Sorry this is so late, everyone. Life sort of got in the way. But I’m back and ready to deliver you awesomeness again.

Since you’ve likely read everything you possible can about the Lions awesome annihilation of the Broncos Sunday, I won’t waste too much of your time recapping the game. I’ll give you some of the opinions on what this game meant and how the Lions are looking as they enter their bye week.

In a word, Sunday’s 45-10 victory over the Denver Broncos was: Beautiful. In every way. Yes, Tim Tebow still sucks and the Broncos are about as far from a playoff team as you can possibly be, but what I saw Sunday was four quarters of great football from Detroit.

Did you hear that? FOUR quarters. Not three quarters or two quarters. The entire game. Were there mistakes made? Sure. There’s always going to be mistakes. But that was the most well-rounded, complete football game the Lions have played all season. And this time, the score reflected it.

Here some of my highlights:

• Stafford was back to being Stafford — bum ankle and all. He threw for 267 yards and three TDs, including a 56-yard reception to Calvin Johnson. Granted, he really didn’t feel much pressure the entire game, but it was still nice to see him throwing strikes and picking up positive yardage on almost every down. » Continue reading “Lions Dominate Broncos in 45-10 Win”

October 30, 2011

4:05 PM ET

Sports Authority Field at Mile High

It’s week eight. And Tebowmania is in full force. If you know me at all, you’ll also know that this makes me very unhappy.

I grew up in South Florida, have always hated the Gators (Tebow’s alma mater), and I now live in Jacksonville — home of arguably more Gators “fans” than Gainesville and where Mr. Timmy grew up. Some might call it my Hell. I call it … well … my Hell.

Why does this matter, you might ask? Because it only serves to deepen just how badly I want to win Sunday’s game. I don’t hate Tim Tebow. I hate the media storm that follows him everywhere. And I’m just praying the Lions can be the team to bring him and his loyal supporters back down to Earth.

The Broncos are coming off a huge win last week against the Miami Dolphins in overtime and this will be Tebow’s first home start of the season. Alternatively, the Lions are coming off their second straight loss of the season to the Falcons and it’s still not certain whether they’ll have their starting QB at center.

Here are some things to look for:

• The quarterback situation for both teams is going to be the story of the game. How Tebow performs after his late heroics last week will be a good indication of how well the Broncos play as a team. The thing is, Tebow will have to be a completely different QB tomorrow if he wants to succeed against the Lions d-line. Despite a win and despite two TD passes late, Tebow was not good on that football field. No way he gets away with that quality of play two weeks in a row, especially against a Lions team that is much better than Miami. » Continue reading “Week 8 Preview: Detroit Lions vs. Denver Broncos”

Less than a day after the Chicago Bears released safety Chris Harris, the Detroit Lions claimed him off waivers. And the Lions confirmed the moved tonight.

Harris, who will wear No. 43 for the Lions, is in his seventh year in the league and led the Bears in interceptions in 2010. He was benched, however, after the Monday Night Football game against the Lions and despite returning to action last week in London, had very little production.

As a result of picking up Harris, the Lions placed safety Vincent Fuller on injured reserve.

Chicago head coach Lovie Smith said the decision was the result of poor production on Harris’ part.

“Chris Harris helped us win a lot of football games, but it is a business and for us it’s about production,” Smith reiterated. “We felt like we had some other options that we felt pretty good about.

Harris tweeted this earlier today:

It’s definitely a gamble for the Lions, but one thing they see in him is his leadership ability. Harris will add some experience to a secondary that’s relatively young. And from what I’ve heard, he’s a great guy, too. I think we’ll be lucky to have him.

You can find me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MelissaHeyboer and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/barrysandersmemorialblog.

Because you all enjoyed the first two parts of the Aerys Huddle so very much, I present to you, the final edition. If you missed the first eight questions, you can view Part 1 and Part 2.

Welcome to part three of the Huddle …

Question 9: This season it appears there is somewhat of a decline in overall defense. For example: poor tackling, a lot of drops and loads of soft tissue injuries. Do you think we are still seeing the effects of the lockout, even heading into Week 7? Or is this just a coincidence? Click here to read our responses.

