Building depth on defense a point of emphasis for Schwartz

Injuries are a part of life in the NFL.

Teams who are able to overcome them with good depth on the roster are usually the ones left standing in the end.

The Lions were hit hard by injuries on defense and it certainly affected them toward the end of the season.

Heading into the Thanksgiving game against the Packers in Week 11, the Lions ranked 9th in total defense, 27^th against the run and 5th against the pass.

They lost safety Louis Delmas and corner Chris Houston to knee injures against the Packers and suffered other nicks and bruises over the course of the next few weeks. Delmas didn’t return until the playoffs and Houston was never 100 percent.

The injuries hit the Lions hard.

They ended the season 23^rd in total defense, 23^rd against the run and 22^nd against the pass.

“We didn’t adjust well to dealing with those injuries,” Lions head coach Jim Schwartz said Monday. “How much of it was due to losing Delmas and Chris Houston and Willie (Young) and Lawrence Jackson and those guys? We lost a lot of depth on our D-line; we lost a couple key players in our secondary.

“I think you look at the injury situation: our offense, other than the running back position, was relatively healthy over the course of the season. Defensively, I don’t think we could say the same. It’s the same defense, I think, after about week 8, 9, 10, whatever it was, (that) was top-10-type defense. Obviously we didn’t finish that well.”

That’s an understatement.

The Lions allowed a combined 90 points and 1,176 yards of offense in losses to the Packers and Saints to end the season.

Just as important on the Lions’ offseason to-do list as re-signing defensive end Cliff Avril and linebacker Stephen Tulloch is continuing to build depth on defense.

Injuries are a part of life in the NFL and the Lions need to put themselves in a better position to deal with them.

“We certainly still have work to do there,” Schwartz admitted.

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.

Lawrence Jackson back on the field after a “rough” month

Defensive end Lawrence Jackson isn’t likely to play in Oakland on Sunday.

Baby steps.

Jackson is just excited to be back on the practice field after missing the last month with a thigh bruise.

“It’s been hell the last couple weeks,” Jackson said after practicing for the first time since early November on Friday. “Just sitting out and trying to figure out the length of time and things like that.”

Lions defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham was asked Friday if he had to re-introduce himself to No. 94 on the practice field because it’s been so long.

“No. No, he knows me real well,” Cunningham joked. “I have done everything except have him come to my house and sleep there.”

Jackson caught a knee under the right thigh against the Bears Nov. 13 and hasn’t been the same since. Jackson explained that it as a perfect hit right between the knee and thigh pads.

“Some injuries show how they are going to play the course earlier than others and this one took a couple of weeks just to show how it’s going to work out,” he said.

“It was rough. Just not really knowing what was going to happen and the obvious reality of IR (being placed on injured reserve) and stuff like that.”

Jackson said after practice that he felt a lot better than he anticipated he would and was happy to be able to a lot of stuff in practice despite being listed as a limited participant on the official report.

Jackson’s status is listed as doubtful for Sunday, so it’ll probably be one more week until he’s in serious contention to get back on the field on game day.

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.

Delmas and Houston doubtful; Durant, Smith and Fairley questionable

The Lions are beginning a four-game playoff push Sunday against the Vikings and they might have to get through the first leg without some key contributors.

Running back Kevin Smith (high ankle sprain) took part in the early portion of practice open to the media for the first time this week, but looked like he was having a hard time cutting and left the field towards the end of the open media session.

“We’ll see as we go—it’s still Friday,” Lions coach Jim Schwartz said of Smith, who was listed as questionable for Sunday on the teams Friday injury report.

“Last week he was able to do some things in the game, you know, wasn’t able to last the whole game, but he was able to do some things and I think that we’ll just see when we get to Sunday. I know that if he’s available to help us, he will be, but we also need to make sure that he’s helping the team by being out there.”

The Lions will likely be without safety Louis Delmas and corner Chris Houston for a second consecutive game as both are dealing with knee injuries. Both are listed as doubtful for Sunday.

Defensive tackle Nick Fairley missed his third practice this week after aggravating a foot injury against the Saints. He’s officially questionable.

The Lions signed free agent defensive tackle Jovan Haye as an insurance policy for Fairley and he participated in practice Friday.

