Lions’ droppings will be the newest edition to BSMB. Yeah, I’m that gross. Go on, judge me.

Here you can read minor snippets on the latest in Detroit Lions news. So, here we go.

• Lions DE Kyle Vanden Bosch is recovering well from a December surgery that fused two vertebrae in his spinal column. “As bad as neck surgery sounds, the recovery was a piece of cake. I don’t really have any lasting affects from the injury or the surgery, said Vanden Bosch.” Despite missing the final five games last season, Vanden Bosch’s impact was evident early on. His leadership on the field and contributions to the defensive line will be crucial if the Lions want to continue their late-season surge into 2011.

• The Detroit Lions signed former safety and former Atlanta Falcon Erik Coleman to a one-year deal Friday. In his eighth season, Coleman will hopefully provide a relatively young Lions backfield with some leadership and much-needed talent. I have nothing more to contribute to this.

• Head coach Jim Schwartz has terrible taste in movies. As a lover of both movies and football, I could have easily devoted an entire post to this. But I refrained. You should be proud of me. Anyway, Schwartz posted this on his Twitter account yesterday:

Actually, you don’t have to be snooty, you just have to be human. I’m guessing he also likes Nickelback. Don’t ask me how or why I came to that conclusion, but it seems accurate. Whatever. I’ll live I suppose. Just keep winning games and you can say Law Abiding Citizen is your favorite movie for all I care.

• Speaking of Law Abiding Citizen. It seems Ndamakong Suh also hates good movies. Or just really likes bad ones:

To be fair, I have never seen either. So this is me being snooty (ohhhh, now I see what he was saying). Anyway, I shouldn’t care this much. But how can Law Abiding Citizen be your ALL-TIME favorite movie. The dots are just not connecting for me. But, like I said before, as long as you keep crushing people on the D-line I guess I should keep my opinions to myself.

But we all know that’s impossible.

You can find me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Aerys_Lions or www.twitter.com/TheCornerBlog and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BarrySandersMemorialBlog.

Hey! Remember me? As you may have noticed (but most likely didn’t), I’ve been a little absent lately. Things got a little hectic in “real life world.” Lame, I know. Anyway, apparently I missed a few things — like the Lions getting stripped of their seventh-round draft pick for an anti-tampering violation. The NFL defines tampering as: “The term tampering, as used within the National Football League, refers to any interference by a member club with the employer-employee relationship of another club or any attempt by a club to impermissibly induce a person to seek employment with that club or with the NFL.”

The player in question was Kansas City Chiefs safety Jarrad Page. As a result the Lions will be penalized as follows:

• The Lions will forfeit their seventh-round selection (acquired from the Denver Broncos) in the 2011 NFL Draft.
• The Chiefs and Lions will switch fifth-round picks in the 2011 draft. As a result, Kansas City now owns the ninth selection in that round and Detroit the 23rd.
• Either team may appeal the decision by advising Goodell in writing of its desire to do so by Feb. 28.

Whatever. I’m not going to pretend like losing a draft pick doesn’t suck, but considering how much the NFL hates these kinds of violations, it could be a Hell of a lot worse. The Lions have until Feb. 28 to appeal the violation. Regardless of whether it seems like a big deal or not, I expect any NFL team would appeal something like this. Stay tuned.

You can find me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Aerys_Lions or www.twitter.com/TheCornerBlog and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BarrySandersMemorialBlog.

This is one of the most amazing things you’ll see in your entire life. I promise. My dad showed this to me months ago and I finally have a place to share it. I may repost this once a month just because.

You’re welcome.

You can find me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Aerys_Lions or www.twitter.com/TheCornerBlog and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BarrySandersMemorialBlog.

You know football season is over when … you find stories like this on the Internet. Not that I don’t admittedly love stories like this, but all it is is journalists trying to find something, anything to write about. And here I am reporting on it. Is it Fall yet?

So anyway, USA Today writer Sean Leahy decided to compile his best and worst moments of this past season into one neatly wrapped packaged. As a Lions fan, articles like this are cringe-worthy. The bad news: the Lions made the “worst” list. The good news? It wasn’t — in my humble opinion — the Lions or Calvin Johnson’s fault. In what I believe was the single-biggest play in the Lions season this year, wide receiver Calvin Johnson caught a pass in the Bears end zone, which would have solidified a win over Chicago in the first — yes first — week of the season.

Calvin Johnson’s non-touchdown: The visiting Detroit Lions appeared to notch a go-ahead touchdown in Week 1 vs. the Chicago Bears with Johnson’s apparent catch in the end zone with 24 seconds left. But officials, saying Johnson did not maintain possession of the ball after he and the ball hit the ground, quickly overruled the touchdown. The controversial call preserved a 24-19 win for the Bears.

