Green Bay Packers vs. Detroit Lions: Five keys to watch

Randall Cobb runs between Justin Durant, Drayton Florence and Pat Lee. Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports photograph

3.) Who’s the Packers’ kick/punt returner?

The Packers have a serious problem on their hands and a position that can greatly impact a football game. Sometimes in a game when two teams know each other as well as the Packers and Lions do, field position becomes a huge issue. While the Lions aren’t great on special teams with Michael Spurlock returning kick-offs at 20 yards-per-attempt clip, they aren’t quite as bad as the Packers with Jeremy Ross.

The Packers released Ross following a horrible game against Cincinnati in week three, and brought in a few no-name guys, none of which were offered a contract. So, the problem still remains for the Packers – who does the returning Sunday?

An educated guess for punt return would be rookie Micah Hyde. Hyde was a returner at the University of Iowa and also was part of the training camp battle for punt returner before losing out to Jeremy Ross. If Hyde isn’t the returner, look for Randall Cobb to be back there to ensure the Packers’ offensive possession.

As for the kick return game, one would have to think it would be Cobb returning kicks. However, after rookie running back Johnathan Franklin‘s performance against the Bengals, the Packers would be wise to save Cobb and give Franklin the first crack at returning kicks. Even though he lost a costly fumble against the Bengals in the fourth quarter, I think the Packers would be wise to give Franklin at least a shot at returning kicks Sunday.