Injury report: Lions healthy and ready to roll

The Lions head into their first playoff game in 12 years, Saturday against the Saints, the healthiest they’ve been in more than a month.

Friday’s injury report list’s only safety Chris Harris (back) as doubtful for Saturday night’s game in New Orleans.

Safety Louis Delmas, who hasn’t played since Thanksgiving with a right knee injury, is listed as probable. Delmas practiced all week for the first time since hurting the knee six weeks ago.

Also probable for the Lions are: defensive end Cliff Arvil (back), corner Aaron Berry (shoulder), defensive tackle Nick Fairley (foot), corner Chris Houston (knee/hand), receiver Calvin Johnson (Achilles), corner Alphonso Smith (foot), running back Kevin Smith (ankle/knee) defensive tackle Corey Williams (hip) and defensive end Willie Young (ankle).

The Lions should have all 11 starters on defense for the game.

That includes Williams, who missed last week’s game in Green Bay, and Berry, who hasn’t played since Dec. 11 against the Vikings.

It’s a good time for the Lions to be healthy.

Rodgers, Woodson, Matthews and Jennings all down for Packers

After much debate whether the Packers would rest their starters against Detroit today, the inactives officially show that they will.

Not playing for Green Bay are quarterback Aaron Rodgers, cornerback Charles Woodson, linebacker Clay Matthews and wide receiver Greg Jennings. Jennings had already been ruled out on the injury report earlier this week.

Also inactive for the Packers are wide receiver Randall Cobb, running back James Starks and tackle Bryan Bulaga.

Starting in place of Rodgers will be quarterback Matt Flynn; wide receiver Jordy Nelson will start in place of Jennings; tackle Marshall Newhouse will start for Bulaga; linebacker Brad Jones will start for Matthews, linebacker Frank Zombo will start for Erik Walden, who is active, and cornerback Sam Shields wills tart for Woodson.

Notable inactives for Detroit include defensive tackle Corey Williams, who has been playing through a hip injury, and safety Louis Delmas, who hasn’t played since suffering a knee injury against the Packers on Thanksgiving.

Defensive tackle Sammie Hill will start for Williams while safety Chris Harris will start for Delmas.

Other Lions inactives include quarterback Drew Stanton, cornerback Aaron Berry, running back Joique Bell, safety Ricardo Silva and guard Leonard Davis.

Houston not worried about cast; Johnson sits with Achilles injury

Right at the end of the portion of Lions practice open the media, corner Chris Houston walked onto the practice field in shorts and his No. 23 jersey sporting a hard cast on his left hand to protect an injured pinkie finger.

But there’s no need to worry, according to Houston. He says he’s fine.

“They’ll probably take this off (soon),” he said as he lifted it up and wiggled his fingers. “I’m able to move it.”

Houston said he hurt the pinkie when he fell on it wrong after returning an interception 43-yards in the fourth quarter against the Chargers on Saturday.

Houston even had a good laugh about it when a media member told him he must not have many friends because he had no signatures on his cast.

“I just got it this morning,” he laughed. “I’m sure it’ll be signed in a minute.”

Houston is still trying to move on from a sprained knee he suffered against the Packers on Thanksgiving that forced him to miss two games and remove himself from another.

“It wasn’t all the way back and it still isn’t 100 percent yet, but it will be,” Houston said Wednesday of the knee.

Houston did not practice Wednesday.

Neither did safety Louis Delmas, who’s been dealing with a sprained right knee for more than a month now. Delmas hasn’t played since hurting the knee against the Packers on Thanksgiving and likely won’t play against the Packers on Sunday.

Delmas had arthroscopic surgery on the knee Dec. 17.

Also missing practice was receiver Calvin Johnson, who was listed on the injury report with an Achilles injury.

“I had some things bothering me at the end of the game there, but like I said I’m just trying to be a fresh as possible going into the game,” Johnson said Wednesday. “I don’t feel too bad. I can’t complain too much.”

Defensive tackle Corey Williams (hip) and defensive end Willie Young (ankle) also missed practice.

Corner Aaron Berry, who’s recovering from a separated right shoulder suffered against the Vikings Dec. 11, looked much better in the early portion of practice than he did last week but is still listed as limited on the injury report.

