Five Detroit Lions with Something to Prove vs. Ravens

The Detroit Lions and Baltimore Ravens face off Saturday night in the third preseason contest. This is the game where the starters play the most, with many expected to play the entire first half. For several Lions, this matchup in Baltimore is critical to their roster fate. Here are five Detroit Lions with a lot on the line versus the Ravens.

Travis Swanson

Detroit’s starting center has not had a strong preseason but remains entrenched in his starting role only because primary competitor Graham Glasgow has been even worse. With the third-round rookie not ready for prime time, it’s imperative Swanson perform well against Baltimore.

It’s not a favorable matchup. Swanson’s biggest weakness is anchoring and creating movement against bigger, stronger defensive tackles. The Ravens run a 3-man front with two mountains of men in Brandon Williams and Timmy Jernigan on the inside. They often play a heavy, even-man front too.

Swanson has to show he can handle his own against the beefy front. He must also demonstrate he can make the proper line calls against a defense that likes to bring exotic pressures like the double-A-gap blitzes. In Pittsburgh, Swanson missed a couple of those pickups and nearly got his quarterback destroyed. The Lions desperately need Swanson to play well, if only to get critics like me off his back and have some positive buzz up front heading into the regular season.

Jimmy Landes

Sticking with the middle of the line, rookie long snapper Jimmy Landes needs a flawless night.

Even though he’s part of Bob Quinn’s first draft class, if Landes doesn’t prove he’s better than veteran Don Muhlbach he will not get the job. And thus far, Muhlbach has bested the sixth-round rookie…

In last week’s preseason game against Cincinnati, Landes did not have a good night. While the snaps were fine, he struggled in the coverage aspect of his job. The Bengals broke off a long return in part because Landes was buried on the ground by a good block.

When Bob Quinn released Stevan Ridley this week, it showed a willingness to roll with the better player, period. No. 42 needs to show he too can be flawless and prove worthy of his roster spot in a meritocracy. Sources tell me he’s had strong practice sessions lately. Hopefully it translates to M&T Bank Stadium.

Devin Taylor

Detroit’s starting left defensive end has played well all summer. Taylor racked up an impressive sack in the preseason opener and has earned nothing but praise.

He should feast in Baltimore. While the Ravens have a standout in rookie left tackle Ronnie Stanley, right tackle Rick Wagner is vulnerable. He just doesn’t have the footwork to handle defenders who can win with more than one move. But he’s also proven he can be pretty darn effective too…

After Wagner, Baltimore’s depth chart at tackle falls off a veritable cliff. Cornelius Lucas would be a major upgrade at No. 2 right tackle for the Ravens.

Taylor has shown a broader repertoire as a rusher. His sack in Pittsburgh came on an inside move off a nifty misdirection step. Against the Bengals he shed a block with an outside swim move. This sort of diversity is what helped Taylor finish 2015 with a flourish.

A strong night against Baltimore would help ease concerns about who rushes the passer opposite Ziggy Ansah. With Detroit’s top rusher facing a tough battle in Stanley, Taylor might need to be the primary generator. Can he rise up?

Alex Carter

Carter’s goal is proving he is worthy of a longer look in the final preseason game. The second-year corner had a rough game against Cincinnati, looking lost in coverage and flighty as a tackler.

Kyle Meinke of MLive wrote about Carter this week, with a pretty unsavory quote from Jim Caldwell,

“I think he’s been working hard. It hasn’t always been pretty, but we all know that playing corner in this league is not an easy job. He’s going to continue to improve. We’re just going to continue to work, and where it shakes out, we’ll figure that out at the end.”

Not exactly a vote of confidence, eh?

Expect a lot of Carter in the second half in Baltimore. He’ll be facing the likes of Chris Moore, Darius White and Jeremy Butler. Moore is a rookie deep threat who has played well this far but doesn’t threaten much on short routes. Both White and Butler are bigger wideouts likely competing for the same practice squad spot.

No. 33 for the Detroit Lions should have a strong game. If he doesn’t, Carter could be quickly running out of chances to make the team in 2016.

Orson Charles

It is great Eric Ebron is back as the starting tight end after his injury scare of a couple weeks ago. Behind him on the depth chart, it’s another story.

Cole Wick is wildly overmatched as a blocker. Matthew Mulligan is as pedestrian and replaceable as they come. Brandon Pettigrew sure looks bound for the PUP list as he continues to recover from his second ACL surgery.

The door is open for Orson Charles to seize the role. He took a step through the stoop last week, catching four passes and looking comfortable in the passing offense. Charles isn’t much of a blocker, but if he can prove worthy as a receiver once again it really helps his cause.

It won’t be easy. Baltimore’s cornerbacks are spotty but they have strong depth at safety and typically use those safeties in coverage against opposing tight ends. Charles has a chance to show he belongs if he turns out another productive night.