While milling around on the Tennessee Titans SBN site, I found this article about Schwartz and his #1 defense in Tennessee during the 2008 season. I was reading through it and the way the author and the Titans players were describing the way that defense was run and schemed, I see parallels in our transforming defense. The way their defensive line was built to maximize the QB pressure without blitzing and the way he used players in multiple roles and moved them all over the field to play different positions and techniques. His defense in Tennessee was very innovative and hard to game plan against because it evolved every week and even from play-to-play during the game.

We have the stout defensive line Schwartz employed in Tennessee with players that have the ability to move to any d-line position and even drop back into a LB/tweener role.Also drafting a guy like Deandre Levy and moving him to MLB gives him the ability to move around to any LB spot and roam the field while still being effective. Once we get 2 good OLB to play with Levy, expect them to have more versatility and freedom to move around without losing our ability to stop the run or pass. One other thing I see is the way he is using our safeties. Flipping them around constantly and making them able to play both sides of the field. Whether intentional or not, we drafted a CB in Spievey, who has all the physical tools to be a really good safety, and moved him to safety. He can also drop into the box or drop down and play as a nickel back without having to change personnel.

I think the biggest thing we need to do to make our defense as stout as that 2008 Titans defense was, is get our OLB spots solidified. even if we kept the same secondary as last year, I think we could have a top 10 defense with how innovative Schwartz, Cunningham, and our defensive assistants are.

ARTICLE

I'm just wondering what mid-late round wide receivers you guys are looking at as possible picks for the Lions to fill our glaring need at the #3 wide receiver position? Here are some guys i'm pretty excited about, that I feel could be a steal late in the draft or as undrafted free agents.

Ronald Johnson - USC

Vincent Brown - SDSU

Matt Szczur - Villanova

Jeremy Kerley - TCU

Jock Sanders - West Virginia

Jeff Maehl - Oregon

Dane Sanzenbacher - Ohio State

Lyle Leong - Texas Tech

James Kirkendoll - Texas

Kealoha Pilares - Hawaii

Trae Johnson - Tulsa

I wouldn't even be mad if we took Jerell Jernigan in the 2nd round because he is exactly what we need. 4.3 speed, great routes, and great hands.

Now I know some of you guys may not agree with me on a guy like Sanzenbacher, but he has decent speed, good quickness, great hands, and has a very high football IQ. I think he could end up being like Jordan Shipley (not because he's white, but because they are similar players) was in the slot this year for the Bengals. Let me know who some of the players are that you guys like and want us to get.

via cache.daylife.com

I love this picture! It's a toss up between what's better, this or the Alphonso Smith Carlton Banks dance. Hopefully the team can play with an attitude and confidence that this picture exudes. I have nothing else really too important to share with you guys, I just love this photo and thought you guys would enjoy it too.

Oh and go lions!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I said GO LIONS!!!!!!!!!!!

Damn, what the hell do I have to do to get this thing to 75 words. There we go.

I realize this should be a fanshot, but everyone needs to see this. This is a great video of Corey Williams wired for sound during the Vikings game in week 3.

Enjoy:

http://www.detroitlions.com/media-center/videos/Wired-For-Sound---Corey-Williams/816f9e81-87d4-42c8-871c-db7c719aab8a

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!!!!!!

I saw something interesting on PFT today. It was a comment by someone with the user name Kirmie, and here it is.

Too bad the rule book has three lines stating that the catch is complete where Calvin Johnson satisfied those requirements multiple times before losing the ball. The refs were wrong and the rules make this a touch down.
"A forward pass is complete (by the offense) or intercepted (by the defense) if
a player, who is inbounds:

(a) secures control of the ball in his hands or arms prior to the ball touching the ground;
and
(b) touches the ground inbounds with both feet or with any part of his body other than
his hands."
"If a player goes to the ground in the act of
catching a pass (with or without contact by an opponent), he must maintain control
of the ball after he touches the ground"

Oh look! Two quotes from the rule book showing the play was over. CJ secured the ball? Yes. Got both feet down? Yes. Goes to the ground? Yes, both his feet, knee, and hip hit. It was down multiple times.

This is all a load of horse crap by the refs protecting their own butts because the booth review blew it.

Now, the thing that stuck out to me about this is the fact that he met the requirements for a completed pass according to (a) and (b). And by the wording, he had a completed catch regardless of the ball coming out while he was getting up. According to what this says, He made the catch and was down, not only by both feet, but because the defender touched him as his knee and butt hit the ground.

Another thing I saw was this:

"A player who goes to the ground IN THE PROCESS OF ATTEMPTING to secure possession of a loose ball (with or without contact by a defender) must maintain control of the ball after he touches the ground, whether in the field of play or the end zone.
"If he loses control of the ball, and the ball touches the ground before he regains control, there is no possession. If he regains control prior to the ball touching the ground, it is a catch, interception or recovery."

