Injury Report & Implications: CHI @ DET
INJURY REPORT AND IMPLICATIONS
Chicago Bears (6-9) at Detroit Lions (2-13)
By
Michael Nudo
Drew Stanton’s status as starter for Sunday is in question (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez).
BEARS OFFENSE vs. LIONS DEFENSE
It was surprising that Devin Hester (calf) wasn’t able to go on Monday night. They’ll need him against the Lions and quite possibly to return kickoffs. Johnny Knox suffered a badly sprained ankle that will keep him out. The injury looked a lot worse than it actually was. He should be fine in time. Devin Aromashodu has stepped up while Hester has been down and really looks like a keeper. He has 17 catches for 236 yards and 2 touchdowns in the last 3 games.
The Lions’ defense is littered with injuries. The two most severe are to two of their best players. Safety Louis Delmas has a knee injury and linebacker Larry Foote has a foot injury (no puns, please). Delmas and Foote lead the Lions in tackles. Cornerback Phil Buchanon (shoulder) has been limited in practice this week.
The Lions are in last place in just about every defensive category. They’ll face a Bears offense that finally flexed its muscles last week against Minnesota. Which Bears’ offense will show up? The Bears have had their struggles on the road this year, so it will be interesting to see if they can keep their positive momentum going on the road against a division rival.
LIONS OFFENSE vs. BEARS DEFENSE
Drew Stanton (knee) stepped in at quarterback after rookie Matthew Stafford suffered a knee injury. Stanton threw 6 interceptions without a touchdown. Daunte Culpepper is expected to get the snaps this week. He has only been a little better with 1 touchdown and 5 interceptions. The Lions have been relatively healthy on offense apart from quarterback. However, that’s the one position most teams cannot afford to lose.
Mark Anderson and Israel Idonije made impact plays last week in Adewale Ogunleye’s absence. Ogunleye is done for the year. Idonije got dinged up (foot) and he’ll miss the final game as well. Gaines Adams and Jarron Gilbert have yet to take advantage of increased playing time. At cornerback, Corey Graham is expected to start for Charles Tillman, who suffered a rib injury when safety Craig Steltz’s helmet smashed into him on a tackle. Tillman and Idonije were put on Injured Reserve this week. Safety and kickoff return specialist Danieal Manning left Sunday’s game with a calf injury. Safeties Craig Steltz and Josh Bullocks started last week for Al Afalava (knee) and Kevin Payne (ankle). Payne is showing improvement, but Steltz (foot) is a concern. Hopefully Payne is ready if Steltz cannot go.
It doesn’t seem likely that the Lions will be able to present many problems for the Bears’ defense. However, there hasn’t been any level of consistent play from any unit on the squad. Detroit should be able to look at what worked for the Packers, Bengals and Cardinals and see how well they can emulate their attacks. The Bears will need to get big step up games from their substitutes in the secondary and at defensive end.