Detroit Lions linebacker Ernie Sims, who returned to practice on Monday after being out a week with a knee injury, won't play in Thursday's game against the New York Giants.

Head coach Rod Marinelli said the starters on both sides of the ball would go about 10 plays (which could go longer if they're in middle of a drive). Marinelli said all the rookies would receive a good deal of playing time in the game.

At quarterback, Jon Kitna will come out early and Dan Orlovsky and Drew Stanton, in that order, would split the rest of the time.

Lions should consider moving Dizon to strong side

by Tom Kowalski

ALLEN PARK -- The time is rapidly approaching for the Detroit Lions to rethink their decision of playing rookie Jordon Dizon at middle linebacker.

That doesn't mean the Lions should abandon their plans to eventually play him in the middle, but they've definitely got to reevaluate the situation in the next couple of days. If the Lions don't act now, they could jam themselves up early in the season because they could have one of their best linebackers sitting on the bench.

As it stands now, it appears that Ernie Sims, Paris Lenon and Dizon are going to be Detroit's three best linebackers when the regular season starts Sept. 7. Ideally, Dizon would be in the middle, Sims on the weak side and Lenon on the strong side. Ideally.

The reality is Dizon might not be ready to play in the middle because of all the mental demands of that position. Before the draft in April, Lions coach Rod Marinelli said he would reluctant to start a rookie in the middle because it's such a tough assignment for an inexperienced player.

Marinelli said he'd prefer to start a young player on the strong side and then once he has a strong grip on the scheme, move him into the middle. Two days ago, Marinelli had this to say about Dizon and the middle linebacker position: "Well you just have to see how he progresses during the preseason. A big thing in this system is trust in this system," Marinelli said. "The best thing I can tell you is that if you're a middle linebacker, when you see something coming at you, you go splatter it.

"But when you play some Cover 2 now, you can't, because you're playing pass first. They have to see if that's a run pass, play-action pass or a run, and then go. As soon as those guys get aggressive too quick in the seven-man front, you expose the middle of the field.''

Which makes it a pretty important position on defense. "It's seven points if you make a misdiagnosis -- that's trust. That (middle) linebacker is trust. So you have to train them and train them and train them,'' Marinelli said.

Now you can see why he'd be reluctant to start a rookie there. Lions president Matt Millen, though, has said that he believes a rookie can -- and should -- start in the middle if he's talented enough. I asked Millen and Marinelli together about their disagreement on that position on April 24, two days before the draft. I asked them about a potential conflict and whether a rookie middle linebacker could be effective as a starter.

"We're on the same page with that,'' Millen said. "They can and they can't, it depends on what they're coming from. How's that?''

At this moment, no one knows if Dizon will be ready to start at middle linebacker in four weeks because there still are too many questions -- and four preseason games -- remaining. If Dizon pulls it off, it's a good situation because then Lenon, who currently is starting in the middle, can shift to the outside.

But what if Lenon still is the team's best middle linebacker at the start of the regular season?
 

Do you start Alex Lewis on the strong side -- Lewis has had five starts in his four-year career -- and leave your second-round pick (and third-best linebacker) sitting on the bench? Waiting too long to move Dizon to the outside would put him at a disadvantage.

The strong side linebacker spot is not as vital to the defense as the weak side and the middle because those positions are more involved in the scheme.
 

But the guy on the strong side plays an important role because he's got to be able to stuff the run with consistency.

That's one of the reasons the Lions were getting chewed up last year. Boss Bailey wasn't strong in defending the run and teams exposed that weakness.

Dizon has yet to take a snap in training camp on the strong side. The time is now.

After Detroit's preseason game Thursday, the Lions will start five straight days of two-a-days Sunday and still have three more preseason games left. That's plenty of time to give Dizon some work at strong side linebacker.

This wouldn't mean Dizon is out of the mix in the middle, but it would mean the Lions would have a better opportunity of eventually putting their best three linebackers on the field.

And, for a defense that ranked last in the league last year in points and total yards allowed, that might not be a bad idea.

Linebacker Ernie Sims returned to practice this morning after missing a full week because of a knee injury. Sims suffered a bone bruise when he jumped up to deflect a pass and then landed awkwardly.

Left guard Edwin Mulitalo (elbow) has been removed from the Physically Unable to Perform list and was back at practice. Three other players still remain on PUP -- receiver Shaun McDonald (knee), safety Daniel Bullocks (knee) and tight end Dan Campbell (elbow).

Defensive tackle Cory Redding missed his second straight day of practice with a groin injury, but running back Artose PInner (neck) and guard Manny Ramirez (knee) returned to work.



Lehman on I-R

It was mentioned a few days ago that Buster Davis might ultimately be moving from middle linebacker to strong side linebacker and the timetable of that might get moved up. Teddy Lehman, who was a backup to Alex Lewis on the strong side, was placed on the injured reserve/minor list.

The stipulation is that Lehman, who has a hamstring pull, could potentially return to the Lions or another NFL club at some point later in the regular season. To replace Lehman on the roster, the Lions signed free agent linebacker Darnell Bing.

Struggling to find a backup center, the Detroit Lions have decided to double their chances of finding one.

The Lions released guard/tackle Chris Patrick and guard Matt Butler on Thursday and signed center Andy McCollum and center Nick Jones. McCollum, the former St. Louis Rams veteran who can also play guard, was an unrestricted free agent. Jones, an undrafted free agent, was in camp with the Seattle Seahawks last season.

The Lions are not interested in safety John Lynch, whom the Broncos are allowing to explore other options because he is unhappy with his decreased role in Denver.

Coach Rod Marinelli called Lynch a great player, said he loved him to death and wished him the very best. But the Lions are stocked at safety with Dwight Smith, Gerald Alexander, Kalvin Pearson and Daniel Bullocks.

“We’ve got a lot of depth right now,” Marinelli said this morning. “We’re not looking right now.”

With veteran kicker Jason Hanson entering his 17th NFL season, the Detroit Lions want to limit his work in preseason so, according to a Lions official, they signed free agent kicker Eddie Johnson.

Johnson, who has been in a couple of different camps, last played in the NFL in 2003 with the Minnesota Vikings as a punter. He's expected to both kick and punt with the Lions.

The Lions recently cut veteran kicker Paul Ernster and were planning on signing him back, but Ernster was claimed off waivers by the Pittsburgh Steelers. To make room on the roster for Johnson, the Lions are expected to cut a player, probably a receiver, later today.