And so it begins — preseason roster cuts. Tuesday marked the first round of cuts for the Lions, including eight notable players.

• WR Demario Ballard
• RB Mike Bell
• TE Richard Dickson (waived/injured)
• LB DeJuan Fulghum
• WR Marcus Harris
• DB Michael Johnson
• K Dave Rayner
• DT Montavious Stanley
• FB Jerome Felton

The Lions had to be down to 80 players by 4 p.m. Tuesday. With the cuts above, however, the Lions were only down to 81. This was the result of Mikel LeShoure’s IR  standing taking up a roster spot. However, as of 4 p.m. Tuesday, LeShoure’s spot no longer counted.

I’m not too surprised Mike Bell was released. He missed last week’s preseason game and hasn’t really showed anything stellar in the back so far.

I also wasn’t too surprised Dave Rayner got to boot, as Jason Hanson has all but locked down the starting kicker job. But, fear not, Rayner fans, Dallas picked him up on Tuesday. » Continue reading “Lions Make Several Roster Cuts”

If you had asked me yesterday whether I thought the 2011 season would be a new era for the Detroit Lions, I would have said yes. If you ask me that again right now, or tomorrow morning, or next month, the answer will undoubtedly be the same. The only difference is the reasons why.

Tom Kowalski, longtime Detroit Lions reporter

After nearly three decades of delivering Lions news to Detroit — and the country — Detroit Lions beat writer Tom Kowalski passed away this morning after being found unresponsive in his home. He was just 51 years old.

An institution on the Lions football beat and known as “Killer Kowalski,” Kowalski started his Lions reporting at the Oakland Press, with one of his biggest stories being the 1982 Super Bowl in Detroit. He started covering the Lions for Booth Newspapers in 1997 and later became a key contributor to MLive.com.

In a lot of ways, Kowalski was the Detroit Lions. He might not have been the head coach, or the owner, or a player on the sidelines, but he brought the Lions to us — the fans — every day. And, honestly, he did it damn well.

He was who I got 90 percent of my Lions news from, and, though I didn’t always agree with him and his opinions, I always respected them.

It’s going to be hard to imagine this season without him — especially given the year the Lions are expected to have.  In a lot of ways, I felt like I knew him. Which is something I don’t think I’ve felt with any other beat writer I’ve read.

And it wasn’t just because his face was synonymous with the team or because I’ve read his articles every day for as long as I can remember. It was the way he wrote, the passion he showed, the fact that he new that team, the franchise better than anyone else in the industry. And as readers, we weren’t just spectators, we were right there with him in the press box. He interacted with fans in a way most writers don’t. In other words, I think we motivated him just as much as he motivated us. » Continue reading “Detroit Lions Reporter, Tom Kowalski, Passes Away”

Well, that was fun wasn’t it? After a less than reassuring win over the Cleveland Browns in week two of preseason, the Detroit Lions held absolutely nothing back Saturday. And it showed.

In a 34-10 win in front of a sell-out crowd and on national television, the Lions made the New England Patriots look less like a veteran, championship caliber team, and more like a rusty, beat up group of guys who forgot how to play football.

Detroit’s defensive attack was scary good. So much so, that they made Tom Brady look uncomfortable and out of sync for most of his performance. Brady finished 12 of 22 for 145 total yards, with one touchdown and one interception.

“Definitely,” Avril said. “But every time we step on the football field against another opponent, that’s what you want to do anyway.

“It being preseason or not, we wanted to get after it regardless. And to have the spotlight on you, too, is a little more incentive to go out there and do your thing.”

Here are some highlights from Saturday’s win:

• Stafford wasted no time picking up right where he left off from last week. He finished the game completing 12-of-14 passes for 200 yards and two touchdowns. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Stafford’s health is the single most important thing to the success of this team. He stays healthy, Detroit wins games. Period. Stafford also took his first big hit of preseason and lived to play another down. That’s huge folks.  » Continue reading “Detroit Roughs Up Brady, Patriots in 34-10 Win”

Lions regular season tickets officially went on sale at 10 a.m. Wednesday. And within an hour, the Lions Monday Night Football game against the Chicago Bears was sold out.

We’ve missed you too, MNF.

Why is this a big deal? Because the last time the Detroit Lions and Monday Night Football were used in the same sentence was almost 10 years ago. And the last time a Monday Night Football game was played IN Detroit was in 1974.

In case you’re not good at basic arithmetic, that’s a lot of years.

“(Fans are) making an investment in us and that’s an investment we have to honor and respect,” said Lewand. “Now it’s up to us to deliver a return on that investment.”