Question 10: Should referees being fined for mistakes they make in games, especially during crucial game-deciding situations. For example, the NFL confirmed last week that they spotted a ball wrong on a punt return in the 49ers – Lions game the prior Sunday. No penalties were called, so the referees simply spotted the ball at the wrong yard line after a commercial break. That drive led to the 49ers game-winning touchdown. Click here to read our responses.

Question 11: HGH testing – What is your opinion on it? Click here to read our responses.

Question 12: Alright, let’s pick ‘em! After 6 weeks what are your predictions for the Super Bowl. Both the matchup and winner? Click here to read our responses.

That concludes this edition of the Aerys Huddle. Want to here more from the women of Aerys? Make sure to follow @Aerys_NFL on Twitter & check out all of our NFL sites.

You can find me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MelissaHeyboer and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/barrysandersmemorialblog.

I’m sure you’ve been eagerly awaiting part two of the Aerys Huddle. And since I don’t like to keep my readers (all two of you) waiting, I won’t hold this up any longer.

Welcome to part two of the Huddle …

Question 5: Do you think Jay Cutler and his offensive coordinator Mike Martz have a healthy relationship? Which QB/Offensive coordinator duo do you believe has the best relationship? Click here to read our responses.

Question 6: How is the “Suck for Luck” campaign affecting – or will affect – teams later this season?  Is it fair for fans to want their respective teams to play poorly for the chance at Andrew Luck?  Click here to read our responses.

Question 7: At this point this season, is your team performing at, below, or above expectations? Click here to read our responses.

Question 8: The Bengals front office was adamant that Carson Palmer would not be traded, but that all changed when he was shipped to Oakland.  Were the Bengals smart to finally give in?  Did the Raiders give too much in exchange? Click here to read our responses.

That concludes part two of the Aerys Huddle. Make sure to check back tomorrow for part three. Follow @Aerys_NFL on Twitter for more updates from around the NFL.

You can find me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MelissaHeyboer and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/barrysandersmemorialblog.

Two of the Detroit Lions best (no pun intended) players are currently battling through injuries.

RB Jahvid Best suffered a concussion late in the game against the San Francisco 49ers causing him to miss last week’s game, while Matthew Stafford injured his right ankle on the final play of Sunday’s loss to the Falcons. Both are questionable for Sunday’s game at Denver but it’s looking more and more like Detroit might be down two of its top producers on the field.

Best has been nowhere to be found at practice, which doesn’t bode well for a Sunday start. Stafford, despite practicing yesterday, was limited in drills and backup Shaun Hill did take snaps with the first team.

“I think every competitor plans on playing,” Stafford said in an appearance on the Mitch Albom Show on WJR-AM (760) today. “We’ll see if that comes true. I’ve got to keep getting better to get there, but I want to, obviously.”

I’m still on the fence whether I think Stafford should play Sunday. He’s obviously still in some pain and likely will be come game time too. That doesn’t necessarily mean he shouldn’t play, but with a bye week coming up, it seems like a good idea to give Best and definitely Stafford almost three weeks of rest. » Continue reading “Best Likely Out Sunday, Stafford Still Questionable”

I know, I know, it’s been awhile. But us NFL girls have been sort of preoccupied with the awesomeness that is regular season football. So you’ll have to forgive us.

Needless to say, we are back with another addition of the Aerys Huddle. This one should be sort of exciting, considering it’s the first Huddle we’ve done during actual, meaningful games. The excitement is a bit overwhelming.

In this addition of the Huddle, your favorite NFL writers discussed everything from the Colts pitiful start to what HGH testing means for the NFL. We have a little bit of everything this time around. And since there was so much to discuss, the Huddle has been broken down into three parts. So check back tomorrow and Friday for the second and third parts to the Huddle. For now, I present to you Part 1.

Welcome to the Huddle …

Question 1: Will the Colts ever win a game this season without Peyton, and if so what do you think it will take? Click here to read our responses.

