This is a non NFL/Detroit Lions post, but please bear with me.

You may have noticed I create a ton of internet content by my involvement with my own site, TWFE, along with Bless You Boys, The Bless You Boys Podcast and The Knee Jerks Podcast. Which is why the ongoing push by Congress to enact SOPA (Stop Internet Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect IP Act) legislation scares the bejebus out of me.

Is piracy a problem? Yes, but a small one.

My writing has been used without my permission in the past, and will be in the future. It’s the price of doing business on the internet. But I don’t think I’ve lost much, if any, revenue from it. I think of it this way. The more my content gets in front of people, the more readers and listeners I ultimately get.

All of which is why I’m not convinced by the likes of the MPAA and RIAA and their ridiculous claims piracy has cost them untold billions upon billions in revenue. My guess is they pull these numbers out of their asses in order to protect what are obviously outmoded business models. You give people what they want, at a reasonable price, and make it easy to get…they’ll buy it.

SOPA and PIPA are what early 20th century buggy manufacturers would have wanted to stop the proliferation of the automobile. It’s simple. If you don’t move forward, refuse to innovate, it’s not the pirate’s fault if you die.

Using SOPA and PIPA to stop online piracy is the equivalent of using a chainsaw when a small scalpel would be appropriate. Chainsaw, Hell. It’s the nuclear option. It’s an Atomic bomb when it comes to the internet and world wide web. And the vast majority of career politicians who have no idea of how the web works (or even what it is) are more than happy to set the detonator…which will be pushed by big corporations, to their immense benefit.

There are already laws in effect to handle copyright infringement. The most well known being the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which also has major issues, but is actually the lesser of evils). At least the DMCA doesn’t dodge a little thing called due process, which SOPA and PIPA will completely ignore.

We need to stop big media from writing clueless legislation which will destroy the world wide web. Contact your Congress critters and tell them to make themselves useful by creating legislation to help with the deficit/jobs/economy/health care/foreign policy/name your cause, anything other than kowtowing to big corporations trying to protect their 1950′s business model.

For more information on the evils of SOPA and PIPA, check out the following links: Wikipedia, Google, Ars Technica, Reddit.

They will give all the information you need as to the evil of SOPA/PIPA and links on how to contact your reps in DC. You’ll be glad you did.

As hard as it might be to believe for the die hard Saints fan from way back when, many current fans of this team probably may not even remember more than a single losing season. Someone who started following the team 6 years ago in 2006, for instance, when Sean Payton first became Head Coach and Drew Brees became the starting quarterback, would be in that very category of such people. The Saints have gone 62-34 since Payton and Brees arrived in New Orleans, and that 64.6 winning percentage is tied for the 6th-best over that span. Even if a recently converted Saints fan goes back twice as long as that, to the start of the 2000 season, they would still only remember 3 out of 12 losing seasons for their favorite NFL team.

But, truth be known, from the Saints‘ inaugural season in 1967 to as recently as the end of the 2005 campaign, New Orleans actually owned the third-lowest winning percentage in the NFL. At .403, they trailed only the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at .392 (established in 1976, 9 years after the Saints) and the Houston Texans at .281, who had been in existence for only four years, with the worst all-time winning percentages at that time.

The Detroit Lions originally began their existence in professional football as the Portsmouth Spartans based out of Portsmouth, Ohio in 1929 as an independent professional team. They were one of many such organizations in the Ohio and Scioto River valleys back in those early days of professional American sports. In 1930, however, the Spartans formally joined the NFL as other area independent teams folded because of the Great Depression. The Spartans were unable to survive in Portsmouth, then the NFL‘s smallest city, despite their initial successes within the framework of the NFL. The team was sold, moved to Detroit and was renamed the Lions for the 1934 season. The rest, as they say, is history.

The Lions of late represent the modern day mediocrity that the Saints used to lay almost sole claim to in the NFL, prior to New Orleans‘ first playoff win in 2000 that is. Since the Detroit Lions‘ initial induction into the league in 1934, although they won a total of 4 “NFL Championships”, the last of which was in 1957, they remain to this day one of 14 teams never to win a Super Bowl Championship and one of only 4 teams never to even play in one. For those who did not know, the first Super Bowl was held in January, 1967. Championships prior to that were not Super Bowls. Detroit also holds the NFL record for “Most Losses, Season / Longest Losing Streak in a Season” with 16 during the entire 2008 season.

In terms of this particular matchup between the 10-6 Detroit Lions and the 13-3 New Orleans Saints, to be played out on Saturday, January 7, 2012 at 7:00 PM Central Time in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, both teams are functioning at a particularly high level.

The Saints are winners of their last 8 games in a row, owners of the best current winning streak in the NFC and tied with the New England Patriots for the longest winning streak in the NFL this season, as well as 8-0 at home in 2011/12. Meanwhile, Detroit has won 4 of their last 5 games, dropping only their week 17 meeting with the Packers in Green Bay after securing their first playoff berth since 1999 in week 16 with a victory over the San Diego Chargers.

