OK, so with all of the wacky tabacky issues our Detroit Lions have been going through I was a bit hesitant to use the phrase “get off the pot”. I don’t want to confuse you, but this article is not about the Ganja and I’m making no references to the sticky green. Are we clear? Good.

This is all about players who have flashed elite-level talent but that’s all they have given us, flashes. This is about players who need to show up big this year or else get classified as a SO-SO football player. I don’t have to tell you what happens to so-so football players, but I will anyway. Their team starts looking for replacements.

You might get ticked at me if one of your favorite players is on this list but don’t blame me for their consistent level of just better than mediocre! Sheesh….

Oh, and I’m leaving off all players that haven’t shown ANY flashes, like Amari Spievey for example. Players like him aren’t good enough to make this list. Sorry Amari…

On to the players watch list.

1. DeAndre Levy – The 4th year LB drafted out of Wisconsin has been a steady yet unspectacular player even though given tons of playing time at multiple positions. Don’t scream at me, I’m not saying Levy sucks. He is pretty good in pass coverage and he is a good technical player with 109 tackles to show for it last year. That’s all well and good, what…ever.

The problem with DeAndre Levy is that he simply doesn’t make enough big splash plays. Continue reading “The “Piss or Get Off The Pot” Watchlist… Detroit Lions Players Who Need To Step It Up” »

OK, let me be very clear about this so that I don’t get any crazy comments directed towards me. I’m very happy to have Kellen Moore on the team. He’s the winningest QB in NCAA history, boasting a ri-dic-u-lous 50-3 record over his career. That’s awesome and I think he has all of the potential in the world.

He could be the next Drew Brees for all I know, he could also be the next Koy Detmer as well. Whose to say?

Either way I don’t care, I just would hate for him to become Detroit’s own Tim Tebow as far as hype and unwarranted coverage is concerned.

I’m just getting a little bit concerned for my Lions fan brethren and the local Detroit sports media. An undrafted QB brought in to compete for a spot at no.3 quarterback is not truly THAT exciting. But I’m seeing the beginnings of a Tim Tebow-esque style of coverage coming around the corner and I don’t like it one stinkin’ bit.

REAL training camp hasn’t even started yet and my left eye is already starting to twitch at each unnecessary mention of Kellen Moore. Continue reading “Hoping Not To Get “Tebowed” With Media Coverage Of Kellen Moore” »

How did this happen? Where did the narrative that “Gosder Cherilus isn’t that good” come from?

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Whether it is fans of the Detroit Lions or talking heads in the Detroit sports media, I get the sense that everybody is waiting and expecting Gosder Cherilus to be replaced at the first opportunity, especially now that LT Riley Reiff was drafted. My question for you is simple. WHY?

I don’t know what it is about Gosder, but he doesn’t seem to garner much love from fans or media even though he is a really good player. Do you doubt that? Well then, I have another simple question for you. WHY?

I don’t know whether it’s the fact that Cherilus was a 1st round draft pick that none of us expected, or that he isn’t a Pro Bowl player yet or maybe even it’s that he has a bulbous head and kinda looks and sounds like Biz Markie, but Detroit Lions fans underestimate the big guy greatly.

2010 was the make or break year for him in my eyes because he certainly had underwhelmed in his first 2 seasons. The thing about it is this though… Gosder Cherilus started playing VERY good football in his 3rd year. He was very impressive in pass blocking, he was one of our better run blockers but then he got injured against New England in the Thanksgiving Day game on November 25th 2010.

I remember thinking about how much of a shame it was that he got hurt when he was actually becoming the player he was drafted to be in the 1st round. Well evidently, some of you missed out on that observation and only absorbed the disappointment of the injury and resumed seeing him as the Gosder from years 1 and 2.

The injury Gosder Cherilus sustained required micro fracture surgery, a surgery that has ended MANY professional sports careers. It’s one of those surgeries that some guys simply can’t recover from. So going into the 2011 season, I was simply hoping that the guy’s career would continue and that he’d be able to be on the field for MOST of the season and do reasonably well.

What did Gosder do?
Continue reading “Gosder Cherilus Won’t Be Beat Out At Right Tackle” »

Ahhh, don’t you love the 20/20 view of hindsight? With so many Detroit Lions fans having their panties in a bunch(my Lion-print panties included) over the Lions current draft selections, I began reminiscing to the past years when the Lions drafts were praised and graded as an A almost across the board by fans and media.

Those were the good old days, it seemed that with each Matt Millen draft pick the excitement level would rise, along with my hopes and dreams.

How did you feel about Matt Millen drafting our savior and future Hall-of-Fame QB Joey “Heisman” Harrington? Weren’t you geeked up to get that blazing fast wide receiver named Charles Rogers out of our own backyard? He was going to be great alongside Roy Williams. Who could defend that offense? Remember?