The fact that Calvin never lost control of the ball before it hit the ground contradicts what the rule states. "If he loses control of the ball, and the ball touches the ground before he regains control.....". I believe the NFL rule book contradicts itself, which is exactly why there is no black and white in this matter, as the NFL apologists would have everyone believe, it is all gray area. Based on what the rule is, he made the catch and it should've been ruled as such because of the fact that he never lost control of the ball before it hit the ground. And since he never lost control and landed on the ground with full possession, the process rule doesn't apply. The "process" rule is intended for catches in which a player is making a sideline catch or a bobbling catch as the player is going to the ground. And since neither of those circumstances took place in this play, it doesn't apply. The referees misinterpreted the rule and used it in a sense for which it wasn't intended. The referees upheld the ruling because they didn't want to admit their mistake, and the NFL will always back the officials, no matter how wrong they are.

Trust me, we will see similar catches throughout the season that will be ruled complete and it will be because of two reasons. 

1. Because the rule will be properly used in the situations for which it was written and will not be used in the situations where a player has full possession of the ball as he lands and is ruled down.
2. Because the NFL will have a review of the rules with the referees behind closed doors reminding them of why this rule was written in, and in what circumstances to use it. But they will NEVER admit they were wrong to the public.

That is my take on the situation and I will never accept the ruling. But now that I got my 2 cents in, I will move on and try to erase that day, that game, and the NFL (except the Lions) from my memory. Let me know what you guys think of my theory. If you don't agree with me, that's perfectly alright. This is just something I've been thinking about since Sunday, and the PFT comments really got my mind going, I just wanted to share my thoughts.

Just wanted to see if anyone on here knows what station the Lions preseason games are gonna be on this year in the Detroit area? I get all the major Detroit stations here in Toledo, so I'm just hoping it's on one of those.

Just to make this 75 words, I'll say I was surprised at how good some of the guys looked at the Lions Uncaged. Dede Dorsey, Derrick Williams, Aaron Brown, and Chris Houston all looked really good.

I am just starting to have a good feeling about this team. I realize most of us,including me, say that every year but something honestly feels different about the moves the FO is making and the players we're getting. The Lions are actually starting to resemble an NFL team now (weird right?). They are actually fixing the defensive line with good players instead of putting it off like they have been for years. Corey Williams is a good DT and with KVB on the line as well they could be turned into a strong unit on the defense in just one year. I know they will draft good and get the players we need in here. And with Burleson coming in, Pettigrew coming back next year, and Stafford having a year under his belt the offense could be a lot better next year.

I know there are still some areas of concern like CB and RB but i think the trade to get Chris Houston from Atlanta was a good one. I hope I am right but I think this team could be competitive now rather than later. At the very least I am fairly confident the Lions will be MUCH improved compared to the last couple of years.

Am I crazy or does anybody else feel that the FO is turning out to be one of the best in the league, and that the team seems like it is heading in a winning direction faster than we thought? 

Don't know if anybody else saw this or has posted it, but I found it kind of funny since we were joking about him bringing a 12 pack to KVB's house or doing keg stands.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUXADy6zu3I

It's not beer but I can see Schwartz sitting in a leather recliner drinking wine next to the fire. KVB on the other hand......not so much. I'm surprised we didn't hear about them crushing beer cans on their heads.

I just wanted to write and say Happy Thanksgiving to all here on POD and share a few things to be thankful for. Let us all give thanks to WCF for finally mustering up enough fortitude in his old shriveled up testicles to fire Millen and hand the franchise over to someone who, up to this point, seemingly understands how to run a team and build this thing up to respectability. Let us give thanks to Matt Stafford for showing the heart of a Lion on a team that he and everyone else knows isn't going anywhere this year. That shows a ton of character and guts and shows that even at his young age and inexperience he is fast becoming a leader and an emotional rallying point who can bolster the play and attitude of the players around him with performances like that. Let us give thanks for the 2 wins we have and the development and improvements we are really beginning to see throughout our team. And let us give thanks for the Detroit Lions. Even though they break all of our hearts they give us all a sense of hope, rejuvenation, redemption, and most of all excitement in our lives. And that in a microcosm is the essence of life itself. We go through the entire spectrum of emotions with the Lions and it makes life better for everybody. Because with every heartache we've endured there will be that moment of pure ecstasy that when we experience it will be the moment that we all say "this is it, this is the moment that makes all that we went through worth every second of it." And when that day comes i won't want to take back anything from the past because we will have learned to appreciate things like that so much more than most.

I would last like to give thanks to all of you here on POD. Even though i have never met any you I consider you brethren in this dysfunctional family we call the Detroit Lions. We have all been through the worst of times together and we will all definitely be together when the best of times come. We sometimes argue and we all have differences in opinions but we are all here because of a common bond that few have because WE ARE the BEST fan base in the NFL. No other fan base has stuck together the way we have through worse times than we have.So thank you all for being true fans and being like a support group for all of us.