New Orleans is favored by as high as 10.5 points over the Lions, but Detroit must not be overlooked due to their explosiveness in the passing game behind the leadership of 3rd year quarterback Matthew Stafford, the third of three quarterbacks to pass for over 5,000 yards this season, and their uncanny ability to come from behind and win games.

Detroit is also healthier as a team than they were when these two squads butted helmets in week 13 of the regular season. Star defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh was serving the first of a two game suspension for his indiscretions during the Lions‘ game against the Packers in Detroit a week earlier when these two teams first encountered each other in 2011, but he will be full go this time around in the Wild Card weekend of the playoffs. With a much more complete compliment of defensive linemen, the Lions should present a much stiffer challenge to New Orleans in the Superdome this Saturday night.

Rewind a full year to this same time in 2011 when the Saints were heavily favored to win in the Wild Card round of the 2011 NFL playoffs over the hosting 7-9 Seattle Seahawks, and this latest rendition of the team from the Big Easy is in much better shape in the running game for the 2012 playoffs. Lat year, both Pierre Thomas and Chris Ivory went on IR prior to that meeting with the Seahawks in the playoffs and then both Reggie Bush and Julius Jones fell victim to injuries in the game that sat them on the bench early. New Orleans limped through the rest of that contest with only one healthy RB in FB Heath Evans. Despite the team’s movement of Mark Ingram to the Injured Reserve list just this week this year, the Saints still have 3 perfectly healthy and well-performing running backs with Darren Sproles, Thomas and Ivory moving ahead to this meeting with the Lions.

By this season’s end, the Saints were tied for 4th in rushing with 4.9 yards per carry and 6th in the league with a 132.9 yard per game average. As far as overall offense, New Orleans led the NFL this season.

To the contrary, though the Lions owned the 5th best ranked overall offense in the NFL during the regular season this year, their running game was ranked 4th from worst in the league.

Defensively, the two teams appear at first glance to be a lot more evenly matched with the Lions being ranked 23rd and New Orleans at 24th overall. While both teams do give up their share of yards to opposing offenses, if you break it down into points per game allowed by each defense, they begin to separate themselves quite a bit more. The Saints rank 13th in points allowed with 21.2 per game while Detroit ranks 23rd with 24.2 ppg.

All in all, the overall success of the passing games could be the final determinant in this matchup if it does come down to a shoot-out. In such a situation, I would have to give the edge to the current recipient of the Offensive Player of the Month award in Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints offense. Home field advantage will also be a huge factor that will allow the host team to prevail in the end.

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Tuesday, January 03, 2012

Opening Statement from HC Sean Payton:

There’s no injury report today so here’s just our roster transactions. We signed G Eric Olsen from the Redskins practice squad. He’ll be in number 70, so he goes to our active roster. We placed RB Mark Ingram (28) on Reserve/Injured with his toe. We signed LB Nate Bussey (59) to our active roster and placed LB Will Herring (54) on Reserve/Injured. From a practice squad standpoint, we signed WR Andy Tanner and LB Derry Beckwith, who replaces Nate Bussey‘s spot on the practice squad and then released QB Sean Canfield. Today was a little bit lighter just with the short week. We’ll kind of get back to a little bit more of a normal routine tomorrow.

Lions at Saints Wednesday Injury Report – January 5th, 2012:

Detroit Lions:

Did not participate: WR Calvin Johnson (Achilles)

Limited participation: CB Aaron Berry (shoulder), S Louis Delmas (knee), DT Nick Fairley (foot), S Chris Harris (back), CB Chris Houston (hand, knee), CB Alphonso Smith (foot), RB Kevin Smith (ankle, knee)

Full participation: DE Cliff Avril (back), DT Corey Williams (hip), DE Willie Young (ankle)

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New Orleans Saints:

Did not participate: LB Jonathan Casillas 52 (knee), TE John Gilmore 89 (toe), WR Lance Moore 16 (hamstring)

Limited participation: LB Jonathan Vilma 51 (knee)

Full participation: S Jonathan Amaya 40 (shoulder), S Malcolm Jenkins 27 (neck), WR Robert Meachem 17 (knee)

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My personal prediction for this meeting between the North and the South is that the Southern team will defend its Dome with the help of the local fanbase along with a ground/air attack combination resulting in a 41-24 New Orleans Saints victory over the Lions from Detroit.

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You can subscribe to the New Orleans Saints Feed or follow me on Twitter @realheavyd.

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Every year the Pro Bowl rosters come out, several deserving players are left out in the cold.  This year, a few Lions can say they should be going to Honolulu, but only one will actually make the trip.

Wide Receiver Calvin Johnson was named to his second Pro Bowl (surprise!) this year, after having a spectacular season.  Many point to Johnson as the best wideout in the league and he should get MVP consideration.

Sadly, Johnson is the only Lion who will represent the team in Honolulu.  Leading the snubs is quarterback Matthew Stafford.  Instead of Stafford, Giants quarterback Eli Manning will make the trip to Hawaii.

