Welcome to Mickey's Musings, my weekly notebook where we skip the linear narrative and dive straight into three completely unrelated, but entirely fascinating storylines that are bouncing around in my head. This is Week 5 of the season and I’ve yet to make any running references in this column. I’m sure people that know me would think that is shocking. Running is my “drug of choice” and in addition to the physical benefits, I utilize it for sanity and my mental well being. Often, during discussions at work, I will preface things with statements such as, “I thought of this while I was running this morning.” Whenever I put together a presentation for work or when I was involved as a volunteer with the youth group at my church and wanted to share with the kids – it would come together when putting in my early morning miles. A few years ago, the eulogy I gave at my mom’s funeral was composed as I pounded the streets of Traverse City. That all being said, this past Sunday was one of my favorite races – the Chicago Marathon. I’ve run the race five times. This summer I was coming off a surgery, so I didn’t participate, but I am already signed up for 2027. The reason I love Chicago is the energy. It is a 26.2 mile party with spectators 3 or 4 deep across the entire course. Most races, even the big city ones, have areas that are kind of dead cheering wise, but not Chicago. When things get tough during a marathon it is the crowd energy that can carry you through rough patches. As such, Chicago has some of the best signs made by spectators. For inspiration, and for the distraction, during marathons I always read as many signs as I can. Two that stood out to me from my last Chicago Marathon in 2024: “Keep pushing, I brought the eye candy (And by eye candy, Eye mean eye will be eating a Hershey’s Bar at Mile 21)” and another that said “You didn’t train to be eye candy. You trained to kick some a$$ in a marathon!” Chicago Marathon I was reminded of those signs as I listened to Dan Campbell last week. He was discussing the Cardinal’s offense, specifically their running game, and he said, “They’re going to give you eye candy. They’re going to do movement. They’re trying to make you to move just a little bit, to where you get off.” Well, the Lions didn’t fall for that “eye candy.” The Cardinal’s new running back, number three overall pick Jeremiyah Love, picked up 22 yards on 12 carries. The eye candy may as well been a bag of nasty Candy Corn that nobody wanted. The Golden Girls is topic number two. It is one of those shows that often is on at my house when we are just looking for mindless TV, or background noise. The other night was an episode from Season 7 where Dorothy was lamenting to Sophia, her mother, about a legal situation with her ex-husband Stan. Sophia dispelled her Sicilian wisdom with this exchange: The Golden Girls Season 7 Sophia: “See what I have on my feet?” Dorothy: “Your regular old shoes.” Sophia: “And do you know why? Because old lady shoes are me. Like it or not, they’re a part of my life. It’s like it is with you and Stan. Do you understand what I’m saying?” Dorothy then replies, “You’re saying that in some ways, Stan belongs in my life.” What did the Lions do against the Cardinals after the first three drives resulted in three punts? They got down to basics, just like those old lady shoes. Gibbs off tackle and after a big play and a penalty got them in the red zone it was Gibbs off the right side for 16 and then two consecutive runs to pound it in. After that the next few drives featured Jahmyr doing his thing and a heavy dose of Amon-Ra St Brown. I’m not comparing those two to a pair of old-lady shoes. But, when they’re part of our offense’s life, things are much better. Our last topic this week is Samuel Clemens, aka Mark Twain – the legendary author, humorist and lecturer. In 1897 the 62 year old Twain was living in London. His cousin, James Ross Clemens, had been ill and on June 1, 1897 the New York Herald ran a dramatic story claiming that Twain was in London, "grievously ill and possibly dying," with a shattered intellect and in dire financial poverty. Other papers quickly picked up the rumor, and some even went so far as to draft or print his obituary. The next day a reporter from the New York Journal tracked down Twain to verify the gossip. He delivered a quote many of us have heard some variation of, “The report of my death was an exaggeration.” Mark Twain Quote Man, isn’t that true about our Lions?!? Prior to the season, I’m sure many of us would have predicted this game to be a 45-21 Detroit victory. But, after watching Tyler Shough, Bryce Young and Geno Smith slice and dice our secondary like they were working the grill at Benihana’s would any of us have been surprised to see Jacoby Brissette follow suit? Sure, it was only one week. Sure, it was the Arizona Friggin’ Cardinals. But, with a bye week coming up, we have at least two full weeks where we know that the death of the 2026 season was an exaggeration. Go Lions.