I’ve never been one to blame games on referees or umpires, but the Lions were robbed. Should it have affected the outcome of the rest of their season? Absolutely not. Did it? I think so. I still clench my fists every time I think about it and the ramifications it had on the season and the Lions playoff chances. Whatever. I’m clearly still bitter. I’ll move on.

Wait, no I won’t. Here’s a video just in case you want to relive the horror along with me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLljlP3NlQM

Unsurprisingly, the Lions also took home the honors for “best late-season recovery.”

Lions: Detroit won its final four games to finish 6-10 and provided hope to fans in the Motor City for the first time in a long time. The streak snapped a skid of five wins in the previous 52 games and ended historic streaks of 19 consecutive losses in the NFC North and 26 in a row on the road — an NFL record.

Like I said before, I hate “what-ifs,” but if the Lions had won that first game of the season, they would have had a 7-9 record, the Bears would have had a 10-6 record in the NFC North, and well … that doesn’t change anything, but it still pisses me off.

When I first started writing this, I thought: “Maybe I’ll list my best and worst moment of the 2010 season.” And then I realized it’s probably exactly the same as what’s listed above. There’s no doubt in my mind that the worst moment of the season was the Calvin Johnson noncatch. If anything comes a close second, it was watching Matthew Stafford re-injure his right shoulder. On top of that, the Lions lost 23-20 in overtime to the Jets.

Again, like Leahy reported, the best moment for me this season wasn’t necessarily one specific moment, but it was the feeling I had after the last game of the season. The Lions, for the first time in a long time, were on a winning streak — one that was longer than two games. The last time the Lions won four games in a row was 1999. Not only did they win the last four games of the season, but they did it against teams with better records.

How can any Lions fan not go into 2011 pumped up? Well, I’m a pessimist, so me. But still, I’m more excited about the upcoming season than I’ve been in a long time. I just hope the Lions can deliver come next fall.

You can find me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Aerys_Lions or www.twitter.com/TheCornerBlog and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BarrySandersMemorialBlog.

An article in the Detroit Free Press this morning quotes Lions center Dominic Raiola as saying he’s confident the lingering CBA agreement and NFL lockout won’t affect the progress the Lions made at the end of the 2011 season.

“I think the thing is when we start playing again, regardless of when we start playing again, we’re still going to have ended up the last time we stepped on the field winning four in a row,” Raiola said last month.

He goes on to say:

“So think we’ll be ready Week 1 next year. I don’t think a lot of guys are going to forget the feeling of what we had at the end of this year.”

I can’t argue with him there. I definitely think the Lions will come out strong in the first half of next season. The Lions have always been good at starting seasons strong. (Keep in mind: “Strong” in Lions fan language, is probably not the same as “strong” in say Patriots language. ) But you get the point.

If there’s one thing they’ve been consistently bad at doing (with 2010 as the exception) is winning down the stretch. In 2007, the Lions won six of their first eight games. They finished that year 7-9. You do the math. In the “season that shall not be named,” the Lions … well you know what happened.

My point is, in six of the last 10 seasons, the Lions have lost at least six of their last seven games. If any team — not just the Lions — wants to make it to the postseason, they can’t fall apart when it’s most important. I know I’m not saying anything that isn’t already implied, but with the lockout looking more and more likely, coaches and players keep talking about how it won’t affect how they enter the 2011 season. In reality, I think that’s the least of their worries.

Do I think the Lions will use their current momentum to make a big impact come next season. Sure. But the bigger question, and the question Lions coaches and players should focus on more, is whether that momentum will die prematurely — like it’s done so often in the past.

You can find me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Aerys_Lions or www.twitter.com/TheCornerBlog and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BarrySandersMemorialBlog.

Kevin Seifert of Espn.com recently put together his ALL-NFC North team, which includes five Detroit Lions. Maybe the most obvious — and most deserved — choices were Calvin Johnson and Ndamukong Suh. The other three — Brandon Pettigrew, Stefan Logan and Jeff Backus — were probably a bit of a surprise to most.

Although Packers left tackle Chad Clifton was named to the Pro Bowl, I went with the Detroit Lions’ Jeff Backus. @JohnWayne506th pointed me in the direction of these STATS Inc. analyses for Clifton and Backus. By STATS’ measure, Backus gave up half as many sacks as Clifton over the course of the season. Sack responsibility is open to interpretation, but others have shared in this opinion as well.

The Packers lead all teams with 10 selections, and since they did win the Super Bowl and all, I guess it’s not too surprising. Also, I would just like to give an informal shout-out to Charles Woodson who was one of the selections.* How’s that for a complete non sequitor?

*I will make it my mission to include University of Michigan alums in as many posts as I can, regardless of their relevance or importance to the subject matter. You’ve been warned.

You can find me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Aerys_Lions or www.twitter.com/TheCornerBlog and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BarrySandersMemorialBlog.

