut it, that's huge improvement. He hasn't even allowed a sack this season. Hell, he didn't allow so much as a pressure last week.
I asked Theo Riddick this week why the running game has had so much luck this year, and he answered almost before I finished: "O-line." There have been better guys up front -- Riley Reiff and Larry Warford are smashing faces on the right side right now -- but fortifying the leaks from the middle has been huge as well.
One other guy who has gone under the radar is Tavon Wilson. He won the starting strong safety job at the end of training camp, and after splitting duties with Rafael Bush in Week 1, played almost all last week and looked like one of Detroit's better defensive players. He covered a lot of ground and laid a couple big hits.
Q: How long before Joe Dahl replaces Laken Tomlinson? Very disappointing -- Jam Hatter
A: Tomlinson has been disappointing, from multiple perspectives. He's a first-round pick who is Detroit's worst offensive lineman right now. That's not good. And he doesn't look any better than last year. That's not good either. And he's allowed two of Detroit's five sacks, which is decidedly bad. Especially from a guard.
Tomlinson's footwork looks like the biggest issue to me. I'm no expert when it comes to offensive line play, but you don't have to be when a guy's that slow. His feet also seem to be too close together sometimes, which throws off his balance and he gets tossed aside too easily. Snap to snap he looks OK, but he makes enough of these glaring mistakes to stand out in a bad way.
But here's the thing: Bench him, and what's the alternative? Rookie fifth-round pick Joe Dahl, the top reserve, doesn't look ready to me. I loved what I saw out of him during training camp, and wrote as much, but he still looks like a work in progress. Which is understandable, for a guy who is making the transition from left tackle in college to guard in the pros.
Just consider the preseason, when he was beat pretty bad a couple times. And that was working against backups.
Who knows, we don't see much of practice these days, maybe he's made remarkable improvements over the last couple weeks. But short of that, I think Tomlinson is Detroit's man at left guard for better or worse. Unless they acquire a veteran, which could become a possibility if Tomlinson's struggles protract.
Q: What is going on with Golden Tate? He is dropping a lot of balls early this year. Am I wrong to say he has more drops this year than Ebron? -- Jam Hatter
A: Drops are a bit subjective, so the stats range depending on your source. Sporting Charts, for example, does a nice job with the stat, but doesn't charge Golden Tate with any drops this year. And anyone watching last week would think he has at least two. Tate would tell you that too. Those balls along the sideline were difficult, but he got two mitts on both of them, and he has to haul them in.
Ebron, conversely, doesn't have any drops no matter who you consult. He's snagging everything right now, even when he only gets one hand on the ball. Seriously, I still don't know how he caught that last ball against Tennessee. If the Lions would have won that game, we'd be talking about that as one of the great plays of the season.
To your point about Tate, though, you're right. Something's off. He's normally among the surest-handed receivers in the league -- he was literally No. 1 in drop rate when he signed here -- but struggled throughout the offseason and is putting balls on the ground two games in. He hasn't been his usual productive self, either. He has nine catches, which is second on the team, but just 54 yards, which is sixth. His 6.0 yards per catch ranks 143rd in the league.
The Lions are getting him the ball on a lot of short passes and trying to give him clearouts to make the YAC happen, but it's just not working out right now. It'll be interesting to see how Detroit adjusts, because for this offense to hum, he needs to be more involved.
Q: What's the overall mood in the locker room right now? As the drops, coverage errors , penalties, missed opportunities, and injuries mount, do the Lions seem like a cohesive team? -- Graying Lion
A: I'll start by saying this team still seems close-knit to me. I think players believe they have a lot of talent in that room, and if they can figure out how to curb the self-inflicted idiocy, they'll win games. Look around the NFC North. Chicago and Minnesota have as many issues as Detroit, if not more, and up in Green Bay, Aaron Rodgers has not looked like, you know, Aaron Rodgers. Players have a way of taking the long view on things, and that's what they're doing here. So no, I don't sense any fracturing whatsoever at this point.
But having said that, players do understand they are not playing well. The mood and activity in the locker room has become noticeably more dour this week. Some guys will play cards or what-have-you, but I haven't seen anyone chilling out playing table tennis or corn hole or whatever else they typically do when the vibes are good. I haven't seen as many players in general, period.
You would expect that kind of shift in mood when things aren't going right. The key is for them to make it constructive. And while it's premature whether to say they've been able to do that, I don't get the sense that it's been destructive.
Q: Belichick is good at exploiting different aspects of a player's abilities. Chance of Killebrew playing LB? -- Michael Garrett
A: Keep in mind, Jim Caldwell, not Bob Quinn, is in charge of schemes and game-day strategies. But, sure, it's possible. Caldwell was asked on Friday about this very idea, and he correctly noted that when the Lions have five defensive backs on the field, one of them is a de facto linebacker anway. So that's a role Killebrew, a fourth-round pick, could play.
But I wouldn't expect him to play the position much more than that unless the situation becomes truly dire. Detroit views him as a safety, not a linebacker.
Q: A
re you scared to ask jim caldwell injury questions now ? -- Charles
A: No. It's my job to ask, and his job to say whatever he wants, or nothing at all. That's the game. (But that doesn't mean I have to like it, either.)
http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2016/09/ask_kyle_dwayne_washington_lio.html#incart_river_index
Playing not to lose makes you a loser.
Divisional games are no joke. Throw out the records and perception. Just ask Arizona & Seattle about the inferior St.Louis/LA Rams the last 2 years.