Defensive end Cliff Avril (back) and defensive tackle Nick Fairley (foot) were also listed as limited.

New running back Joique Bell (No. 35) participated in practice.

Lions without four starters at practice Wednesday

The Lions were without four starters at practice Wednesday as they continued on-field preparations for Saturday’s Christmas Eve game against the Chargers at Ford Field.

Safety Louis Delmas, defensive tackle Corey Williams, right tackle Gosder Cherilus and defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch did not participate in the portion of practice open to the media.

Vanden Bosch is typically given a day of rest on Wednesday.

The official injury report will be released at 4 p.m.

Also not practicing for the Lions Wednesday were: defensive tackle Nick Fairley, safety Chris Harris and corner Don Carey.

Fairley practiced Tuesday. He said two weeks ago, though, that rest could be part of his weekly regiment going forward as he continues to deal with a foot injury.

Both Harris and Carey did not practice Tuesday.

Long snapper Don Muhlbach was back practicing Wednesday after missing Tuesday.

Corner Aaron Berry (shoulder), corner Chris Houston (knee) and defensive end Lawrence Jackson (thigh bruise) continue to practice this week.

Still no Louis Delmas at Lions practice

Lions coach Jim Schwartz said Monday that all of his 53 players would be “in the mix to play this week” when the Chargers come to Ford Field on Saturday.

That means none of the injuries the Lions are dealing with are long-term.

However, there were still a number of players missing from Tuesday’s first practice of the week.

Safety Louis Delmas, who had arthroscopic knee surgery on Saturday, did not practice.

Delmas didn’t travel to Oakland and hasn’t played since hurting the knee against the Packers on Thanksgiving.

Also not participating in the portion of practice open to the media were: defensive tackle Corey Williams, safety Chris Harris, corner Don Carey and long snapper Don Muhlbach.

Corner Aaron Berry practiced for the first time since separating his right shoulder against the Vikings Dec. 11 and to part in individual drills.

Berry still looks to be favoring that right shoulder some, though.

Corner Chris Houston, who started against Oakland Sunday but was replaced by Alphonso Smith, was participating in practice.

Defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch got his usual day of rest to begin the workweek.

Fellow defensive end Lawrence Jackson took part in his second practice since suffering a thigh bruise against the Bears back in November.

Running back Kevin Smith (high ankle sprain) practiced and looked fine.

There will be no official injury report released by the team today.

Smith will start; Wright, Durant and Fairley all active for Lions

The Lions are the healthiest they’ve been in weeks and will have almost their full compliment of defensive starters.

Corner Eric Wright, linebacker Justin Durant, defensive tackle Nick Fairley will all play. All were questionable on Friday.

Running back Kevin Smith will also play and start.

Durant, Fairley and Smith missed last week’s game.

Inactive for the Lions are quarterback Drew Stanton, safety Louis Delmas, corner Aaron Berry, running back Aaron Brown, defensive end Keyunta Dawson, guard Leonard Davis and defensive end Lawrence Jackson.

Lions get a host of players back to practice

The Lions got a large contingent of players back on the field Friday in the team’s final practice before leaving for Oakland Friday night.

Corner Eric Wright (hamstring), defensive end Lawrence Jackson (thigh bruise) and linebacker Justin Durant (hamstring) all practiced on Friday after sitting out Wednesday and Thursday.

Friday was the first time Jackson has practiced in nearly a month. He’s missed the team’s last four games with that bruise.

Safety Louis Delmas (knee) was back at practice in limited fashion. He had a helmet but was not participating in individual drills in the portion of practice open to the media.

Defensive tackle Nick Fairley (foot) and defensive end Willie Young (ankle) ran off to the side with trainers instead of participating in practice.

Running back Kevin Smith practiced and it continues to look like he’ll play Sunday.

The only player not doing anything at practice was corner Aaron Berry (shoulder).

The official injury report will player’s status for Sunday will be released at 4 p.m. on detroitlions.com.

Kevin Smith looking better for Sunday

Lions running back Kevin Smith looks like he’s on pace to play in Oakland on Sunday.