Question 2: This season it seems that refs are throwing a lot of flags for helmet-to-helmet this season but completely disregarding late hits on quarterbacks. Michael Vick mentioned that he has not been getting those calls, but he isn’t alone, it’s happen to numerous other quarterbacks. Does anyone else feel that their quarterback is getting knocked down late with no call? Also, are the refs too concerned with the helmet-to-helmet and missing other things? Click here to read our responses.

Question 3: As of Week 7 there are 3 winless teams (MIA, IND, STL). Which winless team, if any, do you see turning things around for this season? Click here to read our responses.

Question 4: What have been the biggest surprises for you so far this season? Click here to read our responses.

You can find me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MelissaHeyboer and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/barrysandersmemorialblog.

4-3 Coverage: Your daily dish on Detroit news. Four Lions articles, three NFL articles — all in one place.

Lions headlines:

• Detroit Lions keep teammate in their prayers — The Associated Press
• Detroit Lions playoff hopes beginning to look less certain — Bleacher Report, Derek Tisler
• Detroit Lions’ Ndamakong Suh consistently defiant in response to detractors — MLive.com, Philip Zaroo
• Lions vs. Broncos: Detroit won’t have to deal with Willis McGahee as he’s out with hand injury — SB Nation, Scott Schroeder

NFL headlines:

• Congressional hearings sought on failure of NFL, union to agree on HGH testing — The Washington Post, Mark Maske
• NFL: Zero teams attend Terrell Owens’ workout — MercuryNews.com 
• Which NFL coache’s hot seat is the hottest — USAToday, Nate Davis

You can find me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MelissaHeyboer and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/barrysandersmemorialblog.

On the last offensive play of yesterday’s loss to the Atlanta Falcons, Detroit Lions QB Matthew Stafford injured his ankle when linebacker Curtis Loften fell on his heel, causing him to land awkwardly on his right leg. Stafford immediately limped off the field and over to team trainers.

Initially, it wasn’t clear whether Stafford had injured his ankle, his knee, or both, but he was seen after the game in a walking boot.

Luckily, results from an MRI today were negative, and head coach Jim Schwartz listed Stafford as “day-to-day.” Schwartz wouldn’t go into any detail about the tests being done, but did say that if they were serious, Stafford would be listed as more than just day-to-day.

“If they were, he would be more than day to day,” Schwartz said. “If he had a broken bone, he would be more than day to day.”

Schwartz also said they will revisit the situation Wednesday, but that they hope Stafford will be back on the practice field by mid-week.

While the injury doesn’t sound overly serious, I won’t get my hopes up too much about Stafford playing Sunday against the Broncos. We’ll have a better idea in a couple days obviously about where he stands physically, but if he’s not 100 percent, there’s no sense in putting him out there when Detroit has a bye the following week. » Continue reading “Stafford Listed As ‘Day-To-Day’ After Ankle Injury”

I’m coming to the conclusion that I liked being a Lions fan more when they were toiling in obscurity along with the rest of the underachievers of the NFL.

Obviously, that’s not true, but you get my point. Last week it was Jim vs. Jim, Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots style. And this week two Lions players are being accused of taunting and kicking injured Atlanta Falcons QB Matt Ryan.

Following yesterday’s game, Falcons center Todd McClure and wide receiver Roddy White said both Ndamukong Suh and Cliff Avril taunted Ryan after he went down with an ankle injury in the third quarter.

“I lost a whole lot of respect for 90 [Suh] today, and also 92 [Cliff Avril], the [bleep] they were doing when Matt got hurt. That was unacceptable. … Like 92 was kicking [Ryan’s] feet, saying, ‘Get him off the field.’ We don’t do stuff like that. We don’t rally over guys when they get hurt. It was just inappropriate behavior. I mean, ‘Get the cart’? Are you serious? Come on. When you compete, you never want to see a guy get hurt.”

Pretty bold accusations don’t you think?

Here’s the thing, Suh is one of the nicest (different than scary) guys in the NFL. I find it hard to believe for even a second that either of them would do what they are being alleged to have done. And to further prove that, you can watch the video of Ryan getting hurt:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=817uRxgUVkk&feature=player_embedded

There is absolutely nothing in this video that even resembles taunting — at least not in the context White put it. » Continue reading “Suh, Avril Accused of Taunting Injured Matt Ryan”