Lions Practice Report Dec 14 – Detroit travels to New York to take on the Giants in Week 15 as a pair of 9-4 teams face off Sunday at 1 p.m. ET at MetLife Stadium
The Lions defeated the Chicago Bears 20-17 at Ford Field in Week 14, while the Giants are coming off a 10-7 win over the Dallas Cowboys. The Lions and Giants have met 42 times in the regular season, Detroit holds the edge in the all-time series 21-10-1. In the two teams’ most recent meeting on Monday Night Football on September 8, 2014, Detroit defeated New York 35-14 at Ford Field.
PRACTICE REPORT
- The following players have been listed on the Detroit Lions Practice Report today: DE Ezekiel Ansah (shoulder), RB Theo Riddick (wrist) and C Travis Swanson (concussion) did not participate in practice; TE Eric Ebron(knee), LB DeAndre Levy (knee), CB Darius Slay (hamstring) and RB Zach Zenner (concussion) were limited in practice; QB Matthew Stafford (right finger) participated in full practice.
- The following players have been listed on the New York Giants Practice Report today: DE Jason Pierre-Paul (core muscle) and LB Keenan Robinson (shoulder) did not participate in practice; S Nat Berhe (concussion), LS Zac DeOssie (hamstring), DT Johnathan Hankins (shoulder), LB Mark Herzlich (concussion), DE Owa Odighizuwa (knee), G Justin Pugh (knee) and RB Shane Vereen (concussion) were limited in practice.
LIONS HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL…
On how QB Matthew Stafford looks throwing the ball with an injured finger: “He’s got to work through it and kind of see what happens, so that’s kind of what practice is for.”
On the benefit of having a full week to figure out what’s best for Stafford in terms of protecting his injury: “Well, it’s huge, I mean it’s not like we play the day after we’ve finished, so I mean we’re always going to have some time in between, you know. But the difficult part was on game day when it happened. Obviously, that’s one where you haven’t had a chance to prep and get a feel and all those kinds of things, so you know, it’s going to be some valuable time for us this week, kind of see how it goes.”
On if he thinks one week is ample enough time to figure out the best way to protect Stafford: “It’s all you have, you know what I mean? It’s got to be.”
On if they have time to order a glove to custom fit Stafford’s hand: “I would assume you’re correct, that’s correct. You would. That’s a fact.”
On Stafford’s toughness and how he’s played through a lot of different injuries throughout his career: “Yeah, it’s not a matter of toughness with him, it never has been. You know, he’s a very, very tough-minded, tough-physically individual that battles through a lot of stuff and that’s a weekly thing with that position because oftentimes some of the hits you take can certainly have an effect on you, so you’ve got to battle through a lot of stuff. He’s never shown any reservations in that area, so he’ll work at it just like he does every other week and we’ll see where he is.”
On if a custom-fit glove has been ordered for Stafford to wear while playing: “I did not say that. I did not confirm that.”
On if a custom-fit glove has been fashioned for Stafford to wear: “We’re trying to do what we can to see every need.”
On when a solution for Stafford’s finger needs to be made by: “We have all the way up until game time.”
On if he wants Stafford to practice with whatever solution is made to protect his finger: “You asked me, ‘When do we have to have a solution to it?’ I said, ‘We have all the way up until game time.’ Obviously, we’re working, we’re not going to wait to get started with that aspect of it, that’s constant. So, we’ll see where it is.”
On how Stafford’s finger will change his preparation for the Giants: “It doesn’t.”
On if he believes the reports that a middle finger for a quarterback is the least serious finger to injure: “I think everybody is a little bit different. I think it just depends. Everybody’s got their opinion on that, how it protects that particular individual. Ball comes off the fingers differently on every guy when he’s throwing it, it’s not all the same. Release point is different, all those kinds of things. It just depends, so we’ll see. He’s going to work through it.”