Uugh...Stating the obvious, it sure would be really nice to see Titus be able to stay healthy. 

Per Philip Zaroo at mlive.com:

Update (10:40 a.m.): Titus Young did not make it through practice; he is on the sideline with his left hamstring wrapped.

How about this for a wish. Maybe, just maybe, one of our top three picks will be able to make a contribution this year. Without training camp for Titus or Fairley, it's looking pretty bleak that anyone from the 2011 draft class will make a significant impact.

But the rest of the team is looking pretty good though right?

In a Detroit Free Press story today, LINK linebacker Zack Follett referred to Matthew Stafford as a "China Doll". Has he been reading the Pride?

He commented:

“Stafford, good guy,” Follett said. “He’s a china doll right now. Anytime he gets hit, he goes down. But the kid is -- hopefully, it’s just patiently waiting for him, because the kid is an awesome talent. He has a tremendous arm. The throws that he makes during practice when no one can touch him, he looks like an All-American quarterback, but put him in a game, and you hit his shoulder. So hopefully, say a couple prayers, keep him healthy next year, and the Lions can do some damage in the NFC."

Also note at the end of that quote, he referred to "The Lions" as though he were no longer part of the team. Of course, by making comments about Stafford that way it seems like even if he can play he might not be welcomed back by the locker room.

I need some help in understanding how the pro bowl works with regard to alternates or substitutes for injured players.

Matt Cassel was an alternate but will now be on the team replacing an injured Tom Brady. Tramon Williams is now on the team replacing an injured Assante Samuel.

My question is does a player who plays in the game as an alternate get credit career-wise as a "pro bowler" or not? What I mean is when they say someone is a 5 time pro bowler, does that mean he was selected or that he could have made the game as an alternate fill-in 5 times?

If he does get credit as a pro bowler, then does the player who he filled in for (like Brady) get credit for a pro bowl too even though he did not play?

It seems that if both get credit as a pro bowler, then the amount of pro bowler's per year would be increased by 25% or so. 

This has been on my mind for a while, so I appreciate your insight.

During last years pre-draft debate, our own GRLion opined that the Detroit Lions needed to draft Eric Berry with the 2nd overall pick. There were a few followers, but most of us stayed the course with Suh being the right pick. A few others preferred an offensive lineman like Russell Okung.

I don't think any of us would trade Suh for Berry in a re-draft, but it certainly looks like GR was right about Berry being a game changer in the secondary. He finished the regular season as the hearbeat of a significantly improved Chiefs defense. He finished with 85 tackles, 70 solo, 1 forced fumble, and 4 interceptions...one returned for a TD.  What a great year for a first year safety. Even our beloved Louis Delmas can't compare to those numbers.

Since we are drafting 13th this year, it is worth noting that the second safety taken, and Mike Mayock's top safety, Earl Thomas of the Seahawks had comparable numbers as well---he was picked 13th in 2010. Thomas' numbers were 74 tackles, 63 solo, 1 forced fumble, and 5 interceptions. So for those of you that are worried about dropping in draft position with our late season winning streak, rest assured that there will be plenty of impact players available at 13.

So here's the question:

Taking Suh out of the equation (meaning you can't pick Suh), which other player drafted in 2010 would you want on the Lions if we could re-draft tomorrow?

As fan's, we can do one of two things right now.

We can do what we always have done and "hope" for Stafford to return after he is heeled with no significant further injuries. We can pretend that these are all just "freak" hits, and in the future he will be more durable and run off 10-12 years of injury-free and pro bowl caliber play.

OR, we can realize this for what it is. ANOTHER failed quarterback pick for the Lions. Joey Harrington couldn't play quarterback, but he was durable. Matthew Stafford can be an amazing quarterback, but he can't stay healthy. Both were and ARE lethal to the future of our team.

Unless the NFL puts red jerseys on QB's so that they aren't allowed to be hit, or puts a flag football belt around their waist, Matthew Stafford (based on the evidence in front of us today) appears to NOT be able to play QB in this league. It's not about talent this time for the Lions, it's about having enough durability to stay on the field. If we ever want to have a future for this team, we have to stop pretending that "everything is OK" and we will be fine. Everything is NOT OK, and we will not be fine if we continue to ignore the evidence that's in front of us and take action now. So, what do we do?