Welcome to The Grey Manes Monday Morning Rundown, a collection of news and notes from the prior week that impact the Lions, the NFL or whatever else catches my eye. Peneri Sewell celebrated his 26th Birthday on Oct 9th Lions Players, Coaches and Team Happy 26th Birthday to the best OL in the NFL! Amon-Ra St Brown passed Johnie Morton for third all-time in Lions Receiving Yards at Carolina Jake Bates passed Jim Martin for 5th most FGs in team history, and his 9 FGs of 54+ yards rank second in team history (Matt Prater) Jahmyr Gibbs picked up an endorsement deal with Abercrombie & Fitch The Lions are introducing a new Fan Membership platform for fans worldwide to join called One Pride Worldwide The Lions added an International Pathway Player to their practice squad in former Commander DL Jeffrey M’ba. This allows them to have 17 guys instead of 16. The Lions hit a slew of new personal bests, NFL records and team Records during the win over the Arizona Cardinals. Rumors, Nuggets and Speculation Two NFL Officials were suspended for altercations with NFL players during Week 4 NFL officiating is now under the microscope, and the results this year are not pretty at the most critical times of games. TV Teddy would be proud... NFL and NFLPA worked to clarify sportsmanship issues that result in a penalty for celebrations and make clear exactly what would and would not be legal moving forward Things I think are Noteworthy Five Red Wings games (if you can take it) will actually be on Free OTA stations this season Cade Cunningham will get a new "Leatherface" sneaker from Nike dropping on Oct 23rd for $145 The first Bojangles with a full bar and live band just opened on the Las vegas Strip Stadium Eats...a two pound "Fall Classic Burger" courtesy of the Chicago White Sox Fall Classic Burger

The final Week five practice report and game designations are out, and the Cardinals got relatively healthy (despite injuries at OL and S) at the end of the week, although the two guys that popped up yesterday are questionable. The Lions trended as expected, but Tyleik Williams is Questionable, which would be a big blow for the run defense if he can't go. Week 5 Final Practice report Cardinals Friday: Looks like the Cardinals got healthy real quick, with only Wingardand Adams ruled out, but noth guys that popped up yesterday are questionable with leg injuries. Everyone else is good to go. Thursday: The Cardinals saw all three rest guys return to practice but also saw starting DL Walter Nolen and backup LB Karson Sharar pop up as limited with leg injuries. The rest kept their same designation, and the NP guys will likely be out while the LP guys are all likely in. Wednesday: The Cardinals had a bunch of starters that were resting on Wednesday, so they will likely be godo to go this weekend. Actual injuries are to starters S Andrew Wingard, OL Isiah Adams who were both No Practice, and Stating RB Jeremiah Love and backup Safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson who were both Limited. Lions Friday: The Lions final practice trended as expected, with Bartch and Ya-Sin out after NP all week, and neither Mays nor Branch ready to go quite yet. Wonnum was a FP and godo to go, but Tyliek Williams is Questionable despite tow LPs to end the Week. Thursday: The Lions Saw Tyliek Williams move form NP to LP, otherwise every other player kept the same designation. Of note, it was stated that Brian Branch looks ready to roll right now, but likely will be prudent to keep him out fo game action until after the Bye Week.0 Wednesday: Rock Ya-Sin, Tyliek Williams and Ben Barcth were all No Practice today, while both Cade Mays and Brian Branch were on the field with their 21-day window started.

