You Are NOT The Wind Beneath My Wings

Did you ever know that you're my hero? and everything I would like to be?I can fly higher than an eagle, 'cause you are NOT the wind beneath my wings!

A very good evening my Lionettes :-) What did you all think about my remix version of Did you ever know that you’re my hero by Bette Middler? Yeah pretty bad I know. I thought it was appropriate since the Eggles are coming to town and yes I spelled it that way on purpose. You all laughed, admit it!

This Sunday’s game will be televised avoiding a blackout, not like it matters to me since I am going to the game.
http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2010/09/detroit_lions_sell_out_sundays.html

The Lions run offense needs to get established because we sure cannot win any games like when we played the Bears we only garned 20 yards on 21 rushing attempts. That cannot happen again. Check out this article by Tom Kowalski.
http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2010/09/lions_know_they_have_to_get_ru.html

Linebacker Ernie Sims will be making his return to Ford Field this Sunday. I know some of you had misgivings about the Lions trading him but he was drafted for that Tampa 2 Defense which we no longer run and he was a Matt Millen pick. I wonder how many missed tackles he will have? University of Michigan Defensive End star Brandon Graham will also be returning to Michigan since he plays with the Eggles now.

Here is an article that has some links rounded up. It is pretty short and worth checking out.
http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2010/09/detroit_lions_links_1.html

Detroit will finally have some cheerleaders! They are not sanctioned by the Detroit Lions however. They are more or less volunteers trying to drum up buzz and support with the hopes that they will be made the Detroit Lions official cheerleaders. They are called the Detroit Pride and I wish them nothing but the best and hope that eventually the Lions will agree with us fans and realize we want a cheerleading squad that will help cheer this team at Ford Field.

Here is an audio interview with Coach Jim Schwartz on Quarterback Shaun Hill taking over for the injured Matthew Stafford this Sunday. Pretty good audio interview if you have the time to listen.
http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2010/09/jim_schwartz_on_wbbl_2.html

Last Thursday there was a Lunchtime Q&A with Tom Kowalski on MLive. Fans posted their questions and you can read them. It’s not that long and worth browsing through. I didn’t get my questions posted and the two I had submitted were if the Lions are finally going to look at drafting a LT with First Round pick next draft and if Stafford might be back sooner than later from his shoulder injury.
http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2010/09/lunch_with_killer_tom_kowalski.html

There is some good news on our injury list. LB DeAndre Levy and Safety Louis Delmas are both expected to start but unfortunately DE Cliff Avril is expected to miss this game.
http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2010/09/detroit_lions_get_good_news_on.html

Defensive Coordinator Gunther Cunningham is very high on DE KyleVanden Bosch. Check out this article. I wish we had an entire team of guys like him. If we did I GUARANTEE multiple Super Bowl vistories. I am thinking about getting his jersey the next time I order a jersey from the Roar & More :-)
http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2010/09/detroit_lions_kyle_vanden_bosc.html

In order for us to have any success of winning this game against the Eggles our defense must STOP Michael Vick. We have got to contain him. If we don’t keep him in check he’ll have 150 yards rushing on us in the first-half alone and our defense will be spending the entire game on the field like a lone survivor on a desert island. Our Dline needs to get to him so I can imagine that Gunther will be dialing up A LOT of blitz packages.
http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2010/09/pressure_will_be_on_lions_defe.html

Well my Lionettes enjoy football this weekend. Keep the faith and believe that good things come to those who wait. God Bless you all! I’ll post after the game against the Eggles probably on Monday or Tuesday. GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO LIONSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

UnBearable!

Hello My Lionettes,

WOW where do I start? First off let me apologize for not posting sooner this week. I had to wait until emotions calmed down. There are days that are hard being a Lions fan and Sunday was one of the worst days ever. Not only were we robbed of a road win but our leader on offense Quarterback Matt Stafford is out 4-6 weeks with a shoulder injury. This past week has been one of the toughest ones I have had to go through as a fan. This was truly heartbreaking. Since our beloved Lions were robbed of our first win of the season, we’ll have to look to the home opener against the Philadelphia Eagles this Sunday for our first win of the season. By the way since Matthew Stafford is out, Quarterback Shaun Hill is going to start.

In a way I’m kind of glad I didn’t host my Welcome Back Detroit Lions Kick-Off Party this year since it would have been a really sad affair. That and the money that would have been spent on this party was used to but Lions season tickets instead. I guess I dodged a bullet on that one huh my Lionettes? Not to worry providing there is football in 2011 I am planning a Draft Party in April but that is also contingent if I am still gainfully employed with the Michigan State Senate.

I am going to be throwing A LOT of links at all of you in this post. They are all worth reading providing you have the time. I know I try to have by own substance when it comes to these posts but there was so much information these past few days I wanted to share with all of you.

Tom Kowalski from MLive gives letter grades to offense, defense, special teams and coaching from the Lions vs. Bears game.
http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2010/09/grading_the_lions_lack_of_runn.html

Here is a photo slide show of the game.
http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2010/09/photos_chicago_bears_19_detroi.html

Ironically it was the Lions defense that kept us in the game. Our revamped DLine was night and day difference than the previous ones. Our offense let us down except it was nice to see RB Jahvid Best get two touchdowns. Losing Matt Stafford at the end of the first half was devastating to say the least. He is the heart and soul of this team and I can only hope and pray that the team can rally behind Shaun Hill for the next few weeks until Matthew’s return presumably October 31st our first game after the bye-week which unfortunately I will most likely have to miss due to campaign duties.

By the way thank you to all of you who signed the Get Well card for Matthew. I mailed it this morning to the Allen Park training facility so hopefully they will get it to him.

Here is an article from Brian Van Ochten of the Grand Rapids Press with his take on the game.
http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2010/09/calvin_johnsons_overruled_touc.html

Here is an excerpt from the above article from Brian on LT Jeff Backus getting beaten and failing to protect Matthew Stafford causing his injury which puts Stafford out the next 4-6 weeks.

“Let's get something straight once and for all: Backus is below-average NFL left tackle. Period. If Schwartz continues to push the agenda that Backus is a Pro Bowl-caliber performer, he's going to lose a lot of the respect he has built up with the fans since his arrival. There's no disputing the cause of Stafford's shoulder injury this time. The Lions' front office is rife with Backus apologists and there are lots of lemmings in the media who'll believe anything team management tells them. The sad truth is the Lions cannot continue to put Stafford and the future of this rebuilding franchise at risk of some sort of ridiculous loyalty to a substandard left tackle. It's a business. So treat it like a business. Make drafting a franchise left tackle in the first round of the 2011 NFL draft.Speaking of draft picks, I must repeat the following: The Lions fumbled when they drafted tight end Brandon Pettigrew at No. 20 overall in the 2009 NFL draft and passed up offensive tackle Michael Oher. For all of the draft picks general manager Martin Mayhew and Schwartz have gotten right, they got that one dead wrong. Oher became a Pro Bowl-caliber tackle as a rookie and can play either the left or right side. The Lions can't afford to risk Stafford's health on the protection of people such as Backus and right tackle Gosder Cherilus.”

