Not because he thinks Detroit should trade Calvin Johnson. That can be argued both ways, with each side having valid points. This post isn't to discuss that topic, but more to talk about how possibly Detroit's most well-known sports writer is a complete moron. Check out his latest article on the team (link below), where he tells us how he thinks Detroit should trade CJ, yet doesn't provide any support for his reasoning. No potentially interested teams. No contract information. Nothing to support his argument. There are commentors on this site that make more valid points than he does, yet we're stuck reading his moronic columns day in and day out.

http://www.freep.com/article/20091216/COL08/912160313/1049/rss14

Even the blogs are starting to take notice, including this must read article from The Big Lead (sorry guys, not trying to spam the site. Just trying to support my opinion). They mention that their writers did more research than Sharp, who makes millions from the Detroit Free Press.

http://thebiglead.com/?p=31804

I guess I'm just venting and that's the real reason for this post. Having to go through each season watching a struggling team, it'd be nice to have access to, at the very least, average journalism. But this falls way short of that. I guess that's one of the reasons I spend so much time on POD. You guys are doing a great job. Keep it up and thanks for letting me blow off some steam. Peace.

Watching the Bengals game Sunday, I noticed two distinct facts about the Lions.

1) DeAndre Levy is the answer at LB. He seemed to be in on every play during the entire game. I originally was skeptical on this guy, but now I'm convinced that we could trade Ernie Sims for possibly some draft picks/players to fill more holes without missing a beat on defense. I realize Sims' trade value isn't at its highest right now with the injuries and all, but Mayhew has been known to pull some doozies. Plus, Levy will only get better as he gains experience.

2) And this probably isn't news to anyone, but it was made even more clear against Cincinnati, we NEED to draft O-line and Defensive Secondary. I honestly don't believe our Defensive line needs to be addressed as early in the draft as I've seen some commenters on this site suggest. I think our priorities are keeping Stafford off his back and giving opposing QBs less time to throw the ball. A few Secondary additions will give our D-line more time to get to the QB. I think the guys in place right now are capable of doing just that. They may not be the best in the league, but they can get the job done. Our Secondary on the other hand is horrendous, and is among the worst in the league. Filling these holes will make the D-line that much better. Plus, we've held up pretty good against the run this year. We just need to get the QB more often, and I believe upgrading our Secondary will help us do that. Of course, point #2 here is completely moot if we have a chance to snag Suh LOL.

As always, please share your thoughts and opinions. I like to hear what other fellow Lions fans have to say. Happy Tuesday!

If you guys are as crazy a fan as I am, you've already searched the internet 1,000 times over looking for any and all articles about yesterday's win over Cleveland. Of all I've found, this one is probably the best. Not because of the way it was written, but because of the way it's set up. The quotes used and the storytelling will give you chills (the good kind). I normally don't like Peter King, but I think the opening topic from his Monday Morning Quarterback article is the best I've seen so far. Check out the link below. A lot of good quotes.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/peter_king/11/22/Week11/index.html

Looks like Cribbs is going to play Sunday. With all our injuries on defense, specifically the secondary, I wouldn't be surprised to see him put up a career day. Brady Quinn may look like Peyton Manning this week. I know one guy doesn't make or break a team, but it would've been nice to play one of the NFL's worst teams without their best player. We saw what Stephen Jackson did to us. I wouldn't be surprised to see Cribbs have similar success through the air.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4674264

Yesterday's game against the Vikings proved to me that Stafford has what it takes to not only be a starting QB in the NFL, but a damn good one. Enlighten me if you will, but I can't remember the last time a quarterback played so well with his offensive line virtually non-existent. On that same note, I can't remember the last time and offensive line played that bad. But Stafford hung in there, made some good throws and played tough. He was on the ground 70% of the game. I think if the Lions put some talent on that o-line, and maybe get Stafford one more WR that won't drop six passes a game, he could be something special. That throw he made to Bryant Johnson in the endzone should've been a TD. Stafford was running to his left full speed, threw across his body and hit Johnson right where that ball needed to be. It was his best throw so far this season in my opinion, right up there with the one against Washington on 3rd and long to seal the game.

Even with all our losses, Mathew Stafford proves to me each game that he has what it takes. I'm excited to see what he can do with one more year of drafting/free agent moves, and one more year of him gathering a better understanding of the NFL game.

I wanted to pose this question to my fellow Lions fans for two reasons. 1) Curiosity and 2) to get a better understanding of the NFL's franchise tag.