I’m stoked about this game for three reasons. One, because it’s MNF. Two, because it’s against the Bears. And three, if you can recall how last year’s game ended against the Bears, you might say the Lions — at least their fans — are seeking a bit of revenge.  No, I will never let it go. It was a touchdown.

In addition, the Lions Thanksgiving game against the Packers is also a near-sellout and according to Lewand, tickets for all regular season games are moving faster than normal.

“The excitement is something that they feel,” said Lewand. “I think they embrace it and they also understand with the expectation, comes a responsibility to deliver.”

In other news:

• Wide receiver Titus Young will likely play in Saturday’s sold-out game against the Patriots. This will be Young’s preseason debut, as he’s missed the first two games due to a hamstring injury. » Continue reading “Lions Sell Out MNF Game Against Bears”

Anyone else think this week is moving slowly and awkwardly? First of all, it’s only Wednesday. Second, the east coast had an earthquake — and almost its first hurricane of the season.  Hurricanes we’re used to. Earthquakes? Not so much.

Granted, I live in Florida, so I wasn’t affected. But I imagine how odd it must have felt. And for all you “I live California, we eat 5.9-magnitude earthquakes for breakfast” people … shut up. The majority of those affected have never experienced anything even remotely close to an earthquake — that s*** would be scary to you too if it was your first time.

OK … so, now that I’ve officially gone off on an unnecessary and completely irrelevant tangent, let’s get to some football news. I hear it’s a pretty big deal these days. Ahem … moving on.

• It was reported last week that the Lions were close to selling out Saturday’s preseason game against the Patriots. Well, yesterday it was made official. So, in other words, don’t screw this up guys.

The Detroit Lions announced this evening that they have reached a sellout for their final home preseason game against the New England Patriots Saturday, August 27 (kickoff set for 8 p.m. ET). By reaching a sellout, the nationally televised CBS broadcast will also air in the local television markets (Metro Detroit, Lansing, Saginaw/Flint and Toledo), including WWJ-TV CBS 62.

• Speaking of earthquake: Ndamukong Suh was apparently blamed for the building shaking at NFL’s headquarters Tuesday. As a result NFL commissioner Roger Goodell fined Suh $25,000. Really, you ask? No, not really. But it’s a fun story. Read this, it’s hilarious. No, really, click on this link and read it, you won’t be disappointed.

» Continue reading “Lions’ Droppings: News, Notes and Nonsense”

I’m always the last person to know things. Although, in this particular situation, I could have been the first if I had payed a little better attention to things when they are happening.

Fortunately, my best friend — thanks, Brian — and all the other posts around the NFL made me aware of Nate Burleson’s LeBron James impression following his 4-yard touchdown catch in last Friday’s preseason win over the Cleveland Browns.

For those of you who haven’t seen it, you’re in luck — kind of. While I couldn’t find a YouTube video to post here, if you follow the link below you can see Burleson mimicking James’ chalk toss celebration after the touchdown.

The link: http://www.nfl.com/videos/auto/09000d5d821967a4/Nate-Burleson-4-yard-TD

“It was a LeBron thing,” Burleson explained today. “I wasn’t going to do it. See, I had a plan. I had two celebrations planned. I was going to catch the ball, get up, do the shot by (Michael) Jordan (against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1989 NBA playoffs) and the three pumps. I’ve got it all down. I’ve seen it like a million times.

“But then when I got in the end zone, I was waiting for the ref, and then when I looked at the crowd, the Dawg Pound went crazy. They were cussing me out, talking about my momma, so I was like forget that. Where’s the powder at. Voom.”

I guess there are worse people to mimic … and we all know Burleson is no stranger to touchdown celebrations. And regardless, he can do whatever he wants so long as he continues to make spectacular catches like that. » Continue reading “Nate ‘LeBron James’ Burleson, Everyone”

A concussion: Is it best case scenario or worst case scenario?

On one hand, a concussion is probably not the worst thing that could happen to your star running back. But on the other, Jahvid Best’s history with injuries last season and concussions in college, makes this news all the more worrisome.

After playing just one series in Friday’s comeback win to the Cleveland Browns, Jahvid Best left the game with concussion-like symptoms. Speculation regarding a possible concussion was rumored for much of the game, but was confirmed yesterday after Best missed Sunday’s practice. 

Jim Schwartz had this to say on Best’s injury:

“When he was originally on the sideline he was bell-rung and then he recovered pretty quickly,” coach Jim Schwartz said Sunday when he was asked about Best. “Then he started to experience a little headache so we took him in (the locker room).

“By the next day he was clearing up and I think that’s a big thing. In my experience with guys that have been concussed, usually they finish the game and they feel fine right after the game, and the next day they come in and haven’t slept and all the classic symptoms.”

Schwartz said Best hasn’t experienced any of those symptoms.