I wanted either a CB, LB or Safety with our First Round pick next April but now I am hoping beyond hope that our First Round pick next April is used to draft a franchise LT that can protect Matt Stafford’s blind side!

Here is an article about the NFL referee explaining the call. I do not agree with the call of the Calvin Johnson TD being ruled incomplete. In every other football organization it would have been ruled a touchdown including and I am not making this one up the Lingerie Football League!
http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2010/09/referee_gene_steratore_explain.html

Here is the rule from the above article mentioning their ill-conceived rationale for the ruling.

"The ruling is that in order for the catch to be completed he has got to maintain possession of the ball throughout the entire process of the catch.''He was on his behind before he rolled over. If he stayed on his behind would it have been a touchdown?"No. We don't play with the two feet or one knee or anything of that scenario. We're talking now about the process of the catch. He's catching the football, as he goes to the ground, he must maintain possession of the ball throughout the entire process. So as he continues to fall if he fell with two feet and his elbow hit the ground and came out, it would be incomplete.''It looked like he had the ball up in one hand while on his rear end, but there was continuation?"Well, the process was not finished until he finished that roll and the entire process of the catch.''

Here is a feel-good story on Matt Stafford which is worth the read.
http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2010/09/matthew_staffords_lions_teamma_1.html

There were a few positives such as DT Ndamukong Suh getting his first sack as well as CB Aaron Berry getting an interception and RB Jahvid Best scoring two touchdowns. Unfortunately all of that has been overshadowed by WR Calvin Johnson having his game-wining TD pass ruled incomplete.
http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2010/09/who_knew_the_detroit_lions_def.html

Here is an article from Tom Kowalski about some of the rookie mistakes made in the game.
http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2010/09/lions_notes_rookies_contribute.html

Here is a story recapping the game from Tom Kowalski of MLive.
http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2010/09/lions_lose_matthew_stafford_to.html

The link below is from a Monday morning chat where you can log in and post questions. I do not think that many questions were answered it was basically fans venting after our stolen victory.
http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2010/09/live_chat_monday_morning_quart.html

A cool article about DE Kyle Vanden Bosch having a solid performance.
http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2010/09/kyle_vanden_bosch_among_bright.html

Here is a video of the post-game breakdown with Brian Van Ochten and Bill ‘The Huge Show’ Simonson.
http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2010/09/video_brian_vanochten_and_bill.html

This article is about Quarterback Matt Stafford’s injury.
http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2010/09/matthew_staffords_injury_is_no.html

Here is an article with Coach Schwartz dismissing the talk about Matt Stafford being injury prone and an article discussing how much time he could miss. He is not injury prone, he has just taken some hard hits because that poor excuse for an Offensive Line failed to protect him yet again.
http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2010/09/lions_jim_schwartz_dismisses_i.html
http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2010/09/lions_matthew_stafford_could_m.html

Here is an audio clip with WR Calvin Johnson being on the Huge Show talking about his TD catch that was ruled incomplete.
http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2010/09/calvin_johnson_on_the_huge_sho.html

Here is a Week Two Preview chat with Brian Van Ochten. He answers a lot of question on some of the injuries and the status of Matt Stafford so it is worth checking out.
http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2010/09/live_chat_lions-eagles_week_2.html

I gave more links than I would of liked in this post but there is a lot of worthy information in them. I will post most likely either Friday or Saturday before this Sunday’s game against the Eagles.

I will end this post by calling someone out in particular. Although still saddened by our loss I am still angry. If I EVER see this freak show on the street I am taking out my frustration out on him and I will smash his head like a rotten tomato! So consider yourself warned! It case your wondering it is a boss enemy called the Executioner Majini from the Resident Evil 5 videogame who also made an appearance in the recent Resident Evil Afterlife movie. http://residentevil.wikia.com/Executioner_Majini Just kidding my Lionettes. I thought you all could use a good laugh :-)

Well that’s it for now. Take care and stay strong. We have gotten through worse, we’ll get through this. Until next time my Lionettes, GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO LIONSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

Cuidado La muerte peluda! Cuidado La muerte peluda!

Howdy my Lionettes!

No you did not read that title to my latest blog entry wrong. It is Spanish for Beware the Furry Death! I was inspired from an episode of one of my favorite shows South Park where they were poking fun at the movie Cloverfield. Instead of some big scary monster tearing apart New York City the South Park Episode had giant guinea pigs wrecking havoc. It’s pretty funny and I highly recommend checking the episode out.

Well Summer has ended and Fall is officially here with the kick off of football season. College kicked off last season and the NFL is tonight in fact with the New Orleans Saints facing the Minnesota Vikings. The Lions will open up on the road against the Chicago Bears this Sunday at Soldier Field at 1:00 p.m. It is away so it will not be blacked out.

Well anyhoo my Lionettes forward march! Let’s get to it shall we? My last blog entry had my projection of the Lions 53-man roster as well as the practice squad. Well I had a few wrong and was not anticipating the Lions trading TE Dan Gronkowski to the Denver Broncos for CB Alphonso Smith as one example.

Here is the press release from the Official Page of the Detroit Lions announcing the 53-man roster although I cut and pasted the depth chart from Wikipedia. Also they are hyper-linked so if you were to click on the individual player it’ll take you to their page on Wikipedia although I would not take Wikipedia for gospel.

http://www.detroitlions.com/news/article-1/Lions-Trim-Roster-to-Final-53-Man-Limit/04bfeefe-f4fb-4632-8186-ac9ead658059

Quarterbacks
14 Shaun Hill
9 Matthew Stafford
5 Drew Stanton

Running Backs
44 Jahvid Best
21 Aaron Brown
45 Jerome Felton FB
28 Maurice Morris
34 Kevin Smith

Wide Receivers
13 Nate Burleson
80 Bryant Johnson
81 Calvin Johnson
11 Stefan Logan
12 Derrick Williams

Tight Ends
89 Will Heller
84 Brandon Pettigrew
85 Tony Scheffler

Offensive Linemen
76 Jeff Backus T
77 Gosder Cherilus T
70 Jason Fox T
65 Dylan Gandy C
78 Corey Hilliard T
66 Stephen Peterman G
51 Dominic Raiola C
63 Manny Ramirez G
67 Rob Sims G

Defensive Linemen
92 Cliff Avril DE
96 Andre Fluellen DT
91 Sammie Hill DT
94 Lawrence Jackson DE
75 Turk McBride DE
90 Ndamukong Suh DT
93 Kyle Vanden Bosch DE
99 Corey Williams DT
79 Willie Young DE

Linebackers
50 Isaiah Ekejiuba ILB
49 Zack Follett OLB
41 Spencer Havner OLB
55 Landon Johnson OLB
54 DeAndre Levy ILB
58 Ashlee Palmer OLB
59 Julian Peterson OLB

Defensive Backs
32 Aaron Berry CB
39 C. C. Brown SS
26 Louis Delmas FS
23 Chris Houston CB
25 Randy Phillips FS
27 Alphonso Smith CB
42 Amari Spievey FS
24 Jonathan Wade CB
29 John Wendling SS

