DETROIT LIONS FOOTBALL

News, Blogs, Photos, Audio, Schedule & Stats

AP PhotoDetroit Lions' Shaun Cody celebrates a safety against the Buffalo Bills during the first half at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y., Thursday.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- The Detroit Lions became the only NFL team this year to finish the preseason undefeated, but that wasn't the biggest news about Thursday night's 14-6 victory over the Buffalo Bills.

The Lions got through the entire training camp and preseason schedule without suffering a significant injury to any player who was expected to make the 53-man roster.

As the Lions head into their regular-season opener Sept. 7 against the Atlanta Falcons, that was the most important thing.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- The telltale signs of trouble aren't hard to find. When a player is returning from a serious knee injury and hasn't played for a full year, there's always the concern of the player being hesitant or dropping his hands to protect his legs.

Detroit Lions safety Daniel Bullocks showed none of those signs during his significant playing time in Detroit's 14-6 preseason victory over the Buffalo Bills on Thursday.

Bullocks was tied for second in the team lead for tackles with five.

AP PhotoDetroit's Langston Moore, left, celebrates a safety with teammate Dovonte Edwards during the Lions' preseason win over Buffalo on Thursday.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Sip the Kool-Aid.

A little taste from that pitcher full of the sugar-saturated, euphoric liquid is fine, even for Detroit Lions fans in the preseason, but, please, don't gulp it.

Yep, the Lions completed the NFL's preseason schedule as the league's lone undefeated team Thursday night with a 14-6 victory against the Buffalo Bills.

A few pregame notes ...

• The Lions are likely to keep five receivers on the roster. The belief here was that the Lions might keep just four receivers and stash another one or two on the practice squad. However, the only receiver who is eligible for the practice squad is rookie Kenny Moore.

That means that No. 5 spot is still in the air -- and could be determined tonight. The prime candidates to win the job include Brandon Middleton, Devale Ellis and John Standeford.

The early word is that that following players will not play for the Detroit Lions tonight: Jon Kitna, Roy Williams, Calvin Johnson, Jeff Backus, Dominic Raiola, Kevin Smith, Tatum Bell, Dwayne White, Chuck Darby, Jared DeVries, Ernie Sims, Paris Lenon, Brian Kelly, Travis Fisher, Dwight Smith and Leigh Bodden. Oh, and there's a chance that Edwin Mulitalo might not play either.

The Bills are taking a similar approach -- almost all of their starters will be sidelined, too.

The rain in Buffalo has stopped for the time being, but it could still be a slippery field.

AP PhotoDetroit quarterback Jon Kitna has played well all preseason. Lions coach Rod Marinelli wants to keep him healthy heading into the regular season.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. - Detroit Lions coach Rod Marinelli was only kidding. Well, maybe half-kidding.

"They're coming down with a little cough,'' Marinelli said a few days ago, referring to starting quarterback Jon Kitna and wide receivers Roy Williams and Calvin Johnson.

Marinelli is well aware of how former Lions coach Wayne Fontes dealt with star running back Barry Sanders in these situations. It was the darnedest thing, but every year -- right about the time Sanders was scheduled to play in the final preseason game -- Fontes would say Sanders was coming down with "flu-like symptoms.''

AP PhotoAfter missing the last two preseason games, Lions kicker Jason Hanson should be back in action.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Here are five things to watch when the Detroit Lions meet the Buffalo Bills in their NFL preseason finale at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y., at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.

1. Final cuts
It's the last chance for several players to claim roster spots. Two of the more interesting battles are for the No. 4 running back spot and the No. 5 receiver slot. Kevin Smith has earned the starting job at running back, while it appears Tatum Bell and Aveion Cason also will make it as backups. Cason has added value as a return man. Bell, however, could use a strong showing against the Bills to cement his position.

There's only one thing for certain about the Detroit Lions' linebacking corps, says MLive Lions Insider Tom Kowalski, and that's who the starters will be: Ernie Sims (Will), Paris Lenon (Mike) and Alex Lewis (Sam). After that, it's anyone's guess as to what will happen.

That said, Kowalski thinks the Lions' season will only be as successful as the defense allows them to be.

AP PhotoSafety Gerald Alexander always seems to be in the right place at the right time.

ALLEN PARK -- He was always there, he was always around, but you'd never "see'' him.

Detroit Lions safety Gerald Alexander went through the entire training camp and two preseason games without doing anything spectacular that would draw the attention of fans or media.

"It's interesting you say that because he's always chopping wood all the time,'' Lions coach Rod Marinelli said. "He never gets beat and he's always in position. But he's really starting to flash right now and that's good but he's so sound and so solid. You really saw him flash in this game.''

The Detroit Lions announced their five player cuts to get down to the 75-player maximum on Tuesday.

There weren't any big surprises in the cuts – defensive end Claude Harriott, defensive back Stephen Howell, center Carroll Madison, linebacker Tyrone Pruitt and kicker Dave Rayner – although Rayner performed admirably throughout training camp and preseason games.

The Lions will have to cut 22 more players from the Active/Inactive Lists by 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 30 for the final cuts.

The Saginaw News and Associated Press file photosThe Detroit Lions aren't likely to trade wide receivers Mike Furrey (L) and Shaun McDonald this season.

Since Mike Martz became the offensive coordinator in San Francisco, there's been a lot of speculation that the Detroit Lions may trade either Mike Furrey or Shaun McDonald to the 49ers because of their familiarity with Martz's offense.

Don't count on it, says MLive Lions Insider Tom Kowalski in his live chat. The Lions are set at wide receiver, and it would make no sense to weaken that position.

Editor's Note: To replay "Lunch with The Killer," click on Continue reading "Kowalski chat recap: Furrey and McDonald are staying put" below, and then click on the circling arrow in the middle of the chat tool.

AP PhotoSo far, George Foster has held off Lions rookie Gosder Cherlius in the battle for the starting job at right tackle.

ALLEN PARK -- In one fairly significant way, the Detroit Lions' 26-6 preseason win against the Cleveland Browns was a big waste of time.

The Lions have changed their offensive philosophy in running the ball, using more zone-blocking principles, and, because of the nature of the system, they get most of their work done in preseason games, not practices.

Against the Browns, though, everything was thrown out of whack because Cleveland uses a 3-4 defensive scheme, something the Lions almost never practiced against throughout training camp. The reason is because the Lions will play against that alignment just once in their 16-game schedule: the second game against the San Francisco 49ers.