Smith ran with the first-team offense during skeleton drills at practice Thursday and participated in individual drills during the portion of practice open to the media.

Smith has been dealing with a high ankle sprain since Thanksgiving and didn’t practice Wednesday. He worked out off to the side on Wednesday.

Rookie defensive tackle Nick Fairley was absent from practice after being limited Wednesday. Fairley missed last week’s game against the Vikings because of a foot injury.

Fairley said after practice Wednesday that resting the foot was going to be the best medicine going forward, though.

“We’re going to go day-by-day and how I come in in the morning and how it feels after treatment (will) depend on how many reps and snaps I take in practice,” he said.

The Lions were also without safety Louis Delmas (knee), corner Eric Wright (hamstring), linebacker Justin Durant (hamstring), corner Aaron Berry (shoulder) and defensive end Lawrence Jackson (thing bruise).

Corner Chris Houston was practicing for a second consecutive day.

Lions secondary gets even thinner

Lions corner Aaron Berry left Sunday’s game against the Vikings with a right shoulder injury.

After making a tackle in the first half, Berry immediately clutched his right arm to his chest and waived for the training staff to come and assist him.

Berry was escorted off the field by trainers and threw his helmet to the ground in disgust when he got there. He was immediately taken to the locker room.

Berry missed all of his rookie season last year when he injured his shoulder in Week 1 against the Bears. He had surgery soon after.

The Lions are already without corner Chris Houston (knee) and safety Louis Delmas (knee).

Four downs with Tim Twentyman

First down

One of the reasons Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is so difficult to defend is because he’s perfected the back-shoulder throw with his receivers.

Rodgers completed several throws Thursday with Lions corners draped all over his receivers. The back-shoulder throw made those catches possible.

“It’s just a read,” said Lions corner Aaron Berry. “If he sees that you’re on top of the route he’s going to release it so quick and he puts it on the money. It’s a tough play but you have to make it. You win some, you lose some.”

Second down

Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford had a few throws Thursday he wishes he had back. Stafford threw three interceptions against the Packers Thursday.

Over the last three weeks, Stafford has thrown nine total.

“The first one, D-lineman didn’t rush, tipped the ball. Clay Matthews made a great play. You know, the second one, they made another great play. I was trying to go to (Brandon) Pettigrew over the middle and the guy jumped way up and made a great (one-handed) pick. On the last one, guy just took it, you know. I thought it was, you know, a good play, he just made a better one.

Stafford finished 32-of-45 passing for 276 yards with a touchdown and those three interceptions. His quarterback rating was 66.5.

More than the interceptions, though, it was a few missed passes early on that halted a couple good drives.

With three added to their total Thursday, the Packers now have 22 interceptions for the Packers, which leads the league.

Third down

The boo birds were out at Ford Field when coach Jim Schwartz decided not be aggressive at the end of the first half and put points on the board.

The Lions got the ball at their own 29-yard line with 30 seconds remaining and one timeout.

Stafford completed two short passes to running back Maurice Morris and time ran out on the half.

“We were trying to get it to midfield so we could take a shot at the endzone and we were just a little slow getting it,” Schwartz said. “There was one second left when we called our timeout, but if it was a little bit quicker, we would have been able to get that shot from half-field. Thirty seconds, one timeout – not a whole lot of time there.

“We were able to make one play in there, try to get up on the ball quick and try to put ourselves in position to try and take a shot. If we had completed a long one, we needed that timeout to be able to get a field goal on the field. We just needed our operation to be a little bit quicker on the other stuff and that was difficult because our receivers were down the field when we were checking it down to the back based on the coverage.

“But, obviously, they knew it was 30 seconds also and they weren’t going to allow us to be aggressive in that situation. It’s one thing for us to want to be aggressive; it’s another thing for the defense to say … they know there’s 30 seconds and we have one timeout.”

Fourth down

Safety Amari Spievey bounced back nicely Thursday after a terrible game against the Panthers in which he was benched for missing tackles and taking bad angles at runners.

Spievey, who started the game, led the Lions with seven tackles (six solo) and played well in the box against Packers runners.