The Lions benched struggling rookie cornerback Darius Slay in the second half against the Minnesota Vikings, replacing him with veteran Rashean Mathis. But during his Monday press conference, head coach Jim Schwartz confirmed Slay will remain the starter when the team travels to Arizona to face the Cardinals next week. "Slay is still our starter out there," Schwartz said. "He had given up a play in front and a play behind and it looked like they were getting ready to start picking on him. "You just need to put that fire out and what better person to put a fire out than a very experienced veteran like Rashean Mathis, who came in and did a good job in the fourth quarter." Minnesota quarterback Christian Ponder was limited to 45 yards passing and an interception in the final quarter of the Lions' victory. Slay struggled from the start, failing to tackle Adrian Peterson on the running back's two first-half touchdown runs. In coverage, the Vikings went after Slay a half dozen times, completing four passes, including a 47-yard bomb to Jerome Simpson late in the third quarter that landed the rookie on the bench. "We still have got a lot of confidence in Slay," Schwartz said. "He made a couple nice plays in the game. It was a really a good experience for him. We saw him in the preseason get better each step of the way. Regular season, as he found out, is a completely different thing." Source: MLive.com
