Every week during the regular season Tim Twentyman will answer 10 good questions from his Twitter account @ttwentyman in a feature we call "10 Questions with Twentyman."
20man: When I look at the offensive performance the first two weeks of the season, two things jump out to me.
1. Detroit needs to get more consistent play from the interior of their offensive line. Frank Ragnow currently ranks 29th among all centers by Pro Football Focus having allowed four QB hits and two pressures the first two weeks. That's very uncharacteristic for him. I can't remember a time he wasn't ranked in the Top 5 among centers, even early in the year. Graham Glasgow, who is dealing with a knee injury, has allowed eight pressures in two weeks. Kevin Zeitler gave up a sack Week 1. I think if those players inside play a little more consistent, and I believe they will, it will go a long way.
2. Detroit has to get back to making the play-action game a significant weapon again. They've gotten away from it a little bit early on and I think that's the best part of quarterback Jared Goff's game.
20man: For me, it's running back David Montgomery. For all the speed and passing weapons the Lions have, their identity is still a physical, north and south running football team. Detroit ranks ninth in rushing at 151.0 yards per game, which is still good, but a lot of that was late in the Week 1 win and they got away from it a little bit last week as part of the game plan.
When Montgomery is humming and being that physical force between the tackles, everything else is just so much easier offensively for this team.
20man: I think for the first time in a long time they have the players upfront along the defensive line to match up against a mobile quarterback like Murray. I know Baker Mayfield escaped the pocket a couple times last week and made plays, and Murray is going to do the same at times Sunday too. He's just too good a player. But this should be the first game we see all of Detroit's top five defensive linemen in a game together with Marcus Davenport and DJ Reader on track to hit the field together for the first time.
Detroit essentially puts five players at the line of scrimmage with Derrick Barnes at the SAM. With the push from the interior and the focus Arizona's going to have to put on Aidan Hutchinson, I really think they get it done rushing four and five without the use of a spy.
It will be really big this week to finish their rushes at the quarterback too. Mayfield escaped some rushes he probably shouldn't have last week if those players upfront finished at the quarterback. I'm sure that's an emphasis for DC Aaron Glenn this week.
20man: I'm not worried about tight end Sam LaPorta's production. And after talking to him this week, he isn't either. The emergence of wide receiver Jameson Williams has meant there's one more mouth to feed on offense this year. It's a little bit different from when Josh Reynolds was here because I think Williams is a No. 1 read in more plays than Reynolds was.
Where I think the Lions really need to make it a point to feed LaPorta is in the red zone. That's where he was so effective as a rookie. The Bucs did a good job taking some of that away last week with their Cover 7 looks and making the Lions use the flats in the red zone, but this is where Ben Johnson has to get creative. LaPorta on a linebacker or LaPorta on a safety in the red zone has to be a target at least a few times a game.
20man: I liked some of the things Tim Patrick did last week after being brought up from the practice squad for the game. His size and experience give the Lions something they don't have from anyone else in the No. 3 role.
"Yeah, we liked him. It was good to see," Lions head coach Dan Campbell said of Patrick (6-5, 210) this week. "I would say that was a positive showing to be able to get him out there and implement him in some of what we we're doing. It'd be nice to get him a little bit more, but I think that's what we'll do moving forward.
"The idea is to see if we can open this up a little bit and use him a little bit more, but he's big, he's physical, his catch radius is pretty enormous. So, there's a place for him here and yeah, I see us using him moving forward."
Patrick's going to get more and more comfortable the longer he's in the scheme, and Johnson will also get more and more comfortable with how to use him moving forward too.
20man: I think it's way too early for this conversation. I know Glasgow was dealing with a knee injury for most of the game last week and he battled through it. Kudos to him for that. Through two weeks, he's graded at No. 57 among guards by PFF and is credited with allowing two QB hits, six hurries and eight total pressures with no sacks. He'll be the first to admit he can play better. Detroit's also played two teams in the Rams and Bucs who have really good interior defensive line play.
Glasgow missed practice time to start the week with the knee injury, so we'll have to monitor his status for Sunday. If he can't go or his play doesn't get more consistent moving forward, the Lions have a number of options on the roster with starting experience including Kayode Awosika, who started the NFC Championship Game last year and played well, Michael Niese and Colby Sorsdal.
20man: The biggest issue I see with Goff early on is him trying to force some things he typically doesn't when he is playing really well and seeing the field. He's got three interceptions on the season, and it could easily be five or six.
I think Goff just needs to settle down a little bit, distribute the football all over the field, don't try to force feed any one target, and keep the football out of harm's way. If he does that, he and this passing game will be just fine. For me, it's just a little better decision making moving forward.
20man: I don't know about power running schemes, but I would expect Johnson to try and establish the run a little more this week, especially in the red zone. Detroit is averaging 35.5 rushing yards in the red zone over the first two weeks, which ranks sixth in the NFL.
The big thing for this offense is to stay on schedule, especially in the red zone. 2nd & 5 and 3rd & 3 open up the entire playbook for Johnson and make the defense have to cover the entire field. That's when the Lions have the advantage with their offensive line, run game and plethora of skill weapons. Whether it's running or passing, the biggest key this week is staying on schedule and having early-down success.
20man: The Lions played the Buccaneers twice last year — Week 6 and in the playoffs. Going into those contests with the game plan to be heavy in the passing game was successful both times.
Goff threw 44 times in the Week 6 win in Tampa Bay last year for 353 yards with two touchdowns, no picks and a 107.5 rating. In the playoffs, Goff threw 43 times for 287 yards for two touchdowns, no interceptions and a 103.5 rating. Looking at those numbers makes it easy to see why the game plan last week was what it was. Credit the Bucs for making the proper adjustments, especially in the red zone.
20man: Goff really trusted Reynolds and they had terrific chemistry. Reynolds made a lot of key catches and big plays for this offense last year – 40 receptions, 608 yards and five touchdowns. Some people remember the two drops in the NFC Championship Game most, but Reynolds was a reliable playmaker, especially on third down. When the Lions are in 11 personnel (one back, one tight end and three receivers) they are still trying to find that No. 3 receiver who can be as reliable as Reynolds was for them over the years.