If the Lions do one thing well, it’s make big moves — not always the best — in the offseason. When you’re constantly in the top 10 on draft day, it’s easy to go after big ticket players instead of the logical choices you know will fill the gaping holes in your roster. This year, the Lions have the 13th pick in the draft, and aside from it meaning they had a much improved 2010 season, overall it’s just a much better place for the Lions to be in terms of drafting.

The 2010 season ended less than a week ago, and there’s already more buzz about next year’s Detroit Lions than I can ever remember in years past. Is it a good thing? I guess. But, the Lions will be better served keeping a low-profile this offseason. Yes, they won their last four games of the season. And yes, they beat the eventual Super Bowl champions. But they’re still the Lions. They’ve seen success in the past and watched it slip through their fingers without a clear understanding of why.

CBA and NFL lockout aside, this off season, they need to focus on staying the same. Are there weaknesses in their roster? Of course. What team doesn’t have weaknesses. But for the first time in a long time, the Lions don’t need to fill any major position holes.

Translation: Don’t expect the Lions to mortgage the future just to break into the playoffs this year. The Lions will target specific players that have a skill set to fit a particular need.

Sorry, but I really couldn't resist a good opportunity to use this picture.

They have a solid QB in Stafford (if he can stay healthy, but that’s for another day). Their secondary is improving — albeit a snails pace. The addition of Suh to an already decent defensive line proved successful. They don’t need to make any major coaching or front office changes. They are as solid a team as they’ve been in a decade. What does this mean? It means the Lions can focus on improving the talent they already have and adding depth to positions that need it. Something they’ve not been able to concentrate on as much in the past.

With so much uncertainty and instability in the NFL right now, it’s weird to think that the Lions are becoming the face of solidity. It’s not a feeling I’m used to. I can’t help but think, however, about what the lockout will mean for the Lions and the progress they’ve made. I mean, the Lions are used to roadblocks (I like to look at Matt Millen as a 7-year roadblock), but if the a CBA agreement isn’t met soon and next season doesn’t happen, what will it mean for the Lions?

You can find me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Aerys_Lions or www.twitter.com/TheCornerBlog and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BarrySandersMemorialBlog.

Well if he wasn’t having a bad day before, he certainly is now. Cornerback Eric King was released from the Detroit Lions this morning. And he isn’t bitter about it AT ALL.

“Nobody likes being released,” King told the Free Press this morning. “It’s something that happens pretty much to everybody in their career, probably the majority of the league. But nobody likes it so I’ll just carry that chip on my shoulder as I go somewhere else and I’ll use that to fuel my fire.”

Dude, no need to carry a chip on your shoulder. It will probably just weigh you down when you’re trying to, oh I don’t know, play football. If, like you said, it happens to “pretty much everybody,” then just be a big boy and move on. Not to mention you were one of like a gazillion corners on the Lions roster. They did you a favor.

You can find me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Aerys_Lions or www.twitter.com/TheCornerBlog and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BarrySandersMemorialBlog.

Today is the day. The day of the franchise. Or something like that.

Today marks the first day NFL teams can use their franchise tag on players whose contracts are running out. Teams have 14 days to apply the tag. Mlive.com reported yesterday that the Detroit Lions won’t consider using their franchise tag this season.

Because those tags also come with guaranteed salaries of the top five or the top 10 players at that position, the Lions will pass.

Probably a smart move on their part, but will it really make a difference in the end? The problem here isn’t whether teams will use their tag or who they’ll use it on, but rather will it be effective come next month.

With the collective bargaining agreement running out March 4, the debate right now is whether those players who receive franchise tags will be grandfathered in to the new CBA or whether the tags will be considered invalid. After a meeting by the league and players’ union on Wednesday, Thursday’s meetings were canceled. As a result, a lockout is becoming more and more likely.

You can find me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Aerys_Lions or www.twitter.com/TheCornerBlog and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BarrySandersMemorialBlog.

Guess who’s back … back again?

Remember that Super Bowl commercial about Detroit? Of course you do, I posted it like three days ago. Anyway, there’s been a remix. Detroit Lions style.

Now if this doesn’t make you fear the Lions of 2011, I certainly don’t know what will. Be afraid America, be very afraid.

But, in all seriousness, it is a really cool video. The city of Detroit HAS been to hell and back. But it’s crazy how much this video can actually be applied to the Detroit Lions franchise. You’re talking about a team that has never been to the Super Bowl, let alone won a Super Bowl. You’re talking about a team whose last playoff appearance was in 1999 and last playoff win — 1991. While videos like this won’t make next season’s team any better or worse, it certainly adds fuel to our otherwise dying fires.

You can find me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Aerys_Lions or www.twitter.com/TheCornerBlog and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BarrySandersMemorialBlog.