It's time to get Matthew healthy and deal him to another team. Maybe the Bills or whomever gets the #1 pick next year so that we could get Andrew Luck from Stanford. Stafford has shown enough brilliance that teams will think they can get him into condition to play in this league and avoid future injury. We could get a top pick in the draft and probably another pick as well.

What if Staff gets healthy and goes on to have a brilliant and injury-free career for another team? I am willing to live with that. On the other hand, what if we keep him and ignore the warning signs in front of us today? Can we live with the reality that we very well could be playing with our 2nd and 3rd string QB's for 50% of the games for the next 4 years? Winning a few games per year and wasting all of the other talent on this team?

I, for one, cannot live with that option. I have played the "wait & hope game" with the Lions for 4 decades now, and based on my experiences as a fan I am certain that pulling the curtain on Matthew's career in Motown is the right thing to do for us...for the team, it's players, and us fans. If you are less than 30 years old, maybe you don't have enough personal experiences with the Lions to make such a bold move. I have said to myself, "maybe Landry will be the guy". Then maybe Danielson, Hipple, Long, Batch, Ware, Mitchell, Harrington, Garcia, etc, etc, etc.

Could it be a bad move where Matthew goes on to be a great NFL quarterback? Absolutely, but based on what we have witnessed so far, a reasonable person would have to say that it is a chance worth taking. Based on our franchise's lack of success, we should be willing to take the risk of making bold action based on limited information (24 games). If Martin and Jim are serious about producing a winner with no excuses for failure, then they should NOT IGNORE the red flags that are saying "CAUTION: BRIDGE OUT". Matthew is NOT the bridge to the future for us, and we need to take a detour before we run the bus off the bridge once again. 

Hello GG Nation!

Last week, we had a pretty horrific case of verbal warfare going on with the gang at Hogs Haven, and I was hoping to avoid that by starting peaceful dialogue off this week with GG Nation heading into this weeks game. Frankly, I was embarrassed for both team's fans as the conversation strayed from facts to the usual SBNation circular insults that we see from time to time.

Jets fans are some of the most knowledgeable football fans in the NFL, and our Detroit fans as a whole respect your fan base...and your team. We look forward to a nice week of good-natured debate over this weekends matchup.

Detroit: Where we are at?

We are 2-5 coming off a win against the Redskins yesterday. Matt Stafford played his first full game in almost a year, and looked rusty but did have 4 TD's to 1 INT. We are mostly healthy coming off our bye last week, and our team has played better than our record reflects. There is a lot of optimism from our fans about what the rest of the year holds in store for us, and I am sure that you will hear that from prideofdetroit members.

I am sure that some will say that the Lions have a good chance to beat the Jets if we play up to our capabilities. Personally, I think MOST of our fans feel that we need to play our BEST game in 3 years to beat the Jets and the Jets have to help us by not playing their best game. Oh, you will hear some die hards on our side that say that we are gonna whoop on the Jets, and that Suh and the gang are gonna smash your offense to bits and pieces. Hey, although drugs are outlawed it doesn't stop those little buggers from finding their way into the hands of wanting souls right?

Where are we going?

I think most of us expect to get on a nice run during our last 9 games and win 4 or 5 of them and finish with 6 or 7 wins. We have 5 of our last 9 at home, and that should help a bit. It really depends on Stafford's continued growth as well as our ability to protect him. Any chance Rex could back off on the overload blitz a bit this week? Although our O-Line is playing better, that's a tall task for any team to handle. If you hold Rodgers and the Pack to 3 field goals...well, obviously that is really awesome!

Lions versus the Jets

I am not the matchup guy on our site. I am too lazy so I will leave that to them. Certainly I hope that the Honolulu Blue can pull out a win, but realistically nearly none of our community has this one penciled in for a W. Not that my prediction means anything (and I will likely be stoned for this at prideofdetroit) but I expect the Lions to fall to the Jets 20-13. If we can look like an NFL team and keep the game competitive against a great team like the Jets, most of our fans will still be drinking the juice and feel like we are moving in the right direction. We have Buffalo and Dallas afterwards so that should keep the optimism up.