“You know, we had some depth issues on our defensive line, obviously because of Suh’s suspension and also some injuries that we’ve had and you know, he’ll be ready in case we need him,” Schwartz said.

Also sitting out practice was linebacker Justin Durant with a hamstring injury and defensive end Lawrence Jackson with a deep thigh bruise.

Durant is questionable for Sunday and Jackson is out.

Safety Amari Spievey was back at practice after missing Thursday with an illness.

Guard Rob Sims (shoulder) and defensive end Willie Young (ankle) are probable.

For the Vikings…

Corner Chris Cook (non injury related) is out.

Running back Adrian Peterson (ankle) and quarterback Christian Ponder (hip) are questionable. Both practiced in a limited fashion on Friday.

Defensive starters missing from practice; Delmas and Houston have MCL sprains

Lions safety Louis Delmas and corner Chris Houston missed practice again Thursday with what we now know are  MCL sprains they suffered on Thanksgiving.

Delmas was injured early in the game when his knee got rolled up on by Packers running back James Starks. He limped off the field and never returned.

Houston was injured when teammate Stephen Tulloch inadvertently hit him right on the knee with his helmet assisting on a tackle at the end of the first half.

Neither Delmas or Houston have practiced or played since suffering their injuries.

Typically, an injury like this takes 2-4 weeks to heal, depending on the player. Both players have said they’re rigorously rehabbing to get back on the field.

It’s not unlike the injury suffered by Bears running back Matt Forte last week.

The Lions practiced Thursday without a number of other key contributors on defense.

Rookie defensive tackle Nick Fairley, who was in a protective boot Wednesday, remains out with that foot injury he aggravated against the Saints Sunday.

Fairley said after practice that it was going to be something he’ll have to deal with the remainder of the season until he can get the proper rest. He said it’ll be about managing the pain and getting rest leading up to game day.

Defensive end Lawrence Jackson continues to be sidelined with that deep thigh bruise.

Linebacker Justin Durant didn’t practice Thursday after being limited by a hamstring injury on Wednesday. Coach Jim Schwartz said Durant was day-to-day after practice.

“Well, we’re going to get them all back, it’s just a matter of when,” Schwartz said of all the team’s injuries. “Maybe Lawrence Jackson is a little bit more long term, but we haven’t put any of those guys on the IR and all those guys are expected back.

“They’re all making progress; they’re all doing well, but whether or not they’ll be available this week is still too early to see – it’s Thursday. But, you know, they’re going to be late-in-the-week decisions and possibly Sunday. We do have a little bit more injuries on defense than we do with offense right now, but it’s life in the NFL.”

Safety Amari Spievey was out with an illness.

On the offensive side of the ball, running back Kevin Smith (ankle) missed a second-straight practice. Remember, Smith got his biggest workload in Thursday’s practice last week.

“Last time I hurt it I had 10 days (before a game),” Smith said. “I feel like I have to do something similar to practice to give myself the confidence that I can make certain movements and certain cuts to be able to produce on game day.”

Receiver Titus Young was back working with the first-team offense in the portion of practice open to the media. Rashied Davis was getting most of that work in that spot Wednesday.

Corner Brandon McDonald (thigh), guard Rob Sims (shoulder) and defensive end Willie Young (ankle) were all limited on the official practice report.

Lions still without some key pieces

The Lions practiced Thursday without a number of key contributors on defense.

Safety Louis Delmas and corner Chris Houston remain sidelined with knee injuries. Both missed Sunday’s game in New Orleans after suffering their injuries on Thanksgiving.

Rookie defensive tackle Nick Fairley, who was in a protective boot Wednesday, remains out with that foot injury he aggravated against the Saints Sunday.

Defensive end Lawrence Jackson continues to be sidelined with that deep thigh bruise.

Linebacker Justin Durant didn’t practice Thursday after being limited by a hamstring injury on Wednesday.

On the offensive side of the ball, running back Kevin Smith (ankle) missed a second-straight practice. Remember, Smith got his biggest workload in Thursday’s practice last week.

Receiver Titus Young was back working with the first-team offense in the portion of practice open to the media. Rashied Davis was getting most of that work in that spot Wednesday.

Young was benched for the second half of the Saints game game after being flagged for unnecessary roughness after the whistle early in the third quarter.