While doing my usually bumping around the net for all things Lions-related I ran into an interesting list by the well-respected Pete Prisco. The senior columnist for CBS Sports put together a list of the top 50 NFL Free Agents.

Of course with me being the Lions slappy I am I wanted to see where our Free Agents ranked and I was hoping they ranked highly just out of pure respect for there talent. These are our guys right? I also wanted to see who would be a nice pickup for the Detroit Lions out of the other Free Agents.

So unsurprisingly, the list starts off with Mario Williams at #1 and descends from there, well you don’t have to wait long to get to the Lions very own Cliff Avril sitting there at number 4!

I must say that as much as the Lions seem to get downplayed in the media I was a little shocked that they had Cliff Avril ranked so highly, now please don’t misunderstand me, I strongly feel that he definitely deserves the #4 ranking but I just didn’t expect it from big media.

I was very happy for the recognition our Detroit guy received and started puffing my chest out a little bit, but then instantly started to feel a bad feeling and it wasn’t gas smart aleck. That feeling was a sinking feeling and it still sticks with me right now. My gut is telling me that Cliff Avril is going to be gone unless the Lions use the franchise tag on him, which is not the prime option for either the player or the organization.

It’s amazing how Cliff Avril’s star has sky-rocketed!

Last year when I glowingly mentioned Cliff Avril’s name to a buddy of mine that lives in Chicago, my friend whose an avid Bear fan barely knew who I was talking about. But now, Cliff Avril’s name is well known because of the success of the Detroit Lions this past year and it may ironically end the relationship between the team and the player. I certainly hope not, I think Cliff Avril is heck of a talent and I’d hate to have that guy lining up against us. I also think his personality fits well with the people in this area, people generally like the guy in Detroit and feel that he’s one of us. He’s “Detroit cool”.

But is winning in the place he was drafted and is bringing a Championship to the place where he once went 0-16 truly important to Cliff? Who knows… Only Avril knows and if it is important will he give those feeling a place in the negotiations with the Lions?

We all know that the NFL is a business, but I’m not so jaded as to think that some players don’t still have a sense of sentimentality to their roots or to the city and people who live and die with them. Do NFL players still give “hometown deals” or do they always play the “it’s up to my agent” game? I guess we will see.

If Cliff is determined to grab every single penny that he can possibly get, he has every right to that and I won’t be mad at the man. I can’t feed his family so I won’t judge him, but if he is reasonable with the Lions and agrees to a contract that both pays him well and helps keep this team on track to a Super Bowl the guy will be a legend around the D. And that’s like currency, THERE ARE NO MORE PASSIONATE FANS THAN IN DETROIT!

The Alvin Harper Of D-Lineman?

Doug Karsch of the “Karsch & Anderson” show of 97.1 The Ticket radio show in Detroit posed the question of whether Cliff Avril is the Alvin Harper of defensive lineman or not. You know how Alvin Harper looked great when playing next to Michael Irvin in Dallas but when he left for the big contract in Tampa he proved to not be so great(to say the least). Alvin Harper’s success was a by-product of the Dallas system and the greatness of Michael Irvin. So is Cliff Avril’s case the same with Detroit’s wide 9 system and him playing next to Suh and the rest?

I truly don’t think that’s the case with Cliff at all, I think he’s a guy that is coming into his own and really becoming a star player in his own right. That doesn’t mean that I don’t think he wouldn’t continue to benefit greatly by playing on the same D-line as the beastly Ndamukong Suh, Corey Williams, Nick Fairley & crew. These guys have something special here and I hope Cliff values it. This team is on a fast track to a championship and Detroiters would love to see Cliff stick it out with us from the lowest lows to the highest highs. We’ve watched Cliff Avril grow, hopefully we don’t have to watch him go.

Here’s to hoping for some Detroit Love from the big guy!

Tidbits: Stephen Tulloch ranked #37 on the list of Top 50 Free Agents, Pete Prisco says this about the Lions MLB…

37. Stephen Tulloch, MLB, Detroit Lions: On a one-year deal, he had 111 tackles and two picks for the Lions. He just turned 27, so age isn’t an issue. He’s a steady player.

Wow. Screw the Pro Bowl, Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford is making up for the snub in a big way. He may have missed out on the honor of playing in the most unwatchable football game of the year but he’s getting his fair share of respect from the prestigious NFL Alumni association.

Matt Stafford beat out Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers for the honor of being named Quarterback Of The Year at the 30th annual Player of the Year Awards.

It’s good to see that Matthew Stafford is starting to reap the benefits of his league-elite talent. This award will go nicely with the Comeback Player of The Year award he just won. The last couple of years have been filled with loud mouth hacks doubting him, calling him “Glassford” and calling him a bust, now he’s showing that the Detroit Lions finally have “the guy”. Can you believe it? It’s really happening in Detroit!

In his acceptance speech he thanked his coaches and teammates.

“Wow, this is an awesome honor – I appreciate it,” Stafford continues. “Thank you, first off, to the alumni for voting for me. There are a lot of great quarterbacks that could have won this award and definitely deserved it as well. Any time an award like this is given out, it’s an individual award, but really, it’s won by the team. I couldn’t have done it without the teammates and the coaching staff in Detroit. I’m just happy to be part of that team and be part of this.”

Lion fans, this the first of many, many awards and accolades for this kid, we are watching the beginning of GREATNESS!

Calvin Johnson Beat Out For WR of The Year?

Not to get greedy or anything, but how the heck does Hakeem Nicks win Wide Receiver of The Year over Calvin “Megatron” Johnson? That’s plain retarded. I’m sorry. Calvin Johnson is the most unstoppable force at WR in the game hands down!

