When Ndamukong Suh and the rest of the Detroit Lions show up to Allen Park on Wednesday, the next comment out of their mouths in relation to their war of words with the Atlanta Falcons should be, “We’ve moved on.”

This little exchange between Suh and the Falcons is rather inane. I would expect players like “Rodney” White and Todd McClure to be upset if opposing players were taunting Matt Ryan as their quarterback lies on the ground withering in pain. They’re right – the alleged taunts were uncalled for and I find it rather humorous that Suh called Ryan’s injury “karma” for the Falcons when a) Atlanta wound up winning the game, 23-16 and b) it appears as though Matthew Stafford emerged from the game with a more serious injury than Ryan did.

But Suh is also right when he suggested that the Falcons’ complaints were akin to the kettle calling the pot black. For years Atlanta’s offensive linemen have been accused of blocking past the whistle and cutting defenders well downfield in attempts to “clean them up.” It was much worse when nasty guard Harvey Dahl (now with the Rams) was around, but it’s nothing new for the Falcons to be called dirty.

That said, so what? It’s time for the Lions to move on because they clearly have bigger problems to worry about. Suh has the right to defend himself and he did that. But the Falcons have a bye this week, which means Roddy White has all the time in the world to respond to anything Suh says. Thus, the big DT and the rest of his teammates would be wise to drop the situation and devote their focus to more pressing issues.

Not only is Stafford’s health once again up in the air but the team has also lost two straight and Jim Schwartz looks like a man without answers. He has a top-5 pass rush and an overachieving secondary but that means very little when opponents can shred you on the ground and run towards victory. Plus, thanks in large part to Calvin Johnson, Detroit’s passing game is solid but they can’t stay balanced because they don’t have a running back and they couldn’t run-block even if they did.

Furthermore, Schwartz and his players would likely benefit from turning it down a notch. Schwartz is trying to change the mentality of a franchise that has been losing for over a decade and in some respects, it has to be refreshing for fans to see their head coach and players get so fired up. But after a post-game scuffle with the 49ers and a pre-game scuffle with the Falcons, tension seems to be building in Detroit and if Schwartz doesn’t get his team re-focused, the Lions’ previous 5-0 record might vanish in a heartbeat.

Good teams manage adversity and the great ones overcome it. Last season the Packers were a walking infirmary and they found a way to overcome all of their injury issues to win the Super Bowl. Not only do the Lions have injury concerns because of guys like Stafford and Jahvid Best, but they also have serious weaknesses on both sides of the ball that teams are exploiting.

For years the Lions have been irrelevant but their 5-0 start gained everyone’s attention. Now let’s see if they can handle the adversity that often comes with overnight success.

The San Francisco Giants’ catchphrase for the 2010 season was, “Giants Baseball: Torture.”

Maybe the Lions should adopt the catchphrase, “Lions Football: Where One Kick to the Groin Immediately Follows Another.”

Tom Kowalski of Mlive.com is reporting that Matthew Stafford may have a Grade 3 separation of his right shoulder and therefore could be done of the year. He had an MRI on Monday, but the results are unknown. He suffered a Grade 2 separation earlier this season that caused him to miss six weeks of the season, so obviously if his current injury is worse than that, then he’ll be out longer.

Making matters worse for the 2-6 Lions is that Shaun Hill, who played well when Stafford was out the first time, continues to recover from a forearm injury and may not be ready to play in Week 10. That means ineffective third-stringer Drew Stanton will once again start under center for the depleted Lions.

There’s no doubt that this young team is heading in the right direction under coach Jim Schwartz and GM Martin Mayhew, who has already put together a competitive roster. Mayhew needs to continue to add talent, but he and Schwartz also need that talent to stay healthy or else the Lions will have a tough time compiling victories. They’re not the 0-16 mess that they were under Matt Millen – far from it, in fact. But they’re also still a very unfortunate franchise.