Special Teams
4 Jason Hanson K
2 Nick Harris P
48 Don Muhlbach LS

Reserve Lists
97 Korey Bosworth OLB (IR)
72 Trevor Canfield G (IR)
60 Joe Cohen DT (IR)
95 Jared DeVries DE (IR)
46 Richard Dickson TE (IR)
57 Jordon Dizon OLB (IR)
47 Jake Nordin FB (IR)
31 Jack Williams CB (PUP)

Practice Squad
61 Robert Callaway DT
53 Caleb Campbell OLB
40 J. J. Finley TE
64 Dan Gerberry C
33 Jonathan Hefney CB
17 Michael Moore WR
43 Paul Pratt CB
18 Tim Toone WR

They released some veterans like CB Dre Bly and OT Jon Jansen but the front office is looking at getting younger and finding players they can build a core nucleus around like Matt Stafford, Jahvid Best and Ndamukong Suh. Those are the kind of players that this team will be built around. The old adage is you build your team through the draft and supplement with free agency and trades. We are still two solid drafts away from being a major threat to the entire NFL. Someday fans from other teams will be saying “Oh crap we gotta play the Lions this weekend” and it’ll be fear. I can only hope to drink their tears like water when their teams are soundly beaten!

Tom Kowalski the beat writer for the Lions on MLive had a lunch time Q/A with fans and during my lunch break I posted a question and it was answered by him! I cut and pasted what I asked and his response and you can check out the link and read the other questions that were asked. Although my question is the only one of consequence LOL Just joking I am not that conceited well maybe just a little :-)

http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2010/09/lunch_with_killer_tom_kowalski_5.html

Comment From Kenny:
Hey Killer love your stuff do you think the lack of a solid Bears receiving corp might nullify our weak secondary?

TomKowalski:
not at all ... those guys might not be marquee names, but they're very dangerous ... very fast ...

Here is a Poll question by Brian Van Ochten of the Grand Rapids Press on how many wins the Lions will get this season. Click on the link to vote!
http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2010/09/poll_question_how_optimistic_a.html

Here is a video podcast with Brian Van Ochten and Bill “the Huge Show” Simonson on the Lions Bears Preview. It’s only a few minutes long and well worth watching.
http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2010/09/video_lions-bears_preview_with.html

Here is an interesting article from the Lions website on how our offense can counter any Bears Defensive scheme Rod Marinelli throws at us.
http://www.detroitlions.com/news/article-1/Lions-Look-to-Negate-Whichever-Defensive-Scheme-Chicago-Tries/e18d1401-4691-4656-b272-7d815076408c

I know what your all thinking your like “Yeah, yeah, yeah this is all very good information and insite but what is your prediction for the game this Sunday? I have most excellent news for you my Lionettes! I believe the Lions will go to Soldier Field this Sunday and beat the Chicago Bears by a score of 38 to 31. The Bears are favorites by 6 points but I believe we will prevail! This is not the same team that has taken the field the past two seasons and it will be shown on Sunday!

I want to mention to the Lions players that this weekend begins a new era. It does not matter what has been in the past. All you need to know is a new day has dawned and you will be a part of this turnaround. Believe it and feel it. Sisu! If you don’t know what it means it’s a phrase they say up in the UP. Sisu is a Finnish word that stands for "strength of will, determination, perseverance and acting rationally in the face of adversity."

I will post most likely on Monday or Tuesday recapping the game. All of you have a safe and blessed weekend. Until next time enjoy the game drink some beer and eat some chicken wings :-) GO LIONS!

Cuts, Cuts, Cuts and Other Stuff!

Howdy my Lionettes,

Well just like Christmas, the pre-season has come and gone. But don’t despair it’ll be back in the Summer of 2011 God will if there is a new Collective Bargaining Agreement reached by then. I am sure there are worse things to consider then no football in 2011 but none are really coming too mind.

I went to the final pre-season game against the Buffalo Bills and had a pretty good time. You know what really annoyed me about this particular trip to Ford Field? It was the fact that me and my bestest buddy Ben had to park in a really crummy parking lot because there was an uber lame Eminem/Jay-Z concert going on at Comerica Park. The real tragedy was how could so many people want to see two no talent hacks instead of the mighty Detroit Lions? That question will befuddle me for the rest of my life!

The stadium was one of the poorest attendances I had ever seen at Ford Field. I guess that goes to reason since the projected starters only played barely the first quarter. In case you missed it my Lionettes the Lions won their final pre-season game by a score of 28-23. I am encouraged by some of the play of our back-ups like Corner Back Paul Pratt intercepting a ball and running it back 106 yards to the house! Quarterback Drew Stanton has a reputation of snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. His two touchdown passes secured a win for us to go 3-1 in the pre-season.

Here is a really cool link sent to me by my bestest buddy Ben that will give you a neat perspective like what it would be like coming through the tunnel at Ford Field. Check it out it is really cool!

Want to know what it's like to walk onto Ford Field as a player... http://www.immersivemedia.com/demos/index.php?clip=Video15

Well my Lionettes here it is as promised. The projected 53-man roster, I however upstaged the rest of the NFL world by throwing in the Practice Squad and the Injured Reserve (IR) List. TOP THAT!

Depth Chart

Quarterbacks
14 Shaun Hill
9 Matthew Stafford
5 Drew Stanton

Running Backs
44 Jahvid Best
21 Aaron Brown
45 Jerome Felton FB
28 Maurice Morris
34 Kevin Smith

Wide Receivers
13 Nate Burleson
80 Bryant Johnson
81 Calvin Johnson
86 Dennis Northcutt
12 Derrick Williams

Tight Ends
89 Will Heller
84 Brandon Pettigrew
85 Tony Scheffler

Offensive Linemen
76 Jeff Backus T
77 Gosder Cherilus T
70 Jason Fox T
65 Dylan Gandy C
68 Jon Jansen T
66 Stephen Peterman G
51 Dominic Raiola C
63 Manny Ramirez G
67 Rob Sims G

Defensive Linemen
92 Cliff Avril DE
96 Andre Fluellen DT
91 Sammie Hill DT
94 Lawrence Jackson DE
75 Turk McBride DE
90 Ndamukong Suh DT
93 Kyle Vanden Bosch DE
99 Corey Williams DT

Linebackers
50 Rocky Boiman ILB
53 Caleb Campbell OLB
52 Vinny Ciurciu OLB
49 Zack Follett OLB
54 DeAndre Levy ILB
59 Julian Peterson OLB

Defensive Backs
40 Aaron Berry CB
32 Dre' Bly CB
39 C. C. Brown SS
26 Louis Delmas FS
33 Jonathan Hefney CB
23 Chris Houston CB
38 T. J. Rushing CB
42 Amari Spievey FS
24 Jonathan Wade CB
35 John Wendling SS
29 Eric King CB

