And then there was Suh

The Detroit Lions have had seven Associated Press Rookie of the Year award winners in the team’s history. In 1967, the award was introduced for the first time and given to a defensive player and an offensive player (the same format we still use today). The Lions won both. Mel Farr, running back drafted out of UCLA won the offensive award and Lem Barney, the Hall of Fame cornerback out of Jackson State won the defensive award. The following year a Lion brought home the award again, this one going to Earl McCullouch, wider receiver out of USC. The other Lions’ offensive winners include two running backs that both wore the number 20. Billy Sims and Hall of Famer Barry Sanders. Our second, and last defensive ROY winner was Al Baker in 1978, until this year.

As expected, Ndamukong Suh won the ROY award on Friday, taking home another

piece of hardware. Suh also won the Sporting New, 

Pepsi, Pro Football Weekly and Pro Football Writers of America 

ROY. And don’t forget a Pro Bowl selection. Suh was also selected 

to the All-Pro team, a rarity for a rookie. 

Suh is now the face of the franchise, and for good reason.

Suh scrambles after his first career INT vs the Rams

Watching the Packers win the Super Bowl remind me of the first Lions game I went to. I watched Barry Sanders run all over the Pack at the Silverdome. We beat Favre and the Packers 31-17. This year I watched the Lions beat the Packers 7-3 at Ford Field for our first divisional win since 2007. The question I asked myself was; when is it finally going to be our time? Our time is now. The Lions organization and the players have an opportunity to really turn this franchise around.  Suh is an example of what the future holds for Detroit. It’s time to get it done. 

Free Agency: LIONS version

Although they are almost over the hump, the Detroit Lions are still rebuilding. There are a lot of players the Lions have acquired in the past through the draft. A lot of them are either not on the team, aren’t in the NFL, or were complete busts. Last year we drafted starters like Ndamukong Suh and Jahvid Best. In 2009 we drafted stars Matthew Stafford and Brandon Pettigrew. So, there is promise in recent players the Lions have drafted. But the front office is still trying to catch up after Matt Millen wrecked the organization.

Last off-season, Martin Mayhew and Jim Schwartz signed key free agents (Nate Burleson, Kyle Vanden Bosh, Corey Williams, Shaun Hill) and made good trades (Chris Houston, Tony Scheffler, Rob Sims, Alphonso Smith) and waiver pick ups (Stefan Logan, Nathan Vasher) to improve their roster.

To build an organization that will be able to beat the elite teams in the NFL, make a playoff run (let alone make the playoffs for the first time since 1999) and possibly go to the franchise’s first Super Bowl, we have to sign, sign, and sign players that will get this team to the next level. This includes keeping the key players you already have and signing new free agents instead of relying solely on a draft. We all know that just because you draft a player doesn’t necessarily mean they are going to make a positive impact.

Here are the current Free Agents on the roster:

Unrestricted FAs

C. C. Brown SS

Jared DeVries DE

Bobby Carpenter OLB

Vinny Ciurciu ILB

Brian Clark WR

Dylan Gandy C

Tye Hill CB

Chris Houston CB

Landon Johnson OLB

Eric King CB

Turk McBride DE

Brandon McDonald CB

Dave Rayner K

Drew Stanton QB

Nathan Vasher CB

John Wendling FS

Restricted FAs

Cliff Avril DE

Jerome Felton FB

Andre Fluellen DT

Kevin Smith RB

Exclusive-Rights FAs

Korey Bosworth OLB

Caleb Campbell OLB

Zack Follett OLB

Corey Hilliard OT

Stefan Logan WR

Prince Miller CB

Jake Nordin FB

Ashlee Palmer OLB

Randy Phillips FS

Paul Pratt CB

Barry Turner DE

Cliff Avril, the most important free agent on the Lions' roster

The big names I want to return and should return are most importantly Cliff Avril and Stefan Logan. Avril has said via his twitter account that a deal is going to happen. Logan is an exclusive rights FA so he should be back (we would be stupid to let him go anywhere). Neither should cost the Lions that much money. At the corner position, Chris Houston did well as the #1 corner. If we can add some more talent at that position (which is our highest need), he would be more effective. He said he wants to test the market, but who knows. I think Bobby Carpenter, Landon Johnson and Ashlee Palmer have earned spots on this team; maybe not as starters, but are good depth guys. The only true starting LB on the roster is DeAndre Levy (Lions have said they will release Julian Peterson). Zack Follett may not play again but the Lions will probably sign him to a small deal and put him on IR. 


