All eyes will be on Sam Darnold when the New York Jets open their season against the Detroit Lions.But the five big guys lined up in front of him will play a major role in the success 鈥?or failure 鈥?of the rookie quarterback and his offense Monday night."It's super important developing that trust and chemistry with your teammates Detroit Lions Hoodie ," Darnold said. "That's mostly what football is. We're on that field together, we've got to communicate. We've all got to be in sync together, so that's really what it is, just communicating."That has been a point of emphasis all offseason, but is particularly important this week as the 21-year-old quarterback continues to try to build a rapport with an offensive line that struggled with consistency last season.It's still a work-in-progress, though. When left tackle Kelvin Beachum, left guard James Carpenter, center Spencer Long, right guard Brian Winters and right tackle Brandon Shell trot onto the field in noisy Ford Field, it'll mark the first time all five will be together for a snap in a game."I'm very optimistic," offensive line coach Rick Dennison said. "I think they've worked hard and done a good job. Obviously, it's the start of the regular season and there's a little bit of the unknown, but I feel good about the guys."Beachum didn't play in the preseason because of a sprained right foot that kept him out of team drills for most of training camp. He has been a full participant in practice this week and appears to be a full go.Same for Winters, who dealt with tightness in his back this summer and sat out the second preseason game against Washington."We've been around each other quite a bit during this whole process, so we can't get into this excuse-making that people on the outside are trying to bring into the locker room right now," Beachum said. "For us Customized Detroit Lions Jerseys , we've got to go out and perform. We're professionals. Every one of us across the offensive line has played games in the National Football League. When our number is called upon, we know we've got to execute and perform."The Jets are facing a tough task off the bat with Ezekiel Ansah roaming the Lions' defensive front. He had 12 sacks last season and has been lining up on the right side of new coach Matt Patricia's defense, but is athletic enough to move all around the line.Beachum is fully expecting to face him quite a bit Monday night. The two last squared off in 2016 when Beachum was with Jacksonville. Ansah had four overall tackles in that game, but no sacks."He's a very disruptive pass rusher," Beachum said. "I would say one of the best in the league. The NFC North presents a number of different animals on the edge. He's one of those different animals in the NFC North. I'm excited to play him again. I know it's going to be a great test to start the year."The game will also mark Long's debut with the Jets after he signed with New York as a free agent in the offseason. He replaces Wesley Johnson, who struggled last year in a full-time role as the center after the Jets released Nick Mangold.Long, who spent his first four seasons with Washington, has impressed his new teammates with his cerebral approach to the game."He's been great, real good," Winters said. "He's a good communicator, a physical player. He's in the books a lot. He's a 'mind' guy and he kind of reminds me a little bit of Nick. Nick was real smart when it came to the breakdown of the game."Added Shell: "He analyzes everything and it's like he knows what's going to happen, so he puts us in the right position with calls. I'm just grateful to have him on the line."As the center, Long is responsible for calling the signals along the offensive line and making sure the guys on either side of him are seeing the same thing.Since offseason workouts, he has been working closely with his linemates on the field and in the film room, trying to develop the type of chemistry that will be key on gameday."It goes as he goes," Winters said. "He makes the calls and we've got to abide by it and listen to it. Whatever he says http://www.lionscheapshop.com/cheap-authentic-kerryon-johnson-jersey , goes. He's got a lot of weight on his shoulders, but we all trust in him."And, Darnold will need to have faith in all five linemen, who'll be trying to keep him upright while also giving him time to throw or busting open holes for the running backs to run through and get the offense moving consistently."He's done a great job of being able to communicate and understand what the defense is presenting him, and then putting us in a better position to either pick up a blitz or slide a different way," Beachum said of Darnold. "He's done things the right way to put us in a better position."At the end of the day, we have to make sure that we protect him."Detroit Lions Week 4 PFF recap: 5 top performers on offense, defense vs. Cowboys The Detroit Lions were seconds away from victory in Week 4, but a last-minute defensive hold was just not in the cards against a Cowboys offense that did what they wanted for most of the afternoon. That being said, there were plenty of individual performances on Detroit’s side that were promising, and Pro Football Focus shared the top five on each side of the ball. Here are the Lions’ top graded players on offense and defense from Sunday.OffenseWe didn’t need PFF to give us a grade to let us know that Golden Tate was the most valuable offensive player on Sunday. The eight catches (on eight targets) for 132 yards and two touchdowns made that pretty darn clear. Tate earned PFF’s highest grade of all Week 4 receivers, landing him on their Team of the Week. It’s also not surprising to see Matthew Stafford with such a high number. He completed 80 percent of his passes for a whopping 10.2 yards per attempt. His 90.2 PFF grade was second among all NFL quarterbacks Sunday, trailing only... [CHICAGO BEARS QUARTERBACK NAME REDACTED FOR SANITY’S SAKE]. Kerryon Johnson apparently had a solid game, despite little production outside of two carries, adding fuel to the GIVE KERRYON MORE CARRIES fire. Rick Wagner continues to be quietly solid, and Kenny Golladay is definitely in the middle of a breakout season. DefenseIt took Dak Prescott a little time to realize that throwing to Darius Slay was a bad idea Authentic Kerryon Johnson Jersey , but he finally learned. Slay was only targeted six times all game, forcing four incompletions and getting his hands on three passes, and the two completions Dallas managed went for just 20 yards total. More surprising is seeing two other defensive backs this high on the list. Glover Quin seems to have found his footing in the past two games, despite a really slow start to the year. And while Nevin Lawson always seems to get higher grades than he deserves, the maligned Lions cornerback did find himself in good positions to make plays against the Cowboys. He also nearly had his first-career interception thanks to a savvy play.I’ve already gushed a little about Da’Shawn Hand on Tuesday morning, but let’s do it a little more. You may remember that through three weeks, Hand was the highest graded rookie interior defender with an overall grade of 78.4. Though his Sunday grade was slightly lower than that average, his overall grade is actually even higher right now—sitting at 81.4, between PFF’s “elite” and “good” rating categories. Against the Cowboys, Hand produced two pressures, including what was almost a game-sealing strip sack. As a result, his 90.8 pass rush ranking was second highest among all interior defenders on Sunday.