Special Teams
4 Jason Hanson K
2 Nick Harris P
48 Don Muhlbach LS

Reserve Lists
94 Copeland Bryan DE (IR)
72 Trevor Canfield G (IR)
60 Joe Cohen DT (IR)
95 Jared DeVries DE (IR)
46 Richard Dickson TE (IR)
57 Jordon Dizon OLB (IR)
47 Jake Nordin FB (IR)
25 David Roach SS (IR)
31 Jack Williams CB (PUP)
33 Jahi Word-Daniels FS (IR)

Practice Squad
83 Tim Toone WR
82 Dan Gronkowski TE
78 Corey Hilliard T
79 Willie Young DE
97 Korey Bosworth OLB
3 Steve Hauschka K
43 Randy Phillips FS
41 Dante Wesley CB

Well my Lionettes it has been a full day, I am really tired and I have a long day of drinking beer ahead of me tomorrow. Planning on drinking like a fish! And Griff I am calling you out on Bean Bag Toss Buddy! So as always stay the course, keep the faith and God Bless each and every one of you! GO SPARTANS and yes unfortunately GO WOLVERINES for some of you and last but certainly not least GO LIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dog, dog, dog eat dog; Dog, dog, dog eat dog

No my Lionettes, I am not advocating eating man’s best friend. Although I am a cat person I’m not a dog abuser. I figured the title for this entry in my blog would reference a song by the Motor City Madman, Ted Nugent. I got the idea from seeing a clip of the Cleveland Brown fan base getting silly and causing all sorts of shenanigans and that song was playing in the background. There is your ten cent trivia for the day on how I come up with this particular wacky title for this entry.

Anyhoo I trust that all of my very loyal readers are doing well. By the way I do not write this thing for my own edification. I do it for all of you my Lionettes! Yes I am talking to those of you who could care less about the NFL and especially the Lions. That and I’m bucking for a guest columnist spot with the Detroit News. It can happen! But you see this where I am doing a service for the Lions organization, by spreading the glad tidings of joy that are coming our way with a winning team.

You might be saying “it’s only pre-season and we fall into this trap every season”. Well true and true. However, unlike the Matt Millen years of darkness; the team is headed in the right direction and building a strong foundation for the future. We have a legitimate Quarterback in Matt Stafford as well as an offensive arsenal that would but the USS Ronald Reagan’s to shame.

Well my Lionettes our most beloved NFL franchise team the Detroit Lions beat the Cleveland Browns by a score of 35-27. I was in attendance personally and I felt it was my cheerleading that helped bring us a win at home. Just joking! I am not that conceited! It was an enjoyable game and a lot of fun. Since this is my first year buying season tickets I hope I will be witness to our march to the Super Bowl. Hey dreams are free ya know!

There were a lot of good plays on offense and some not so good plays on defense. Although I wish I could dissect every facet of this game I will post a story from Tom Kowalski from MLive which has his recap of the game. It’s a bit lengthy but well worth the time to read.

http://bleacherreport.com/tb/b5BfR

The major concern I have after watching the game is the playmaking of the linebackers and the secondary. There were too many missed tackles, penalties, a fumble from RB Kevin Smith that cost us 6 points. Offensively they are clicking quite well. Matt Stafford is spreading the ball around and was solid on the day with 13/17, 141 yards, no touchdowns but more importantly no interceptions. He seems to be very focused and cutting down on the mistakes.

I really believe that if we can sustain offensive drives and keep our defense off the field for as long as possible then hopefully we can get through this season with a sub-par linebacking corp and secondary. If we have CBs Wade and Houston back healthy, I think they are serviceable. Maybe not the greatest CB tandem but certainly not the worst! Who knows maybe the secondary won’t be as bad as we might think. Both of them have been injured and have not had a chance to gel together as a unit.

I do have a dreadful feeling that like the OLine from last year the Secondary is going to be this season’s problem child. The obvious key is staying healthy, if we do that we will be all right but if Wade or Houston goes down at any point in the season, it could be serious trouble.

There is the possibility of getting some decent depth guys fro our linebacker and secondary units by waiting to see who gets cut from other teams. That is a most definite. Tomorrow is the first round of cuts where teams have to cut their rosters to 75 players. This does not include those players on Injure Reserve. If you are interested here is the current batch of Lions who are on IR.

Reserve Lists

94 Copeland Bryan DE (IR)
72 Trevor Canfield G (IR)
60 Joe Cohen DT (IR)
95 Jared DeVries DE (IR)
46 Richard Dickson TE (IR)
57 Jordon Dizon OLB (IR)
47 Jake Nordin FB (Waived/Injured)
25 David Roach SS (Waived/Injured)
31 Jack Williams CB (Active/PUP)
33 Jahi Word-Daniels FS (IR)

Here is an updated Linebacker and Defensive Back list.

Linebackers

-- Rocky Boiman ILB
97 Korey Bosworth OLB
53 Caleb Campbell OLB
52 Vinny Ciurciu OLB
50 Isaiah Ekejiuba ILB
49 Zack Follett OLB
55 Landon Johnson OLB
54 DeAndre Levy ILB
58 Ashlee Palmer OLB
59 Julian Peterson OLB

Defensive Backs

40 Aaron Berry CB
32 Dre' Bly CB
39 C. C. Brown SS
26 Louis Delmas FS
33 Jonathan Hefney CB
23 Chris Houston CB
29 Eric King CB
43 Randy Phillips FS
36 Paul Pratt CB
38 T. J. Rushing CB
30 Ko Simpson SS
42 Amari Spievey FS
24 Jonathan Wade CB
35 John Wendling SS
41 Dante Wesley CB

So tomorrow we’ll be down to 75 players and then on September 4th we will have the cut to 53. Most people tend to forget that there is also the 8-man practice squad to consider but the danger in that is players can be plucked by other teams. The last pre-season game will be this Thursday September 2nd at 6:30 p.m. it will be blacked out in all probability like the Cleveland game. Especially when the starters will barely play the first quarter to prevent a major injury before they open up the regular season on the road against Chicago on September 12th.

Well my Lionettes it has been a very long day I am exhausted and I think I am going to go home now. Again I never get tired of saying this. Stay positive and encouraged. Things are improving. Still a long ways to go but it will happen someday. We have been far too patient for it not too. I’ll have another post out on Friday after the Bills game with a recap of that game as well as my prediction for the 53-man roster. Take care everyone and God bless you all. Until next time my Lionettes GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO LIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We've Got High Hopes

But he's got high hopes, he's got high hopes; He's got high apple pie, in the sky hopes! No my Lionettes I am not preparing to rejoin the MSU Glee Club, well not yet at least. That song by Frank Sinatra is appropriate for the hope our beloved Lions continue to instill in us. Well my Lionettes we got our first win of the pre-season with a 25-20 win over the Denver Broncos.

Yes I know it's only pre-season and we must not fall into the same trap we seem to every season by reading too much into meaningless pre-season games. However, this time I see a real change happening! I believe Matt Stafford will lead us to the promised land someday!

By the way this photo is of Denver Broncos Quarterback Kyle Orton who loves to drink as you can tell. I got this photo from http://drunkathlete.com/ Pretty funny although it wasn't quite the one I was looking for.

