Jacksonville Jaguars punter Nick Harris (2) before a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Jacksonville EverBank Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE

The Detroit Lions still have a battle going on for their punting job with Ben Graham and Ryan Donahue both surviving the first round of cuts.

Neither has been able to separate from the other this preseason as both men have had a mixed bag of results. With neither man rising to the occasion, it stands to reason that the Lions might be interested in looking to see what else is available. It just so happens a familiar name became available today.

Former Lions punter Nick Harris was cut by the Carolina Panthers today.

Harris was released by the Jacksonville Jaguars earlier in April when the team drafted Bryan Anger. Jacksonville used a third round pick to acquire Anger and Harris was never given an opportunity to compete for the job he held in 2011. Harris finished last season with the same punting average as Ryan Donahue despite getting beat out by Donahue for the Lions punting duties during the team’s 2011 training camp.

Adding Harris to the mix this late might be a recipe for disaster but he is already familiar with the team, most importantly working as a holder for Jason Hanson, and the coaching staff. It might be the Lions’ best bet if neither of the two men currently on the roster can’t show a little consistency before the regular season begins.

January 7, 2012; New Orleans, LA, USA; Detroit Lions punter Ben Graham (2) against the New Orleans Saints during the 2011 NFC wild card playoff game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

A starting job with the Detroit Lions is up for grabs and there doesn’t appear to be a clear favorite. No, I’m not talking about at safety, I’m talking about the battle between Ryan Donahue and Ben Graham at punter.

This much is clear, only one man will make the team. The other will likely have to wait until some other team’s punter suffer’s an injury or gives up a big punt return after an ill-advised kick.

So, will it be Ryan Donahue or Ben Graham that wins the gig?

Here’s another question: does it really matter?

Astute football fans recognize the benefits of a great punter. Some of the game’s best, Shane Lechler for example, can drastically change his team’s field position fortune with a powerful sweep of his leg. Unfortunately for the Lions, neither of their options is on par with Shane Lechler.

Ryan Donahue beat out Nick Harris a year ago to win the Lions punting duties but suffered an injury that cut his season short after eight games. He punted 49 times for an average of 42.7 yards per punt, including 13 that landed inside the opponent’s 20-yard line and four that went for touchbacks.

Ben Graham took over the Lions punting duties last season after a disastrous one game experiment with Robert Malone. Graham averaged 44.1 yards on his 28 punts in seven games with 10 landing inside the 20-yard line and three going for touchbacks.

Graham is regarded as the better bet to pin an opponent deep based on his rugby style punting but he’s had a few punts get turned into big returns by the opposition this preseason. Donahue is generally the better “hangtime” punter but he had his fair share of moments of inconsistency. Each man’s performance for the Lions last year leaves little to distinguish one from the other. That being the case, does it matter who wins the job?

August 17, 2012; Baltimore, MD, USA; Detroit Lions tackle Ndamukong Suh (90) talks with defensive end Cliff Avril (92) their preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens at M

There were a lot of things that the Lions did better at this week versus the Baltimore Ravens than they did last week against the Cleveland Browns. The passing game for the first-team offense was more on point with Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson looking like they are in midseason form. The running game fell off the map completely, which was expected because the Ravens boast a top ten defense and the Browns starting defense is littered with scrub players. And, overall, the defense looked much better than last week.

Outside of the things you were able to see with your eyes, there were also five characteristics about Friday’s game that stuck out that many people may have missed. That is why we go five wide…

• The Lions did not feature fullback James Bryant at all last night. Earlier this month in training camp, Jim Schwartz stated that the Lions are not a team that uses a traditional fullback, which immediately allured to the fact that Bryant was going to be cut sometime down the road. What’s good for Bryant is that he will get to put some of his skills on game film. However, what the Lions did do last night was feature some of their tight ends at the fullback/H-back position. The Lions have been known to do this in the past and the team is able to utilize guys like tight end Will Heller who is tremendous at blocking, but can also catch a fair share of passes (except for the ball Heller dropped last night, of course). It may not be too out of line to say that Bryant will be part of the first cuts the Lions have to make after the third preseason game.
• Everyone knows that the replacement officials are awful and many media talking-heads have been clamoring for the NFL to end its lockout with its actual referees. This is true. In Friday’s game, the refs had several on-the-field conferences to ensure that they were making the correct calls and it severely hindered the speed of the actual game. The NFL cannot have officials slowing the flow of the game because teams lose out on so much momentum that way. Defenses are given a chance to catch a breather, fiery offenses simmer and coaches are forced to spend more time taking care of the officials that sometimes their focus is diverted away from their team. The regular NFL officials and the NFL must end this lockout and come to some sort of an agreement before the regular season begins.
• The Lions did something last night that the team has not done a lot of, if at all, since Jim Schwartz took over the job in 2009. The Lions defense lined up and successfully played in a dime alignment several times last night, specifically on third and long where this sort of defensive formation is most potent against passing offenses. The Lions brought out six defensive backs and lined up with a three-man defensive line, which is almost unreal to believe because the Lions have one of the best four-man fronts in the NFL and by playing dime, the team is taking one of its best players off of the field. The dime is effective because it allows the linebackers to be less vulnerable in pass coverage since teams use five or six defensive backs instead of four. The reason the Lions have not used this alignment that much since 2009 is because, for the first time in three years, the Lions finally have depth at the corner back and safety positions where there is enough talent to successfully align this way without it failing miserably. The team drafted three corner backs in the 2012 NFL Draft and the Lions also brought in free agent Jacob Lacey. Simply put, the Lions have the numbers to line up in the dime and it proved last night to be effective because no passing touch downs were allowed.
• Punter Ben Graham’s days may be numbered as a Lion. Second-year kicker Ryan Donahue has been kicking really well, especially after pinning a punt on the Raven’s two-yard line Friday, and the Detroit Free Press’ Dave Birkett pointed out the fact that Donahue has been the only person to hold for Jason Hanson the past two weeks while the kicker practices field goals during pregame warm-ups. The one thing that is just as important as the long-snapper’s snap is a sound hold from the punter, backup quarterback or whoever holds the ball for the placekicker. This is an interesting nugget of information to think about during the next two weeks of preseason action.
• Franchise-tendered defensive end Cliff Avril saw his first preseason action Friday night and it was quite telling about where he is at as far as regular season preparation goes. Avril made a few plays—however, he did drop  a sure-thing interception—but he was also caught out of position a few times. There were two or three plays where Avril missed containment on the left side of the line and the Ravens’ running backs were able to bounce runs to the outside for considerable gains. That is completely unlike Avril to do because the reason he was so successful last season was his ability to play traffic cop at the left defensive end position by forcing all opposing running backs to the middle of the field where Detroit’s most talented defenders play—the defensive tackle and linebacker positions. Avril has to make a few tweaks to his play by studying the film of Friday’s game, otherwise he may not get back to where he left off last season.