Depending on who we draft, you could see the return of Turk McBride or Andre Fluellen. Jerome Felton said that the Lions need to use him more on the field or he wants out of Detroit. That is a pretty bold statement for a fullback. He probably should have thought about playing a different position if he is going to complain about his usage. I feel that he is used a lot, but I assume he wants more carries. Good luck with that. 


Nathan Vasher could return as a depth corner. He impressed late in the year and was a very late waiver pick up. John Wendling was selected as a Pro Bowl alternate for his special teams play and should return, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t. Randy Phillips is a guy I liked as an Undrafted Free Agent. Will he return for a second go? 


Dave Rayner helped us win games, period. The game-winning field goal in Tampa Bay sealed the deal for me. Sign him. You cannot rely on Jason Hanson at his age. He is a great kicker. You can put him on the practice squad next year if you have to, but I would keep him around. 


I am pretty sure you have seen the end of Drew Stanton, Matt Millen and Rod Marinelli’s high draft pick. Lastly, Kevin Smith. What to do with him? The man who almost broke Barry Sanders’ NCAA regular season rushing record has battled injuries. Will they give him one last shot? I say yes, at a cheap price. But if you can get someone through free agency or the draft (Mark Ingram? Just throwing it out there that it could be an option), then no.

This is basically a brainstorm. Of course it depends on whom we draft. But the draft also depends on whom we sign. Most importantly, there won’t be any deals until the NFL and NFLPA stop bickering and sign a new Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Here are some of the top FA’s the Lions could and should target:

DeAngelo Williams, RB.

Ahmad Bradshaw, RB.

Ricky Williams, RB

If Felton does not return (who can be replaced easily, I believe) we need a back with power to go with Jahvid Best’s unstoppable speed along with the use of Logan on special plays. Maurice Morris filled in well and will Smith return?

Mike-Sims Walker, WR

Ben Obomanu, WR: The only reason he is on my list is because the Lions have grabbed a lot of former Seahawks through trades and Nate Burleson in 2010 through FA.

Mark Clayton, WR

LaMarr Woodley, LB: He will probably stay in Pittsburgh. Plus, if we bring back Johnson, Palmer and draft Akeem Ayers or Bruce Carter early, we won’t need to go there in free agency. I will go deeper into the draft at a different time. But I think it is a deep draft for the linebacker position.

Here is the important position. Cornerback.

Champ Bailey

Nnamdi Asomugha
Antonio Cromartie

William Gay

Darren Sharper (Safety)

Like I said before, we should try and bring back Houston and Vasher. Bailey seems like a guy that would come here and give some leadership and a big improvement to the secondary. But Asomugha would be the best possible player to get besides Patrick Peterson in the draft. A big price tag may come but rumors have it that he is a player Ndamukong Suh was trying to “recruit” Sunday at the Pro Bowl. Go after him. That ways we can go linebacker and offensive line first. Be aware of the salary cap as well. If we do sign a corner we should draft one anyway. We need all the help we can get.

This is all a “wait and see.” Free agency can decide whom we need to draft, and after the draft we can still go after the players that are out there. But first we need a new CBA. Who knows what is going to happen. Martin Mayhew and Jim Schwartz have a lot of options. With the right moves, we can do big things next year and in the years to come.

Jerry Jones says his Cowboys are OK at CB

From the Cowboys standpoint it looks like u can throw out your Mock Draft picks to get a CB. Looks like Jerry Jones has already made a choice for the draft early on for us. Jones says that his Cowboys are OK at the CB position.

The Mock Draft predicted the Cowboys to select Nebraska CB Prince Amukamara. Cowboys do need more help in the secondary than the most from the performance they put up last year. Sensebaugh, Ball, Jenkins, and Terrance Newman had a below mediocre year in my opinion. Jenkins was a Pro-Bowl CB last year and for him to take a major downfall a year later is just shocking.

Rob Ryan, the Cowboys’ new defensive coordinator, must make a tremendous sales pitch during job interviews. That’s the most logical explanation for the surprising stance taken by owner-general manager Jerry Jones as Senior Bowl workouts started Monday. He indicated the club believes Ryan can fix embattled cornerbacks; Ryan should have a say-so from this decision by Jones. He's the new DC and has enough time to figure out what he needs.