I hope you all get a good laugh from it like I have.

Well let's recap the game and I am feeling particularly cocky because we got a win so we can talk a little smack.

Well let's look at the highs from this past Saturday. The First Team offense led by Matt Stafford was solid including a touchdown pass to Calvin Megatron Johnson. The lowlight of the Lions offensive drives were points left off the board and the 25-20 score made it look closer than what it really was. The Lions opted for field goals when two touchdown passes by Stafford were dropped from TEs Brandon Pettigrew and Tony Scheffler. Our Red Zone offense has got to be better than that. 3 out of 4 possessions ended in field goals when we should of gotten TDs.

By the way here is a pretty good interesting recap from the Bleacher Report that you all should enjoy.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/441198-detroit-lions-monday-morning-quarterback-preseason-week-two?utm_source=newsletter

RB Jahvid Best had a solid game averaging 6.1 yards a carry and amassing 59 yards of total offense. He would of have had 100 yards rushing had he played the entire game. I think we have a solid one-two punch in our run-game with Jahvid Best and Kevin Smith. By the way I met Jahvid Best at a Lions practice for season ticket holders and yes my Lionettes I am REALLY chugging the kool-aid this time when I bought season tickets. Anyways I got his autograph and I told him to run the ball down Green Bay's throats this year and I believe he will!

Filling in place of injured Kicker Jason Hanson, Steven Hauschka was perfect making all four of his field goals and putting all six kick-offs in the end zone. If Hanson is ever injured again I believe we have a competent kicker in him to fill in providing no other team picks him up.

The Defense did not disappoint except when it came to the play of the Secondary. The starting defensive line only allowed 20 yards although Denver was without their top two running backs. The first-team defense did get to Orton sacking him once. It's refreshing to see our DLine get pressure they have in the games against Pittsburgh and Denver.

Now the bad news. With our DLine having a suspect secondary to complement it; it has created a blueprint for opposing team offenses to look at this game and avoid the pass-rush by using a three-step back drop and using a quick release to get rid of the ball. Without Safety Louis Delmas and CB Jonathan Wade out there, Kyle Orton picked our defense apart and unfortunately without a solid secondary teams will further exploit this weakness. Again we can blame Matt Millen for leaving almost next to nothing in the tank when GM Martin Mayhew and Coach Jim Schwartz took over.

I know we were not going to fix this team with just two drafts. We'll need at least two more before we can begin to serious contend for the NFC North. Like I mentioned in my last posting, my wish list for next year's draft is at least one Linebacker, two Cornerbacks and one Safety.

Once Safety Louis Delmas gets back healthy that will be a huge help to the Secondary. We need depth and someone to pair next to him which could be rookie safety Randy Phillips who is making quite a name for himself in training camp and in these two pre-season games. In this game he had a key tackle for a loss and had a team-high four tackles. I only see us carrying eight defensive backs on the roster. Louis Delmas, Randy Phillips, Ko Simpson most likely three out of the four Safeties. Dre Bly, Jonathan Wade and Amari Spievey will most likely be three out of the four Cornerbacks. The other Corner Back and Safety positions are up for grabs which could come later via trade or roster cuts from other teams. Speaking of Dre Bly he had an awesome interception taking away an impressive drive from the Broncos. So kudos to him.

It was nice seeing LB DeAndre Levy back in the lineup and was showing why he is the Quaterback of the Defense.

I watched the replay of the game the next day on the NFL Network and on the NFL Network replays they have the home team's local coverage so it was the Broncos broadcasters. Well during that first half, they were beside themselves when it came to the Lions defensive line having its way with the Denver offense. One thing annoyed me with their coverage of the game was that they were using the old Lions logo for their animation which of course was wrong.

Some of the rookies need to play a bit better like OT Jason Fox who had a holding and facemask penalty. WR Time Toone was okay on kick-returning games but the numbers were not that impressive. We can only hope that the rookies will develop in time.

Overall I was happy with their performance with the exception of getting field goals instead of touch downs. Well my Lionettes don't forget this coming Saturday's game against the Cleveland Browns has been moved from 5:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. It is possibly going to be blacked out so those of you in the blackout zones will not be able to see the game until it is repeated I believe at 8:30 p.m. laster that day. I will be attending in person rotting our Lions onto victory.

Well my ever faithful Lionettes it has been a really long day. I'll have another post next week after the Cleveland game. Until next time stay strong, believe that good things will come and we will be rewarded for our loyalty! I KNOW IT! GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO LIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hope We Truly Can Believe In!

Good morning/afternoon/evening to all of my Lionettes depending on where you are in your respective time zones. Anyways let's dive right in shall we? Since my last post we played our first pre-season game against the Pittsburgh Steelers and lost 23-7. There are a lot of positives we can take from that game. Our first team offense and defense played extremely well. Our pass rush led by DE's Cliff Avril and Kyle Vanden Bosch was right on target. For once it was nice to see the other team's QB scramble for their lives like we have had to see time and time again of ours. Matt Stafford was awesome and connected with Calvin Johnson AKA Megatron for a nice end-zone touchdown pass. Like I mentioned in the last post I have learned not to take much stock in pre-season games. Hell I'd be okay with going 0-4 in the pre-season if that meant we go 16-0 in the regular season.

By the way if some of you are wondering about the title of this blog entry I figured it made sense since we are in election season. Unlike Obama's false hope, campaign promises this Detroit Lions team really does give us hope. That is what I saw in the Pittsburgh game, legitimate hope! Although I am concerned with the defensive play of the secondary and our depth for other positions is also a concern. Like Coach Schwartz says we don't want to say when were healthy were a good football team, we want to say when we get injured were a good football team.

That is why depth is important! Although it is not as bad as it was a couple of years ago depth is still a concern with the Linebacker Corp and Secondary. How do other players respond and step up their game if heaven forbid Delmas or Levy are out for the season. They have been very active in bringing in players to fill secondary positions. As of this post here is the current DB (Defensive Back) roster.

40 Aaron Berry CB
32 Dre' Bly CB
39 C. C. Brown SS
26 Louis Delmas FS
33 Jonathan Hefney CB
23 Chris Houston CB
29 Eric King CB
43 Randy Phillips S
36 Paul Pratt CB
25 David Roach FS
38 T. J. Rushing CB
30 Ko Simpson FS
42 Amari Spievey CB
24 Jonathan Wade CB
41 Dante Wesley FS

31 Jack Williams CB (Active/PUP)

As we get closer to the regular season I will give you all my prediction of projected starters and back-ups. I do apologize that my posts are as of late few and far between. As the seaon is upon us I should post more frequently although sometimes it may be tough because of the election season. I am also planning on doing a Mortal Kombat Bracket, NFL Mascot Edition pretty soon! Should be quite funny.