Hopefully, this post will be well received by both sides, and we can have a nice spirited (non-insulting) week of debate leading up to the big game. Good luck to you in advance!

A guy over on Hogs Haven inspired me by his signature:

Twas a dark and stormy night when Tony Romo turned his key... 
He was scared about the prospect of going back to D.C. 
When he entered his room he saw some crutches wrapped in a bow... 
Attached with a note that said "you’ll need these... signed...Brian Orakpo" (thanks skinsfan28)

by shvd98z24

So, I wrote my own new signature with props to SHVD:

It was 3rd & 7; Delhomme dropped to pass

"Man, I hope, I don't get knocked on my ass"

He felt twisting and clawing, "When will it stop?"

Then SUH ripped off his head, like a bottle of pop!!

These follow up comments have always been fun at POD. One of my all time favorites was "Sam, I AM", but it's too old for me to reference it now. I wish I knew who wrote it. It was the Dr Seuss one about how Sam Bradford didn't want to play for the Rams, but for $80 million clams, I will play for the Rams.

OK guys, let's lighten the air here at POD with some of your best shit. Joshsun and Delusional; no negative "reality" posts here please. This is supposed to be fun. lol.

I was sitting at the bar in So Fla watching the game last weekend. Wearing my Best jersey, I identified 3 Eagles fans on the other side of the bar. When they are Eagles fans, it's pretty easy to identify them right?

I watched the game and listened to them obnoxiously celebrate as the Eagles ran the lead up to 35-17. After that score, I realized that this wasn't just about football...it was about M-O-N-E-Y!! When Shady ran into the endzone to make it 35-17, two of the guys jumped up and down and hugged each other. One guy says to the other "2 Large baby!!! Put it in the bank! It's a LOCK!!"

Well, as Paul Harvey said..."now for the rest of the story". The Lions scored quickly, and I watched them slump a little bit on their bar stools. One says in a loud Philly voice "No biggie. It's Over anyway!" Then the Eagles punt, and I watched them squirm a little lower in their stools. Then Calvin scores a touchdown, and one guy slams him mug onto the bar. "What the FUCK!!!", he says. The other guy says "Wait, there's a flag". Penalty on the Lions. It's coming back. They high five and pour another beer.

But before they could raise their freshly poured brew to their lips, Calvin scores again. No Flags. As the clock wound down to zero, they sat in stunned disbelief at what had happened to them. Their team won, and it cost them $2000.

As I watched their day melt before my eyes, it occurred to me that in the absence of a win for the Lions...this was the most fun I could have had. Because the only thing more obnoxious than watching a Lions-Eagles game with an Eagles fan...is watching a Lions-Eagles game with a betting Eagles fan that has already spent their money on the "sure thing".

Here's a prime example of "Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus". It is offered by an English professor from the University of Colorado.

A Creative Writing professor told his class one day: "Today we will experiment with a new form called the tandem story. The process is simple. Every person will be paired with a classmate.

As homework tonight, one of you will write the first paragraph of a short story. You will e-mail your partner that paragraph and send a copy to me. The partner will read the first paragraph and then add a second paragraph to the story, which will then be sent back to the partner, with a copy to me. The first person will then add a third paragraph, and so on, back-and-forth.

Remember to re-read what has been written each time in order to keep the story coherent. There is to be absolutely NO talking outside of the e-mails and anything you wish to say must be written in the e-mail. The story is over when both agree a conclusion has been reached."

The following was actually turned in by two of his English students:

Continue reading this post »

On the first day of the NFL draft, I logged on to nfl.com so that I could watch any behind the scenes footage that they might have.

Once logged in, they had a map of the country with a STAR where each team in the NFL was physically located. If you hovered over the star, it would show you how many fans for each team was logged in at the time. It was 7:30 PM EST, and I expected that the fans from the most passionate football cities would dwarf the Lions by comparison. Surely we would see a huge contingent from these football towns like the packers, vikings, cowboys, jets, chiefs, eagles, giants, and redskins right? But as Lee Corso says, "Not so fast"!

Though I did not write down the specific numbers for each team, I was astounded and excited that the Detroit Lions had the 2nd most fans signed in to NFL.com with 41,000 fans. Well, I thought, maybe that was because some of the other fans would log in when it was closer for their team to pick. But that turned out not to be the case.

