Expect to see more of the Detroit Lions starters in Thursday’s preseason game at Ford Field against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Several of them did not see much action in Friday’s preseason win at Pittsburgh.
Every player is different. It’s not like you will see the whole first team offense go in and out together.
“It’s not a blanket across the board but you will see an increase as we go this next game,” coach Jim Caldwell said. “There will be a little bit of an increase in some cases, that’s not every single guy. Don’t quote me saying ‘Well, you said you were going to play this guy more,’ that’s not the way it is. It just depends on who that individual is, but I think you will see an increase in most cases.”
Usually the starters will see the most snaps in the third preseason game.
Last week a few of the rookies had solid debuts.
Here’s a look at five rookies and what Caldwell thinks of them so far:
1. Safety Miles Killebrew was drafted, in part, because he’s a big hitter. That has not changed. “With him, I’m not certain we have anybody on the squad any more eager to get in pads than Miles and have an opportunity to play in a ballgame where he can actually tackle, because I think sometimes out here what we do, we don’t take anybody to the ground,” Caldwell said. “There may be every once in awhile I see a little twinge of frustration in his eyes. I think he’s got some ability and we’ll see what happens.”
2. Center Graham Glasgow “did alright for a young guy” against the Steelers, Caldwell said. Glasgow is competing with Travis Swanson for the starting role. “Well, I think the big thing that he’s doing right now is he’s competing with himself first to make certain he understands everything that we’re doing, how we get it done. That’s a chore unto itself,” Caldwell said. “Then I think they get to the point where now they’ve got a good grasp of things so they can move along and they can really get in there and fight and compete. Now, he’s doing well and he’s getting better, but we’ll see.”
3. Linebacker Antwione Williams led the team in tackles in the preseason opener. He has taken advantage of more practice reps due to injuries among the linebackers. “I think as you watch him you can see he’s a heavy-handed guy. He learns rapidly,” Caldwell said. “He’s got a systematic approach to learning it appears, because he learns pretty quickly, so we’ll see. With enough experience, and seeing different looks and things that give the guys at that position some problems, we’ll see how he progresses.”
4. Quarterback Jake Rudock played the second half in the first game and may see about the same playing time on Thursday night. “He’s got a long way to go but you can see that he’s coming along. He’s operating a system that’s not very easy, he’s taking chunks of it and pieces of it and putting it together,” Caldwell said. “He’s one of those guys that has a real uncanny ability not to get nervous. He kind of takes it in, can digest the information, and he looks like he’s performing pretty well for a young guy. He’s not functioning like an older guy at the line of scrimmage, but he’s doing well for a young guy.”
5. Quinshad Davis, an undrafted wide receiver out of North Carolina, is 6-3 and has made some standout catches in camp including on Tuesday when he made a catch in the end zone at his shoe laces. “He’s one of those guys that has the body type that you like. He’s a big target, he has a wide catching radius, and he’s also tough. Not only that, he appears to have the ability to contribute on special teams as well. When you add all those things together it’s pretty exciting to see him work and compete and develop. We like what we see,” Caldwell said.
(Thursday’s kickoff is 7:30 p.m. at Ford Field. The game will air on WJBK-FOX 2 and WJR-760 AM.)
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