I’ll let the numbers talk for me here, although it should be noted that Stafford’s team has a better record and has clinched a playoff spot already.

Stafford (10-5)

385/604 (63.7%) 4,518 yards  36tds  14int  96.6 rating

Manning (8-7)

335/556 (60.3%) 4,587 yards  26tds  16int  90.3 rating

So Manning has thrown for 70 more yards than Stafford and that’s it.  Stafford has him by ten touchdowns, has completed a higher percentage of his passes, AND has a non-existent running game, yet Eli gets the bid.  Typical New-Yorkers-first if you ask me because Stafford clearly is the more deserving quarterback.

The real story here is that Manning can’t seem to win without starting running back Ahmad Bradshaw.  With Bradshaw, the G-men are 7-3 this year.  Without him, 1-3.  Stafford has proven he can win games with or without a running game (5-5 without Jahvid Best this season).

But the questions don’t end there.  What about the Lions defense that has been so dynamic this year?  They must have a Pro Bowler or two right?  Wrong.  The Lions defense that has forced 36 turnovers and scored seven touchdowns got snuffed from Honolulu altogether.

The biggest problem that I have is that the Cowboys’ Jay Ratliff made the squad instead of Ndamukong Suh.  Suh is clearly the better player, but undoubtedly will miss out due to his suspension.

Cliff Avril has also had a Pro Bowl season, recording 11.0 sacks, forcing six fumbles, and scoring two touchdowns.  Avril has turned into a dynamic force this year and is the Lions best

What do I have to do to get some Pro Bowl love?

pass rusher.  I would have more of a problem with this if the three guys selected weren’t so good.  Jason Babin of the Eagles has 18.0 sacks this year, Minnesota’s Jared Allen has 18.5 sacks as well as four forced fumbles, and the Giants’ Jason Pierre-Paul may be the Defensive Player of the Year with 81 tackles and 15.5 sacks.  Nonetheless, Avril has had a whopper of a year, and I am certain he was in the Pro Bowl conversation.

Chris Houston was also left off the NFC’s roster in 2011, which didn’t surprise me in the least.  Houston seems to be overlooked this year, and the Pro Bowl roster proves that.  Charles Woodson and Carlos Rodgers are the starting corners for the NFC team, and deservedly so.  Woodson makes it somewhat on reputation, but has been good again this year.  Rodgers has emerged as one of the league’s best corners and deserves a spot on the roster.  However, the third corner is Chicago’s Charles Tillman, and that one I have beef with.  Tillman has had a good career, but has slowed down this year and Houston is a more deserving player.  Tillman has just two interceptions this year to Houston’s five.

Pro Bowl?  Who cares.  The Lions will be playing in the Superbowl anyway.

Detroit Lions shorted for Pro Bowl
isportsweb

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The video will be played on ESPN on the hour, every hour until next Sunday. Every Detroit Lions player will have to answer a plethora of questions about it and head coach Jim Schwartz will have to answer even more. Sports analysts will debate the play until the cows come home and NFL fans will wring their collective hands and lament the fortunes of the dirtiest team in football. Whether in victory or defeat, the Detroit Lions sure have a way of getting into the spotlight, don’t they? Let’s just get it out-of-the-way. Yes, DeAndre Levy had a hand full of Joe Webb‘s facemask. It should have been penalized. The Vikings might have retained the ball and they might have won. It doesn’t take a giant leap to figure that out. The Lions and their fans might take solace in the fact that Levy actually knocked the ball out prior to grabbing the mask. It didn’t lead to the fumble. Regardless, the officials missed the call. The Lions will undoubtedly be focused on other things this week though. Their performance was a shining example of the inconsistency that has plagued them all year. The Lions are a frustrating team. On [...]

Be sure to check out other great articles at The Penalty Flag.

There is no love lost between Jim Harbaugh and Jim Schwartz after the Detroit Lions battled the San Francisco 49ers this past Sunday at Ford Field.  The game was extremely physical and featured a lot of bad blood between both teams until the 49ers won it on a fourth-and-goal touchdown catch by Delanie Walker.

But the bigger skirmish actually happened after the game, between the teams’ respective head coaches.  Overwhelmed with excitement, a jumping Harbaugh gave Schwartz a firm handshake followed by an aggressive pat on the back and continued celebrating.  This enraged Schwartz, who chased Harbaugh 40 yards down the field, ensuing a scuffle between both teams.

Harbaugh is extremely emotional and leads with a boyhood enthusiasm that commands the respect of his players.  He is a former quarterback who coaches as if he is still on the field playing.  But sometimes his emotions have gotten the best of him.  Just ask Seattle Seahawks coach, Pete Carroll, who once had a heated face- to-face confrontation with Harbaugh when Carroll was coaching USC and Harbaugh was coaching Stanford.  In the 49ers post-game press conference, Harbaugh admitted he was too fired up and shook Schwartz’s hand harder than necessary.