Week 4 was supposed to be the Lions coming out party, taking advantage of a badly beat up Panthers team that was hurting across the board. What it ended up being was a game exposing more flaws in the Defense and where the Offense wasn't able to come to the rescue, despite having the ball with two minutes lefty and a chance to win. This week the Lions get a similarly beat-up Cardinals team down several OL and Safety room, but the difference is that they are not a good team in any area, unlike Buffalo and Carolina. The Cards and Jacoby Brissett will be hard pressed to take advantage of the Lions defensive flaws as they simply do not have the players or explosiveness that Carolina did. The Lions will be healthy again and will be pissed off and looking to take it out on the Cards. Also keep in mind that JKelvin Sheppard may well be playing for his job, as another absolute embarrassing collapse could lead to a change in DC over the two-week window with the Lions Bye Week in Week 6. The one wildcard will be the officiating crew, as they directly contributed to the Lions loss by blowing three key calls against the Panthers that led to 17 points, well above the margin of victory. This crew is one of the top 3 flag happy units on the field. Where it gets dicey is how the NFL Officials as a whole react to being under the microscope this last week with the NFL suspending two of their brethren for on-field actions toward players, the NFL and NFLPA coming to a joint decision on what celebrations are considered unsportsmanlike and the fact the NFL Media is calling out the vast amount of flags being thrown impacting scoring plays. So, either the officials let them play, or they decide to express their reaction to everything via calling games super tight and by the book. It could be a long day in Glendale and all across the league this weekend. Lions at Cardinals Tale of the Tape The entire staff is licking their wounds after last weeks embarrasing loss, but at least Chris has maintained his slim lead (via tie-breaker) through Week 4. He is 3-1, with Dan Mickey and Brent hot on his heels. Mike at 2-2 is right there, just needs to go against the grain to catch up, which I am guessing will happen when the Packers vist Ford Field in Week 7 when some of us will go against the majority. The Grey Manes Lions Prediction - Week 5 In the meantime, all of us are being gluttons for punishment, believing that the Lions will head to the desert and come away with a high-scoring win against the Cardinals. None of us picked the Lions to score less that 31 pt, and only a couple thinks the defense can slow down Jacoby Brissett. Mickey Stop me if you’ve heard this story before. The Lions are traveling to face a team featuring: A) An offensive line that is beat up badly…B) A defense that is operating like a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit charity and…C) A quarterback that is generally ranked among the lower half of the starting QB’s in the league. The Cards have given up 103 points over the last three weeks and the Lions have given up 97 over that same timespan. If nothing else this sounds like another week to hammer the “over.” (Started at 52.5 and currently is 54.5) The Cards kept pace with the G-men last week until late when Jacoby Brissette tossed two fourth quarter picks – after OT Paris Johnson went out - including a pick 6 in the last minute when they were in the red zone with a chance to win the game. It should be a big Detroit win, but I just don’t trust this defense at all. Lions 31, Cardinals 27 Dan On paper, this should be a mismatch, as the Lions Offense is significantly superior to the Cardinals despite both of the defenses being pretty bad. I feel like the Lions defense, and in particular Dan Campbell and Kelvin Shepard have something to prove, and the defense will bounce back with their best effort of the year while the offense gets back on track with explosive plays. The Cardinals OL is hurting with three starters out or injured, while their Safety room could be down 2 of the top 3 guys. The Lions will have to make sure that they don't allow a fifth