Could Alim McNeill Return Before Detroit Lions Bye Week?
The Detroit Lions could have the services of defensive lineman Alim McNeill sooner than expected.
Just hours after head coach Dan Campbell told reporters the talented defender could return to practice this week, he updated McNeill's potential return timeline.
During his weekly radio interview on 97.1 The Ticket, Campbell was asked if McNeill had the potential to return to action prior to the team's bye week.
Detroit has three games ahead before their Week 8 bye. Campbell's squad faces the Bengals, Chiefs and Buccanneers before their week off.
"I think we're going to see if we can do that and how comfortable he is," said Campbell. "So much of it is about: what what does he look like? How does he feel? I think it would be nice to try to do that, if we could. But, we're not going to say for sure, 'Alright, this is when you're playing, there's no doubt about it.' Let's just see where he's at."
Detroit's fifth-year head coach praised McNeill and the team's medical staff. A significant amount of work has been done to assist the former third-round pick in his efforts to return to practice and eventually back to the field to help Kelvin Sheppard's defense.
"Dude. He's unbelievable," said Campbell. "This guy, listen, he's been trending the right way. And it's being honest, being conservative with him, making sure that we're smart about this. The guy has put in the work. He's looked phenomenal.
"We're talking about with Brett Fischer and those guys -- we were talking in August about how good the guy looked and that he may be ahead of schedule. It's just this thing's taken off and his strength is really good in the knee. And that's the that's the biggest thing is getting the strength and flexibility back in the knee," Campbell commented further. "And he got that pretty quick, because of the work that he put into it."
Detroit tends to be conservative in their approach to playing members of the roster that are returning from injury. Campbell noted he wants McNeill to be able to produce and be able to protect himself.
"It's just been about, man, let's make sure we're smart with this," Campbell said. "That we reach that minimum threshold as to, okay man, we know this thing is healed, it's ready, the flexibility is right and the strength is right. And he can protect himself and produce. So, he's there, we feel like."
If the team decides to wait, the first game back for McNeill could be Week 9 against the Minnesota Vikings.
Sturm’s Third-Line Experiment Fizzles in Preseason Shake-Up
The Boston Bruins' third line on Monday night against the Philadelphia Flyers made a ton of sense on paper. It featured Fraser Minten, who projects as the team's two-way center of the future, who brings defensive reliability and is still searching for his offensive upside. Minten's wingers should've been able to bring out that offensive upside, as Matej Blumel funnels shots at the net at a high volume, and Matt Poitras is the prototypical playmaker.
The line's experience should give fans and the coaching staff some caution about expecting the trio to be a line in the regular season. It'd be hard for them to comfortably play 82 games at the NHL level without expectations of some regression and nights where they struggle. However, in a season where there are few expectations for the Bruins, it could be the perfect year to feature this line and build it up as a potential third, and eventually second, line of the future.
Well, the line lasted only two periods. Poitras moved up to the second line with Casey Mittelstadt and Pavel Zacha, while Viktor Arvidsson moved down with Minten and Blumel. I don't disagree with that move either, as the concept of Arvidsson automatically getting a second-line spot didn't seem right. He brings a speed and tenacity that could fit alongside Minten and Blumel while also lending some veteran leadership.
Head coach Marco Sturm's comments post-game make me think that he really wants Monday night's third line to work. It's too late in the preseason for him to be throwing lines together just for the sake of doing it, and it feels like the coaching staff feels that this line could work on paper as well. The challenge will be for the trio to actually show it on the ice.
"“They practice so hard and so well the whole time, and I feel like in games, they think too much. So, I gotta get them out of that.”"Marco Sturm
It raises an interesting question. While everyone thinks that those three are vying for the final spots in camp, is there a chance that the trio will be Providence's first line to start the season? Considering the lack of expectations, an idea for the front office is to gel them as a line in the AHL and then recall them all to Boston at the same time at a later date. They wouldn't be the first team to implement that strategy.