Schwartz is every bit as intense and competitive as Harbaugh.  His aggressive behavior toward Harbaugh only confirms why his players love battling for him – his relentless passion to win.  Like Harbaugh, he has also shown an inability to keep his emotions in check.  During a game against the Dallas Cowboys, he taunted Cowboys wide receiver, Dez Bryant after his catch was overturned by instant replay.  While Schwartz initially accused Harbaugh of breaking a coaching protocol, he later acknowledged that the competitiveness should be left to the players on the field. 

Both coaches deserve blame for Sunday’s ugly incident.  Harbaugh failed to separate the distinction between acting like a coach instead of a player.  Beating an undefeated team on the road is certainly a reason to celebrate.  But regardless of the magnitude of victory, he broke an unwritten rule by failing to properly greet Schwartz and shake his hand.   At that point Schwartz could have taken the high road toward the rookie NFL coach.  Instead, he only magnified the situation by running after Harbaugh like a raging animal, thereby putting both teams in harm’s way.

Although Sunday’s events left both coaches regretting their actions, don’t expect them to change their emotional styles.  They may have had their differences, but Harbaugh and Schwartz are linked by one common goal: to change the culture of their beaten down franchises.

Motor City Showdown: Who’s At Fault Between Harbaugh and Schwartz? from Sports Agent Blog – Sports Business, Sports Law, Sports Negotiations, NCAA Rules

Another fantasy bit from Draft Sharks…

The Lions have claimed RB Keiland Williams off waivers from Washington. HC Jim Schwartz told Mlive.com: “We like his skill set. I think we were very lucky to get him.” Williams’ arrival casts Jerome Harrison’s fantasy-handcuff status into doubt. Williams emerged as a quality receiver out of the backfield in Washington last year, pulling in 39 catches to just 65 rushing attempts. His skill set doesn’t seem all that different from Harrison’s, but the team’s move puts them at least on the same level. Schwartz also mentioned Williams as a possible candidate for goal line carries. “(He’s) a little bigger runner,” Schwartz said, “very productive in a role last year for the Redskins. He scored some touchdowns.” That could put a dent in RB Jahvid Best’s upside. We’ll be keeping a close eye on Detroit’s RB situation early this year.

My View: Williams looks like he could quickly turn into part of the rotation at running back. He’s a bigger back and could help make the loss of Leshoure less painful.

MLive.com

By Alek Frost
Senior Writer

With all the great things that went on this weekend for the Detroit Lions, Monday opened on a somber note, as it was announced that seasoned Lions beat writer Tom Kowalski had passed away.

“Killer” as he was fondly known, was pronounced dead after being taken to DMC Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital in Commerce Township in Oakland County; he was 51-years old. Kowalski was known as a straight shooter, a consummate professional and a man who always found the humor in life—no matter how hard it was to find.

He started his career at the Oakland Press and was a big presence when Detroit (Pontiac) hosted the Super Bowl in 1982. He has been with Booth Newspapers since 1997 and in recent years became a contributor for MLive.com.

The loss was felt today at Allen Park, as the team had a moment of silence and prayer for the late sports writer. Head Coach Jim Schwartz has only been with the Lions for three years but Tom’s professionalism and knowledge of the game made him a respected man throughout the organization.

“I got the word on the practice field a while ago about Tom’s news and we just brought the team up and had a moment of silence and a prayer,” Schwartz said. “Obviously, our condolences go out to his friends and his family, of which we consider ourselves both here. I’ll just say this about Tom—the one thing he always tried to do was get it right. He knew football and he always wanted to get it right and we had a lot of respect for that. I think what we’ll do is let the first question go unasked today and when we’re ready we’ll go second question.”

No player knew Kowalski longer than 20-year veteran Jason Hanson. Hanson could not believe, like many, that the news about Kowalski was true and when it was confirmed, he and others were devastated.

“I have too many (memories),” said Hanson. “It is one of those things, just like with everybody, takes you by surprise. It kind of knocks the wind out of you. You don’t know what to say or think yet. It is just amazing. Of all the reporters, I think he was the one that got it right most of the time and really had the insight.

“Beyond that, regardless of any of that, he will be missed by all of us. And everyone in this locker room, their condolences and their prayers and their thoughts go to his family and friends. I am just at a loss of words. I don’t know what to think. We all are like ‘Is it true?’ We are devastated.”

Kowalski was an old school sports writer who made an easy transition to the demands of new media. He embraced his interactions with fans and left a deep and lasting impact on his readers. His life and his work, will be remembered and celebrated for a long time to come.

And just as Tom would want, Lions coverage must continue, the right way. Here are some tidbits from camp and afterthoughts from Saturday’s game:

—With all the positives from the 34-10 win over the Patriots, Schwartz found plenty of things the Lions need to work on heading into the season. After watching tape Schwartz said the Lions left points on the field and had obvious difficulties on third downs.

