I rarely post on here although been around for three years now. This is not purely football related post but rather a story of one very remote and isolated football fan lamenting over his current state of affairs.

Well, looks like my chances of watching Lions football, or any other pro football for that matter, next season are closing in to hit zero mark. First of all, this past Sunday I set the clock to wake up really early, 3:30am, to watch SB. Always sucks waking up that early and I actually do so on very few occasions – emergency, football and fishing (tho it’s been almost two years since I last smelled local muddy waters) – in that order. Anyway, it now appears that I got up in the middle of a night only to find my usual stream source seized (firstrowsports). I don’t know whether that had anything to do with all that SOPA/PIPA stuff. I think not as the site was up just two weeks ago (CCG) and was shut down right before the SB. I googled for alternative streams but all to no avail. So there I sat for the rest of the night staring at the highly entertaining drive chart on NFL.com. Glad I was all by myself in the room as it sure looked very retarded. If they shut down all stream videos I think I’ll consider Game Pass on NFL.com. Last year one team subscription price was around 200+USD, can’t remember exactly but think I’ll be able to scrape up required money. Have yet to talk my wife into it although I highly doubt she resists my charm.

But now there is another, much bigger threat to my fandom next season. We’ve bought a new apt last November and are about to move in once overhaul is complete. In December I went to a local ISP company to see if we could get a phone + ADSL package for our new place and was literally stunned by their reply that they don’t have a technical capability to provide me with their services. “No free pair in your condo”. They’ve advised me to wait so that maybe someone in our condo cancels his contract and the pair frees up. I was like holy smokes, that might never happen! And again they were sorry. So, when we move in there will be no phone (who needs one tho when every snotty kid has a celly) and, more importantly, no INTERNET… In this day and age, how the F do you not have a single free line in a multi-apt condo? I thought it was all part of our red flag past where people had to stay on long wait lists to get a phone. Obviously I thought wrong. You know, there is a saying, something like “Living on the verge of technical innovations is tough. We already have everything, yet nothing seems to work”. So true… If the above mentioned ISP does not somehow decide to drastically increase their client base by plugging me in then my only feasible shot at internet will be USB modem. But then again, we also happen to live in an area not covered by any 3G (let alone 4G) network so this option ultimately dooms me for anemic drive chart over on NFL.com. Yay!

To wrap this blabber up, gentlemen, try to fit yourselves in my shoes and imagine the world with little to no access to your numero uno sports. Sucks, to say the least…

Spent some time reading other NFC North blogs here on SB Nation. Basically, I wanted to see the rival fans reaction to Suhper pick. Below are some quotes from their respective draft threads. It is simple copy-paste, without names. 

The Daily Norseman

Man, Suh is a beast even in a suit
Definitely not looking forward to seeing that guy twice a year.

Maybe Detroit will do something...Detroit'ish
but I doubt it. I think they finally have smart guys running their draft. Damn, where’s Matt Millen when you need him?

Detroit
Pass on Suh-please, please, please.

Damn, Suh on the phone
I don’t think Detroit is going to screw this one up

Lions Take Suh
The next four years just got more…interesting.

Well, Sullivan and Herrera better hit the weight room
Damn it.

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A little some from Acme Packing Company

Suh it is. He's on the phone

No surprises so far
Unfortunately the Lions may have a legit D this year as a result.

I’m jealous. I think Suh is going to be the best DT in this league in a couple of years.

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Couldn`t find anything over on WCG. Their draft thread obviously hasn`t been very active, probably due to a lack of pick in Rnd 1. But anyway, nothing on Suh. Envy? Or like one Russian saying puts it "They fear neither knife nor dick"?

Links:

http://www.dailynorseman.com/2010/4/22/1437607/2010-nfl-draft-first-round-open#comments

http://www.acmepackingcompany.com/2010/4/22/1437671/open-thread-2010-nfl-draft#comments

 

OK, here`s my first mock draft ever. Ain`t no expert and haven't watched a lot of college football. But can give it a shot anyway, huh?

1        Ndamukong Suh, DT, Nebraska / Eric Berry, FS (if Rams upset us and Clausen here)

2        Kyle Wilson, CB, Boise State / Devin McCourty, CB, Rutgers (could be a return man as well)

3        Greg Hardy, DE / Torrell Troup, DT, UCF

4        John Jerry, OG, Mississippi /  Brandon Carter, OG, Texas Tech (freak???)

5        a) Stephan Virgil, CB, Virginia Tech / Harry Coleman, SS, LSU (played OLB senior year)

5.   b) Adam Ulatoski, OT, Texas

6.   Stafon Johnson, RB, Southern California

Well, this is chiefly based on cbssports.com data. Not sure how accurate their projections are but I doubt there are 100% money sources at this point.

Thoughts?  