“But we’ll take it slow with him just based on his situation from a couple years ago and we’ll just be very, very cautious with him,” Schwartz said. “But we should have him back on the practice field soon.” » Continue reading “Jahvid Best’s Concussion Confirmed, Young Making Progress”

I’m not really sure what to say about this game other than … we won. I’d like to say in the end that’s all that matters (and in regular season I might agree with that statement) but in preseason, I’m not so sure. Despite a 30-28 win over the Cleveland Browns, last night’s game was nothing short of ugly. U-G-L-Y.

When all was said and done, there were 26 penalties in the game. The Lions finished with 14 of them — 125 total yards. ICK. Seems fitting for a game that started so terribly, I guess. On the Lions first possession, Jahvid Best fumbled, turning the ball over to Cleveland. And Best never returned to the game.

The Sloppy Joe had nothing on the Lions last night.

Unfortunately, the Browns capitalized on Best’s turnover. Colt McCoy finished the 7-play drive with a two-yard pass to Even Moore. The Lions would answer, however, with an eight-play, 75-yard drive of their own that ended in a four-yard pass from Matthew Stafford to Nate Burleson.

It would be the first of two fantastic catches by Burleson in the game. The second, a 30-yard completion on their very next drive.  I’m thinking he enjoyed not having to share the spotlight with Calvin Johnson, who took the night off for precautionary measures.

Luckily for me, the camera scoped him out on the sidelines a few times. Going an entire game without seeing Megatron is a lot to ask, afterall.

A Jason Hanson field goal would put Detroit up 10-7 on their next possession. But the Browns would score two more touchdowns — including another TD pass to Moore.

But Detroit would tack on another field goal, entering halftime down 13-21. » Continue reading “Despite Sloppy Play, Second-Half Rally Lifts Lions Over Browns”

August 19, 2011

7:30 PM EST

Cleveland Browns Stadium

Last Friday seems so long ago. Too long, in fact. I went nearly seven months without any football at all, and now that it’s back, one week feels like an eternity.

Luckily, we only have to wait a few more hours for week two of preseason action to begin. The Lions are set to face the Cleveland Browns, who — like Detroit — are coming of a big win of their own in week one. The Browns beat the Green Bay Packers 27-17 last week and held Aaron Rodgers and the starting offense to just seven points.

Here are some things to watch for:

• The Browns offense is sparked by young quarterback Colt McCoy who seems to be developing well with the offense. McCoy turned some heads last week, leading the Browns on two scoring drives before he departed. He went 9-for-10 in pass completions for 135 total yards.

• The Lions run game was one of the lone rough spots in last Friday’s preseason opener. They rushed for just 70 yards on 33 carries. With the season-ending injury to Mikel Leshoure, the Lions are still testing the waters with back-up running backs. Jerome Harrison, Mike Bell and Aaron Brown are all contenders, though Brown was the only back of the three to finish with more than 10 yards in the game (21 yards on four carries). » Continue reading “Preseason Game 2: Detroit Lions vs. Cleveland Browns”

Who’s excited for round two of preseason tomorrow? Oh, oh, I am, I am! Well, good, I’m glad we got that out of the way. Check back tomorrow for a complete game preview of the Lions – Browns game. For now, we’re going to wrap up the week in and around training camp. So let’s get to it, shall we?

• 

  The Lions are reportedly $1 million under cap.

  It was reported several weeks ago that the Lions were $5 million over the salary cap. Thanks to some restructure contracts, however, Detroit is now $1 million under. (Said in Dr. Evil’s voice, obviously) ————————————————>

NFL Network’s Jason La Canfora has the Lions’ cap space at $995,047.34. He lists their total salary as $119,379,952.66 and their adjusted cap number as $120,375,000.00.

Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio has the Lions’ cap space (as of Monday) at $1.1 million. That ties them for the third least amount of cap space on PFT’s list. On La Canfora’s list the Lions have the fourth least amount of cap space.

• Lions defensive tackle Nick Fairley, who has missed the beginning of training camp and preseason due to a fracture in his foot, is out of his cast and reportedly making progress. Fairley, who’s now wearing a walking boot, watched Tuesday’s practice from the sidelines.

• Former Lions quarterback Joey Harrington thought it would be funny to take a little jab at the Lions organization this week. After suffering several injuries from an accident where he was hit by a car while riding a bike, Harrington joked that playing for the Lions helped prepare him for it. Some Lions fans took offense. I think it’s funny. And probably pretty accurate. According to Pride Of Detroit, Harrington was sacked 77 times while he played for the Lions. Now that’s not funny. It’s just unfortunate. » Continue reading “Lions’ Droppings: News, Notes and Nonsense”