If the Detroit Lions had passed on a cornerback in the third round of the draft, Lions fans may have stormed the streets like an angry lynch mob. Fortunately, the Lions did finally address their dire need in the defensive backfield by drafting Louisiana-Lafayette cornerback Dwight Bentley in the 3rd round of the NFL draft(85th overall).

Bentley has a slight build but his fiestiness and willingness to hand-fight with bigger stronger players has been noted in scouting reports. Bentley is listed at 5-foot-10 and 179 pounds and has racked up 232 tackles, 13 for a loss, 1.5 sacks, 7 interceptions and 20 passes broken up in his collegiate career with the Ragin Cajuns.

During the NFL Scouting Combine, Bentley ran the 40-yard dash in 4.43 seconds. That speed helped Dwight Bentley return two interceptions for touchdowns in his senior year. He also earned All Sun-Belt Conference honors twice during his time at Louisiana-Lafayette. Continue reading “CB Dwight Bentley Picked by Detroit Lions in the 3rd Round of NFL Draft” »

If you’ve been keeping up with the latest NFL chatter, you have surely heard about the NFL investigation and crackdown on the New Orleans Saints for violating league rules. It has been written about in the various news outlets about the “Bounty Rules” that the Saints had out on players of opposing teams.

New Orleans Saints football players and at least one assistant coach kept a cash bounty pool of up to $50,000 the last three seasons to reward game-ending injuries inflicted on opposing teams’ players, including Kurt Warner and Brett Favre, says the NFL .

“Knockouts” were worth $1,500 and “cart-offs” $1,000, with payments doubled or tripled for the playoffs.

These revelations have caused some Detroit Lions fans on fan forums and Lions fan Facebook Groups to try and excuse the Lions for their lack of control in games.

The news of these “Bounty Rules” even has stirred up questions in some media members as to the true level of guilt to be assigned to the Lions for their actions, the talented Mlive writer Anwar Richardson posed the question “is it possible Lions players were just frustrated because the Saints – more like Devils – were playing dirty?”

Anwar’s article is an interesting read and the way many die-hard Lions fans have reacted is to be expected but let’s be real here for a second.
Continue reading “Saints “Bounty Rule” Is No Excuse For Undisciplined Detroit Lions” »

Can I just close my eyes and we all just fast-forward to the regular season?

Can somehow we find a way to just let us fans skip out on the drama of the franchise tags, possible holdouts, needed contract restructurings and high-priced free agent negotiations? Or at least let me because I am about to start pulling my hair out, I just want to open my eyes at kick off on opening day of the first game and see who is actually suited up and ready to play football for the Detroit Lions.

It’d just be a lot easier that way, this crap is just too stressful for Lions slappies!

The latest discouraging free agent news is that Stephen Tulloch and the Lions aren’t even close to making a deal yet, this after hearing that Cliff Avril doesn’t believe in the hometown discount. We knew the price of success would cost the Lions organization. But what about us fans?

There is a ton of hand-wringing amongst Lions fans and it sucks. I see it everyday on my Lions facebook page.

Don’t get me wrong, I will take the hand-wringing along with the winning of course, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it!

Yesterday I wrote about the beauty of Martin Mayhew’s moves and he deserves all the credit he has gotten so far, but boy do we need he and Tom Lewand to pull a few rabbits out of the hat this offseason in order to keep this ship headed in the right direction at it’s current fast pace. This is a critical stage and things could go bad quickly if not handled correctly.
Continue reading “How High Is The Price Of Winning For Detroit Lions Fans?” »

It’s been made painfully clear that the Detroit Lions are in bad shape financially as far as the salary cap is concerned.

With so many of the team’s own elite players either being free agents or soon-to-be free agents they are currently in no position to make a huge splash in free agency for the defensive back that they so desperately need in order to take that leap to the next tier of elite NFL football teams.

So the dreams of signing a Courtland Finnegan who is reported to likely be looking for at least 10 million per year or a Brandon Carr who will also likely demand a large salary are likely to go as unfulfilled dreams.

With that it mind, it seems that the NFL draft might be the only way to go for the Lions in order to truly fill this gaping hole on the squad.

I’ve been watching a lot of the NFL combine lately and it’s getting my juices flowing and has me thinking about the next few elite-level players that are soon to be drafted by Martin Mayhew and crew. Cornerbacks ran 40 times and various drills yesterday and today and it made it hard for me to not think about the absolute TOASTINGS the Lions got in their last two games of the year.
Continue reading “Lions Probably Can’t Afford Top FA Cornerbacks – Should They Trade Up In The Draft For One?” »

2/20/2012 - Wow! People are turning on Cliff Avril quicker than a gold-digger would on her newly-bankrupt 80 year old husband after a stock market crash!