Tomorrow night we are set to play our second pre-season game against Saint Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos although it is doubtful that Tebow sees the field due to sore ribs. It'll be a fun game to watch I am certain of. Not sure what the line is not that also matters but I'm hopeful to see more of our defense in action. Speaking of defense. DT Ndamukong Suh's debut was pretty solid. Although he did not have any tackles or sacks he was occupying two blockers. The Pittsburgh offensive line was obligating two Offensive Linemen to block him and that only frees up other DLine men to attack their QB. That is why we should feel encouraged with our revamped DLine we can finally get to the Quaterback and make them have a seat on the turf.

Next week I'll recap the Lions Broncos game and look at our Linebacker Corp. That is the only other area of major concern that we'll need to look at before the regular season begins. Well my Lionettes it has been a really long day and I am very tired. Enjoy the game tomorrow night remember kick-off is at 9:00 p.m. and should be carried on your local Fox Affiliate. Until next time keep the faith believe that there is hope on the horizon and last but certainly not least GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO LIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Only In The Leap From The Lion’s Head Will He Prove His Worth!

Howdy to all of my bestest friends in the whole wide world! Yes I am talking directly to you my Lionettes! Your all probably wondering how I came up with the title of my latest and greatest entry to my Detroit Lions blog. Well I will answer your enquiring minds right now! There is a scene in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade where our hero Indiana Jones must retrieve the Holy Grail to save his father who was shot by the Nazis. He has to face three challenges in order to reach the Holy Grail and the third and most difficult of the challenges requires blind faith. You see Indiana Jones is staring over a chasm with no way across to the other side. He must cross but there is no way he can possibly jump that far. But then remembers that he must have faith and leap from the Lion statue at the edge. He closes his eyes and falls off the ledge and instead of falling to his death he lands on a ledge that was painted to perfection to make it look invisible.

So that is where we are with this new Detroit Lions team. We have to take that leap from the Lions head to prove our worth. I know we are long-suffering and the past few years have been particularly discouraging and disappointing. But I believe in my heart that our faith will be rewarded. Maybe sooner than we think? It has taken awhile to undo the Matt Millen damage and we still have a ways to go especially with the Secondary and Linebacker Corp as well as the Offensive Line. Speaking of which is it too early to think about next year’s draft wish list?

Here are my wants for the 2011 NFL Draft. Linebacker, Two Cornerbacks, Safety, Offensive Guard or Offensive Tackle, Quarterback (Depending on what happens with Quarterback Drew Stanton since this is his last contract year) and a Defensive End. Of course team needs and BPA (Best Player Available) will be taken into account and where we will be drafting. God willing we draft out of the Top Ten next time.

Some of you may have seen a YouTube video that is becoming a sensation with us Lions fans. It is a clip of the Detroit Lions winning the Super Bowl by beating the Indianapolis Colts in the latest edition of the Madden Football game for Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii. When I first saw it I am not afraid to admit I got misty eyed thinking of what will be someday. Here is the link check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjUh5GbqMxI

Tomorrow we kick-off the pre-season against the Pittsburgh Steelers. I am indifferent to tomorrow’s game although I do hope for a victory; I have learned never to read anything into pre-season performances. Had the 2008 regular season been like their performance in the pre-season they would be erecting statues of Matt Millen and Rod Marinelli in front of Ford Field. In case some of you need a refresher we went 4-0 in the pre-season and 0-16 in the regular season. I will be looking at our new and improved 4-3 defense as well as how the Secondary performs.

All of our draft picks have been signed with the last being DT Ndamukong Suh who held out for four days. It was shorter than WR Calvin Johnson holding out for 8 days before he got his contract signed. I know he said he was going to be in on camp at time and wasn’t but I am willing to let bygones be bygones. I am looking forward to Suh smacking the heck out of opposing team’s QB’s which hopefully becomes a habit.

Here is the current Detroit Lions roster from Wikipedia as of today. I know you can take what Wikipedia says with a grain of salt but in this instance they are very accurate. I am not certain who maintains this particular page but whoever they are, they do a very good job of keeping it updated with the latest information.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Detroit_Lions_roster

Lastly I mean for this last part in this entry to be to the team itself. Tomorrow (Saturday) you’ll be taking the field to do something very few people get the chance to do. No matter what happens to you after the pre-season always remember you carry the hopes and dreams of an entire city and state with you. Us fans believe in you guys and know you’ll do great things. Remember what the coaches have told you, do not over think the plays, relax and just execute. Do that and you’ll be just fine. God bless you all and I will be eagerly awaiting kick-off at 7:30 p.m. but whose counting :-)

Well until next time my Lionettes stay strong, be safe and GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO LIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Revenge of the Roar!

Hello My Lionettes!

Wow where do I begin? Should I profusely apologize to all of my local readers just our sorry I am for not posting in forever? Well maybe not forever but like four months but why argue semantics. Well I am here now and that’s what’s important. People often wonder and ask me how can I be such a huge Lions fan when we are 2-30 over the past two seasons and most analysts have us penciled in between 4-7 wins at best for the upcoming season? I personally believe that if you care about something so much especially when that thing is at its lowest it is the truest test of our humanity. If you come across someone who is hurt in the street you would reach down and help them up wouldn’t you? That is how I see it. This team has fallen down and the true fans will reach down and help them up. For far too long this team has been down but I see this team getting up on its feet and being a team that the entire NFL fears! Well there is my cheerleading pitch for now!

Well this weekend is it! Training camp has finally arrived and as of this blog post the Lions have signed 5 of their 6 draft picks with the exception of DT Ndamukong Suh which should be imminent now that the St. Louis Rams have come to terms with their top pick QB Sam Bradford. So I believe that most likely all Lions players will arrive on time Saturday morning in Allen Park to begin training camp.

How this all works is when the top pick in the NFL draft works out their deal with their team then it is a sort of template on how to base the salaries for the remaining rookies. Sort of a scale but when a new Collective Bargaining Agreement is reached I am certain a rookie minimum salary will become part of it so that an untested rookie does not get 50 million guaranteed money before he takes his first snap in the NFL.

Here is the Lions upcoming season schedule by the way.

http://www.detroitlions.com/schedule-and-events/season-schedule.html

Speaking of which in case you didn’t know the Lions draft picks here they are in order with an analysis from the NFL.com website

DT Ndamukong Suh
http://www.nfl.com/draft/2010/profiles/ndamukong-suh?id=496861

Pick Analysis: The Lions pick Ndamukong Suh to become the pillar of their defense at the tackle spot. Suh gives coach Jim Schwartz a disruptive interior player in the mold of Albert Haynesworth to build around. Given the fact that the Lions ranked 32nd in total defense last season, Suh's dominant presence should restore some of the roar in Detroit.


RB Jahvid Best
http://www.nfl.com/draft/2010/profiles/jahvid-best?id=497147

Pick Analysis: The Lions pick up the ultra-explosive Jahvid Best to alleviate some of the pressure on Matthew Stafford. Best is the most instinctive runner in the draft, and his skills may flourish as the feature back in Detroit. Although his back-to-back concussions last season justifiably raise concerns, the Lions may have landed the player with the most potential to become the next CJ2K.


