Two miracles in one week might be too much for Stafford
Is Matthew Stafford about to add to his legend by pulling a Willis Reed -- or maybe an Emmitt Smith -- on Thanksgiving? I doubt it. But he was in a pretty good mood today, toying with the media about the status of his injured non-throwing shoulder. And for what it's worth, he didn't have much trouble pulling his jersey off over his head, despite the sprained AC joint.
"It's getting better," he said.
Is he able to do anything with it yet in practice?
"I don't know," he said, smiling.
Could he play in a game?
"Today, probably not," he said.
As for the pain, he said, "It's less than when it happened, for sure. It's moving in the right direction."
If it continues to progress at the same rate, would he be able to play Thursday?
"I have no idea," he said, laughing.
As for the decision itself -- to play or not to play -- Stafford said, "It's gonna be a collective decision. Myself, Coach Schwartz and the training staff. But obviously, it's a big game for us. Every game's a big game, but getting a chance to play on national TV on Thanksgiving Day is pretty special."
Stafford said he'd never played with his shoulder shot up with painkillers, and he just laughed when a reporter asked, "Do you think you will?"
As for the rest of the Lions' injuries, there's not a whole lot to laugh about. Calvin Johnson looks doubtful with a left knee injury -- injured on that incompletion in the end zone late in the first quarter, right before Aaron Brown scored the Lions' first T -- and Dewayne White, Kalvin Pearson and Ernie Sims all missed practice again today.
So did safety Ko Simpson (knee), who may be headed to IR. Said Schwartz: "It's a possibility, for sure." More like a probability, actually. And in the meantime, Marvin White is your likely starter Thursday at safety alongside Louis Delmas. That's hardly an ideal situation facing Green Bay's receiving corps.
Among the new injuries this week: DT Joe Cohen (ankle), S Louis Delmas (ankle), T Daniel Loper (back) and RB Kevin Smith (hip) were limited in practice today. All of them should be fine to play Thursday, though.