I hope this statement made by Jones doesn’t stick. It’s not a good look for u too already make a decision on the team not to selected a CB and that were "ok" at that position. That choice should be made by the Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator. We need this draft pick to really come through and it will hopefully improve the Cowboys secondary and defense as a whole.

Who Makes the Lions Roar?

As I sat and pondered what my first topic would be on for this blog, I decided to start off by talking about the rebuilding stage of 2010. I asked myself, “Who made the biggest impact this year for the Detroit Lions?” My list consists of Brandon Pettigrew, Nate Burleson, Jahvid Best, Ndamukong Suh, Cliff Avril, DeAndre Levy and Stefan Logan. Then I asked myself, “What was the best pick-up the Lions made this season?” I wanted to say Nate Burleson or Kyle Vanden Bosch, but I believe the Lions’ pick-up of Stefan Logan off of waivers in September was the brightest spot for the team and the fans.

Stefan Logan played his college ball at South Dakota. Logan is a running back at heart but converted to the WR/return specialist role. He went undrafted in 2007 and later signed with the Miami Dolphins.  In 2008 he was playing football in the CFL for the BC Lions. In 2009 the Pittsburgh Steelers gave him a shot, and he rewarded them by breaking the Steelers single-season record for return yards. On September 4, 2010 he was cut. Unfortunate for Logan at the time, but the next day the Detroit Lions signed him and the rest is history. When the Lions made the acquisition I was more than excited. I have seen what this guy is capable of and he gave me hope for a recently awful special teams squad.

The Lions’ last special teams score came by a Casey FitzSimmons returned onside-kick for 42 yards against Chicago back in 2007. But the last real “traditional” kick off touchdown was in 2004, a 94 yard return for the score by Eddie Drummond. The Lions hosted the Rams on October 10, 2010 where Stefan Logan broke the horrible streak by returning a kick off in the 2^nd quarter 105 yards for a score, tying a Lions record that was made by Terry Fair in 1998.

Logan had 1,448 Kick-off return yards this year, and average of 26.3 a return to go with the one TD. He had 362 yards on 30 punt returns with a long of 71 that almost went to the house. He was awarded by being selected as NFL Special Teams Players of the Week for his performance vs. the Rams and was selected as a Pro Bowl alternate for Return Specialist. Logan should be starting in Hawaii next weekend. The man starting in his place is Devin Hester. This season Hester recorded 427 return yards and no TDs.

His most production came from 564 yards on punts with 3 touchdowns. Martin Mayhew expected him to be selected to the Pro Bowl and Logan had the same expectations.

"If we go off stats alone and despite the record and being on TV all the time, I should have a chance of making it," Logan said. "But if you go off popularity as far as names and guys in the league, you got DeSean Jackson, you got Devin Hester," Logan said to the Detroit Free Press.

The Lions established a lot of hope this season. I predicted an 8-8 season, and had Calvin Johnson been awarded a touchdown, (“The Process”) which I do not even want to get started with right now, closed out a game at home either vs. the Jets or the Bears, we would be 8-8, not 6-10. But it is optimistic. If Matthew Stafford stays healthy in 2011, we can add some impactful corners, a couple linebackers, improve the offensive line to protect Stafford a bit and even add one for receiver, we are talking playoff capability. We were able to still win our first road game since 2007 when we beat Chicago, which was also our last divisional win. We broke the record for most consecutive road losses at 26. We set the previous record of 24 during the 2001 to 2003 seasons. We broke the divisional losing streak when we beat the NFC champion Green Bay Packers on December 12th. We snapped our road-losing streak when we went into Tampa Bay the following week.

Logan was able to help us break those streaks with his explosive returning ability. We have not had a bright spot on special teams since we had Eddie Drummond and Desmond Howard at the end of his career. He also used his speed on some running plays later in the season, fulfilling my wish of using him more in the offense. I have read many comments saying he is “undersized” and I laugh at that. Many have said the same things about Best, and I laugh at them, too. You can be as little as you want, but when you’re that fast and are that mobile, the only people laughing will be the ones celebrating with him in the end-zone. Special Teams is called what it is for a good reason—it’s made for special players. Stefan Logan is one of them.

