Ndamukong Suh is going to miss the Lions’ next two games against the New Orleans Saints (on the road) and the Minnesota Vikings (at home).  With that in mind, the Lions need either 25-year old Sammie Hill or 23-year old rookie Nick Fairley to step up.  Hill has played in 11 games for the Lions so far this year and he has 14 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss.  Nick Fairley can make up for lost time for the Lions if he could step up in the next couple of games.  He has played in 6 games for the Lions so far this year and he only has six tackles.

23-year old rookie punter Ryan Donahue sat out last week’s game with the Bears due to a quadriceps injury, and they hope he’s not out too much longer.  Donahue has played in 8 games for the Lions so far this year and he has punted the ball 49 times for 2,093 yards (42.7 avg).  He also has 4 touchbacks (8.2%) and he has pinned the opposition inside their own 20-yard line 13 times (26.5%).  His replacement is 23-year old Robert Malone.  Malone punted the ball 5 times for 245 yards (49.0 avg) against the Bears.  But he gave up an 80-yard TD return to Devin Hester and he also had a tackle on another punt.  The Lions need Malone to step up while Donahue is out.

UPDATE:  (11/28/2011) – The Lions have placed Ryan Donahue on the Injured Reserve List, ending his season.

Stefan Logan has been doing most of the work in the return game for the Lions this year and he has been solid, but not outstanding.  Logan has returned 11 kickoffs for 291 yards (26.5 avg) and 21 punts for 187 yards (8.9 avg) so far this year for the Lions.  Maurice Morris (1 kickoff return for 15 yards), Andre Fluellen (1 kickoff return for 6 yards) and Brandon McDonald (1 punt return for 0 yards) have also had opportunities to help in the return game this year for the Lions.  The Lions have returned 13 kickoffs for 312 yards (24.0 avg) and 22 punts for 187 yards (8.5 avg) so far this year.

With Jahvid Best (concussion) and Jerome Harrison (out for year with a brain tumor) out of action, the Lions need Maurice Morris, Keiland Williams and recently signed Eldra Buckley to step up.  Morris has played in 6 games for the Lions so far this year and he has 9 carries for 20 yards (2.2 ypc).  He has also caught 5 passes for 55 yards (11.0 avg).  Morris is likely to get the most carries this weekend against the Falcons.  Keiland Williams has played in 5 games for the Lions so far this year and he has carried the ball 19 times for 49 yards (2.6 ypc) with 1 TD run.  The Lions were only averaging 90.8 yards rushing per game and 3.9 yards per carry when everyone was healthy, but they need more out of the running game.

The Detroit Lions need 22-year old RB Jahvid Best to step up this year and provide the offense with some semblance of balance.  Best played most of last season with turf toe which could be the reason for the so-so stats he put up as a rookie last year.  He played in all 16 games for the Lions last year and he carried the ball 171 times for 555 yards (3.2 ypc) with 4 TD runs.  Best also caught 58 passes for 487 yards (8.4 avg) with 2 TD grabs last year.  This year though, he comes into the season healthy and the Lions need him to stay that way.  In the season opener against the Bucs, Best carried the ball 21 times for 72 yards (3.4 ypc) and he also caught 4 passes for 42 yards (10.5 avg).  That is a good start to the 2011 season for Best and they need him to keep up the good work.

The Lions have placed 40-year old kicker Jason Hanson on the Injured Reserve List ending his season due to a sprained PCL.  Hanson played in 8 games for the Lions this year and he made 12 of 14 field goals (85.7%) and 19 of 19 extra points good for 55 points.  28-year old Dave Rayner will likely be the Lions’ kicker the rest of the year.  Rayner has played in 3 games for the Lions this year and he has made 4 of 6 (66.7%) field goals and 5 of 5 extra points good for 17 points.  The Lions aren’t a good enough team to be leaving points on the field so they can’t afford to have Rayner missing field goals so it’s up to him to keep his job.

With Jahvid Best gimpy right now due to turf toes and Kevin Smith done for the season, it looks as if 30-year old Maurice Morris could be the Lions’ featured back for maybe the rest of the year.  Morris has played in 9 games so far this year and he carried the ball 30 times for 96 yards (3.2 ypc) with 2 TD carries.  He has also caught 16 passes for 114 yards (7.1 avg) out of the backfield so far this year.  Morris hasn’t been a good starting player when called upon to this point in his career so the Lions need him to step up his game.

30-year old QB Shaun Hill has a broken right index finger and the Lions are seriously considering shutting him down for the rest of the year.  Hill has played in 9 games for the Lions so far this year and he has completed 215 of 351 passes (61.3%) for 2,206 yards with 13 TD passes and 11 INTs (78.6 QB Rating).  Hill has also carried the ball 19 times for 102 yards (5.4 ypc) so far this year.  It might be smart to shut down Hill because it’s almost impossible to throw a good pass with a injured index finger.  If Hill is indeed done for the season then the Lions need 26-year old Drew Stanton to step up.  Stanton has played in 3 games for the Lions this season and he has completed 20 of 36 passes (55.6%) for 233 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT (73.0 QB Rating).  Stanton has also carried the ball 7 times for 33 yards (4.7 ypc) so far this year.  If the Lions have to turn to Stanton the passing game is going to suffer….BIG TIME!

The Lions will be without RB Kevin Smith for this weekend’s game against the Cowboys due to thumb surgery.  Smith has carried the ball 34 times for 133 yards (3.9 ypc) and he has also caught 11 passes for 123 yards (11.2 avg) this year.  The Lions will need Maurice Morris to step up behind Jahvid Best.  Morris has carried the ball 11 times for 10 yards (0.9 ypc) and he has also caught 7 passes for 54 yards (7.7 avg) so far this year.  The Lions hope that Morris will play good enough to keep Jahvid Best fresh this Sunday.

UPDATE:  (11/25/2010) – The Lions have placed Smith on I.R., ending his season.

26-year old Drew Stanton will likely start at QB this weekend against the Bills in Buffalo because Shaun Hill isn’t quite ready to return to action (fractured forearm).  Stanton has played in 3 games for the Lions so far this year and he has completed 20 of 36 passes (55.6%) for 233 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT (73.0 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 7 times for 33 yards (4.7 ypc) so far this year.  A lot of people thought that the reason the Lions picked Stanton was because he played his college ball at Michigan State so now it’s up to him to prove the skeptics wrong.  Stanton has now played in 9 games for the Lions and he has completed 55 of 104 passes (52.9%) for 611 yards with 2 TD passes and 7 INTs (49.0 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 19 times for 86 yards (4.5 ypc) with 1 TD carry so far.  The Lions have also claimed rookie QB Zac Robinson off waivers from the Seahawks to serve as Stanton’s backup this weekend.  He was originally a 7th round pick of the Patriots out of Oklahoma State last April.  He has yet to play in a regular season game.

UPDATE:  It appears as if Shaun Hill will be ready to start against Buffalo this weekend as he is back at practice.  Hill has played in 7 games for the Lions this year and he has completed 127 of 208 passes (61.1%) for 1,309 yards with 9 TD passes and 7 INTs (79.6 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 14 times for 78 yards (5.6 ypc) so far this year.  This is a good development for the Lions as Hill is quite a bit better than Drew Stanton.