On the Patriots first scoring drive the Lions allowed Tom Brady and company to convert their first four third-down attempts. Screen passes and passes to the flat on third downs killed Detroit after they were able to stop the Pats highly touted offensive on the first two downs.

“Well we left points on the field. We had two dropped touchdown passes, a missed field goal, (and) gave up a blown coverage for a touchdown,” Schwartz said. “There’s 14 points that the offense left on the field, missed seven on one with the turnover, missed four points after we kicked the field goal, three points, obviously, on the field goal, and then gave away just one play for a touchdown, so those are big.

“(We) had a long punt return; (we) gave up a couple third-down conversions that in the coverage we were in, we should not have given up. I think those were probably the big things. When you have a game like that, a win like that, there were a lot of opportunities for us to play even better and I think that’s the way we, rather than looking at the scoreboard, we look at ways that we can play better. I think those things can come out of a game like that.”

—The Lions cut seven players today: wide receivers Demario Ballard and Marcus Harris, running back Mike Bell, linebacker DeJuan Fulghum, safety Michael Johnson, kicker Dave Rayner and defensive tackle Montavious Stanley.

The release of Rayner and Bell were obviously the most noticeable of the cuts. As I said in my last report, Hanson, despite being 41-years old and coming of knee issues in 2010, looks better than ever. So Rayner’s release wasn’t a surprise but I doubt Rayner will remain unemployed for the entire 2011 season.

Bell was signed after Mikel LeShoure tore his Achilles tendon, in the hopes that he would be the big power back the Lions lost in LeShoure. Bell was inconsistent; and after missing Saturday’s game due to an illness, in which third-year halfback Aaron Brown had an impressive outing, it was obvious that Bell would be the odd man out.

See my last Lions Report for who I believe will make the final cuts at halfback and wide receiver.

—Quarterback Matthew Stafford, wide receiver Calvin Johnson and defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh are three of the most popular players on the Lions roster. But right there with the young stars is the 41-year old kicker who has sported the No. 4 jersey for the Lions for the better part of three decades.

So Hanson’s return and success thus far in the preseason is a welcomed sight for Lions fans. And while Rayner is a good young kicker, if Hanson’s healthy, he’ll always be the man in Detroit. As far as Schwartz is concerned, he’s as good as he’s ever been.

—Nate Burleson missed practice Monday and likely won’t see any action in the Lions preseason finale against Buffalo. Don’t worry too much though, the move is simply precautionary after Burleson needed stitches to close a cut on his arm after Saturday’s game.

“Nate had stitches in his arm. He landed and broke open a spot on his elbow and he had to have stitches,” Schwartz said. “Again, we’re just cutting him down; he had had a little procedure back in the summer on that and it’s a little bit different. It’s just a superficial wound, but you also have infection and things like that. We’ll just cool our jets a little bit with him and, again, get him back as quick as (we) can, but most likely he won’t play (at Buffalo) just from a standpoint of not wanting to break it open again.”

Burleson has been Stafford’s favorite target this preseason, catching six passes for 97 yards and three touchdowns. His 16.2 YPC average is an indicator of how explosive he’s been this preseason, hopefully for the Lions, this combo starts where they left off when the season opens against Tampa Bay.

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More stories featuring the Detroit Lions:

Lions Report: Matthew Stafford Near “Perfect” in Win

Lions Report: Stafford’s Pocket Presence, DT Corey Williams’ Importance and CB Alphonso Smith’s Lesson Learned

Detroit Lions 2011 Season Preview: Can Matthew Stafford Stay Healthy in 2011?

For more great articles, be sure to visit National Football Authority.

DetroitLions.com

By Alek Frost
Senior Writer 


Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford had a perfect half against the New England Patriots, in a 34-10 win.

Stafford finished the night with a 158.3 quarterback rating, after completing 12-of-14 passes for 200 yards and two touchdowns. The former No. 1 pick took a few licks but his surgically repaired shoulder looked just fine. He made the Patriots defense look dazed and confused as he averaged a hearty 14.3 yards per completion.

“I think we’re playing pretty much mistake-free football the last couple games as far as turnovers go,” Stafford said. “I think as an offense, we’re doing a good job of not turning the ball over and when you do that you’re going to have a chance to be in some games. If we can do that, we have enough talent on the outside – explosive guys all over the field –that (if) we can just get them the ball we’ve got a chance to be pretty explosive.”

While Stafford played well, it is important to remember that not all of the Patriots big contributors on defense made the trip to Detroit and New England wasn’t running all of the elaborate schemes they would have, if this had been the regular season.

With that being said, the Lions offense didn’t run a lot of elaborate plays either and simply executed better, playing up-tempo and working the intermediate passing game throughout the first half.

Here are some notes from the Lions impressive outing against the Patriots:

- Stafford looked completely in-sync with his receivers and tight ends, worked through his progressions quickly and looked off safeties like a polished veteran. He had four completions of 20-plus yards on the night and was throwing crisply throughout the first half. It’s obvious he will be looking for Nate Burleson more often this year, who he’s already connected with three times for touchdowns this preseason.