straight MVP champ for an opposing QB, although Jacoby Brissett is the worst performing QB the Lions have faced to date and based on his stats, a complete checkdown merchant being dead last in Yards Per Attempt and Yards Per Catch. Regardless, I think this is a game the Lions get "healthy" on both offense and defense and win by at least two TDs. Lions 38, Cardinals 20 Brent The Lions are in an early season swoon with their defense ranking 32 out of 32 teams. The offense still seems out of sync despite being one of the highest scoring in the NFL. This week, the offense must get going early and often to ensure a win in the desert. Lions 31, Cardinals 21 Mike The Lions are coming off a bitter defeat and are travelling West to Phoenix. The Defense is in shambles, and it doesn’t look like there is an easy fix. The Offense will have to carry the load, but they have had trouble getting going early in games despite having a Top 5 Offense. The Cardinals are injured along the Oline and in the defensive backfield (sound familiar?) but this will be another shoot out (this is going to be the norm for the Lions this year). Lions 31, Cardinals 28 Chris A must-win game in Week 5? Yes, really. If the plane lands at DTW without a W from Glendale, the SOL pitchfork crowd will be waiting on the tarmac. I don't think Kelvin Sheppard fixes this defense in a week. I do think he cleans up the scheme busts that have been hard to miss. That should be enough for a win, not a stop sign. Fantasy folks, start every Cardinal you own. Another shootout is coming, and the Lions get the last big play. Lions 34, Cardinals 29

The second practice of the week brought stability to the Lions injury picture, but also a bit of encouragement as one starter moved from NP to LP. The Cardinals saw all their rest guy back, but also saw a starting DL and backup LB pop up with leg injuries as LP today. If the trends continue to hold, the LP guys will all likely be in and NP guys will all likely be out. Week 5 Thursday Practice report Cardinals Thursday: The Cardinals saw all three rest guys return to practice but also saw starting DL Walter Nolen and backup LB Karson Sharar pop up as limited with leg injuries. The rest kept their same designation, and the NP guys will likely be out while the LP guys are all likely in. Wednesday: The Cardinals had a bunch of starters that were resting on Wednesday, so they will likely be godo to go this weekend. Actual injuries are to starters S Andrew Wingard, OL Isiah Adams who were both No Practice, and Stating RB Jeremiah Love and backup Safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson who were both Limited. Lions Thursday: The Lions Saw Tyliek Williams move form NP to LP, otherwise every other player kept the same designation. Of note, it was stated that Brian Branch looks ready to roll right now, but likely will be prudent to keep him out fo game action until after the Bye Week. Wednesday: Rock Ya-Sin, Tyliek Williams and Ben Barcth were all No Practice today, while both Cade Mays and Brian Branch were on the field with their 21-day window started.

As Week 5 commences, many teams are absolutely beat up, and the Lions do have a few guys that are sitting out, but they also have some reinforcements coming back this week. So, three starters were out today, while two more opened their 21-day window to practice with hopes of coming back after te Bye week. For the Cardinals, it looked like a lot of injuries at first glance, but they held out three starters and a backup for Rest, so they likely will all be available come Sunday. Week 5 Wednesday Practice report Cardinals Wednesday: The Cardinals had a bunch of starters that were resting on Wednesday, so they will likely be godo to go this weekend. Actual injuries are to starters S Andrew Wingard, OL Isiah Adams who were both No Practice, and Stating RB Jeremiah Love and backup Safety Dadrion Taylor-Demerson who were both Limited. Lions Wednesday: Rock Ya-Sin, Tyliek Williams and Ben Barcth were all No Practice today, while both Cade Mays and Brian Branch were on the field with their 21-day window started.