So to everybody here Happy Thanksgiving. I hope it is great one for everybody and let's all hope and pray for good food, good friends and family, and a damn good game on Thursday that hopefully results in a win. But I will settle for a good game to watch with my family as I'm sure most of you would. There is no better time than eating Thanksgiving dinner with family and watching the Lions play a great game. Those are some of the best memories from my childhood, which was in the 90's so the Lions were actually winning on Thanksgiving, and I look forward to that day every year still. So have and good one, root hard for the Lions, and let's just appreciate everything we have and life itself.

Just some observations on the season so far as it stands vs. last year.

The Good:

Offense:

1) We are 19th in rushing YPG this year vs. 30th last year.

2) We are 16th in passing YPG this year vs. 24th last year.

3) We are 15th in total points this year vs. 27th last year.

4) We are 21st in total YPG this year vs. 30th last year.

5) Avg TOP this year is 31:57 vs. 26:59 last year.

6) We have given up 0 Def. TD's this year vs. 5 last year.

7) our 3rd down % is 45% this year vs. 28.7% last year.

8) We are 17th in total TD's this year vs. 27th last year.

Defense:

1) We are 21st in defensive rushing YPG this year vs. 32nd last year.

2) We are 18th in interceptions this year vs. 32nd last year.

3) We are 22nd in total YPG this year vs. 32nd last year.

4) We are 14th in sacks this year vs. 16th last year. ( not really that big of a change but still improvement)

5) We already have 2 def. TD's this year vs. 1 all of last year.

6) Opponents 3rd down % is 36.5% this year vs. 45.7% last year.

The Bad:

1) We are 27th in def. passing YPG this year and we were 27th last year.

2) We are 32nd in scoring def. this year and 32nd last year.

3) The special teams are as atrocious as last year if not worse. They have put us in some really terrible positions.

4) Our Defense is still blowing games except this year it seems to be more in the 2nd half rather than the 1st.

As I said in the beginning of this post this is just by the numbers so far this year. There is no telling how the season will end or where it will take this team. I'm not telling anyone to read too much into this, look at it however you want. Although in my humble opinion this shows improvement throughout the team. Offense seems to be more improved but also the defense based on the numbers seems to be much improved. We are not the in the top of the league in any of these categories but seeing a pretty significant improvement in many areas on both sides of the ball is very promising. This tells me that the talent level and the coaching in one years time is much improved. Add in the fact that we have a lot of rookies contributing all over the field and this almost makes me optimistic about the future ( I say almost because I have learned to never get too optimistic when it comes to the Lions. You are just setting yourself up for a letdown).

In conclusion we may have had the worst team in NFL history last year but seeing a visual representation of improvement may give some of you a little bit more hope as it does me. These numbers won't mean anything if we collapse the rest of the season or if we keep blowing games late like we have but as of right now we are definitely not the worst team in the league anymore and I feel we are more towards a middle of the road team right now than a bottom dweller this season. That could just be the little bit of optimism I have right now though, we won't know until the season is over. If you read this post I hope it made you feel a little better about the team as it did me and I hope you at least enjoyed it a little bit. If not and you think I'm an idiot then feel free to rip me a new one in the comments LOL.

All stats were provided by www.nfl.com

I am new to BHGP but I have been an Iowa fan for a while now. I am also a member of the Pride of Detroit the Lions blog. I live in Ohio right by the Michigan line and it's all Ohio State and Michigan fans around here. And believe me as much as you guys hate Ohio State I hate them even more because I have to listen to their annoying, retarded, poll riding asses talk about how much better they are than anyone else in the country (they are so delusional) everyday of my life. God I hate Ohio State. Anyway now that that's out of the way for now I just wanted to say hi and say I look forward to Joining in and talking Hawkeye football (especially once the season starts).  Around here I keep telling everyone that Iowa is poised this year to win the Big Ten, especially with the way the season ended last year, and they all think Iowa is a bunch of scrubs. I plan on attending the Iowa vs. Ohio State game this year since I am only about an hour and a half away from Columbus and I have friends at OSU who can get me tickets. I am pretty pumped for that! I think this is the best team since the Brad Banks years (they were so fun to watch back then). If you guys would comment on how you think the teams gonna do and/or how you think the Big Ten will play out I would Appreciate it. Thanks for letting me join the community and I hope to enjoy some good Hawkeye football this year.

The Detroit Lions just signed former Cleveland Browns DT Shaun Smith to a one-year $1 million deal according to profootballtalk.com. I personally think this is a risky signing with great potential though. As long as he doesn't act like he did in Cleveland. If he doesn't have the bad attitude and poor work ethic that he had In Cleveland I honestly believe that with a rotation of him and Grady Jackson plugging the middle that we could have our own little Williams wall here in Detroit. Based on his previous actions and reports of bad attitude coming out of Cleveland it seems like as of right now he is exactly like Shaun Rogers was here in Detroit with less talent. I really hope Swartz and Co. can shape him up and get him to produce to his potential because if they can get it out of him he could tremendously help this teams defense. What do you guys think of the deal and/or him as a player and what he could possibly mean to this team??