CB Amari Spievey
http://www.nfl.com/draft/2010/profiles/amari-spievey?id=496743

Pick Analysis: The Lions pick up a tough, hard-nosed corner with the selection of Amari Spievey. He excels at zone coverage, and possesses the instincts to emerge as a ball hawk in the pros. With the Lions in desperate need of playmakers in the secondary, the addition of Spievey gives them more depth and talent at the corner spot.


OT Jason Fox
http://www.nfl.com/draft/2010/profiles/jason-fox?id=497008

Pick Analysis: The Lions address their offensive tackle situation with the selection of Jason Fox. Though Fox lacks the skills to compete for a starting position immediately, he has the skills to develop into a starting caliber player in time.


DE Willie Young
http://www.nfl.com/draft/2010/profiles/willie-young?id=496891

Pick Analysis: The Lions draft another edge rusher in Willie Young of North Carolina State. He's high-hipped, but highly inconsistent. However, he's a natural bender, who can accelerate of the edge and get to the quarterback.


WR Tim Toone
http://www.nfl.com/draft/2010/profiles/tim-toone?id=1037920

Pick Analysis: The 2010 Mr. Irrelevant is an all-purpose threat that can return kicks, run routes and make plays in space. He will fight for a spot on specials teams in his rookie year.


Well sorry this is so short but I will post again really soon most likely after this weekend after Lions practice this Sunday morning! I can hardly wait! Until next time my Lionettes BELIEVE that great things are coming! Until next time GO LIONS!

With the 2nd Pick in the 2010 NFL Draft the Detroit Lions Select………

Hello My Lionettes!

Well it is that favorite time of the year to be a Lions fan! The Draft! I hope everyone is as geeked as I am about the coming NFL Draft! Well I do set the bar pretty high so I think I am alone at the top on this one. As of this posting we are only three, count em three days away from Thursday’s NFL Draft. Here is a link from the Detroit Lions website about the draft party at Ford Field. I am going and if anyone wants to tag along please let me know. I only have space for four people though.

http://www.detroitlions.com/news/article-1/Lions-to-Hold-Draft-Night-Event-at-Ford-Field/376b792f-d7a3-4296-940b-d1813c9c9282

Here is my Mock Draft. This mock draft is based on our 7 picks and does not take into account pickups or losses from the result of trading down or up to acquire certain players. IF we can trade out of the #2 spot and move back I am ok with that and picking up additional draft picks that is ok. In the event of that happening we will most likely draft LT Russell Okung from Oklahoma State. The only problem I see with that is he would most likely play RT the coming season and then move over to LT in 2011 after Jeff Backus is most likely placed in a back-up capacity, traded or released. Taking Okung was a strong possibility until we acquired LG Rob Sims from Seattle to play Left Guard.

DT Gerald McCoy from Oklahoma, OG Mike Iupati from Idaho or CB Joe Haden from Florida are candidates for our 1st round pick if we do move back. If they do trade back they can pick up a 2nd round and a 3rd round plus a 6th or 7th round pick. Because this draft is so deep in Oline and DLine it is possible for the Lions to keep moving back to the middle of the first round with their first pick being in the high teens or low 20s and they can amass several picks. It could mean us having so many picks that we can finally have solid starters in multiple positions; have true battles in training camp for starting spots; developmental and depth guys like the Patriots, Giants and Steelers.

1st Round Pick 2 (2) DT Ndamukong Suh from Nebraska
(Projecting Suh will be available based on the high probability the St. Louis Rams will select QB Sam Bradford with their pick)

Here is a link from Sports Science on DT Ndamukong Suh.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDMWKvqG6Fs&playnext_from=TL&videos=sJmA82PySN8

Here is a link from the Bakita and Grey Morning Show with a parody song of Runaround Sue about the Lions drafting Ndamukong Suh.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxXAxuw4uJc

2nd Round Pick 2 (34) CB Patrick Robinson from Florida State

3rd Round Pick 2 (66) RB Toby Gerhart from Stanford
(I think the Lions snag Gerhart if he is still around in the 3rd)
http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2010/04/stanfords_toby_gerhart_could_f.html

4th Round Pick 2 (100) DE Antonio Coleman from Auburn

7th Round Pick 6 (213) S Terrell Skinner from Maryland

7th Round Pick 7 (214) OG Reggie Stephens from Iowa State

7th Round Pick 48 (255) OT Mike Tepper from California

Pretty much my 7th Round picks are ALL guesses. I doubt any of those three are picked. I think your odds of winning the lottery are better than accurately determining late round draft choices. Every team’s draft boards will immediately change after the #1 pick in the First Round is announced. Why do we even have a mock draft for rounds 5-7? By then most of those players are either depth guys or developmental players. The Lions will most likely move back in either the 2nd or 3rd rounds and if they do that they’ll pick up at least a pick or two in the 5th and 6th rounds.

Here is a Mock Draft from Sportingnews.com and they say we are taking mostly defense I agree with their assessment on players taken in specific positions like DT, CB/RB, RB/CB but I am not so certain on the players they are suggesting. Like I said before it depends on where players fall and when they are chosen because it’ll alter every team’s boards.
http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/draft/mock_draft?season=2010&round=1

Now the position groups I think they do not draft in at least in the first four rounds are QB, WR, TE, LB and ST (Punter & Kicker). I think if they draft anyone in those positions it’ll be extremely late and I don’t see them taking a QB at all in this draft. A Line Backer could come in the 4th or if they pick up a 5th or 6th round pick.

I am really encouraged about the directions this team is taking. It is taking some time to undo all the damage that Matt Millen caused in his eight years of bad drafts. Especially the first round busts like WR Mike Williams and WR Charles Rogers. I sincerely believe we are going to make a strong run after this season. Speaking of which on Tuesday the NFL will announce the 2010 schedule. Well my Lionettes WATCH THE DRAFT either at Ford Field with the rest of us die-hards or it’ll be on NFL Network and ESPN. I’ll have another post after the draft take care everyone and GOOOOOOOOOOO LIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mock Draft (Movie Edition)

Hello my Lionettes,





Again I am sorry for not posting in awhile. This one will be a bit short because I am just getting over a bad cold. Sleep has been scarce this past week. I will post more often as we get closer to the draft. I thought I would be a bit clever with a mock draft. This one is my picks for the Lions based on characters from football movies. This is a sort of wish list not dissing any of the players on the current roster but I am treating this as a sort of expansion experiment. I would draft franchise players in major areas of need. A Quarterback, a Linebacker, Running Back, Safety, Defensive Tackle, Wide Receiver and Offensive Tackle. The unfortunate circumstance is that if these were real players thay would all most likely be 1st rounders. I have listed them by round, position, character name from movie, the actor playing them and the film.

1st Round QB Shane Falco (Keanu Reeves The Replacements)
2nd Round LB Bobby Boucher (Adam Sandler The Waterboy)
3rd Round RB Earl Megget (Nelly The Longest Yard)
4th Round Safety Torres (Lobo Sebastian The Longest Yard)
5th Round DT Switowski (Bob Sapp The Longest Yard)
6th Round WR Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr. Jerry Maguire)
7th Round OT Jumbo Fumiko (Ace Yonamine The Replacements)

Hope you all get a good laugh out of this mock draft. Take care everyone and until next time GO LIONS!