Lions fans have seen "star" players leave the team in the past in search of greener pastures and a chance to revive their careers. Is this something that you see Calvin Johnson doing when his contract expires? I, for one, think Detroit should do everything in their power to keep him around as long as possible -- which leads me to my second question: Does anyone know the rules/requirements of the NFL's Franchise Tag. I had a conversation with a friend about CJ leaving the team when his contract is up, and he told me not to worry because the Lions would Franchise him. For whatever reason, I was under the impression that the Franchise tag could only be used once on a player in their final contract year to extend his playing time and give the team another chance to extend a deal to keep that player around. I'm now starting to realize that I don't think I have any clue as to what the Franchise Tag means. I'm sure there are plenty of you out there with more knowledge than me. So if you wouldn't mind filling me in, and maybe others who would like to know as well, that'd be great. Thanks guys.

I found Pride of Detroit through a friend who told me it was a great site to find anything you're looking for on the Detroit Lions. The latest news, updates, injuries, inside info, etc. And while all of that is true (and props to those who make this site happen), there is one thing that bugs me -- this site is too biased.

There's a not so fine line between optimism and bias. Optimism comes from those who are confident in what they support. Bias comes from those who are prejudice in favor of what they support. I can't even count how many posts/comments on this site this past week pretty much chalked this game up as a win. It's one thing to be optimistic that the Lions can beat the lowly Rams. It's another thing to think they can win simply because we're fans of the team. I think the comments and posts on this site would be a lot more informational and productive if we all took a step back and looked at the reality of the picture before publishing our thoughts. I think the excitement of rebuilding a team this season has all gone to our heads a bit. As exciting as it is that we have a new coach, some good rookies and veteran leadership on the team, we need to be realistic and realize that this team is just not that good right now. We show signs of life here and there, but there's a long way to go before we start stringing together three-win streaks within a season. And it won't happen this year, and probably not next year either. And for a few of you who believe this team is playoff bound next year, or even the year after that, you need to open your eyes. Not everyone can be the Miami Dolphins. That just doesn't happen very often. This team has a long way to go before producing anything that looks like a winning season. And while I'm optimistic that we have the pieces in place to start that transition, I'm not expecting a whole lot anytime soon. It's not being a bad fan and it's not turning my back on my team. It's simply realism. We don't have all the pieces yet.

I'm sure this post will upset a few. And to those people, I'm sorry. This isn't meant to crucify anybody. It's simply an attempt to instill some sort of reality check withing the community. I'm a huge Lions fan, have been since I was young enough to know what football was. I just think we ALL need to take a harder look at this team to understand the full effect of what's happening this season, and what's in store in the seasons to come. We've got a long way to go, but for the first time in year, I'm optimistic that the system being put in place now is headed in the right direction. Let's gear up for Seattle and see if we can't put together 4 quarters of NFL-quality football.

Go Lions!

I'm not a big fan of the term "moral victory." However, I do believe that there are some positives to take a way from the Bears game. The biggest of those, in my opinion, is the fact that our offense seems to be clicking. Too often in the past, the Lions have had problems on both sides of the ball. But so far this season, it appears that only Defense and Special Teams have noticeably suffered. Now, that's not to say that our Offense has been perfect. But most teams that average just over 20 points per game, like our Lions currently do, win football games. And even with a 1-3 record, I think it's safe to say that our Offense hasn't held a majority of fault in our losses. For the first time in I can't even remember how many seasons, I can watch a Lions game and have confidence in our Offense on 3rd and long, or throwing on 1st down. We keep Defenses guessing, and that's saying a lot from what we've all previously known about Detroit. I think anyone who can't see a vast improvement in this team from last season or even years ago, isn't looking hard enough. This team is headed in the right direction. They'll have their bumps in the road (we've witnessed many already), but for once, we can finally see that someone in the Lions' organization knows what they've been doing wrong, and thus far, has taken the necessary steps to start fixing it.

My confidence is up despite the three losses. How 'bout everyone else?

Go Lions!

I hate Peter King. Always have. But this article is a good one, and gives a pretty cool inside look on the Detroit Lions. One thing that stood out in the column is how Schwartz took Stafford, Delmas and Pettigrew to an auto plant in Detroit so his rookies could understand the fan base they're playing for. Pretty cool stuff. Anyway, here's the iink:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/peter_king/09/29/mail/index.html?eref=sihpT1

GO LIONS!

Just want to hear everyone's thoughts on this: The Bills just released their starting LT, Langston Walker:

http://www.buffalonews.com/258/story/788706.html

Any chance the Lions take a look? Surely he's better than Sack-us or whatever other punny name you can come up with for him. IMO, he'd be a huge upgrade over anyone we have at the left tackle position on the team. O-Line is something most of us wish the Lions addressed more this offseason, and with only a few days left until kickoff of the regular season, I think this is an upgrade we need. I know he hasn't worked with the team all year, and there's no way he could come in right off the bat to start, but down the road he may be worth it.

What do my fellow Lions think?