As the Detroit Lions continued to make their final preparations for their Week 7 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings, the hope was they would have all hands on deck.
Unfortunately, that does not look to be the case as DT Mike Daniels is expected to be OUT again this coming week.
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From MLive:
Defensive tackle Mike Daniels has missed another entire practice week and is not expected to play Sunday against the Vikings. He still has not suited up since injuring his foot in the first quarter of a win against Philadelphia in Week 3.
The injury is not related to the foot issue that landed him on injured reserve for the final six games in Green Bay last season, then held him out of the offseason program and most of training camp this season. Still, his injury issues are disappointing. He still hasn’t recorded a QB hit, let alone a sack, and has two tackles heading into the Week 7 game against Minnesota on Sunday at Ford Field.
That’s 29th in the league, and a far cry from their dominating performance after the trade for Harrison last season.
“I think in the run game, defensively, everyone takes responsibility for that,” coach Matt Patricia said. “All of us, and certainly me as a coach, it’ll start with me. I have to coach it better, which we’re trying to do, and trying to teach the technique and get everybody on the same page. Run defense is all about fits. It’s all about everybody doing their assignment, doing their job, and doing it with good pad level and good technique. We haven’t performed well enough in that area, certainly.
“We all understand we need to get better there, and that it’s a collective group effort for all of us. We’re working at, we’re grinding at it. Again, like I mentioned, unfortunately this week without being able to put the pads on (because of the short week) and take a really good look at it — especially Minnesota’s run game, with the way that they stretch the ball, and then they stretch and cut in the style that they run the ball. It’s very difficult to simulate in practice in general. To not be able to do that with equipment on is even harder.”
The Lions final Week 7 Injury Report will come out today at 4 p.m.