All Talk Millen - (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Who wasn’t excited about the “track team” we were putting together when Millen and the Lions drafted the speedy Boss Bailey in the 2nd round of that same draft? Speed kills had become the mantra in the D! Woo hooo!

Let’s not forget about Kalimba Edwards (known as Kalimbust Edwards in my circle of friends), Mike Williams, and 2nd round “steal” Teddy Lehman!

Most of us were sooooooo excited at these draft selections, Mel Kiper and the other talking heads patted their buddy Millen on the back until they left bruises on the guy, Millen was the draft day guru!

But then the players had to actually play. WHOMP WHOMP…. Continue reading “Matt Millen’s Draft Picks More Celebrated Than Martin Mayhew’s – 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.

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

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?” »

Thank goodness the Lions have a smart GM that knows the true value of talented players that consistently contribute to winning.

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

I get so sick of slash and burn type fans that are quick to dismiss players who are clearly valuable to this football team.

You should see how (some) fans talk about Nate Burleson, as if he isn’t the highly productive emotional leader of the wide receiving corps.

Just because Corey Williams’ name isn’t all in the press and headlines doesn’t mean that he isn’t an absolute stalwart on this defensive line and another team leader.

With the Detroit Lions having the tight cap situation that they have, many have all but written Bobby Ross bus tickets out-of-town for these two integral team players.
Continue reading “Mayhew: Corey Williams and Nate Burleson Likely To Be Back With Team” »

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?” »

Some “Lions fans” really chap my butt! AARRRGH!!!

I started this Detroit Lions blog to be able to celebrate and talk about our favorite team together as fellow Detroit Lions fanatics and that’s exactly what we will continue doing.

With the team’s recent success though, an interesting thing is happening, as I involve myself in many of the different Detroit Lions fan communities(forums and websites) I run into some of the same disturbing sentiments and statements, it’s happening far too much to be an isolated incident. Let me give you a sampling of the tom-foolery….

“We should TRADE CALVIN JOHNSON for (whomever) and (however many draft picks!)”

“We could get a (whatever round draft pick) for Brandon Pettigrew”

“We should cut (insert productive player that contributed to this year’s success)”

Those statement are just a VERY small sampling the type asinine comments I read ever single day and I just have one major question to ask to you trade, slash and burn type fans.

Do you hate winning that much???

It’s like some Lions fans have Stockholm syndrome and have become so accustomed to the losing that they don’t know what to do with themselves without it, they want their beloved captor back. (Anyone got Matt Millen’s cell number?)

Now I understand, opinions are opinions and everyone has one just like everyone has…ummm… earholes?

But this idiocy has to stop! For ANY FAN that would trade a GENERATIONAL TALENT away like Calvin “Megatron” Johnson away for draft picks, I just don’t know what to say for you.

What exactly do you want to trade for? Trade away a once-in-a-generation type PHENOM for A POTENTIAL talent or talents? Yeah, that makes about as much sense as paying a hundred dollars for a lottery ticket that pays off $100 IF you win. Brilliant!

In case you haven’t noticed we are WINNING BECAUSE OF THE PLAYERS WE HAVE on this team right now! Yes we need to add pieces, yes trades will be made at some point as they have in the past. But talking about “robbing” other teams of players and draft picks for our ALL-PRO superstars is beyond ignorant.

Please stop it, you are embarrassing yourselves and showing that you can’t even see a winner when you have one right in front of your face. This Detroit Lions team is on the verge of being truly great and for a loooong time. We have some of the youngest stars in the league growing together as a team under a bright young coach. Do you mind letting them win or are you more comfortable in the dungeon?

Another thing this ticks me off is how people try to prove their point about a current player on the roster not being as good as they are perceived. You will see these arguments all over the place in Lions website and forums and it’s normal, but why, in trying to prove your point about a player not being as good as everybody thinks they are do you have to HATE the player on your own team? Just to prove your point? Your point is THAT important huh?

Fans start off with a simple statement “I think (whomever) sucks”, OK fine. Inevitably though, there will be someone that has an opposing view and the debate begins, next thing you know you’re degrading and downgrading any accomplishment the player has ever had and talking about how you saw the players wife at the mall and how she smells like onions, it’s ridiculous.

Even talking about an opposing teams players and family in such a way would be in bad taste and usually false or exaggerated, but these are your own teams players. Players on a GOOD TEAM and one headed towards being great. Stop having such a loser’s mentality, all those years of complaining about losing can be put away now, it’s a new day, a new era. We will have plenty to cheer and be excited about as long as none of you ever becomes the GM and trade it all away!

BUT, with all that being said, I know that nothing is going to change, I just needed to rant for a little bit. Smart fans will be smart and dumb fans will be dumb, so is life… GO LIONS!!!