The Rams picking 1st had only around 7,000 fans, Tampa around 20,000, and the Redskins picking 4th only had around 7,000. The #1 fanbase that night was the Dolphins with 48,000 logged in. The jets peaked at around 27,000, while none of the packers, vikings, cowboys, or giants exceeded 10,000. The west coast teams (seattle, oakland, san francisco, and san diego all had around 20,000 at peaks as well.

So after the Dolphins and Lions with over 40,000, no other team had over 30,000 fans logged in. Before I saw this, I thought that the Packers, Chiefs, Jets, Cowboys, and Eagles had the most passionate football fans in the country. BUT now we know the truth....The Lions have the 2nd most passionate fan base in the country, even after our decade + long slump. It's gonna be scary around here once we produce a winner!!

GO LIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What if the commissioner had to play "Cat in the Hat" and rhyme all of the picks?

Sort of like, "With the pick at 2, the Detroit Lions select Ndamakong Suh".

Or, with the pick at 31, the Colts select a man that weighs a ton. Terrence Cody from Alabama".

There are seven days to the draft, and I would like a laugh.

You guys are the best, so here is your test.

Let's make it rhyme and pass some time.

How about you? You know what to do.

Let 'er rip...it should be a trip!

Here we are 11 days from the 2010 NFL draft and, in the absence of trades, there isn't much we haven't covered yet. It seems like a good time to give Sean some feedback on things you would like to see on the pride to make this site better for you and for all.

I don't know how much control Sean has over site functionality, but your feedback can only help the future of the site.

I will get the ball rolling with two suggestions I have:

1. It would be great to have live chat; both group chat and member to member. When we have the live threads, things really get hoppin' here and it is alot of fun.
2. When I click on "New" messages within a post, it currently scrolls to the top of the new messages. It would make it so much better if it would scroll to the 1st unread message within that post. In fact, in threads with 60 plus comments, sometimes I won't open it because I don't want to scroll through it to find the unread comment.

Hopefully our feedback will help POD be a better place for all of us!

The source is Jason LaCanfora.

Go Lions! Go Lions! Go Lions! Go Lions! Go Lions! Go Lions! Go Lions! Go Lions! Go Lions! Go Lions! Go Lions! Go Lions! Go Lions! Go Lions! Go Lions! Go Lions! Go Lions! Go Lions! Go Lions! Go Lions! Go Lions! Go Lions! Go Lions! Go Lions! Go Lions! Go Lions! Go Lions! Go Lions! Go Lions! Go Lions! Go Lions! Go Lions! Go Lions! Go Lions! Go Lions! Go Lions! Go Lions! Go Lions! Go Lions! Go Lions! Go Lions! Go Lions! Go Lions! Go Lions!

According to this National Football Post article, the Lions are investing some time into Southern Illinois running back Deji Karim. Karim was not invited to the combine, but worked out for scouts at Northwestern's pro day.

He is 5'9 and 209 lbs, and ran a 4.37 40 at the workout. He also had a 10'3" broadjump, a 40" vertical, and all of the drills he performed would have ranked him in the top 3 amongst running backs at the combine.

After striking gold with Brandon Jacobs from Southern Illinois a few years ago, NFL teams are taking a solid look at Karim. Apparently, the Jaguars, Colts, Chargers, and Eagles are also interested.

With his stature at 5'9" and 209 lbs, I couldn't help but think of Barry. Here is an interview with him on a local news station.

National Football Post has Karim ranked 11th amongst running backs.

You can check out some highlights in his game against Western Illinois in this youtube clip.

The bears announced today that they have decided to release Adewale Ogunleye.

Ogunleye has been the starting DE for da Bears, and a leader of the defense in the absence of Brian Urlacher. Bears coach Lovie Smith said that with the signing of Julius Peppers it was necessary for them to cut him.

I just wish Martin would have know before he was released as we would have happily given the Bears our newly found Mr Irrelevant pick for him; just so that we wouldn't have to compete for him in the Free Agent Market. Well, it is what it is. I an hopeful that Adewale decides to stick it to the Bears by coming to Detroit.

Imagine this line: Ogunleye, Suh, Williams, and Vandenbosch.

