ALLEN PARK — As expected, safety Kalvin Pearson (hamstring) and wide receiver Eric Fowler (knee) are out for Sunday’s game, according to the Friday injury report. Neither was able to practice.  Guard Daniel Loper (back), safety Louis Delmas (ankle), linebacker Ernie Sims (hamstring) and defensive end Dewayne White (toe) are questionable. Quarterback Matthew Stafford (left shoulder), wide receiver Calvin Johnson (knee), defensive tackle Grady Jackson (knee), defensive tackle Andre Fluellen (toes) and linebacker Zack Follett (neck) are probable.

For Cincinnati, center Jonathan Luigs (back), defensive tackle Domata Peko (knee) and halfback Bernard Scott (toe) are doubtful.  Halfback Cedric Benson (hip), wide receiver Laveranues Coles (chest), safety Kyries Hebert (hip), defensive tackle Tank Johnson( knee), linebacker Rey Maualuga (foot), safety Tom Nelson (foot), linebacker Keith Rivers (calf), defensive end Frostee Rucker (neck) and cornerback Morgan Trent (knee) are probable.

When starting right guard Stephen Peterman was lost for the season a few weeks ago, the offensive line took a huge hit. The line had been solid except at left guard where Manny Ramirez and Daniel Loper had rotated in and out.

Loper, Ramirez and Dylan Gandy now will rotate in and out of the two guard positions. Whoever plays the best will get the most snaps and perhaps a solid handle on the starting job to wrap up the season.

“They have to utilize this opportunity to establish themselves as one of the five. This is a great opportunity,’’ offensive coordinator Scott Linehan said.

Loper, however, might miss out. He has an injured back and has not practiced this week.
— PAULA PASCHE

Apparently, the NFL can no longer use lack of on-field success as an excuse for poor attendance in these horrid economic times.

Even good teams are having trouble selling games out.

While the Cincinnati Bengals (8-3) are one of the NFL’s surprise teams, that apparently hasn’t correlated into a spike in attendance, as the franchise is in jeopardy of having its 50-game streak of sellouts — regular season and playoffs — snapped when the Lions visit Paul Brown Stadium on Sunday.

Per the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Bengals still had 3,500 tickets remaining at the 1 p.m. Thursday deadline, forcing the NFL to give the AFC North-leading franchise a 24-hour deadline extension for the fourth time in seven home games. The Cincinnati paper reported that the team had similar trouble selling out home games against Houston (Oct. 18) and division rival Baltimore (Nov. 8).

Of course, blackouts are nothing new to Lions fans. Of the six home games to date this season, three — including both of the Lions’ wins — have been excluded from local television viewing. The only sellouts have been the Thanksgiving Day game (on the heels of a blacked out, come-from-behind win against the Browns four days earlier), the Steelers game (with plenty of help from Pennsylvanians) and the home opener against the Vikings, after an extension.

Eleven other games have been blacked out this season, through 12 weeks of play. While extensions have been issued to some of the NFL’s bottom-feeders (St. Louis, Oakland and Detroit), some of the league’s elite teams have needed an extra day to avoid blackouts. Defending NFC champ Arizona has gotten extensions four times, and San Diego three.

ALLEN PARK — A few weeks ago, defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham called safety Marvin White into his office and told him they were going to give him a few snaps.

“Fortunately we did. We gave him some to try to bring him along faster. Before you know it, he’s out there playing,’’ Cunningham said.

White started on Thanksgiving against Green Bay after Ko Simpson had been placed on the injured reserve list. White was the first and only body available. His first mistake was glaring. Donald Driver caught a 68-yard bomb and White was way too far behind the play. “He did some good things, he made a couple big mistakes and that’s expected. That’s the problem with getting these guys and two weeks later they’re out there starting,’’ Cunningham said.

“He’s scrambling to keep his head above water right now. It’s difficult, there’s no question about it. You can be as simple as you want to be in this day and age, but with all the things the offenses are doing it still creates a major, major problem for a young player. But he’s working like a dog to get better. That’s the good thing,’’ Cunningham added.

White is expected to start again on Sunday at Cincinnati.

With six defensive backs out for the season with injuries, it’s been a tough go for the secondary.

“Some of those guys I barely know their faces. It’s tough, it makes you work hard as a coach and try to prepare everybody as best you can. For the most part they’re listening,’’ Cunningham said.
— PAULA PASCHE

ALLEN PARK — Even though Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson both played in the Thanksgiving Day loss to Green Bay, it was clearly evident neither one was completely healthy. Stafford was playing with one arm due to his separated left shoulder and Johnson had knee and hand issues.

In fact, it’s been a while since both were on the field while both were anywhere near completely healthy. It goes back to the Oct. 4 game at Chicago when Stafford injured his knee late in the game and missed the next two. Johnson injured his knee the next week against Pittsburgh. Both have played the last four games but clearly they have not been at full-speed. Johnson still has a wrap on his left hand, but that shouldn’t impede his explosiveness.

Stafford and Johnson are back on the practice field this week and hope to bring the results to the field on Sunday at Cincinnati.

“We’re going to go out there and fly around. We’re working hard this week to make sure our execution goes right, goes according to plan,’’ Johnson said. “We’ve got a couple more days of practice here. Not looking too far ahead, we really want to get a good day in (Thursday) our third-down day. That’s got to be a nice crisp day. And we’ve got to have a good day on Friday. Not to look too far ahead, but on Sunday but it has to start right now to have some good practices in order to execute on Sunday.’’
— PAULA PASCHE



 

ALLEN PARK —  This week Chad Ochocinco, the mouth that roars for the Cincinnati Bengals, is doing his homework on the Lions’ defensive players.  The two teams meet on Sunday in Cincinnati. He’s has taken trash talking to an art form and it requires game planning.

“I do my homework on the individuals. I bring up things that they would never know — about their hometown, where they went to high school, their mom name, dad name, where they were born, where they were raised stuff like that,’’ Ochocinco said in a conference call this morning.

He can afford to talk this year because his Bengals are 8-3.

Read more about Ochocinco in Thursday’s Oakland Press.
— PAULA PASCHE