Last season, and July 30th to be more specific, the Tigers were just 56-51 and spinning their wheels near the top of the AL Central. But what a day July 30th of 2011 would turn out to be. That was the day the Tigers traded for Doug Fister, the one who makes all things better.

5 players moved in that deadline deal and only one currently stands as an impact major league player – Fister. Detroit shipped Charlie Furbush (currently pitching in the Mariners’ bullpen), Casper Wells (a part-timer in the M’s outfield) and Chance Ruffin (a prospect pitching in AAA) out west in exchange for Fister and David Pauley (remember him?).

It is well documented that the Tigers went on a sudden and permanent tear for the rest of 2011 after Fister hit Motown. Jim Leyland’s crew went 39-16 the rest of the way and eventually petered out in Game 6 of the ALCS against the mega bats of the Rangers.

Spearheading the pennant drive was none other than the lanky one. In 10 starts for the Tigers down the stretch, Dougy Fresh went 8-1 with a 1.79 ERA and a disturbing 57:5 K to walk ratio. He was so good, dare I say it, that he was one-upping the mighty Justin Verlander every turn through the rotation.

Fister started the Tigers’ 2nd game of this season against the Red Sox. All seemed right with the world through 3.2 innings of scoreless ball until he strained a muscle in his side. That was exactly one month ago, April 7th. Fast forward to May 7th and Fister once again has put himself in the position of playing the hero’s role.

The Tigers are a middle of the road 14-13 after 1 full month of baseball. Their lowest point came 2 weeks ago when they were pushed around by Fister’s former team, the lowly Seattle Mariners. Fister has yet to face the M’s since joining the Tigers. Don’t be surprised if his return serves as the spark that this team needs.

The 6’8″ right-hander will be taking the mound as you’re preparing for bed tonight (10:05 eastern). When you wake up, all just might be right within the world of the Detroit Tigers once again.

Follow me on Twitter @isportsJoe or subscribe to our Detroit Tigers Feed

Be sure to check out other great articles at isportsweb.

Lions RB Jahvid Best has been working out for the past couple months and will be in attendance for the start of the team’s offseason program on Monday. But beat writer Dave Birkett reports that Best still hasn’t been cleared for contact by team doctors. It’s a reminder that he’s not out of the wood yet after suffering 2 concussions last year. We’ll continue to track his progress this offseason.

My View: If anyone can help the Lions to the next level it’s a healthy Best. I’m not very confident that he can stay healthy for the entire year however, so the Lions need to make sure they have capable backups.

Now it’s time to put my brain where my keyboard is and tell you how this marathon is going to shake out in 2012 from a statistical perspective. Following is a list of all 13 position players and my expectations regarding their production. All projections are assuming the unlikely, that each player remains at or near full health for the entire season.

This article makes 2 fairly large assumptions: 1) that Andy Dirks beats out Clete Thomas in left, and 2) that Brandon Inge doesn’t make the team.

Part 1 of this feature will focus on the offense:

Starters:

Austin Jackson – CF – The table-setter with legs that won’t quit and a hole in his swing the size of my mouth when staring at a plate of Outback cheese fries. His stats fell in some very important categories from year 1 to year 2. Some good news is that his walk rate increased and he hit 10 bombs as compared to 4 during his rookie season. With some mega bats behind him in the order, Jackson needs to get on base somehow, some way. Will the new approach at the plate take hold or will fans be calling for Andy Dirks to take the controls at leadoff by Cinco de Mayo?

Expected Stats: .265 avg., 10 homers, 90 runs, 40 RBI’s, 25 steals and 20 less K’s than in 2011 (which would be 161 and still far too many)

Brennan Boesch – RF – Boesch is going to drop his hulking frame right in front of Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder all season long. 29 other 2-hitters in the major leagues are extremely jealous. The only thing standing between this big fella and a bigger season is health. There’s no reason to think he won’t stay on the field. The only thing I’m not sure about is his ability to track balls in the outfield, but who cares, I’m all in on Boesch.

Expected Stats: .285 avg., 28 homers, 90 runs, 80 RBI’s, 8 steals

Miguel Cabrera – 3B – Back from a broken face, Cabrera doubled in 2 runs in his first at-bat. He’s fine. He’s actually the best right-handed hitter in the game and could see a boost in his numbers now that he has a solid on-base guy in front of him in the lineup and one of the games’ few true power hitters behind him. Watching him play 3rd base could prove to be a nail-biting experience but it’s a gamble the Tigers were willing to make. It’s time for that much deserved AL MVP. 2012 is the year.

Expected Stats: .340 avg., 35 homers, 115 runs, 115 RBI’s

Prince Fielder – 1B – The funny thing is that it feels like he’s been here for years. He has fit right in from day 1 and is going to be a monster presence in the middle of Jim Leyland’s lineup. Learning a new league could cause a few slow stretches here and there but it shouldn’t be noticeable by season’s end. He is a legit power hitter that will put a few holes in the Belle Tire banner in right field this year.