Cowboys stadium could reach over 100,000

When Super Bowl 45 starts on Feb. 6th. The capacity could reach over 100,000 for the 1st time in 24 years.

Even though not all the fans will have seats(party passes). Plus, Jerry Jones expects about at least several thousands of fans to by $200 to watch the Super Bowl from the big screen where the outdoor plaza will be. Which those fans will be counted as well.

An estimated 93,000 fans or more should be inside of the stadium and the final numbers wont be determined until closer to the game. The last time the Super Bowl surpassed the 100K mark was in 1987 at the Rose Bowl(103,985) in Pasadena,CA

When the NBA All-Star Game was here, it broke an attendance record of 108,713. The Cowboys already broke the attendance record for a regular-season game drawing 105,121 fans. I expected the Super Bowl to reach close to 110, 000 fans, breaking another attendance record.

Bears vs. Packers Wrap

Thank you Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers for making me look like a giant idiot. I said the Bears would win and I gave very confident answers, now that the game is over the Packers won, but not because the Bears couldn't have won this game. There are huge things that happened that lead to the Bears eventually losing this game. It's not like it was a blowout either, it came down to the wire and had people thinking if the Bears would actually come back or not. So lets get at breaking down this game.
The Packers got the ball first and from the first play you could tell they came prepared to attack our defense. They watched a lot of film and exploited every little error in that first drive. When I saw that first drive, I said to myself I hope the offense is doing well today. Then the Bears got out on the field and they went 3 and out. From that point on I was worried. I'm not saying I knew they would lose after that, because there was a lot of time left for the Bears to get into their groove. The Packers offense was crazy good and just took advantage of everything our defense did wrong in the first half. The first half was all Packers. I was pissed off and really drunk by then because I kind of turned the game into a drinking game by saying that every time the Packers had a good play I took a drink, I was hammered. This game was making me very mad, I was ready to turn it off, but I knew the Bears would not give up and that they would not lose this game unless they played super bad, which they did.
Then, I was on twitter and everyone was talking about Cutler. I didn't understand because I saw him leave and he didn't look like he was limping that much and I never saw him take a big hit. Then he came out and played the first drive. After that drive Jay Cutler was sitting with his coat and I saw the worst quarterback in the NFL warming up. I was deathly afraid when I saw that because I hate Todd Collins with a burning passion. Ever since the Giants game where he came in at the end and the receiver was 10 yards away and Collins throws it without getting hit and it gets like halfway. Since that moment I have hated him, and he made some bad throws like that in this game. I don't fully agree with the fact that they should have taken him out before the 4th quarter, because if for some reason Jay Cutler had fought off all the coaches telling him not to play he could have played in the last few minutes. I also agree with the decision, because the less he plays the better. The only reason he is the number two is because he is older and has way more ezperience than Hanie. Hanie is so much better and we saw that today.
Hanie played for a small part of the third quarter and all of the fourth quarter. I have thought since he was the third string behind orton when Rex Grossman was just ending his time with the Bears that he deserved a chance. Now he got his chance and he proved that he can step up in big situations and make some pretty big plays, but he also can do some Cutler things, like throw interceptions. He threw two of them in that short time but also balanced it out with two great passes. The end of the game was great and I was holding my breath hoping that this kid would bring us to the Super Bowl. It didn't end well, but he has a lot of talent that we can use either in a trade or after Cutler leaves. I like Hanie and he is very young, if in the future he becomes the next Aaron "thrusting" Rodgers I would not be surprised. I just wish he could have lead us to victory.

Why the Bears will beat the Packers.