Boy, it’s tough to see such a promising season derailed by essentially the same injury. If Stafford will indeed be out a while, Shaun Hill becomes an interesting pickup this week for owners in need of QB help. He may not be available for Week 10, but even so, he’s a nice addition to a QBBC for those owners still reeling from the loss of Tony Romo. If Hill is under center, the rest of the Lions will retain most of their value, but if the team has to turn to Drew Stanton for any length of time, it’s going to hurt Calvin Johnson, Brandon Pettigrew, Jahvid Best and Nate Burleson.

In somewhat surprising news, Lions’ head coach Jim Schwartz wouldn’t rule out Matthew Stafford (shoulder injury) for Sunday’s game against he Vikings.

Of course, Schwartz isn’t above playing mind games with the media when it comes to injuries, so this could just be a ploy to throw the Vikings off. (Not that they’re paying much attention anyway while trying to decided whether or not to trade for Vincent Jackson.)

Stafford sprained the AC joint in his throwing shoulder and was originally expected to miss 4-6 weeks. But there was a report out of Detroit last Tuesday that said Stafford may only miss 1-2 weeks, which is why Schwartz’s deceptiveness is interesting.

Still, Stafford missed practice today and if isn’t able to practice Thursday or Friday, don’t expect him to play on Sunday. Shaun Hill is likely to start under center for the Lions for the second straight week.

Following a controversial 19-14 loss to the Bears on Sunday, the Lions feared that starting quarterback Matthew Stafford may have to miss up to six weeks following a shoulder injury that he suffered in the first half. But according to beat writer Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, Stafford will not need surgery.

If Stafford can avoid surgery, he’ll likely be able to return at some point this season. But that doesn’t help the Lions’ present situation, as Shaun Hill now becomes the starter for the immediate future.

Hill completed 9-of-19 passes for 88 yards and an interception after replacing Stafford yesterday in Chicago and while his numbers would have looked much better had the touchdown to Calvin Johnson counted, the fact remains that his arm strength is a major issue. Jim Schwartz says that he won’t change the offense under Hill, but it may have to eventually because the former Niner has never been successful throwing the ball vertically.

Stafford not having to have surgery is a plus for Lion fans, but having to watch Hill for the next couple of months is unfortunate. Of course, the fan base is used to unfortunate.

Here are my top four plays against the spread for Week 5 in the NFL. (Fade at will.)

Steelers (2-2) at Lions (1-3), 1:00PM ET
The Lions are in trouble for a couple reasons, although none bigger than not having rookie quarterback Matthew Stafford (knee injury) run their offense. Stafford is expected to be sidelined for Detroit’s game against the defending champs this weekend, which means Daunte Culpepper will get the start. Even without Troy Polamalu, the Steelers defense should handle everything Culpepper throws their way and generate a turnover or two. This is another big test for Rashard Mendenhall. If he follows up his 165-yard effort against the Chargers last week with a dud against the lowly Lions, then the Steelers’ ground game is right back where it started at the beginning of the season (i.e. in trouble). That said, Ben Roethlisberger should have no issues moving the ball through the air against Detroit’s 25th ranked pass defense. Will this be the game Pittsburgh finally plays all four quarters and step on an opponent’s throat?
Odds: Steelers –10.5.
Prediction: Steelers 34, Lions 14.

Patriots (3-1) at Broncos (4-0), 4:15PM ET
The Broncos aren’t going to move the ball against the Patriots as well as the Ravens did last week, but they should have more than enough weapons in Brandon Marshall and Knowshon Moreno to keep the chains moving and give their defense time to rest. Speaking of Denver’s defense, as long as Elvis Dummervil and company continue to generate pressure, the Broncos should pull off the upset as home dogs this Sunday. The Patriots’ issues are far from solved and Bill Belichick knows his team has to go week-to-week and game-by-game. New England has struggled in Denver over the years, covering the spread just five times in its last 20 visits to the Mile-High City. This will be a great test for the Broncos defense to see where they’re at, and I think they harass Tom Brady just enough to earn a victory.
Odds: Patriots –3.5.
Prediction: Broncos 20, Patriots 17.

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