Fans have long been known to be fickle creatures, so this doesn’t come as a surprise. But I wish my fellow Detroit Lions fans had a little bit more understanding for a man’s own personal financial decisions that are made public unlike most of ours are.

My question is this? Whose really being the selfish one, Cliff Avril? Detroit Lions fans? Both maybe?

Everyone will obviously have a different opinion and that’s the beauty of debate with other fans of the same team.

Cliff Avril’s decision on what his contract demands are, are his decision and his right as a man. How do you feel when someone tries to count your money? You don’t like it right? Well the messed up thing about a professional football player’s situation is that everybody is counting his money and deciding what is “enough” for him and his family.

It’s funny that so many people love capitalism and free markets until it comes down to a pro athlete who is really a business in and of himself. I especially don’t begrudge a man’s contract demands when he is taking the field in the National Football League.

Why? For the very obvious reason that every time these men take the field they have a very legitimate chance of being carted off that exact same field on that very day. Do you remember Bo Jackson and how great his career would’ve been? Do you remember Detroit Lions Mike Utley or Reggie Brown and how great they could’ve been?

Well that could easily be any NFL player that touches the turf on any given Sunday in the organized violence that we call the NFL, a life full of would’ve beens and could’ve beens. When is the last time those woulda & couldas paid a bill?
Continue reading “Possible Cliff Avril Holdout Worries Me But Doesn’t Anger Me – You Mad?” »

I’m positively sure that I was part of a large group of Lions fans that were ecstatic about the prospect of having the big bruising back out of Illinois, Mikel Leshoure getting ready to bring his package of power and speed to the Detroit Lions backfield.

I admit that initially the draft pick caught me off guard because I wasn’t expecting the Lions to select a running back in the second round of the NFL draft, but I certainly got over the surprise of it all very quickly. I was and still am super-excited about Mikel Leshoure and what he will bring to the table.

I know he had to be truly disappointed to go down with his Achilles tear, so was I and thousands of other Lions fans. I really, really felt bad for the guy because of his great attitude and bubbly personality. The minute I saw his homemade video of the Lions drafting him I was happy to have him in the D.

To top off his exuberance to be with Detroit he went and got a Lions tattoo on his arm to show it loud and proud, even though I’m not big on tattoos for me, I became an even bigger fan of the guy. I remember when players could hardly hide the fact that they really didn’t want to be here and now guys are getting freakin’ tattoos!

But besides his high likeability factor (Sorry Suh), Mikel is a pure runner and a talented back. The guy has shown in college that he can be both thunder and lightning. He’s not some slow plodding big back, this 6’0″ 233 lb guy can get it in gear! He is just what the Lions needed this year! EXACTLY what they desperately needed.

So the question came to my mind today… Will Mikel Leshoure be fully recovered for the 2012/2013 season or will it take 2 years?

I must admit when I first heard about the type of injury I cringed and cringed hard. You never want to hear about your running back get an injured Achilles or knee, but especially an Achilles. Why? I don’t really know though because there isn’t really much history to go back on concerning RBs with Achilles injuries so it’s not like it’s some proven kiss of death for backs.

I found a couple of interesting and encouraging pieces of information though, firstly, the Mayo Clinic says recovery from an Achilles tear to full activity takes 4-6 months although they are obviously talking about full activity for normal people and not world-class athletes it’s still good news. But the second piece of encouraging news is the recovery that Demaryius Thomas of the Denver Broncos had this year, he looked pretty good on that electrifying 80-yard touchdown scamper in overtime against the Steelers didn’t he?

Demaryius Thomas came back from his torn Achilles in the same year that he tore it, he tore it in February of 2011 and was playing an important role for Tim Tebow and the Tebowites(A.K.A Denver Broncos) by mid-season, he played his first game of the season on October 23rd 2012. But then again who knows, he might have been miraculously healed by touching Tim Tebow’s jersey or something. Mikel can’t count on that.

All jokes aside, as a Lions fan I’m truly hoping to see Mikel healthy for his own sake and for the team he has embraced so graciously, I have a feeling Mikel Leshoure is going to be a big fan favorite in Detroit. He certainly has a fan in me, I’m rooting for the big guy and looking forward to seeing him take the NFL by storm!

 

 Mikel LeShoure Highlights

Today was an interesting day, if I can say anything I can say that Detroit Lions fans are a passionate crowd about their team and their “guys”. I started a little bit of an argument today over at the mlive forums when I introduced the idea that Calvin Johnson and Matthew Stafford have a very good chance of becoming more iconic in Detroit Lions football lore than the great, great, GREAT(3 times for emphasis) Barry Sanders.