We are officially in Week 5, and in addition to a regular schedule including a morning international game, we have started Bye weeks. The Carolina Panthers and Kansas City Chiefs will be at home this week, while the rest of league will get their byes through Week 14. The week kicks off Thursday with TB@DAL on Amazon Prime Video (and on local channels in these markets) with the usual duo of Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstret will be on the call. The Sunday games kick off in the morning with PHI@JAX in London on the NFLN/.ABC, followed by the usual CBS (Single Game Regional) and FOX (Early and Late regional) games in the afternoon. The Sunday Night Football game on NBC is BAL@ATL with Mike Titico and Chris Collingsworth, and the week ends with BUG@LAR on Monday night football on ABC/ESPN. Joe Buck and troy Aikman will be on the call. The CBS single games are IND@PIT, LAV@NE, CLE@NYJ, HOU@TEN, all early, then DEN@LAC late. The FOX early games are CHI@GB, NYG@WAS, MIN@NO, and CIN@MIA. The two late games are SF@SEA and out Detroit Lins at Arizona Cardinals, with Kevin Kugler and Daryl Johnston as the crew. Byes: Carolina, Kansas City NATIONAL BROADCASTS Thursday 8:00 ET: Tampa Bay @ Dallas (Amazon Prime Video) Al Michaels, Kirk Herbstreit also WTVT/FOX Tampa, KDFW/FOX Dallas Sunday 9:30 AM ET: Philadelphia vs Jacksonville (NFLN) in London) Dave Pasch, Kurt Warner, Jason Kelce also WPVI/ABC Philadelphia, WFOX/FOX Jacksonville Sunday 8:00 ET: Baltimore @ Atlanta (NBC) Mike Tirico, Cris Collinsworth Monday 8:00 ET: Buffalo @ LA Rams (ESPN / ABC) Joe Buck, Troy Aikman CBS Single FOX Early FOX Late All listings are unofficial and subject to change. Check back often for updates.  Courtesy of the folks at 506 Sports

Name: Carl Cheffers Age: 66 Promoted To Referee: 2008 Graphic Courtesy of Football Zebras Last Game: 10/04/26 NYJ @ CHI The New York Jets committed 12 penalties for 76 yards. They were flagged a total of 13 times. The Chicago Bears committed 4 penalties for 29 yards. They were flagged a total of 5 times. Together there were 16 penalties for 105 yards. There were 18 total flags in this game. Last Lions Game: 12/21/25 – PIT 29 @ DET 24 The Pittsburgh Steelers committed 8 penalties for 89 yards. They were flagged a total of 9 times. The Detroit Lions committed 7 penalties for 40 yards. They were flagged a total of 9 times. Together there were 15 penalties for 129 yards. There were 18 total flags in this game. Week 5 Penalty Tale of the Tape Lions and Cardinals Notable If the trends hold true, this crew will throw lots of flags Sunday, and as the away team, the Lions will get even more than the Cardinals despite both being in the bottom third of the NFL in penalties. Both the Lions and Cardinals penalties in 2026 align with the crew's top five, including both for False Start, Offensive Holding and DPI, while the Lions line up with Delay of Game and for the Cards, Unnecessary Roughness. The last time the Lions saw Cheffers crew was Week 16 home loss to the Steelers last year, where there were 18 total flags thrown (9 on each team.) Last week though, Cheffers crew just derailed the Jets/Bears game with 18 total flags, including a whopping 12 on the Jets. False start has been this crew favorite penalty, even with all of the changes since 2026. There is a new Down Judge (Derick Bowers), a new Side Judge (Dominique Ponder) and new Replay Official (Marty Abezetian) and Replay Assistant (Brian Davies).

Welcome to Mickey's Musings, my weekly notebook where we skip the linear narrative and dive straight into three completely unrelated, but entirely fascinating storylines that are bouncing around in my head. Taylor Swift Patient Zero Video “I’ve gotta be honest, I’ve been expecting your call. No, it’s not a bad time at all I heard somebody saying there’s trouble in paradise And my lips are sealed tight now” That’s the first verse of Taylor Swift’s song Patient Zero. There’s trouble in paradise” - Could anything be more true in Lion-land at this time? No doubt, there’s trouble in paradise. I’m going to share two thoughts that may sound contradictory, but are both true. This summer when looking at the schedule and making my prediction, I said 12-5 would be the final record. I don’t exactly go game-by-game and predict W’s and L’s, I do it more by groupings of games. My breakdown was a 4-2 division record. I picked the Bills game as a loss. Then, I looked at four games: this game in Carolina, the Pats at home, the Bucs at home and the Falcons on the road and conservatively figured between those