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: You can certainly make a case that Stafford didn't see the field very well in that Week 1 loss to the Jets. He threw four interceptions in the blowout loss, and a couple of those were on bad reads when there was another option open available to him.
Last week in San Francisco, I didn't think that was really the issue. Stafford made the right reads and had opportunities for big plays, but he simply didn't execute the throws. He missed Marvin Jones Jr. deep on go routes twice when he had a step on the defender. He missed Kenny Golladay another time. He read it right, but just didn't execute it.
The Week 1 game was a bit of an anomaly, if you look at the totality of Stafford's career. He's played a lot of football, and I think he'll be fine. When it comes to the list of problems right now for this football team, he's a long way down the list.
20man: A little of both, but I'd tip the scale more toward personnel right now.
Ziggy Ansah playing a grand total of a quarter and a half of football through the first two games hasn't helped. I think we have to wait until he's back before we make any real conclusions.
That being said, I don't think the Lions are getting enough good play across the board from the guys upfront on defense. Rookie Da'Shawn Hand is the only Lions defensive lineman except Ansah with a positive grade from Pro Football Focus through the first two games. He actually grades out 18th among interior defensive linemen. He's been good.
Detroit's gotten good play on the edge from some of their on-the-line linebackers, but those guys are edge players and not considered defensive linemen. The Lions need more contributions from the collective group of defensive linemen moving forward.
20man: This is a fair question. Davis has been a bit disappointing these first two games. He has just 10 tackles in two games with some missed tackles and bad angles showing up on tape. He ranks among the bottom in Pro Football Focus' tackling efficiency grades for linebackers.
Part of that, I think, is learning a new scheme and there being an element of thinking instead of just going out and instinctively playing.
I'd say one area where he has improved is his pass rush. He worked really hard with Devon Kennard on that aspect in training camp, and I see the results. Davis has two sacks already on the year.
Davis would be the first one to say he hasn't played well enough, like a lot of players on defense so far. New scheme. New coach. New responsibilities and techniques. I'll give it more time.
20man: Here's how you have to look at the current situation at tight end for the Lions.
The things Eric Ebron did well were generating big plays down the field and the run after the catch element in his game. That's not the strength of this current group of Lions tight ends.
The things Ebron didn't do so well, like the in-line blocking or having consistent hands, is a strength of this group of tight ends.
So, it's kind of a give and take.
Golladay seems to have taken over a lot of those Ebron targets, and is doing a good job so far, but the Lions aren't getting a lot of production from the tight end position early on this year (just four catches total).
Ebron has seven receptions for 77 yards and two scores in two games with the Indianapolis Colts.
20man: The Lions appear to have a tight end by committee so far.
Here are the snap counts through the first two games:
Luke Willson – 54
Levine Toilolo – 42
Michael Roberts – 21
Hakeem Valles (Week 1 only) – 18
By snap count, Willson is the No. 1 tight end, but Roberts was in the game late in the red zone. Detroit tight ends have combined for four receptions (one each) for 40 yards and Roberts' lone 15-yard touchdown last week.
I'd say right now there isn't really a true No. 1 tight end on this offense. Maybe it will develop as the year goes on, maybe not.
20man: Good question. Riddick's played that third down role and played it really well ever since entering the league in 2013. That key drop on third down last week in the stalled out final drive was pretty uncharacteristic of him. When Riddick gets the ball in space in the middle of the field, he's proven to be dynamic.
However, Johnson does need to touch the ball more for the Lions, whether that's running it or catching it out of the backfield. He's patient, and makes yards after contact. He looks like he has the ability to make plays, if only he had more opportunities to do so.
I think there can be better balance there between Johnson and Riddick on third down.
20man: This is an important game for the entire organization, coaching staff and 53-man roster. I wouldn't just limit it to Stafford, Jim Bob Cooter and the offense. The Lions need a win to right the ship and still get to where they want to go.
Like you said, based off last week, this could be a good matchup for Stafford and the offense. Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles threw for 377 yards and four touchdowns last week, and that was without the threat of running back Leonard Fournette, who didn't play. The Jaguars were 10-of-14 on third down, and the Patriots uncharacteristically blew a couple of coverages.
I suspect Bill Belichick and Co. will have some of those issues ironed out, but the Patriots are missing some pieces on defense, and currently rank 27th in total defense (402.5), 27th against the run (135.5), 23rd against the pass and 23rd in points allowed (25.5).
There could be opportunities to make plays for the Lions' offense Sunday night at home.
20man: The Lions have thrown the ball 99 times this season and ran it 33 times. A 3-to-1 ration is not what the Lions want or planned for entering the season. Game situations have partly dictated that. The Lions have been down by double digits in the third quarter of each of their first two games. When that happens, teams have to throw the ball to try and get back into the game.
Everything I've heard over the last six months is that the offense wants to establish the run and be more balanced, but they have to at least be in the game to accomplish that.
We saw big improvements with the run game from Week 1 to Week 2. As long as they don't fall behind big to the Patriots on Sunday, I'd expect to see more than the 18 rushing attempts (5.4 average) they had last week against the 49ers.
20man: I think that's really yet to be seen this season. I thought there were some encouraging signs last week. Detroit averaged 5.4 yards per rush, which is highly efficient, but the deficit in the second half forced them to abandon the run in favor of throwing the ball to get back into the game.
Stafford attempted 53 passes against the 49ers and was sacked twice, both looking to me to be more coverage sacks than anything else.
There's a lot of pressure on those two units. That's where GM Bob Quinn has spent serious money and draft resources to build up. I think the nature of the first two games has prevented us from seeing how the line and running backs can work together.
20man: The Lions, like a good number of NFL teams, use a lot of 11 personnel, which is three receivers, one tight end and one back. They have some two-back looks we've seen in the past, but not a lot.
It's a matter of personal preference, game plan and how Cooter likes to play offense. All coordinators have a unique style, and using a lot of two-back sets isn't Cooter's style.
