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What should we expect in the Lions/Saints matchup? Will Burchfield tells us.
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00:00All right, Carson Anderson, every Friday during the National Football League season, we will
00:05get the very latest on the Lions, and this week New Orleans is on tap, and the Birch
00:09Kid is out in Allen Park, who writes for our website, of course, also on Fox 2, does a
00:14great job covering this football team and many of our teams here in Detroit.
00:17Birchie, what's up?
00:19What's going on, fellas?
00:20Welcome to Week 1.
00:22It's exciting.
00:23We're fired up so far.
00:25Okay, so Dan Campbell spoke today.
00:27What's the most interesting thing he said?
00:30Well, look, I think fans should be encouraged that Derek Moore, it sounds like, is going
00:33to be out there on Sunday.
00:34Obviously, he had that hamstring injury late in training camp, and he's been limited in
00:37practice this week, at least via the practice report, but it sounds like he's put in pretty
00:41two good days of work, and they expect him to go on Sunday.
00:45Christian Izian, who's in a similar boat, is maybe a little closer to 50-50, and then
00:50noteworthy that Campbell, for now, expects Christian Mahogany to get the starting nod on Sunday.
00:56Doesn't mean he'll get all 60-65 snaps.
00:58I think he's still committed to a rotation with Ben Barge, but at least out of the gate,
01:02you'll see Mahogany.
01:02Although, I should note, he dropped a warm-up 40-yard bomb from Panay Sewell today, so that
01:09might have knocked him down in two-by-left bar two on Sunday afternoon behind Ben Barge,
01:14who caught his pass from Jared Goff.
01:17Wow.
01:18Who threw the better pass, Panay or Goff?
01:21I'll tell you what, man.
01:22Panay Sewell can spin that thing, and the football looks like a golf ball in his hands.
01:26That boy has mitts.
01:29So, if Izian can't go, does that mean we see rookie Keith Abney?
01:35Yeah, I think we'll see rookie Keith Abney regardless.
01:38They could probably rotate that spot as well.
01:40You'll probably see some Roger McCreary.
01:42Obviously, it's going to be Rock and DJ Reed on the outside, but there's still a three-horse
01:46race there to determine the number one nickel.
01:48But I think that right now, if Izian can't go, Abney should get most of those reps.
01:53They're pretty high on him.
01:53I think he's come a really long way physically.
01:56They always loved his mental makeup.
01:58And he made some plays, especially against St. Brown, in the slot toward the end of camp.
02:02Some pretty impressive pass breakups or tackles in the red zone near the end zone that definitely
02:09caught my eye, certainly caught the coaching staff's eye.
02:12And he feels like he's ready to step in here and make some contributions to this defense
02:16as a rookie.
02:17What about Jimmy Rolder's status?
02:21Yeah, so he's an interesting one because he's had a full week of practice, but he also hasn't
02:27played meaningful snaps since his early camp injury.
02:31And look, they are going to have to leave a handful of players inactive on Sunday to get
02:36the roster down to 46.
02:37And it would seem to me that Rolder might make sense as someone who doesn't have a lot of
02:43recent experience under his belt.
02:45But if he's not out there on Sunday, I fully expect to see him in week two.
02:50Sticking with the defense, I mean, it's kind of like, I'll believe it when I see it, but
02:54I do like the theory that Hutchinson will play less snaps to keep him fresher.
02:59And I think we saw last year towards the end of the season that there's reason for that.
03:04But again, I'll believe it when I see it.
03:05But with him on the outside and Aleem McNeil back to 100% on the inside, how do you see
03:13this rotation on the interior playing out for the success of this defense?
03:18Yeah, I think that's sort of the X factor in the front seven anyways, is what kind of
03:22penetration and havoc they can create on the interior.
03:26I think we know that we're going to get an all-pro season likely out of Hutch.
03:29And I think Wanham and Moore look like pretty capable compliments to him.
03:34But Aleem McNeil and Tyler Williams in some ways sort of hold the keys to the defensive
03:38or the front seven ceiling this year.
03:40And Aleem has looked like himself throughout training camp.
03:43He said he feels much more like himself, unlike last season.
03:46Kelvin Shepard yesterday was almost emotional talking about him and how excited he is to
03:50see him play on Sunday healthy again for the first time, hopefully dominant again for
03:56the first time.
03:56Because, you know, while Aleem was out there last year, there were times that Shep said
04:00he couldn't even put his foot in the ground and plant.
04:03And that's why he looked more like just a body out there than a difference maker.
04:07So I think we're going to see Aleem McNeil this year get back to that, you know, that
04:11Pro Bowl caliber player who earned that $97 million extension in 2024.