Ready For Round 2?

Hello all of my fellow Lionettes,

Let me start off saying how sorry I am for not posting the past decade well last few months but why argue semantics. Let me say I have been insanely busy at the office. Coupled with another bad season for our Lions my appetite for writing this blog got thrown out like some bad food left in the fridge.

Well the Lions season has come and gone. Thankfully! You know at the beginning of the season I really thought we would be 7-9. Boy was I wrong! 2-14 is not much better than last year’s 0-16 but when the house is burned down clearing the rubble is the first sign of progress. I am not going to say that the Lions are in a re-building phase but a BUILDING phase. That joke of a GM, Matt Millen left us with ABSOLUTELY NOTHING in the tank! Well maybe I am being too harsh. We have a few players that are worth something. Like Wide Receiver Calvin Johnson whom after a disappointing season the Lions front office need to kiss up to and keep him happy here in Detroit.

A quick tid bit my thoughts and prayers are with the people of Haiti after this week’s devastating tragedy. I know a few of the Lions players Louis Delmas, Gosder Cherilus and Cliff Avril are personally affected and I can only hope and pray to the Lord that your family members are safe.

Special Teams Coach Stan Kwan has been dismissed by the Lions and as of this posting I am not sure whom the Lions will pick to replace him. I was hoping on Bobby April from the Buffalo Bills since they fired their entire staff and also as of today signed with the Philadelphia Eagles so he is out. I liked Stan Kwan and I know a lot of fans disliked him but he could only work with what he had. I do believe the Head Coach should have final say on the coaching staff and if Coach Schwartz did not feel he was the one to lead the Special Teams unit forward then I have to support that decision.

Another tidbit. The Lions coaching staff will coach the Under Armour Senior Bowl at the end of the month down in Mobile, Alabama January 30th. WOO-HOO! That is huge because the coaching staff will get a good look at some potential draftees. So that is a big plus. Detroit will coach the North Squad and the Miami Dolphins coaching staff will coach the South Squad.

The Lions 2010 opponents have been confirmed and are as follows. The schedule will be released in a couple of months which as soon as it comes out I will let you all know.

Home:

Chicago Bears

Green Bay Packers

Minnesota Vikings

Philadelphia Eagles

Washington Redskins

New England Patriots

New York Jets

St. Louis Rams

Away:

Chicago Bears

Green Bay Packers

Minnestoa Vikings

Dallas Cowboys

New York Giants

Buffalo Bills

Miami Dolphins

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

This is the end of the current scheduling formula and it is TBD when the new one will be made. As you can see we are playing the NFC East, our own division, the AFC East and the bottom feeders of the NFC West and NFC South which is the Rams and Buccaneers respectively. Our Thanksgiving game which is still ours for now will either be the Patriots or the Jets since we are due to play an AFC team on our Turkey Day. I am going to bet on the Patriots and we will see Tom Brady make his return to the state of Michigan.

Speaking of which you all want a good cry? When Tom Brady was drafted in 2000 by the New England Patriots in the 6th round you all want to know who we took when Tom Brady was available? Quinton Reese from Auburn was our 6th round pick in the 2000 draft! Who the hell is Quinton Reese you might ask? I HAVE NO CLUE! I could not even find which position he played. Maybe it was the team towel boy for all I know. This is just one instance of REALLY, REALLY bad drafting although this draft was prior to the Dark Ages of the Millen regime.

Here is the current roster of the Detroit Lions:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Detroit_Lions_roster

Click the link because I could not cut and paste it like I wanted to into this blog. And yes there will be another roster turn-over maybe not as bad as last year’s but still another turn over. A lot of Free Agents that were brought in do not fit into the team’s long-term plans. They were brought in to fill holes and it is very apparent that those holes need to be addressed in the draft.

Next item of business the draft in April! I CAN HARDLY WAIT! Some of you will see that I have a countdown on my GroupWise Messenger status bar in the Senate. The draft is of course being held over the course of three days in prime-time. Thursday night April 22nd will be the first round. Friday night April 23rd will be rounds two and three. Saturday April 24th will be rounds four through seven. I am going to take a contingent of fans Thursday night to Ford Field for the Lions Draft Party if anyone is interested. I will get more information to all of you as we get closer. I went last year and it was fun other than the fans booing Matt Stafford, Brandon Pettigrew and Louis Delmas when they were announced. However, I clapped and cheered because I love this team. Once the pick is announced they are Lions and need to be supported 100%.

Quick note about the coming play-offs hopefully the Lions will get there within the next two years. I figure we are two more drafts away from being a contender within the division. I am pulling for the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC and pretty much any team other than the Ravens in the AFC. Your probably wondering why? Well my Lionettes I am going to answer your enquiring minds. No team should go to the Superbowl that used the Lions as a stepping stone to get there. The Ravens embarrassed the Lions this year so I am indifferent to the Colts, Jets or Chargers making it to the Superbowl. In the NFC the Cardinals, Vikings and Saints all beat the Lions and Minnesota who I despise did it twice. So that is my rationale. I am not asking you to agree with it and some of you might say that is dumb. But I do not want my Lions being a footnote on their stupid DVD highlighting all of their accolades.

Next thing I want to talk about is the Lions draft picks or should I say potentials. Everyone in Lions nation myself included want Nebraska Defensive Tackle Ndamukong Suh but since we have the #2 pick he may not be there when the St. Louis Rams have the #1 overall and may snag him. We need the Rams to fall head over heels in love with either QB Jimmy Clausen from Notre Dame or QB Sam Bradford from Oklahoma. Your all wondering why the Rams would take a QB with their pick? Well they need a QB and most of the QBs will be off the board by the time they pick again at the top of the 2nd round. Unless QB Colt McCoy from Texas falls to the top of the 2nd round then they are covered. But they or any team for that matter cannot count on that. So we might take Tennessee Safety Eric Berry or Defensive Tackle Gerald McCoy from Oklahoma. I am pretty certain that our first pick will be a defensive player.

In the coming draft we pick second in Rounds 1-5.
We have the Denver Broncos 5th round pick because of a trade from the 2009 draft.
We have one pick in the 6th round.
We don’t have a pick in the 7th round because we owe the Buffalo Bills for the S Ko Simpson trade.
We get a 7th round pick from the New York Jets for the QB Kevin O’Connell trade but I am not sure if it is for the 2010 or 2011 draft. Compensatory picks from the league will be determined later once free agents losses have been assessed.

My wish-list of picks are a Defensive Tackle, Defensive End, Two Cornerbacks or a Corner Back and Safety, a Left Guard and then Best Player Available. We can hope that we have another good draft class and judging by contributors from the 2009 class I feel there is real room for optimism since this draft is stocked with DLine.

Well I hope to post again soon. Hopefully the wait won’t be as long next time. Well everyone take great care do not give up hang tough and GO LIONS!