Wow, you would have thought I called somebodies mom fat or something! (well I probably did but that’s beside the point, lol!)

Most Lions fans were having NO PARTS OF IT, it was hilarious! But is the premise that far-fetched? I think not.

By nature almost, Barry Sanders is BY FAR my favorite Detroit Lion of all time and he’s known as arguably the greatest Lion the ever played the game of Football. Barry Sanders is the reason I was able to stay loyal to the Lions throughout the Millen decade of despair, Detroit Lions football was absolutely epic to witness when #20 hit the field. Every time Barry Sanders touched the ball I would stop breathing for a split second because he made me forget to breathe, I was too busy waiting for the amazing to happen and it usually did. I’ve never seen anyone like him.

So when I pose the question of whether his greatness can be eclipsed it seems almost like a Lions fan cardinal sin, but it’s not. The reason that I believe Megatron and Stafford have an opportunity to pass Barry in greatness is because they are just that good. Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson are once-in-a-generation types of talent, it’s that simple.

Barring injury, Calvin Johnson will go down as the greatest wide receiver to have ever played the game, the man is literally playing on another level than the competition. What other wide receiver have you ever seen that gets bracketed at the goal line to the point that it looks like the gunner positions in punt coverage? You haven’t seen it, only with CJ because he’s that special of a player.

On the mlive forums I heard everything from the idiotic “Barry makes more phenomenal plays in one season than these two will in their careers combined” to the true “Barry Sanders is still seen as one of the best at his position EVER”.

People get too emotional when considering Barry Sanders and the pleasure he brought the entire NFL on Sundays, this is about the here and now and the same statement made about Barry’s rank amongst his position all-time will be said about Calvin Johnson. The difference? Megatron will be hailed as the greatest at his position ever, not only top 5.

Now Matt Stafford obviously has more to prove, he needs to still stay healthy in which is as likely as any other quarterback in the NFL, he had fluke injuries that painted him in a bad light amongst crybaby fans that probably wanted the Lions to draft Aaron Curry and are just desperate to be right for once in their lives. The kids is as tough as nails and just a true winner. Throwing to Calvin Johnson AND being supremely talented adds up to a future of AMAZING plays, big game victories and chances at Super Bowl victories.

With spectacular plays being equal, the winning will propel these two current Lions to the head of the class in regards to legendary status in Detroit Lions history as well as the NFL record books.

What do you think, am I right or am I right?

And with all that having been said…. “Bar-ry, Bar-ry, Bar-ry!!!”

 

 

 

Yesterday’s Super Bowl was decently entertaining. The first half was boring and the second half was pretty good. I couldn’t help but envision the Honolulu blue and silver taking the field for the biggest game on the biggest stage soon.

While watching these two good teams play I also couldn’t help but get the feeling that I’m watching teams that are not much better than the Lions. As a matter of fact I don’t think either team is better than the Lions AT ALL. I know, I know…. I can already hear the cornbread and Kool-aid jokes flying towards me at the speed of light, but I’m serious. The Lions can win the Super Bowl if the Giants can and I still feel the best two teams in the league this year was the Saints and Packers.

The Patriot’s pass defense is horrible but they made it to the Super Bowl because of Tom Brady, the Giants are a solid team throughout that rode a great D-line and a hot-handed QB to a championship victory.

Now ask yourself this. Did you see a noticeably higher level of football being played? I sure didn’t. Much like the Packers last year, the New York Giants were on the doorstep of not even making it into the NFL Playoffs.

So what does it take to win now and why is it that the Lions have just as much as anybody in this league?

It takes an elite quarterback an opportunistic defense and a bit of good fortune, that’s about it.

The Lions have everything we could possibly want in a QB, I just wrote about how amazing Matt Stafford is recently.

The Lions simply need to stay on the course they are on, they are headed towards being champions I can smell it in the air and NO that’s not cornbread baking, they need to keep as much of this young nucleus of play makers together as possible and I’m sure Martin Mayhew has that goal in mind.

Our defense got shredded at the end of this year, partly because our corners and safeties were dropping like flies in the second half of the season, but in part because we simply need a couple upgrades back there(why don’t our corners turn their heads around and look for the dang ball? Anyway…)

The Detroit Lions have shown that they can score with anyone in the league, they don’t have too far to go to be pretty good on defense as well. The first half of the season showed as much. Hopefully Cliff Avril is brought back for a fair amount of money along with an upgrade at corner and someone to compete for Spievey’s safety spot and within a year we could be seeing our Lions playing in and even winning the Superbowl.

You heard it hear first, now pass me that Honolulu blue Kool-aid!