games we could drop 2 of the four. That makes 5 losses. That leads us to Comment # 1: By that logic, this is not panic time. They won the two I predicted them to win. They lost to Buffalo. They’ve now dropped 1 of the four that I thought were closer to toss up games. Assuming the rest of the season goes according to Hoyle, they’ll need to win 2 of the remaining 3 among that group to finish 12-5. As the kids say, “NBD.” Comment #2: Does anyone think this defense can stop anyone? For them to finish with 12 wins the offense will need to score at such a prolific rate, that all scoring records are going to go by the wayside. The 1950 Rams scored a whopping 38.8 points per game en route to finishing 9-3. During one three week stretch they scored 155, including a 70 point outburst followed by hanging a 65 burger on the Detroit Lions. They also gave up 25.8 points per game. Oh what we would give for a D that “only” gives up 25.8! Topic # 2 is Business Law Class. When I was a junior in high school someone got a copy of a test for our Business Law Class. The test was matching definitions to phrases and once we found all the answers, we made up an “acrostic” – taking those answers and forming a phrase. It’s been over 40 years since I took that class, but if you gave me the test today I would still ace it. “Jim Is Very Useful When The Outlaws Face His Kingdome. X. Zebras Are Nice. Every Elephant Does a Curl Before Eating” – that gives us the answers: Section 1: JIVUWTOFHKXZAN. section 2: EEDACBE. Needless to say, the entire class got 100%. Our teacher, Mr. Majors, knew something was up. “Mage” came into class the next day and tried to guilt us into telling him what was up and when that didn’t work – he said “Put everything away, you’re retaking the test right this minute.” People that knew the saying laughed as he passed them out. Those that on the previous day had the answers written on their arm, or their shoe, were scrambling as others repeated the saying and they wrote letters as fast as they could. Those of us that knew the acrostic were fine, we had a good scheme. Others that didn’t study, either to learn the material or the saying, struggled. I’d liken that to the Detroit defense at this point. During the early years of AG as the coordinator in Detroit people called for his head and I remember telling people “He’s got no playmakers!” Once he got some talent, he was fine. Currently, the defense has good players – Hutch, Alim, Campbell are all pro-bowl quality players. Chuck Carr is older, but is playing solid football at the backend. Derrick Barnes is an above average linebacker. We know the corners are below average, but there’s 5-6 other guys that are difference makers. There’s no excuse for them to be giving up as many points as they are. To me, it has to be schemes. To put it quite simply, either change the scheme or they’ve got to get the players to learn the acrostic and get on the same page as each other. Lastly, I could probably quote Ted Lasso every week in this column. If you’ve not watched Ted Lasso yet – first off - What are you waiting for!?!? But, honestly, I highly recommend it. My wife and I rewatched the first 3 seasons a year or two ago. We then turned around and watched them again this summer in preparation for the release of Season 4 this fall. I’ll assume everyone at least knows the general premise, Ted is a football coach and goes to England to coach a futbol team – aka soccer team – in the Premier League. In the last episode of Season 1 the team is facing relegation. The title of that episode is a saying that is used in England – “The Hope That Kills You.” In that episode the regulars at the pub and even the players use the phrase as a way to shield themselves from disappointment. Ted stops in for a beer and Mae, the bartender, gives him a drink and says “Ted, haven’t you been here long enough to realize it’s the hope that kills you?” They all subscribe to the thought that if you don’t hold out hope, it is easier as you can’t be disappointed. Ted lasso - The Hope That Kills You Prior to the last game of the season Ted addresses the team with an iconic speech and addresses it: “So, I’ve been hearing this phrase y’all got over here that I ain’t too crazy about. ‘It’s the hope that kills you.’ Y’all know what, I disagree. I think it’s the lack of hope that comes and gets you. See, I believe in hope. I believe in belief.” That’s where I’m still at with this 2026 Lion team. I’m not diving head first into a pool of Honolulu Blue kool-aid, but I’ve still got hope. I’ve still got belief. Go Lions.