That's a far cry from last years DL to say the least!!

Today was the 3 round mock draft at milehighreport.com. Most of the 32 teams were represented by fan reps for each team, and I represented prideofdetroit.

We were able to get Ndamukong Suh, Kyle Wilson, and Jon Asamoah (Guard) as 1,2,3.  Here is the entire 3 round mock on a team by team basis.

Mile High Report Live Mock Draft Spreadsheet

We have a pick coming up after the Rams, and still left on the board are:

QB: Tony Pike, Jevan Snead
TE: Aaron Hernandez
RB: Anthony Dixon, LeGarrette Blount, Joe McKnight
WR: Jordan Shipley, Taylor Price, Dezmon Briscoe
OL: Kyle Calloway, Mitch Petrus, Selvish Capers, Marshall Newhouse, J.D. Walton, Brandon Carter, Zane Beadles
DE: Austen Lane, Vince Oghobaase,George Sevie
DT: Torrell Troup
LB: Rennie Curran, Eric Norwood, Darryl Sharpton, Koa Misi, Thaddeus Gibson
S: T.J. Ward, Major Wright, Larry Asante
CB: Perrish Cox, Donovan Warren, Brandon Ghee

Who should be our pick in the 4th? Another CB like Ghee or Cox, S Major Cox or Assante, RB Joe McKnight, or perhaps another Guard like Mitch Petrus from Arkansas?

The one thing that was apparent to me was the dropoff in talent after about pick 44. For that reason, I think we should keep that pick at the top of the second round instead of trading down for an extra 3rd.

Not that anyone elected me the MHR GM, but thanks for letting me represent you!

I am representing POD on the milehighreport.com live mock on Sunday. Since it is a deep draft, I wanted to offer a contingency trade that deviated from the standard draft trade value chart in an attempt to stockpile more picks in the early part of each round.

The contingency is that IF SUH is taken #1 overall...

1. We will trade with a top 7 team for a 1st and 2nd
2. We will trade with a 8-12 team for 1st, second, and 3rd

My thought is that the draft is SO deep that we will get a GREAT player anyplace in the top 12, and be able to add more good players in the second and third. If with a top 7 team, we can still get Berry, Haden, or Okung (in alphabetical order). If with a top 12 team, we can still possibly get one of those 3 OR Bulaga, Trent Williams, or Kyle Wilson (also in alpha order)

Without giving away my 2nd round targets, I think the Lions would do either of these deals. Since we are a family here, dysfunctional as it may be, I wanted to open up some dialogue to seek your feedback. Of course, it is only a 3 round draft, so it didn't do me any good to acquire picks in rounds 4-7, so I didn't bother to ask for them.

OK, lemme have it gang!

Why doesn't the NFL have the combine test the players in full pads and helmet at the combine? Can you imagine if a pilot could do a verbal exam ONLY instead of flying a plane to get their pilots license? He could tell us how he is going to fly the plane without actually flying the plane.

I realize that they have historical data from previous combines, and that they like to use that data to benchmark against potential draftees performance. However, with as much money that is at stake you would think they would want to start building some better data.

We all realize that players will be slower in pads, but there should be a correlation between their gym short speed and their pad speed. Frankly some players, especially track guys in the skill positions, have a significant dropoff when put in pads. Guys like Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith ran really well in pads, and they fell in the draft because of the concern about their speed. Jerry Rice ran a 4.6 at the combine, however, I don't think I ever saw anyone catch him from behind. When Bill Walsh saw Jerry Rice play, he allegedly remarked, "He doesn't PLAY like a 4.6 guy".

My recommendation is that they begin having them run drills (especially the 40) separately in both shorts and full equipment starting next year. They would be able to benchmark players in shorts with previous draftees, and then start building new data including pads. In five years or so, they would be able to drop the shorts (so to speak) and rely solely on full equipment results.

I am genuinely hearing your feedback on why they aren't tested this way now, and if you think it's a good idea for the future.

We have been going back and forth about this for what seems like forever now. The question has been posted a million times in a million different ways----IF Suh is available at #2, do you want us to draft him?

This is YOUR final vote---the one that will live in infamy. The one that we will have chronicled for ALL to see FOREVER! A public record of your genius or your stupidity.