04:15And then you're going to see a lot of Tyler Williams at the nose, which is really not what he
04:19played last year, not a whole lot of what he played at Ohio State.
04:22But, like, DJ Reader's gone, Roy Lopez is gone, and they logged basically every A-gap
04:26snap last year.
04:27So this defensive line is lighter.
04:30It's also quicker, and it has some more juice, and they're going to use some more movement,
04:34some more stunts up front.
04:36And I think Tyreek and Aleem will play a big part in increasing the interior pressure this
04:41year.
04:41So three guys that the fans saw and really enjoyed in the preseason, Eric O'Neal, Skylar
04:48Gilhoward, and Ahmed Hassanin, are any of them going to be in uniform this weekend, or do
04:53you think they'll all be healthy scratches?
04:55I think Hassanin will be healthy scratched.
04:58I'm confident we'll see Gilhoward on Sunday.
05:01I think he is a very natural defensive tackle, too, sort of behind Aleem, maybe even behind
05:08Tyreek, so he's definitely going to get some snaps on pass rushing downs.
05:12In fact, I thought it was really refreshing, guys, to hear Brad Holmes talk about him and
05:16describe him as a DPR, you know, a designated pass rusher.
05:21It feels to me like that's a term that Brad Holmes, Stan Campbell, Kelvin Shepard would
05:26have recoiled at in years past because they wanted the three-down, well-rounded defensive
05:32linemen.
05:33And, you know, he acknowledged for the first time there is some value in a player who might
05:37be strictly a pass rusher.
05:38They still believe that Gilhoward can play against a run.
05:41I'll believe that when I see it.
05:42You know, I think we'll see him mostly on third downs, but he definitely showed in the
05:46preseason.
05:47He can be a real disruptor in there.
05:49So that's part of the shift that I'm talking about from less mass up front and more twitch,
05:55more quickness.
05:56And so I do think we'll see him on Sunday.
05:57And then O'Neal, yeah, I think he'll go to the game, too.
06:00Like, he climbed his way up the ladder in camp, and the Lions kept him around for a
06:04reason.
06:05Switching to the offensive side, and specifically on the interior of the offensive line, obviously
06:10we have a new face at center who was supposed to be for the season, Cade Mays.
06:13Obviously, he hurt his wrist and now he's out.
06:15Now you've got Scruggs.
06:17And then on the left side, at the guard position, there's still a battle there, though.
06:22It sounds like Dan Campbell leans that he's going to start with mahogany, but Barge could
06:26get some reps in there.
06:27I said earlier, I think that's a good thing, because if mahogany is as good as he was last
06:32year and been poised to take a step forward, if he's in competition, then that means Barge
06:37is even better.
06:38How do you see it?
06:40Yeah, I think they like Barge a lot.
06:42You know, the plan clearly was to have Barge come in here and compete for that job and
06:46push mahogany to be better, and the injuries limited him.
06:48And look, that's been the story of his career.
06:51But, you know, he was the starting left guard for the 49ers entering last season in a complex
06:57offense with a pretty diverse, dynamic rushing scheme.
07:00He's been a starter before for the Jaguars.
07:03When healthy, he has played important roles on good teams and good offenses.
07:07So they do see, you know, I think maybe a ceiling that Barge offers that maybe mahogany
07:14doesn't.
07:15So we'll see how that plays out.
07:16But I agree.
07:17It's refreshing to know that if mahogany gets hurt or can't go or vice versa, just the
07:23depth is much more solid than it was a year ago.
07:25I was having this conversation with someone yesterday who asked me, hey, you know, when
07:29do you think the Lions fell out of love with Christian mahogany and decided to bring in
07:33Barge?
07:33And I said, I don't think they fell out of love with mahogany.
07:36I think they were just, frankly, by the end of the year, rather disgusted by what they saw
07:41from the players behind him last year.
07:43And they resolved to make sure that if they went to someone else this year, that the level
07:47of play would be steadier and more consistent.
07:50Bertie, I'm going to ask you a question that's probably impossible to answer, but I get asked
07:53it all the time.
07:54Is there any indication that Kirby Joseph will be back on the field this year?
08:00I'm glad you asked that, Karsh, because I'm coming closer and closer to the conclusion.
08:05And I say this carefully.
08:07I really do.
08:08And I say with all due respect to Kirby Joseph that we won't see him on the field this
08:13year.
08:13And I think it'll take a minor miracle for him to play because he has been doing nothing
08:19but resting and rehabilitating his knee for almost a full year.
08:24And if it isn't ready now and surgery isn't a recourse, which we know it isn't, when will
08:29it be ready?