Welcome to The Grey Manes Monday Morning Rundown, a collection of news and notes from the prior week that impact the Lions, the NFL or whatever else catches my eye. Lions Players, Coaches and Team The Lions and Ford Field are planning on hosting Ford Field on the Road to bring the Lions and Ford Field experience to select away games. The first game will be against the Cardinals in Glendale Jahmyr Gibbs is the only NFL player in the 1st three games of a season to hit specific rush and receiving milestones Christian Izien tied a Lions record for most tackles for loss in a game against the Jets The Lions were impressed enough with LB Amen Ogbongbemiga from the Jets game to sign him ot the Main roster, and they brought back WR Lawrence Keys to the PS who had been released with a waiver settlement The Lions and Ford Field have introduced a new Gameday Ticket Program allowing fans to purchase tickets on gameday for $60 Lions fan Cody DeLorenzo will be running form Lambeau Field to Ford Field ahead of the Week 7 game on Oct 17th to support and fundraise for Game on Cancer Rumors, Nuggets and Speculation The Cowboys traded for Joey Porter Jr paying a small premium in draft picks to get him for 75% of their season CBS SPorts and Tony Romo announced they have mutually agreed to part ways following Romo's DWI arrest in July. JJ Watt was elevated to replace Romo at the start of the season to be paired with Jim Nance. The Green Bay Packers have signed two former All-pro Guards to try and shore up their beat-up OL Former Lion Terrion Arnold had a co-defendant plead to 10 years in Jail, but has to testify against Arnold Things I think are Noteworthy RIP to Mr. Belding The Warner Brothers and Paramount merger will create a behemoth of a company called Skydance All of the Skydance companies listed after the merger

Final practice info is in, and the Panthers had a surprise backup to a starter already on the injured list make an appearance, have a bunch of guys that are game-time decisions and two starters that are out. The Lions meanwhile will only be without Ben Bartch for the second week in a row, setting up some drama around PS call ups and healthy scratches on the inactive list. Lions at Panthers Final Practice Report Panthers Friday: As was expected, a bunch of Panthers are essentially game time decisions on SUnday night, including both the starting NT (Hunter) and his backup (Jackson with a knew knee injury), WR No 3 in Colker and Starting RT Monroe Freeling, who jare all questionable. I would expect several of them to go, but all of their injuries can be tricky Confirmed out will be WR No 2 (Legett) and Starting OG Damien Lewis. Everyone else have no designation and will play. Thursday: The Panthers had some good news, with three players moving to Full Practice from No Practice, although two were for rest. More importantly, Monroe Freelin and Jalen Coker moved from NP to LP and are trending toward playing now. Leggett and Lewis are likely going to be out. Wednesday: Ten players on List, nine of who were starters, with three (Lloyd, Scott and Young) estimated as Ful Participants and two more of the NP s rest days in Waller and Hubbard. Everyone else were all NP including starting WRs Legette and Coker, OT Freeling and OG Lewis. This does not include both starting CBs that went on IR and the previous IR OL and DL form weeks prior. Lions Friday: As excepted, only Ben Bartch has a designation of out this week, with DJ Reed questionable with a rib injury and DJ Wonnum no designation. I would expect both to play and start. Thursday: Lions had Wonnum trending toward playing, while Reed is likely going to be in. Bartch is likely out for the second game in a row. Wednesday: Starters DJ Reed and DJ Wonnum were both No Practice today, but hopefully this is precautionary. ben Barcth missed last week and is still NP, so he may be out one additional week.

