DETROIT — The preseason doesn’t really matter, and anyone watching the Lions back in 2008 can tell you that.
They won all four of their exhibition games that year, before going on to become the first team to lose all 16 games that actually count. Those “Preseason Champs” shirts are still floating around Detroit, a nice reminder to not overreact to anything that happens tonight when the club opens its exhibition slate by hosting the Buffalo Bills at Ford Field.
That said, there’s no doubt this game does matter to players who are trying to win spots at the end of the roster. And with so many new pieces trying to fit into a new system for a new regime, there are even some starters who have important work to do between the white lines tonight.
“It weighs a lot,” head coach Dan Campbell said this week. “Sometimes I think of it like, how much are the tests weighted versus the quizzes or the everyday homework? Certainly the people that put out the work day in, day out, you know who they are. You can’t lose track of that. But yet, even those guys, if you do that every day, but then all of a sudden, every time the lights come on (you fade), those are red flags. You can’t ignore those, you just can’t.
“I don’t think you can’t ignore that. I think where there’s smoke, there’s fire. I just think those things show. They have to be taken into account, because that’s what Sunday is. It’s about the lights and the pressure and everything that comes with it and the guys that rise up.”
The lights will finally go on for the first time tonight, and the pressure will be turned up. Here are nine players worth watching to see how they handle it.
QB Jared Goff: He’ll play only about a quarter, and the offensive scheme will be vanilla at best when he is out there, so set your expectations accordingly. There’s not much we’ll learn one way or the other about how the former No. 1 overall pick is acclimating to Detroit. Still, there is always anticipation to see a new quarterback in the preseason, and that’s especially true for the Lions, who are changing quarterbacks for the first time in more than a decade. Goff has relied heavily on checkdowns and other passes into the short and intermediate fields in camp, and he’s making no apologies for it either, saying “checkdowns are my friend.” Expect to see more of the same in the preseason too, as the Lions try to keep him out of harm’s way. Which is the only thing that truly matters when evaluating the quarterback play tonight. If the offense gets a good rhythm going — as they did in the intrasquad scrimmage — all the better.
RT Penei Sewell: In an offseason where the Lions gave one-year contracts to every free agent they signed except running back Jamaal Williams, the seventh overall pick stands out as the marquee acquisition around which they’re building for the long term. It’s easy to see why they chose him too. Sewell has remarkable footwork, athleticism and balance for a man his size. The tools are there for him to become a great offensive tackle. Considering the Lions already have another really good offensive tackle (Taylor Decker) and one of the best centers in the league (Frank Ragnow), the offensive line has a chance to become one of the league’s best if Sewell is as good as people think. But he’s also learning a new position — he’s moved from left to right tackle in Detroit — and still hasn’t played a live rep in almost two years after opting out of his final season at Oregon. This will be a big night for him, even if he does play only a couple series, as he knocks off the rust and grows into a new position before the bullets really start flying next month.
CB Jeff Okudah: Speaking of top draft picks, the Jeff Okudah Redemption Tour will hit another gear when the former No. 3 overall pick lines up against Cole Beasley, Stefon Diggs or whoever else Buffalo lines up at Ford Field tonight. Okudah’s struggles last year are well-documented, but he’s looked like a different guy under the new regime. He’s playing with more confidence, and playing well. Another good showing tonight — against receivers not wearing Honolulu blue — would be yet another step in the right direction for a player who seems to be trending up in a serious way.
DT Alim McNeill: Perhaps no one has been a bigger surprise in camp than McNeill, a 320-pounder they’re already calling “Twinkle Toes” and “The Dancing Bear” because of his rare athleticism at that size. The Lions think they might have mined a gem on the second day of the draft. “He’s better than I thought when we drafted him, to be honest,” defensive line coach Todd Wash said this week. “I think we would all say that. We knew he was a heck of a run defender. He’s stout at the point. But he’s a lot better athlete than he showed on tape, which for us was unbelievable.” McNeill has worked with the first-team defense throughout camp, and should get a nice burn tonight as the Lions get him ready for the opener against San Francisco. Because he looks like a guy Detroit is going to lean on a lot this season.
WR Amon-Ra. St. Brown: Another rookie who probably will play a lot right out of the gate. He was taken 112th overall in the draft, but has earned the bulk of the first-team snaps in the slot. St. Brown has been targeted frequently by Jared Goff too, including for one touchdown in the intrasquad scrimmage, as well as a big fourth-down catch. Few players work harder than St. Brown, who is often among the last players to leave the field, and it shows in his uncommon polish and understanding of the game for a rookie. But the jump from college to the NFL is no joke, and that’s especially true in the slot, where the game comes at you faster and is a little more complex with no boundary to work with. Expect the Lions to give St. Brown plenty of opportunities in the preseason to acclimate. And if Tyrell Williams and Breshad Perriman don’t play against Buffalo — both have been nicked up in the last week — St. Brown could receive a bunch of those opportunities tonight.
PK Randy Bullock: He opened camp as the projected starter to replace Matt Prater, and remains so despite the recent signing of Zane Gonzalez. But the addition of Gonzalez is a sign of where things are at too, and they’re not great. Bullock has been OK on the gimmes, but has struggled from beyond 40 yards in the last week, something the Lions haven’t had to deal with since signing Prater after a disastrous start to the 2014 season.
OL Logan Stenberg: Jonah Jackson played so well as a rookie guard last year that it’s easy to forget about the other guard taken by Detroit just one round later. Of course, that’s also due to the fact Stenberg never played a single offensive snap last year. So this will be our first opportunity to see Stenberg take a live rep in nearly a calendar year, and it’s an important step for the young offensive lineman as he tries to prove to the new staff he’s worth one of those backup spots on the interior. The competition there has been meager at best, but Stenberg did get in some nice work in the last week, including tossing Trey Flowers off his feet during an impressive rep during one-on-one pass-rushing drills.
QB David Blough: Goff is expected to start against the Bills, but someone is going to have to throw some passes when he leaves the game after about one quarter. We’re going to see a lot of Blough and Tim Boyle tonight, and it will be an important evaluation point for the staff as they sort out who they want to carry as the backup quarterback. Boyle was signed away from Green Bay and was considered the leader for the position at the outset of camp, but Blough has kept apace, and actually played better on many days. He’s also the only quarterback on the roster who has actually played in a game for the Lions.
LB Anthony Pittman: The former Wayne State linebacker has played his way onto the roster bubble in camp. Jamie Collins and Alex Anzalone are the starters at inside linebacker, and fourth-round pick Derrick Barnes will make the team too, but there’s still an opportunity for another job or two at that position and Pittman has played his way into the mix alongside Jalen Reeves-Maybin and Shaun Dion Hamilton. It’s unclear whether Reeves-Maybin will play against Buffalo after returning to practice just this week due to COVID. Special teams will be instrumental in determining those final spots.