Expected Stats: .285 avg., 35 homers, 95 runs, 125 RBI’s

Delmon Young – DH – Something tells me that if Young keeps his mouth shut and enjoys the scenery of a top flight baseball team all summer long that he is going to be a weapon. If he cries about not playing left field, tempers will flare in Motown, and heads could roll. Hopefully he’s smart enough to know that he has a chance to be a big part of something special in one of the great baseball cities in America.

Expected Stats: .270 avg., 22 homers, 95 RBI’s

Alex Avila – C – At just 25 years old, the future is ultra-bright for Avila. He turned in an All-Star season in 2011 by hitting .295 with 19 homers and 82 RBI’s. Hitting 6th in this lineup should lend to a ton of RBI chances. He hit .290 with men in scoring position last year. His quick stroke from the left side will play out well as he is part 6 in Jim Leyland’s complete righty-lefty rotating lineup, which is a thing of beauty. Alex proved he could play through pain last year but with a true backup catcher on the team this season, he shouldn’t have to.

Expected Stats: .280 avg., 18 homers, 80 RBI’s

Jhonny Peralta – SS – Talk about consistency. To get a proven track record of 20 homers and 80 RBI’s from the shortstop position is awfully hard to find, but the Tigers have it with Jhonny. He probably won’t hit .299 again like he did in ’11 but does he really have to in order to remain productive? Of course not. He will always be looked at with a raised eyebrow due to his limited range up the middle but he has a very accurate arm and didn’t cost the Tigers much in terms of bad plays last year.

Expected Stats: .270 avg., 20 homers, 80 RBI’s (what else?)

Andy Dirks – LF – Dirks reminds me of the non-criminal baseball playing version of Lenny Dykstra. Just a gritty ballplayer who looks at home on the field. Dirks endeared himself to fans and management a season ago, had a big offseason, and a huge spring earning the gig as the regular left fielder. It will be interesting to see how many at-bats he gets but my hunch is that if he gets enough of them that his end of the year numbers will look very inviting.

Expected Stats: .275 avg., 12 homers, 45 RBI’s, 15 steals

Ryan Raburn – 2B – Raburn should be the 2nd baseman on most days and probably deserves it after a hot spring. He will no doubt make some head-shaking errors in the field but don’t be surprised if he follows it up with a 3-run bomb in the bottom half of the inning. The big trick will be to see if he can start the season looking like a major league player, something he has never done. If he does, and glues that to his now standard of excellence in the 2nd half, Detroit will be thrilled.

Expected Stats: .275 avg., 15 homers, 55 RBI’s

Bench:

Don Kelly – IF/OF – Detroit’s sweetheart is back for another go around. Kelly has proven that he can play literally anywhere in the field and hold his own. He can hit in the clutch, hit for power, and the ladies love him too. What’s not to like? He will see most of his time in the corner outfield spots and at 3rd base when Cabrera DH’s.

Expected Stats: .265 avg., 8 homers, 25 RBI’s

Ramon Santiago – IF – It seems like he’s been around forever and nobody wants it any different. Ramon will get starts at 2nd base and occasionally shortstop when Peralta needs a rest. The track record is pretty well-established for Santiago at this point. Jim Leyland knows what he’s getting and couldn’t be happier about it.

Expected Stats: .265 avg., 5 homers, 25 RBI’s

Gerald Laird – C – G Money is back for his 2nd run with the Tigers and will now serve in a comfortable role as backup catcher to Alex Avila.

Expected Stats: Let’s be honest, if he gets any hits, Tigers fans will rejoice. .225 avg., 2 homers, 15 RBI’s

Danny Worth – IF – Worth is one of the best gloves in the system and has been perking up with the bat lately as well. He may be an up and down guy this year depending on how injuries and other roster spots shake out, but he’ll be solid when he plays.

Expected Stats: .250 avg., 1 homer, 10 RBI’s

Follow me on Twitter @isportsJoe or subscribe to our Detroit Tigers Feed

Be sure to check out other great articles at isportsweb.

Lions HC Jim Schwartz expects RB Mikel Leshoure (Achilles) to be ready for training camp. Leshoure has already said that he’ll be good to go for the season-opener. It’s difficult to imagine him making a major impact early on. But if he can return to pre-injury form, Leshoure is capable of creating a full-blown committee with RB Jahvid Best. We’ll continue to track his rehab all offseason.

I can’t wait to see what Leshoure can do! If Best can stay healthy the Lions might have a nice thunder and lightning combo in the backfield.

The Detroit Tigers won the division last season, paced by the Cy Young Award winner and AL MVP Justin Verlander. The Tigers got all the way to the ALCS as well, falling short in their attempt to play the Cardinals in the World Series for the second time since ’06. Detroit was very busy this winter, signing Prince Fielder and Octavio Dotel, and moving Miguel Cabrera to third base, a position he hasn’t played since he was with the Marlins. Detroit is reloaded, and it’s time for another division title. The Tigers will win the division again, 89 games, and come up short in the Division Series against Texas.