The Lions appeared to somewhat care for their leaky defense last week, despite giving up a high completion percentage and lots of yards to the Jets and Geno Smith. However, they did win, and it took a bunch of ridiculous catches from the Jets WRs and TEs to make it a semi-game in the Lions 31-24 win. The Lions offense scored 31 for the third straight game, and the defense was able to hold the Jets to only 24...progress! This week the Lions get the beat-up Panthers and they are literally hurting everywhere, with the OL, WRs, and CB rooms specifically down to 2nd and 3rd options at almost all positions. Going into the game, the Panthers have the No 1 Passing game, but the No 32 rushing defense. The Lions should be able to take advantage of the Panthers porous defense line and CBs to put up similar numbers to what the Bears did in their Week 1 rout. Meanwhile, the Lions defense has a chance to get better, with Bryce Young battling a minor knee injury, 4/5ths of hi OL likely out, both No 2 and No 3 WRs out. They are down to Darren Wlaler, Chuba Hubbard and Tet McMillian as offensive weapons, so expect their offensive output to be stunted at best and the Lions defense to have a "get healthy" game. Lions at Panthers Tale of the Tape After three weeks the top of the board is still tied with four Grey Manes at 3-0 with Chris the leader via tie breaker (2 pts) followed by Mickey (4), Dan (8) and Brent (10) point differentials, with Mike sitting at 2-1, but with a dead guess to the Lions total points through three weeks. The Grey Manes Lions Prediction - Week 4 Another week, another prediction in lockstep for the entire staff. Some feel we will roll the injury-riddled Panthers; others think we will beat them in a close one. Either way, all of us predict a 3-1 Lions record after Week 4. Mickey Vegas is starting to wise up to the Lions’ high scoring affairs and the over/under is 50.5 as of now. Although the Panthers held Bijan in check a few weeks ago, that was when they could put 11 men in the box because Cooper Rush was at quarterback for the Falcons. Jared Goff is no Cooper Rush and they’ll have to give more respect than that to the Detroit passing game. The injury bug has reared its ugly head in Carolina. Jaycee Horn and Michael Jackson are both out for the Panthers meaning they will need extra help outside on the Detroit receivers. Unfortunately for them, there’s only one Devin Lloyd on the field – and even he is nursing a calf injury. The Lions should score at will. Bryce Young is among the league leaders in chunk plays over both 20 yards and also those over 40 yards. Uh oh…Stopping those is not exactly the Detroit specialty. The bright lights of a nationally televised primetime game will bring out the best in the offenses. Another shootout: Detroit 40 Carolina 27 Lions 40, Jets 27 Dan This game on paper looked like it would be one that could get away from the Lions, even before they started out with poor defensive showings over the first few weeks. However, as Week 3 hits, the Lions defense had started to improve, and the Panthers....well the Panthers now have an OL being anchored by BJ Hunnicutt, Hawkeye Pierce, Frank Burns and Father Mulcahy and starting CBs of Radar O'Reiley and Maxwell Klinger. If you don't understand the MASH reference, let's say that team is beat up, badly. Throw the stats and rankings out the window, the Lions are likely to run roughshod over the Panthers Defense and put up over 40 pts in this one, enough to cover up for any defensive inadequacies that the Lions might show. WIth some Grey Manes in attendance, the Lions will emulate what the Bears did to this team early in the season. Lions 41, Panthers 24 Brent The Lions offense has shown an ability to score putting up 31 points per game. The defense showed some life last week with their first back-to-back three and outs. While we are improving at linebacker and defensive line play, the secondary remains a work in progress. I thought the Lions would pull away against the Jets but was disappointed that it was a one possession game at the end. Therefore, I am going with the philosophy of fool me once, shame on you here. Despite the significant number of injuries, somehow the Panthers keep it close. The Lions again score 31 and win 31-27. Lions 31, Panthers 27 Mike Week 4 has Detroit traveling down to Carolina for a Sunday Night contest. The Panthers are reeling from injuries. Both Starting CB's are out. Their 2 best Offensive Lineman are out they are hurting bad. They still have some pretty good skill players going so it is not a gimme. Meanwhile the Lions are doing ok health wise. All of this adds up to a win for the Lions Lions: 31, Panthers 21 Chris Back in the summer when the schedule was first released, I had the Panthers beating the Lions on Sunday Night Football. Then Carolina's injury report blew up. They're without three starting offensive linemen and two receivers, and both of their starting corners are out. That's too many holes to cover, so I'm flipping my pick. The Lions have been getting better each week, and I'm not going against that. Especially considering they're playing a team that just lost to the Browns. Yes, the Lions have lost six straight games following a win. That streak dies in Charlotte. Detroit doesn't score 31 again but outlasts Carolina on the road under the lights. Lions 24, Panthers 20