“Teams are trying to make adjustments. They’re trying to sub guys in. If we keep them on there heels and also have the ability to pass, run, and screen, at any given time, it’s tough to game plan for,” Burleson said. “You can game plan for traditional offenses that huddle up, and get back out, because you can make adjustments. When you’re on the ball, moving fast like that, it’s almost like a controlled two-minute drill. It keeps defenses very cautious in their play calling.”

- Brandon Pettigrew had a great 2010 season, even if no one noticed, catching 71 passes for 722 yards and four touchdowns. He missed the first preseason game against Cincy, but caught a 27-yard pass last week against Cleveland and had three passes thrown his way this week for 23 yards.

He looks healthy and should be in-line for another big year for Detroit in 2011, catching all the underneath passes he can handle.

- Jason Hanson is back. The 41-year old showed off his leg on two kicks, the first for 33 yards, which he vaulted through the uprights and high into the back netting. The second was on a 46-yarder that once again proved that age is just a number, at least for NFL kickers.

Dave Rayner would have been looking for work elsewhere, even if he had made the 49-yard attempt that he missed wide left. He should find work at some point this season, especially considering the 13-for-16 year he had in 2010 for Detroit.

- Cliff Avril was an absolute force off the edge Saturday night, sacking Tom Brady twice and forcing a fumble that led to a Patriots punt. Avril was looking for a long term deal this offseason but had to settle for a one-year tender. If his preseason is any indication as to how his 2011 season will turn out, he shouldn’t have any trouble getting a new deal.

“We did a good job, all around I think,” Avril said. “The biggest thing for us was we were feeding off each other. Once one guy made a play, the other guy felt like he needed to make a play. We all just fed into each other and were making plays together.”

The four-year veteran had 8.5 sacks last season and looks like he’s starting where he left off, making life hell for right tackles across the league.

- The screen game for Detroit was spectacular, especially on a great end around play action fake by Stafford, who then dumped the ball off to Jerome Harrison, who gained 52 yards on the play. While screen passes were a positive on offense, they were a negative on defense.

While the starting front four produced plenty of pressure Saturday, sacking Brady twice, hurrying him seven times and hitting him five times, it was a double-edged sword for Detroit. The aggressive nature of Detroit’s defense led to a lot of success on screen passes and passes in the flat for the Pats. While you don’t want to get beaten deep, a defense has to limit yards after the catch after short completions, a New England specialty.

- Halfback Aaron Brown likely made the team Saturday, something that was anything but a certainty for the former TCU Horned Frog. Brown only rushed for 30 yards on nine carries, but was explosive in the passing game, catching four passes for 48 yards, including a nine-yard touchdown catch from Shaun Hill.

Brown was looking like the odd man out coming into the preseason as Jahvid Best, Mikel LeShoure, Maurice Morris and Jerome Felton were expected to take the bulk of snaps in 2011. But after Leshoure’s season ending injury, Morris suffering a fractured hand and both recently signed backs Harrison and Mike Bell getting off to slow starts, Brown sneaked back into the race.

Harrison didn’t put up great numbers Saturday but did look good in the open field and shifty when a rare hole opened up along the offensive line.

The running game took a big hit when LeShoure went down and no one looks to be the sure fire No. 2 option behind Best. But after tonight, it looks like Brown’s versatility may indeed land him a spot amongst the five likely backs to make the roster.

- If I were muster a guest as to who would make the roster at both halfback and wide receiver after three weeks, it would look a little something like this:

1. Jahvid Best 
2. Maurice Morris 
3. Aaron Brown 
4. Jerome Harrison 
5. Jerome Felton (FB)

1. Calvin Johnson
2. Nate Burleson
3. Titus Young
4. Rashied Davis
5. Maurice Stovall
6. Stefan Logan (KR/PR)

Obviously Logan is a tweener between halfback and wide receiver but he’s listed as a wideout pretty much everywhere. His returning abilities make him a lock to make the roster, no matter who else makes it at either position. Maurice Stovall has been the surprise of camp and both he and Rashied Davis are special team aces, so in my mind they both make the roster without much issue.

- The Lions opened the game with three cornerbacks, Chris Houston, Eric Wright and Brandon McDonald against New England and two linebackers, DeAndre Levy and Stephen Tulloch, who lined up both in the middle and on the outside.

Tulloch looked great against the pass and the run, living up to the billing he set last year as the second leading tackler in the NFL. Once Tulloch gets more comfortable, he should be the primary middle linebacker and Levy will move outside with Justin Durant.

- Ndamukong Suh set the tone early with big hits on Brady, but got into it with guard Logan Mankins and was lucky he didn’t get penalized along with Mankins who was grabbing another Lions player’s face mask. Suh is passionate and a force but he has to learn to control his emotions on the football field from time-to-time, to avoid penalties on the field and fines off it.

