Afternoon Lions Links for Friday 9-25-15

Lions Articles:

National Media:

Lions' Jim Caldwell won't say whether or not DeAndre Levy needs hip surgery:  http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/180990/lions-jim-caldwell-wont-say-whether-or-not-deandre-levy-needs-hip-surgery

Short passing game has been effective against Detroit:  http://espn.go.com/blog/detroit-lions/post/_/id/19111/short-passing-has-been-one-way-opposing-offenses-have-been-effective-against-detroit

Six Points: Lions vs Broncos:  http://www.foxsports.com/nfl/story/six-points-denver-broncos-detroit-lions-092515

Nine Lives: Which Winless Team Will End Up in the Playoffs? (8. Detroit Lions: The Lions are already in a lot of trouble. They’ve started the season by losing their first two games on the road by a combined 15 points, and each of those games needed garbage-time touchdowns from Detroit to make things look more competitive than they were. The Lions are already two games behind the Packers and 1.5 games down on the Vikings, given that Minnesota beat the Lions last Sunday. Mike Zimmer’s defense beat up poor Matthew Stafford during that game, knocking him down eight times on 53 dropbacks.  That sounds like the worst game ever, and while it looks like Stafford will play through a rib injury this weekend, injuries are giving the Lions fits. Star linebacker DeAndre Levy has missed the first two games with a mysterious, unexplained hip injury; the team had to deny rumors this week that Levy was suffering from a Chilean parasite, which seems absurd. Defensive end Ziggy Ansah missed practice time this week. The right side of the offensive line, Larry Warford and LaAdrian Waddle, missed Week 1. Warford is back, and Waddle should make his season debut in Sunday’s game against the Broncos, who have pressured opposing quarterbacks on a league-high 50 percent of dropbacks. If the Lions can’t beat Denver in their home opener, their playoff chances might very well not exist.):  http://grantland.com/the-triangle/nine-lives-which-winless-team-will-end-up-in-the-playoffs/

Local Media:

O'HARA'S FRIDAY FOCUS: Caldwell's Lions facing daunting challenge:  http://www.detroitlions.com/news/ohara/article-1/OHARAS-FRIDAY-FOCUS-Caldwells-Lions-facing-daunting-challenge/63652443-22c3-4f10-9077-05fe99323a0e

Injury report: Pettigrew out, Levy doubtful:   http://www.freep.com/story/sports/nfl/lions/2015/09/25/lions-broncos-injury-report/72815326/

Lions' Stafford on track to play; likely only 1 backup:  http://www.freep.com/story/sports/nfl/lions/2015/09/25/matthew-stafford-injury-detroit-lions/72798984/

Eric Ebron one of Detroit Lions' few bright spots, not that he wants to talk about it:   http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2015/09/detroit_lions_eric_ebron_5.html

5 things to watch: Running game might be Lions' best shot against Broncos:  http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2015/09/5_things_to_watch_running_game.html

Detroit Lions' odds of winning Super Bowl have plummeted after losses in first two games:  http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2015/09/detroit_lions_odds_of_winning_1.html

Joique Bell's Detroit: How the Motor City drives the Lions tailback:   http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2015/09/joique_bells_detroit.html

Previews and Predictions:

Game 3:  http://captainbluelionslinks.blogspot.com/2015/09/game-3-lions-vs-broncos-previews-and.html

Audio:

Birk's-eye view podcast with Lions craze Zach Zenner:  http://www.freep.com/story/sports/nfl/lions/2015/09/25/detroit-lions-podcast/72796590/