08:30And there's a couple of reasons that I'm just wary of this entire situation.
08:34One, when he tried to come back last year after several weeks, maybe a month and a half
08:39of rest and rehab came out to practice with an extremely bulky knee brace and lasted all
08:44of one practice.
08:45The next day, the knee flared up to the point that he wasn't able to go again the rest of
08:49the season.
08:49And I honestly fear the same thing happening again this year.
08:53And I think they do, too.
08:54I think part of the reason they're waiting so long to push the knee and get the answer
08:59one way or another is that maybe they just want to preserve him for late in the season
09:03and hope that they can debut him in November and have him for games in December and into
09:09the playoffs.
09:09I think they probably know that that knee is not going to hold up for 16 games.
09:14I just wonder at this point, what more could he possibly gain from rest and rehabilitation?
09:20And if the answer is nothing and they haven't pushed the knee yet to see how it responds, I
09:27think they know that it probably won't respond well.
09:29And they're probably waiting for as long as possible, perhaps with bigger games looming
09:34late in the year, to push that thing and try and have him on the field for games that
09:40matter.
09:40But even that, to me, is beginning to feel like an increasing improbability.
09:46The Saints are Sunday against the Lions at Ford Field.
09:49What do you see that the Saints can present offensively and defensively that might give the
09:55Lions some fits?
09:56Yeah, but this is going to be a good first test for the offensive line, which is the
09:59unit that all of us have had our eyes peeled on since the first day of training camp, really
10:04since the first day of spring workouts.
10:05Cam Jordan's not going to play, which might make the task a little bit easier, but they
10:09do have some pretty good pass rushers.
10:10Chase Young coming off his best season in the NFL.
10:13Granderson can get after them a little bit.
10:15And so, look, this is going to be a chance for Blake Miller to face live fire over 60 or
10:2065 snaps for the first time.
10:23It's going to be the first time we see Juice Scruggs again face live fire for 60 snaps and work
10:29in concert with Jared Goff.
10:30And I think if there's any path for the Saints to pull an upset on Sunday, it involves just
10:35disrupting the offensive line and putting the Lions offense on their heels.
10:39So this is a pretty good first barometer for where that unit stands.
10:43And then on the other side of the ball, this was a pretty good Saints offense over the final
10:49five games of last season.
10:51The overall numbers weren't great, but it did feel like they unlocked the two things with
10:54Tyler Shuck, which is the most improbable pronunciation of the word Shuck of all time.
11:00S-H-O-U-G-H.
11:02But hey, boys, you can guarantee you will hear a Shuck rhyme in the Lions game day live poem
11:07on Sunday morning.
11:23Oh, God.
11:24Obviously, a bit compromised.
11:25They have some ability to make some plays.
11:28And then Shuck can use his legs to make plays.
11:30So the Lions are favored big here for a reason.
11:33This is the third biggest spread of week one in the NFL.
11:36Only the, I think, Jags over the Browns and someone over, I think the Dolphins are favored
11:41by more.
11:42So the Lions should roll.
11:43But if they don't, to me, it'll be because the offensive line just can't find its footing
11:47in week one against a decent defensive front.
11:49Did you woo your wife with the poem?
11:53You know what's crazy?
11:54I actually did.
11:55I really did.
11:56You know what?
11:56After I took her to a Bob Seger concert at Pine Knob, one of her first times out here.
12:01And afterwards, I had a little poem written down, and I read it to her.
12:06And she was, I think, I like to believe she was blown away.
12:11I actually read a version of that to her during our vows at our wedding.
12:15So yes, Gator, I did.
12:16Of course.
12:17So what time are you on TV, and what time can people expect the poem?
12:22Well, yeah, you can catch us from 10 to 11, Lions Game Day Live.
12:25We'll be dropping that rhyme in the first segment.
12:27So keep in for that, if nothing else.
12:28And to see Wojo, I have to be awake that early.
12:32Always a pleasure.
12:33Bertie, great to have you on again.
12:34We'll do it again next week.
12:36All right, guys.
12:37Thanks a lot.
12:37Talk soon.
12:38There he is, our reporter on the ground at Allen Park, William Birchfield, a.k.a.
12:44Birchie Kid.
12:44Let's talk some college football next.
12:46Michigan to Michigan State.
12:47Back on the gridiron tomorrow.
12:49Are you going to eat that?
12:50Coming up at the 1 o'clock hour.
12:51Our picks coming up at 138.
12:5497.
12:54One.
12:54The 1 o'clock hour.
12:54The 1 o'clock hour.
12:54The 1 o'clock hour.
12:54The 1 o'clock hour.
12:55The 1 o'clock hour.
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