This is typical bias towards New York teams and athletes. The craziest part is that Hakeem Nicks might not even be the best receiver on his on own team. What did he do make a huge donation to the NFL Alumni or something? That’s some straight, uncut bullcrap. Wow, that rant just felt so right.

OK here are the rest of the winners…..

2011 NFL Alumni Player of the Year winners

• Quarterback – Matthew Stafford (Lions)
• Running Back – Maurice Jones-Drew, (Jaguars)
• Wide Receiver – Hakeem Nicks, (Giants)
• Lineman - Chris Long, (Rams)
• Linebacker – Aldon Smith, (49ers)
• Defensive Back – Brent Grimes, (Falcons)
• Player of the Year – Maurice Jones-Drew, (Jaguars)
• Lifetime Achievement – Randall Cunningham

After being inexplicably snubbed for the Pro Bowl and even snubbed as a Pro Bowl backup for the likes of Cam Newton, Matt Stafford finally receives some well-deserved recognition.

Following an amazing season in which Stafford threw for 5,038 yards 41 TDs & 16 Ints and led his team into the NFL Playoffs for the first time in over a decade, a panel of Associated Press voters has the Detroit Lions young gun its Comeback Player of The Year award.  Stafford started all 17 games for the Lions, playing in all but 12 of the teams offensive snaps, and was named an alternate to the Pro Bowl. He received 21 of the possible 50 votes.

Even with this recognition though, Stafford has been sold short by the accolade-givers in the NFL and certain segments of the media. But don’t expect that to last long, this kid is oozing with league elite talent.

All-Time Great Season for a QB

Let’s put Matthew Stafford numbers and season into perspective for a moment, only 3 other quarterbacks in National Football League history have thrown for 5,000 yards in a single season and only 5 QBs have ever passed for more than 40 TDs in a season.

Matthew Stafford joins Dan Marino (1984) and Drew Brees (2011) as the only NFL QBs to pass for 5,000 yards and 40 touchdowns in the same football season.

To really put a stamp on this accomplishment, check this out. Other than Dan Marino, Matt Stafford is 5 years younger than any of the other QBs who’ve passed for 40+ touchdowns in an NFL season (Aaron Rodgers, Kurt Warner and Peyton Manning were all 28 years old when they hit this mark) and 6 years younger than any NFL QB that reached 5,000 passing yards in a season (Drew Brees was 29 when he did in 2008). Pretty good for a kid huh?

Expect a lot more where that came from.

RUMOR MILL: 97.1 the Ticket is claiming that the Detroit Lions are in talks with the Oakland Raiders about trading a second round pick for RB Darren Mcfadden.

Sound FX: Matthew Stafford mic’d up

What truly defines “drafting for need”?

With the 13th selection in the 2011 NFL Draft our Detroit Lions have selected Auburn defensive tackle Nick Fairley (27½ tackles for loss, 13 sacks last year).

While many fans and national pundits are amazed that the Lions were able to snag the explosive DT, some others are crying and whining about not “drafting for need”, especially when a highly-touted corner was still on the board in Prince Amukamara. Obviously the Detroit Lions need more help in the secondary, on the O-line and more LB’s to fit around Levy, but this pick was absolutely the correct pick.

First, keep in mind that the NFL draft is not a 1-round affair, teams win or lose with their picks throughout the meat of the draft. You must win with your 2nd and 3rd round selections and that means drafting starters. After that, you need to find players that will contribute in other ways like special teams and becoming solid backups and potential starters within a couple years. Guess what? That’s the part of the Draft that begins tonight.

OK, to the pick and the process that I am such a fan of… Mayhew and Schwartz have shown me that they understand what a true “need” is.

When two teams line up against each other on Sunday who usually wins that game? The team with the BEST PLAYERS. Period. Not one single team is great across the board, everyone has holes, but the team with the superior talent usually is rolling with a momentum that is hard to stop. Talent wins out in the NFL. So there is your need, the BEST PLAYERS.

When the Detroit Lions selected Nick Fairley, a player that at one point in the pre-draft process was considered the top prospect available they chose the greatest need for any team. Supreme talent.  I mean did you see this guy play? Did you see the BCS Championship game? He is an absolute TERROR on the field! SUH part deux!!!

Do me a favor, hop into your waaaay back machine and check out the ancient history and what he did all the way back on January 10th 2011.

The Auburn defensive tackle put on one of the most dominant performances in recent memory, menacing the Oregon Ducks and propelling Auburn to a 22-19 victory in the national championship.

The beast of a DT blasted through double-teams and racked up five tackles (including three for a loss), a sack and a forced fumble, and he was applying CRAZY pressure all-dang-day-long! After the College Football Season he was seen as the surefire, absolute No. 1 pick in the NFL draft. If the draft were held on Feb 1st, the Lions wouldn’t have had as much as a sniff at this guy picking at 13! It’s amazing what a couple months and a bunch of talk does, it even erases game-tape apparently.

The Detroit Lions did exactly what a good team should do, they took the beastliest and best player on the board. Fairley weighs in at a hair under 300 lbs and runs the 40-yard dash in 4.8 seconds, and he has a nasty disposition to go with it. This guy matched up with Suh, Corey Williams and Sammie Hill will be a monster and we should be jumping up and down to have this guy in the D!

Welcome Home Nick, we want you here because don’t want you against us! The Detroit Lions got the best player available and it we might have been able to say that from whichever position we picked from, whether it was from #13 or #1.

- T.Lee