People think of T.J. Duckett in one of the following two ways -- 1) short-yardage back, 2) waste of a roster space. I'm in the former, but DuckTales (my new nickname for him, though I'll probably never use it again) wants the world to know that he's a back capable of doing everything."Right now, I really haven't limited myself to anything," Duckett said Tuesday. "I'm going to come and compete for everything, whether it's short yardage, whether it's between the 20s."Luckily for him, he may get the chance. The Lions' other running backs are about as durable as tissue paper, and that includes fellow newcomer Tatum Bell. Bell and Kevin Jones are also pretty generous with the ball; they each coughed it up five times last year, tied for 8th in the league (coincidentally, Jon Kitna was first with eight fumbles lost).
Turnovers like that are a sin with lieutenants like Marinelli at the helm, so if no one can prove themselves healthy or capable of carrying the ball, Duckett may get the ball more often. Then again, it's become obvious that Mike Martz runs the show on offense, and he prefers shifty backs who can take screens and get to the outside (when he remembers that running the ball is even an option, that is). So who knows.
