There Could Be a "Silva" Lining to Detroit Lions' Injuries

At the beginning of the season when final roster cuts were posted, Ricardo Silva found himself the odd man out and was relegated to the practice squad. I’ve heard everything from ”he was too much of a risk taker”, to ”he’s inexperienced”, to “he didn’t play against elite talent”. Whatever the case may have been, he didn’t make the final cut and Detroit gave John Wendling the final nod for special teams reasons. Now, with Amari Spievey and Eric Coleman banged up and set to miss some time, there is suddenly a lack of safeties in the Detroit secondary. Michael Sudds went on a rant when it all went down, and I’m here to continue that rant.

Outside of the passing clinic Stafford put on, the play of the 6’2” Silva was arguably the most talked about individual story of the pre-season. For most of the pre-season, Silva was the fourth safety behind Delmas, Spievey and Coleman as he racked up 14 tackles, one fumble, and two interceptions. Silva didn’t get much time, but when he got it, he made the most of it.

The number one phrase I hear is “he’s too much of a gambler”. So what?  Off the heels of an uber-fantastic comeback win against Dallas this past Sunday, Cornerback Chris Houston had this to say: "They were coming at us early. They were doing hitches, and I was getting tired of them. I came back in the second half and told my teammates I'm going to sit a little bit. It was third-and-short. I knew that they would probably go with hitches, and it came."

Hmmm…Sounds like a gamble to me. The tides turned on that play and the rest is history. Had Houston not made that play, we’d probably be reading a whole bunch more “Detroit is overrated because…” articles right now.  Point is this, you call him a gambler, I call him a playmaker.  Silva has instincts and playmaking ability and provides results. Routes, schemes, X’s and O’s can all be taught but instincts and playmaking ability are traits you’re born with.

Wendling is a special teams ace and will be nothing more than that. Bringing in an outsider would take too long to incorporate. So, all the more reason to dial up Silva’s number.  I’m not guaranteeing that Silva will be the long term answer. However, I’m not saying he’s not.  The only way to find out if his pre-season play was legit or not is to let him suit up on Sunday.  What do the Lions have to lose? It’s not like the Lions rely on their safeties to make plays anyway. If it doesn’t work out, they could always send him back to the practice squad, sign a veteran, or wait until Spievey or Coleman heal up.  

Maybe the Lions could take a page out of Ricardo’s playbook and take a gamble. Who knows? He could be the “Silva” lining to these injuries.