Detroit Lions Notes And Quotes 10-10-11
LINEUP WATCH
The Lions signed veteran defensive back Vincent Fuller to fill a couple of holes. Fuller, who played the previous six seasons in Tennessee, where he played for Jim Schwartz, will provide some insurance at both safety and nickel back. Starting strong safety Amari Spievey has been battling a hamstring injury and backup Erik Coleman will be out indefinitely with an ankle injury. Veteran John Wendling, primarily a special teams ace, was the lone backup going into the week. So Fuller can help there.
More important, he will shore up a couple of holes on special teams. Coleman was the team's leading special teams tackler, and wide receiver Rashied Davis, a gunner, missed his third straight game with a foot injury. Fuller will fill in for Coleman on special teams; cornerback Anthony Madison was signed to be a short-term fix for Davis.
UNDER THE RADAR
Slowly but surely, running back Keiland Williams is carving out a niche in the Lions' run game. The Lions are using him in short-yardage situations and when they are backed up inside their own 5-yard line. "With Mikel (Leshoure) out and not having that bigger back, he gives you kind of a north-south downhill runner, and the other thing I like about him is that he's pretty good in the protection game," offensive coordinator Scott Linehan said. "He missed training camp, so he's kind of been picking it up on the fly, but now that he's had a month or so in our offense, he understands what we're doing and starting to develop. He's got an all-around capability now."
Jahvid Best continues to be the main back. Maurice Morris was out of the rotation the last three weeks, but he's climbing back into the picture. Jerome Harrison, right now, is the odd man out.
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