“To be honest with you, I didn’t pay attention to his emotions,” Suh said of Brady. “My job is to continue to rattle him, get after him, and be in his face. When he starts yelling at me like ‘leave me alone’, that is when I know I have completed my job….he didn’t talk too much today.

“He is a good player and I respect him a lot. Ever since we played against him last Thanksgiving and I had a conversation (with him) after the game, I have a lot more respect for him. He is a great player and he keeps it in house with whatever is going wrong with him, if anything.”

The Lions and Patriots both got into it quite a bit in the first half and things got chippy. It was obvious that to the Lions, this was more than a preseason game and the Patriots weren’t going to back down from the fight either.

- As mentioned before, the Lions front four got a lot of pressure on Brady and it resulted in an off-night by last year’s MVP. Brady played into the third quarter due to the lack of production by the starting offense in the first half. He finished the night with 12-of-22 passing for 144 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

“They’re a good team; they were a good team when we played them last year—it was a close game until the fourth quarter,” Brady said. “When we made a few plays in the fourth quarter, we showed some resiliency, but they’re a good team. They’re good on defense, they play well offensively, they’re very well coached—they’re tough.”

After a while, he began to short arm a lot of throws and on at least one occasion threw the ball far too quickly before the pressure even got to him. Brady and the Pats will be just fine come Week 1 but you better believe Head Coach Bill Belichick will have plenty to say about their performance Saturday.

- Rookie wide receiver Titus Young saw his first action of the preseason and caught one pass for 19 yards. Not much can be gathered by one catch but Young did do a nice job finding the soft spot in zone coverage and made a nice grab. Whether Young will see more significant action next week against the Bills, will be determined later next week as he tries to get closer to 100 percent.

- As far as the third stringers go, Drew Stanton is the third quarterback by a mile. He played well completing 9-of-14 passes for 93 yards, throwing for one touchdown and one interception. He also showed off his wheels, something he did plenty of last year. Zac Robinson is going to be a good backup in this league but it probably won’t be in Detroit.

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Detroit Lions 2011 Season Preview: Can Matthew Stafford Stay Healthy in 2011?

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The Detroit Lions found all the right cracks in the invincibility cloak of the New England Patriots Saturday. The Lions piled on the punishment with a winning 34-10 pre-season performance against the Pats, proving they may be the most improved team going into this season. The team many NFL fans typically wonder why they have to watch every Thanksgiving is transforming quickly into a formidable force on the field. Even with New England keeping the team’s starters in late into the game, the Lions took advantage of every mistake made by the Patriots and made few of their own. 

Considering all the offensive and defensive drops, it could have been much closer if the Patriots were more focused, but this was no lucky win for the Lions. They shut the Patriots out completely in three out of four quarters and only gave up one touchdown on a completely blown coverage of Wes Welker. Brady connected on 12 out of 22 attempts for 145 yards and Welker’s lone touchdown of the game. Welker’s 44-yard scoring grab was one of three catches he made to lead his team in receiving with 71 total yards before he left the game injured. The latest Patriots deep threat, Chad Ochocinco, went without a single catch despite getting a few balls thrown his way, one of which bounced right off his outstretched hands.

The Lions defense smothered Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady, causing a costly interception by Ricardo Silva that forced Welker out of the game with a neck injury he sustained on the resulting tackle. At that point it was obvious the Patriots were just trying way too hard to win this game. The blowout was uncharacteristic in a week of close shaves in the NFL. Eight out of the 14 games in the league were decided by four points or less leading into the last two games of the week. The Patriots will have a long flight back home to a region rocked by Hurricane Irene, but next week they will face a much more figurative storm at practice when the team’s coaches try to put the pieces back together. Hurricane Bill is sure to be blowing full force in Foxboro this coming week.  

Patriots Coach Bill Belichick didn’t shy away from blaming himself after the game. He chalked up the loss to a systematic failure of the entire squad in his post-game assessment of the team’s poor play. ”We didn’t do anything very well,” Belichick said. “We didn’t throw it, didn’t catch it, didn’t block, didn’t tackle, didn’t cover, didn’t return. It’s a long list. Didn’t coach.”

The Lions, on the other hand, didn’t have much to complain about at all. Starting Quarterback Matthew Stafford connected on just a dozen passes to accumulate an impressive 200 yards and two touchdowns to set the tone of the game early.  Stafford only suffered two incompletions and a sack he quickly shook off, continuing a trend of masterful pre-season play for the quarterback selected as the very first pick int he 2009 draft. The Lions earned that pick after suffering the only 0-16 season ever recorded in the NFL back in 2008, so Stafford leading the team’s metamorphosis is fitting. Backups Shaun Hill and Drew Stanton each threw touchdown passes of their own to follow up Stafford’s great start. The Lions defense also performed very well against an offense that took this game much more seriously than a typical pre-season affair, especially after the Lions built a solid lead. 