I don't relly care if we have discussion on it---as it really isn't necessary any longer. We just need to have your official stance for ALL of POD to see for years to come. It's far better to do this now as a future cross-check than to have you come back after the boom or bust to say "I told you so".

Without further adieu, cast your vote!

As first reported by Footstock last week and reported moments ago by the NFL network, Mike Shanahan just arrived in Washington DC and is expected to be named the new Redskins head coach tomorrow.

Since I am sure that this isn't seventy five words yet, I will keep typing and reiterate that the Lions need to move quickly to get special teams coach Bobby April (released today from Buffalo) signed as a member of the Lions coaching staff.

I didn't really know where to post breaking news as it happens, so thought this was as good a place as any. Let me know if it's inappropriate to write non-Lion NFL news here and I will refrain from doing so in the future.

Just an fyi, Bobby April and the rest of the Buffalo Bill staff was let go today.

As you are well aware, Bobby April is the best special teams coach in the NFL and we could use his skills, knowledge, and most importantly, his enthusiasm in running our special teams.

I submit that you should IMMEDIATELY present Stan with career change options and get Bobby April to Ford Field today!

If you don't he will be on Mike Shanahan's staff by Wednesday. And Washington is on our schedule again next year, so let's make sure the early bird gets the worm.

Please let me know when this has been done, so that we can get on with pre-draft preparation later this afternoon.

Regards,

Footstock

Most of us here at POD agree that Stafford is the real deal, and that he will be the franchise qb we have been waiting for. Before you jump on me for this post, I AM NOT saying that they are equal, similar, or cut from the same cloth.

Actually, quite to the contrary. The fact is that Sanchez came to a mature and developed team with a great running game, a solid offensive line, and a top defense. His numbers should be 25% better than Staff's just from that perspective.

Although the numbers are almost identical through week 15, I think it really speaks to the point that Sanchez has been far inferior to Stafford in his play so far. In fact, if Sanchez doesn't improve drastically next year with the cast he has around him, there is a real shot that he is carrying a clipboard by 2011. Heck, Rex has already admitted to considering benching him a few times.

From a raw numbers perspective, it's eeery how similar the numbers are:

• Stafford is 6'2" 225lbs - Sanchez 6'2" 225 lbs
• Stafford - 13 TD's 20 INT's - Sanchez 12 TD's 20 INT's
• Stafford 2267 yards - Sanchez 2275 yds
• Stafford comp % 53.3% - Sanchez 53.5%
• Stafford QB Rating 61% - Sanchez 62.3%
• Stafford Sacked 24x - Sanchez sacked 24x
• Stafford yards per attempt 6 - Sanchez 6.9
• The only dissimilarities are attempts per game: Staff 37.7 - Sanchez 25.3 & Yards per game Staff 226.7 - Sanchez 175

Most of the analysts and former coaches said after the draft that Sanchez was coming to the better situation. However, the blessing might just have turned into a curse. He has a 10 win team from the previous year behind him, and his performance expecations were much higher than those placed on Matthew.

Even though the numbers are nearly identical, they must be benchmarked against the supporting cast around each QB on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. My assessment is that the numbers DO lie, and that they demonstrate that we got the right guy!

Now that I have been a member here for a full three weeks, I think I am uniquely qualified to rank the best and the brightest of Pride of Detroit. I say uniquely qualified because I have to get this article up to 75 words, and figured that this would allow me to babble a bit while incresing my word count. Also, I haven't been here long enough to have a beef with anyone, so I can still be fair and unbiased.

Actually, I have seen the lay of the land here and this really is a great community of passionate Lions fans. Good or bad, I have had so much fun just watching the debates being volleyed back and forth...keeping in mind that we all want the same thing...The Lombardi Trophy in the Motor City.

In ranking the wisest men on the POD planet, I used the following WiseGuy criteria:

• Consistent - Comments are congruent with each other from one post to the next
• Factual - Knows their stuff and bring data to support it when necessary
• Fair - Considers opinions contrary to their own, and willing to adapt based on new information
• Smart - You can just tell

Every month, or sooner if necessary, I will re-evaluate the list and make necessary adjustments based on improvements and declines in each members demonstrated WiseGuy Criteria. So without further adieu, I give you The POD WiseGuys!