Cleveland surprised everyone with the way they started last season. The Indians were in first place until August, and only injuries prevented the Indians from capturing their first division title since 2007. Cleveland made a big splash at last year’s trade deadline, picking up Ubaldo Jimenez from Colorado, but they had to trade away some very promising prospects to do it. However, the Indians are still a young, talented squad. That youth, however, will cost them wins this year. I say Cleveland will win 76 games, but will compete for most of the year for the second Wild Card spot in the AL.

The White Sox are an enigma. Traditionally the second team in Chicago, the White Sox finished with a better record than the Cubs again last year, and they are the one Chicago team who has won a World title in the last 100 years. The offense is what killed the Southsiders last year. Inconsistent play from everyone except Paul Konerko cost Chicago a chance to compete, as they finished with only 79 wins. The lack of success last season cost Ozzie Guillen his job, and the Sox brought in another familiar face in former third baseman Robin Ventura to be their new manager. Ventura will have a tough job trying to get this team to hit. The pitching will be just fine, but the offense will struggle again. The White Sox will finish 81-81 and pass the Indians late in the year.

Now, to my biggest surprise of the season: the Kansas City Royals. Since they won the World Series in 1985, the Royals haven’t been to the playoffs. This is going to be their year. Ned Yost is a winner, KC has a ton of young talent, led by Eric Hosmer, Johnny Giavotella, Mike Moustakous and Santiago Perez, and the pitching will get better once Mike Montgomery and Jake Odorizzi get to the Majors. The Royals can hit and pitch, and this will be the year they break their playoff drought. I see KC with 87 wins, and a loss to LA of Anaheim in the new one game Wild Card playoff, with eyes on bigger success in 2013.

There was no team I was more wrong on last year than the Minnesota Twins. I picked them to win the World Series, and how do they repay me? Losing 99 games and finishing with the AL’s worst record and the number two overall pick this year. The pitching was bad, Mauer and Morneau were hurt almost all year, and this team was just awful. I don’t believe it will get much better this year. Minnesota will win 72, but not much more, and they will regret some of the signings they made.

Sorry for not posting yesterday, got busy and forgot to do it. Final preview, AL East, coming tomorrow. Have a blessed day.

Be sure to check out other great articles at easyesportstalk.blogspot.com.

.
Now that Peyton Manning has found a home, we can begin to look at the 2012 fantasy football quarterback landscape.
.
1. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers: I had him ranked number one last year. 4643 passing yards, 257 rushing yards, 48 total TDs (45 passing), six INTs later I haven’t changed my opinion.
.
2. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints: The team is in a crap storm right now, and he will miss Sean Payton, but Brees shattered the passing record last year with 5476 yards and 46 TDs.
.
3. Tom Brady, New England Patriots: I foolishly thought the because he had some monster games along with some stinkers that he wasn’t a top five fantasy QB last year. I won’t make that mistake again. Adding Brandon Lloyd to Gronk, Welker, and Hernandez makes him even more dangerous.
.
4.  Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers:  They added Mike Tolbert, which could cut into the 14 TDs he ran for last year. Still with 4051 passing yards, 21 passing scores, and 706 rushing yards it’s hard not to imagine another monster fantasy year from Cam.
.
5.  Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions:  Am I giving him too much credit? Hard to say that when you have the game’s most dominating receiver. Not to mention coming off a 5038 yard, 41 TD season.
.
6.  Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys: Romo threw for 4184 yards, 31 TDs, and just ten INTs. He has as many weapons as anybody.
.
7.  Eli Manning, New York Giants: With more passing yards (4933) than Peyton ever threw, along with 29 TDs, and two Super Bowl rings, it’s safe to say he’s out of his brother’s shadow.  Call me crazy, but I think he’s a safer fantasy play too.
.
8. Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers: 4624 yards and 27 TDs is considered a bad year (20 INTs) for Rivers. I’ll take that to the bank.
.
9.  Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts: He’s Peyton so I suppose I have to give him the benefit of a top ten ranking, but he’s in a new place, where weather could play a factor, and potentially worse weapons puts Peyton in an unfamiliar spot (out of the top five).
.
10.  Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons: With Roddy White and Julio Jones there aren’t many QBs with a better 1-2 punch at WR at their disposal.
.
11.  Michael Vick, Philadelphia Eagles:  Last year was a disaster for Vick, though he threw for a career high 3303 yards. I expect more rushing TDs and some explosive games, but you are going to have injury issues.
.
12.  Ben Roethlisber, Pittsburgh Steelers:  With Mendenhall likely missing the whole season, the Steelers will be relying on Big Ben more than ever. Even if Mike Wallace goes elsewhere the Steelers have weapons in place. Jay Cutler, assuming Brandon Marshall isn’t suspended just misses the cut.
.
.
Also check out:

• NFL Free Agent Flurry 2012: Fantasy Perspective Day 1
• NFL Free Agent Flurry 2012: Fantasy Perspective Day 2
• 2012 NFL Mock Draft

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.

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.

——————————————————————————————————————————————

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)

————————————————————————————————-

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)

——————————————————————————————————————————————

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.

———————————————————————————————————————————-

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

Be sure to check out other great articles at isportsweb.

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

Be sure to check out other great articles at isportsweb.

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