The only saving grace for the Patriots is the fact that this was just a preseason game, and they left many of their big named starters at home for this game. Detroit will take home a humble sense of achievement, always mindful that the 2008 preseason featured the only four wins that team experienced that whole year. The Lions finished 6-10 last year, leaving Jim Schwartz with an 8-24 record as a head coach going into his third season at the helm. There is the sense that this year is going to be very different for the Lions, though, even when the games begin to count. Look for the Lions to be the sleeper hit of the year in the NFL, and this win will help buoy them to believe they can battle with any team out there and come out on top when they’re at their best. The Patriots, meanwhile, will spend the rest of the pre-season patching up the holes in their game that came to light Saturday. Though suffering this loss must hurt in many ways, the team may actually benefit from the knowledge that they aren’t as perfect as they might have thought they were before this game. 

DraftSharks.com reports…

** Lions RB Mikel Leshoure will miss the entire 2011 season after tearing his Achilles tendon in Monday’s practice. He’s expected to undergo surgery, possibly as early as tomorrow. Achilles injuries are often a kiss of death for RBs, and there’s no guarantee that Leshoure regains pre-injury form. It’s an extremely tough break for a talented guy who appeared to have a bright NFL future. Meanwhile, Jahvid Best is now locked-in as Detroit’s feature back. If he can stay healthy, he could approach 300 total touches. That gives him huge upside on this explosive Lions offense. Maurice Morris is expected to step in as the team’s #2 back. Draft Sharks members can head over to the site right now to check out our updated projections for the Lions backfield.

WOW! Talk about bad news. Morris is a capable backup, but the one-two punch of Best and Leshoure was going to be fun to watch. Here’s hoping he recovers and has a football career after this injury!

From DraftSharks (love this site!)…

Rookie DT Nick Fairley will reportedly miss 3-4 weeks after undergoing surgery Wednesday on a stress fracture in his left foot. The upside is that timetable wouldn’t cost him any regular-season games. It certainly should keep DT Corey Williams in the starting lineup, though. Williams registered just 37 tackles and 2 sacks in his 1st year with the Lions but had a pair of 7-sack seasons in Green Bay. Fairley remains a high-ceiling, low-risk option late in IDP drafts that carry a DT requirement.

Not the start to his NFL career Fairley wanted I’m sure. It’s probably a little more never-wracking for the Lions organization as well. The strongest unit on the team takes a bit of a hit, but Fairley should still be ready for the regular season. Let’s hope he stays in shape and can pick up the schemes from the sidelines!

From Draft Sharks…

Lions beat writer Chris McCosky speculates that rookie RB Mikel Leshoure could see 40-45% of the reps this season. We currently have the Lions backfield projected at a 55-45 split in favor of RB Jahvid Best, although we’re thinking Best will see closer to 60% of the carries as long as he’s healthy. This will be a situation to monitor closely this summer.

My View: Something to definitely keep your eye as the possiblity of Fantasy Football is looking up again. The biggest thing is keeping Best healthy and a split in the backfield will definitely do that.

Here’s a take on the NFL Lockout from Funny or Die…

A couple of more updates from Draft Sharks…

Lions TE Brandon Pettigrew has dropped about 10 pounds this offseason. He’s back down to the 255 he played at in college. “I like the 255, being able to move,” Pettigrew said. “Strength thrills, but speed kills, and I still think I can get it done in the blocking game as well.” After his yards-per-catch average dropped to 10.2 this past year, look for that to jump back up towards the 11.4 mark he posted in his rookie season.

Lions WR Nate Burleson recently underwent elbow surgery to have fluid drained and a bursa sac removed. He injured the elbow last November and was hoping it’d heal on its own. It’s continued to swell though, so Burleson will undergo what the Detroit Free Press calls a “minor” procedure. It sounds like Burleson will be fine for the start of training camp, but we’ll continue to monitor his progress.

My View: I’d love to see Pettigrew pick up that yard-per-catch and in particular that yard-after-catch. He’s a big target for Stafford and can continue to develop into a Pro Bowl caliber tight end in my option. Burleson’s surgery sounds minor, so that’s a good thing. The Lions finely found a receiver who could take some pressure off of Calvin Johnson. Big things could be coming from the Lions receiving corps with the addition of rookie Titus Young in the slot.

Draft Sharks (one of my favorite fantasy football sites) reports that Detroit Lions Head Coach Jim Schwartz has settled on a role for rookie running back Mikel Leshoure…

Lions HC Jim Schwartz confirmed that rookie RB Mikel Leshoure will handle the team’s short-yardage duties. “Jahvid Best, when healthy, proved that he can be an explosive playmaker,” Schwartz explained. “But he isn’t built to be a short-yardage back when there’s three minutes left in the game and you’re protecting a seven-point lead, but Leshoure is.” We figured the bull-dozing Leshoure would fill this role for Detroit. The real question is how much action he’ll see between the 20s. We should get a better idea throughout this summer.

My View: You don’t draft a guy that high and sit him on the bench. This makes perfect sense and if it can help keep Best healthy as well, then you might have a nice backfield duo to provide the “Thunder and Lightning” that gives defenses fits.