1. KDawg
2. Nate
3. HyperionEcta
4. GRLion
5. DrewsLions

Outside looking in: Latif, N4ry4

Wanna be a WiseGuy...keep on posting, and show your stuff!

*Note: The Moderator is REALLY smart too, but we ALL know that and this is just for members...not the brainiac moderator. I hope he doesn't make me "Meet the Ban Stick" for omitting him. :-)

After a valiant effort in a loss to Arizona, the Cards still fell into place for the Lions. Although we are obviously not contending for a playoff berth, we are in a competition to acquire one of the most dominant defensive lineman to come out of college in several years---Ndamukong Suh from Nebraska. **Writers edit: I am almost always wrong about lineman pre-draft, so you can take my Suh annointment with a grain of salt.

With Cleveland picking up its 3rd win against Kansas City AND Tampa picking up it's 2nd win against Seattle, the Lions are now tied for the 2nd worst record in the league with Tampa Bay. The good news is that the Lions own the tie breaker for the 2nd pick in the draft over Tampa.

The draft tie breaker for teams finishing with the same record is strength of opponents schedule. The team whose opponents have the fewest wins takes the tie breaker. Division opponents records count twice since they are played twice. Sunday, the Lions not only got good fortune by Cleveland and Tampa winning, but many of the Lions opponnents lost as well. With Minnesota, Green Bay, and Chicago all losing it added up to 6 fewer wins for its opponents in the tie breaker. Meanwhile, 2 out of 3 of Tampa's division opponents won, Carolina and Atlanta, which added 4 more wins to their opponents schedule....a 10 point swing in the Lions favor.

With the Giants and Redskins still pending on Monday, Tampa's opponents have a 124-98 record while Lions opponents have a 115-109 record---putting the lions UP by 9 in the tie breaker. Mondays game will be a wash for Tampa since they have both Washington and NYG on their schedule---either way it will add win 125 to their opponents record. The Lions advantage in the tie breaker therefore will grow by one as long as the Giants beat the Redskins.

As it now stands, the Rams will pick 1st, however, there is a slim chance that they pass on a quarterback. Not only is it one of their biggest needs, but they also drafted DL Chris Long in 2008 with the second overall pick. If we continue to maintain the tie breaker advantage, we will be able to begin the revitalization of our defense with the beast known as Kong Suh and also have the benefit of picking second in all subsequent rounds as well.

Even with today's loss, alot of CARDS fell the Lions way today. Root for the Giants on Monday, and we will see SUH...in Honolulu Blue!!!

Notice I didn't start this article with Calvin? We've talked that one to death...up and down the board. That said, the subject came up in another post about the Cutler trade and whether or not it was a good deal for the Bronco's. On the surface, it looks great...2 first rounders, swap a 5th for a 3rd, and a QB.  But was it really a good deal for them?

It has been a disaster for Denver so far.

Cutler has much more upside than Orton...let's not debate it. It would be like saying we got Ryan Fitzpatrick for Stafford.

The bottom line is what did all of those wonderful, magical, draft picks produce for them so far. Here's the reality of why you don't trade marquee players for draft picks.

1. They used the Bears 1st round pick for Robert Ayers – He hasn’t started a game yet, and was a healthy scratch a couple of weeks ago. Last I heard he was only playing on passing downs when he is active.
2. They traded the 3rd that they got from Chicago and their other 3rd to the Steelers for the last pick in the second round…basically moved up 12 spots for—-drum roll please——Richard Quinn, TE from NC. He’s had NO catches this year, and is only playing on special teams. OH, and he was arrested in September on domestic violence and harassment charges.
3. They only have one more 1st rounder in 2010 to get any value for Cutler (other than Orton), so they still have a chance to get something in return

So there’s 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th, 3-2 count, and they get ONE MORE SWING to get anything for Cutler.

That’s why trading marquee players for draft picks is bad business, and it’s why, other than getting such an obscene amount of picks that you can’t possibly screw it up, we shouldn't trade CJ for draft picks.

Please feel free to forward this to Mssr's Parker, Sharp, and the other media whores that want us to be doomed to fail forever!