A lot of the analysts and "experts" are saying that the Packers are now the favorite to win the Super Bowl. Well, what do they know. They thought that the Patriots would dominate every team and win the Super Bowl without a problem. Now they are out of the playoffs. I don't think that we should listen to the experts and their opinions, we should listen to the facts and realize that the Bears are going to win this game.
First, the Bears are playing at home. We all know this is a HUGE advantage during the playoffs if not all other games. You know that the 4th Phase is going to be a huge factor in this game. Yes, the Bears did struggle playing at home in the beginning of the year, but the Bears at the beginning of the year and the Bears now are two totally different teams. This offense is an offense in progress. Each game they play together they get better and looking at each game of the season, you can see that. Home field advantage is bigger than the experts are making it out to be. I don't think the Seahawks would have won if they were playing in New Orleans. So, playing at Soldier Field is a huge advantage for the Bears.
Second, the Bears could have beat the Packers week 17 if they had pushed it a little more at the end of the game. The Bears are capable of beating this team. I admit that the Packers are a better team on paper than the Bears are. I just think the Bears are going to win because they can play with more heart and determination. They have tons of material to fire them up. That is a big part of the game and I don't think the Packers have any of that. We have loads of things to get us pumped. We can and have beat this team, and we will on sunday.
Third, the Bears have one of the best defenses. If you look at the week 17 game we held the Packers and their powerful offense to only 10 points. Their average is around 24. These two teams have played each other so much that they know how to beat the other team on all phases of the game. Don't expect this game to be a shootout even though both quarterbacks are very good. This game is going to be almost all defense. I think we will see a game very like the week 17 game, but this time the Bears are going to win. Super Bowl here we come!
My Prediction:Bears 13 Packers 7

Jason Witten and Dez Bryant gets honored by Pro Football Weekly

Last week Jason Witten and Dez Bryant were honored by the Sporting News. This week it is Pro Football Weekly naming the Cowboys tight end to its first-team All-NFL team and the wide receiver to the All-Rookie team.

It is the third time Witten has been named to the team in his career. He earned the honor in 2007 and ’08. Witten led all tight ends with 94 catches for 1,002 yards with a career-high nine touchdowns. Bryant had 45 catches for 561 yards and six touchdowns and also returned two punts for scores before fracturing his ankle on Dec. 5 at Indianapolis.

They both deserve this honor for which these 2 players were the only ones that was contributing of offense. Witten has always been a hard working tight-end how gives it 100% everytime he is on the field. No matter if it was Romo, Kitna, or McGee, Witten has always gave it his all and made catches when the counted and thrown the blocks that needed to thrown on run/pass plays

Dez Byrant was on the verge of becoming the NFL Rookie of the Year in my opinion. His impact, energy, toughness, and poise gave the Cowboys a huge spark during the games. Whether it was on punt/kick return or catching passes his HEART was pumping through his chest and showing the fans and Jerry Jones the reason he was drafted. He should be a force to reckon with next year.

Jay Cutler: The Good the Bad and the Ugly

First, I want to say hello to everyone out there reading this blog. This is my first time posting. Okay, now onto the Bears and Jay Cutler.
The thing about Jay Cutler is that he has one of the strongest arms in the League. He just doesn't have the footwork to make himself one of the best quarterbacks. If in the next few years he somehow gets motivated enough to work on footwork and he gets it. He will become one of the best quarterbacks and you better lookout because the Bears are going to be a great team.
Jay Cutler can have a game where he throws 5 interceptions and have just a terrible game. Then, the next week he can go play a better team and throw 5 touchdowns. Thats the way Jay Cutler plays. The big thing with Jay Cutler is that his game at this point in his career is mostly based on confidence. If he has low confidence he will throw interceptions, if he has a really high confidence he will throw interceptions. The games where he throws none his confidence level is perfect. He knows that it isn't all him that it takes to win. Thats why last year the Jay Cutler thing didn't work. The Bears were trying to make him do all the work. That's not going to work with Jay Cutler, because then his confidence will be high and he will throw a pick and then it will sink all the way down. The Bears have to treat Jay Cutler like he is bipolar. Look for the good days and hope he has a good day. I know thats no way to run a football team, but thats the way it is with Jay Cutler. Thats why after the bye during the regular season we got better. Mike Martz figured Cutler out and said okay, we need to run the ball more. Not because Cutler is bad, but we need to run it more so that play action is a factor and so that we aren't one dimensional. Now we have an effective offense that marches down the field, but if Johnny Knox is open down the field Cutler will throw it to him. The secret for Jay Cutler is that he should not force the ball to his receivers. I think in the second half of the season he has done that, and yesterday with two rushing touchdowns he showed that, too.
Jay Cutler might not be the best quarterback in the league. He will make mistakes. I know that, but he is the Bears quarterback. So, because he is the Bears quarterback, one of the most important positions on the team, I trust him with this team. Whatever happens I trust him to lead.