In light of last night’s championship games I’ve been busy surfing through the message boards of respective teams involved and one thing really stood out for me, namely questionable officiating complaints. A lots of them, mostly by the losing teams fans which in itself doesn’t surprise me one bit. Bad calls are often used as an excuse, always have, always will. And then I ran into one post (can't provide a link but it was in the comments box over on NFL.com, I believe) that was saying that referees manipulate the game according to the polls results, meaning that the majority voted for Colts–Saints in SB on the same NFL site, and since the league is all about money… we now have that many Vikes and Jets fans frustrated at refereeing.

I don`t know. Shitty calls happen here and there during the regular season and I think one shouldn’t be surprised that the same mistake-prone human beings judge the games beyond week 16 and still eff it all up with bad calls. Besides, I believe SB game would be sold out regardless of the teams represented. Though I don`t know much about Super Bowl history and if there were any bad precedents. So, my question is this: does anyone smell conspiracy there or is it good old “we've-been-hosed-by-refs” talk?

 

Oh, and here are the penalty stats from each game:

 

MIN: 5 – 32

NO: 9 – 88  

Pretty simple math in this one…

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NYJ: 6 – 46

IND: 1 - 5

First of all I would like to once again congratulate you all with a WIN!

Guys, I need your assistance here. As far as I understand football, a prevent defense is when you drop almost everyone except D-lineman back in coverage in an attempt to stop the pass. Correct me if I’m wrong. I’ve just watched the Lions postgame conference and while coach Schwartz was on the mic there was something like “people hate prevent defenses” … I think I repeatedly heard the same while playing Madden NFL (I guess John Madden was referring to it kinda negatively). So, my question is this – is it true that people “hate” that kind of defensive plays? And does using a “prevent defense” make your win a less win? I’m sure a lot of teams will do the same if it comes down to securing the win. I`m just confused they are referring to it...Why?

As a complete outside fan of the Lions I need some advice from you guys. The problem is that my satellite operator broadcasts 2 games a week here – one Sunday night game and all of Monday night square-offs. Most of the time I have to watch so called “game of the week” games or just Chargers or Bills games because Moscow football commentators (I dare call`em so since they dare comment on American football) personally root for them. Saying` short, there’s a little chance they`ll show a Lion`s game and my question is - how can I get something more than just a 2 minute video recap on NFL.com? I only have a 400K ADSL connection but seeing one full time game video (even later on) would be just awesome for me. Hand… anyone?

I might be not very good in maths but it seems like the majority of free agents acquired by the Lions are offensive players.

Curry, Ronald WR
Smith, Terrelle FB
Heller, Will TE
Spencer, Cody LB
Loper, Daniel T
Buchanon, Phillip CB
Jackson, Grady DT
Johnson, Bryant WR
King, Eric CB
Morris, Maurice RB


I did`t include those who’s been re-signed, acquired via trade or off waivers (even then it would be more offensive than defensive). 6 out of 10 free agents that played for different teams last season were picked for the offensive side of the ball. Yet the lists of defensive free agents still have some unsigned names in. So my question is does it mean that the remainder of the free agency is too shallow to find someone worth signing or is it the indication that Defense will be addressed through the draft?

 What do you think?  

This post isn`t about upcoming NFL draft or any other related subject. So if anyone isn`t interested in such offtopics just skip this one.

I just wanted to share some thoughts on why this very special place has become the favorite site for someone who lives in a football-free community and a football-ignorant country for that matter (soccer rules here). Well, I’ve been visiting POD for like 4 months now starting from the time when Lions were maybe 0 and 13. I was wondering how come this team can't win single game. Considering all the talks on the internet regarding probable first ever 0 and 16 record I started hoping it would not happen to this team and they would win at least one game, just like Miami did the previous season. Alas. After the last game was lost I remember I was surfing the web reading recaps and stuff, and I found those photographs of Packers` fans holding banners saying things like “They are as bad as we thought they were”, etc. I don`t know why but somehow I felt offended. Actually I had no reason to feel that way since I`m thousands of miles away and Detroit Lions and me…man, it`s different galaxies! But then again, those banners… It’s like your opponent is already on his back and you come up and spit into his face just for the f…of it. I hate that! Maybe I’m wrong or take it too serious? Anyway, from then on I was reading all the news regarding Lions and since my former most favorite site, NFL.com, wasn`t providing too much information on Lions I started looking for any alternative and found Pride of Detroit. Now it looks almost like some sort of obsession, I mean I can't even start my working day without checking POD first, reading all the fresh notes and posts, visiting other links. I really love coming here and read how you guys share your thoughts and communicate. It`s like you`ve got a buddy who`s all about football. The thing is that here in Russia you won’t find too many people that can separate football from rugby and my only friend who actually could moved to another town. 
I’ve been rooting for Steelers for last few years but never was that possessed with them. It’s different now. I think Pittsburgh will be just fine but the aftermath of the first 0 and 16 record in NFL history is that from now on I will most definitely root for Detroit (even when they square off against Steelers). Hopefully my satellite operator shows at least one Lions game next season. Otherwise I will track them via internet hoping for the Lions to prove them Packs and the rest that THEY ARE NOT AS GOOD AS THEY THINK THEY ARE. 

Thank you for your attention. And excuse me my English, it’s not my mother language.