Mitchell's Disease def---A debilitating psychological disease occurring in a quarterback caused by consistent and repetitive pocket trauma, sacks, and protective reflex to avoid further physical injury. The most common symptoms are rushing passes, abandoning a clean pocket, side arm quick throws, and throwing off of the back foot on a repeated basis.

It always cracks me up when I hear the NFL network label Scott Mitchell as being one of the biggest free agent busts ever.

The fact is, he only had one full year where he threw more picks than TD's, he threw for 4,300+ yards-32 TD's-12 int's in 1995. He was only sacked 12 times that year. Then in 1996, he got the crap beat out of him after Lomas Brown went down for several weeks with a high ankle sprain. Lomas' injury, along with Mike Utley's absence, created a porous offensive line that struggled in pass protection. He got sacked 36 times in 96 and 41 times in 97. As a result, Mitchell got "happy feet" aka "shell-shocked" and was never the same again. He was throwing off the back foot trying to get the ball out too quickly and floated alot of balls, which resulted in 17 picks and 17 td's in 1996. He only played 2 games in 98 before being replaced. We can call this condition "Mitchell's Disease".

I am really concerned about Staff's injury and the long term effects of it; not from a physical stance, but from a psychological perspective. Ever since the ac joint separation, he seems to be making throws too quickly and off of his back even when he doesn't have to. I am not talking about when he IS hurried due to protection breakdowns, but rather when he has the time to throw---the time to step up in a legitamite pocket---and instead he is bailing out on the play and rushing the throw without stepping into it and off of his back foot.

My hypothesis is that Staff is really concerned about taking the hit, and is doing anything he can to avoid it. I have had an AC joint separation years ago (still there---doesn't really fix itself without surgery in my case), and it is nagging still to this day when not being hit, and can be quite painful when it takes a decent pop (or even sleeping on it - man, I am getting old). In Staff's case, I know that the brain trust assures us that it can't get any worse, and I believe that to be the case. The problem is that Staff knows that every time he takes a hit he is going to have a sharp---sometimes arm numbing---pain and who can blame him for wanting to avoid it.

That's why I think the management has to think about the psychological effects of him playing with it as is. He is getting into bad habits, and every hit is doing long term damage---not physically, but mentally to him and his career. The last thing we want is to build a head case with Staff that results in Mitchell's disease. It would ruin a very good thing.

Let the Schwartz be with you.

• Minnesota x 2
• Green Bay x 2
• Chicago x 2
• Dallas
• NY Giants
• Philadelphia
• Washington
• New England
• Miami
• NY Jets
• Buffalo
• + 2 games determined by the NFL that take previous season's record into account when matching up opponents. In 2009, the 2 "previous record / strength of schedule" matchups were New Orleans and Washington

The methodology the league uses is:

Teams play each team in their division twice. Then the team plays each team within a division in both the AFC and NFC. These divisions are rotated each year. Then, of course, two "ala carte" games chosen by league officials based upon the previous seasons record.

Everyone knows that the Lions do NOT need a QB in the upcoming 2010 draft, and that hurts us TREMENDOUSLY when it comes to getting draft day trade value by moving down in exchange for more picks in the first 3 rounds. We need ALOT of help, and we NEED to trade down into the middle of the 1st round in order to pick up another 2nd and 3rd round pick. We need quantity AND quality.
 
Depending on the results from the combine, teams like Carolina and San Francisco will be drooling over a top flight QB like Sam Bradford. Bradford may be available when we select, but if the 2-3 teams behind us that want him think we won't draft a QB, then they would prefer to trade with teams behind us like KC or Buffalo. The biggest reason is to lower their contract value of the pick. So I am suggesting a game of chicken.

We draft the best QB on the board to force their hand, and THEN trade the pick to them in exchange for their first, second, and third round picks. If we traded the QB to San Fran, who has 2 picks around 10 & 11 in the first round, we might be able to still get Okung with the 10th pick and then get the 2nd and 3rd round pick too.

We will spend half the money on a 10th pick that we would spend on the 4th pick, and that would free up more money for quality free agents at the corner or D-Line. Cleveland set the price for moving up by trading the Sanchez pick to the Jets---1st, 2nd, 3rd + 3 players. Maybe we can pull off the same.