Following a skirmish last week that involved Detroit Lions wide receiver Titus Young and safety Louis Delmas, Young missed the last two days of organized team activities (OTAs). It was reported yesterday that not only had Young punched Delmas when he wasn’t looking, but that he was asked to not participate in OTAs.

According to a team report today, however, Young was not officially suspended by the Lions and Tim Twentyman instead said “his absence Monday was not the result of any punitive action by the team.”

I don’t know about that. I’m sure there was some sort of understood agreement between the sides involved to maybe “sit this one out.” Especially when you’re dealing with one of the leaders on the defense and certainly on the team in Delmas.

When asked his opinions of the incident, wide receiver Nate Burleson did his very best to downplay the whole thing. Even going so far as to say it happens regularly across the league.

“We (Burleson and Stephen Tulloch) were working out,” Burleson said. “I don’t know if it was a punch, a push or a shove. It’s one of those things that happen all the time. When I played in Minnesota, we fought like every other day, and we were the closest team that I’ve been on up until that point. A scuffle in every eight or nine months here, that’s something rare. That shows you we don’t do it often. » Continue reading “Nate Burleson Downplays Titus Young, Louis Delmas Fight”

So, I haven’t don’t a news roundup in quite some time. Mostly because it’s the off-season and there isn’t a whole heck of a lot of news to actually round up. But today I’m feeling wild and crazy. So let’s get to it.

• The draft is Thursday. Which means two things: 1.) We’ll have some news players soon. 2.) Draft partaaaaaays! The Lions will host two NFL Draft parties. The first will be Thursday, which coincides with the first round and will be held at the Fillmore Theatre in Detroit. The second will be Friday, which coincides with the second and third round and will take place at the Hard Rock Cafe in Detroit. For more details on each event, click here.

• Calvin Johnson visited ESPN last week to take place in what they call the “Car Wash,” where he made appearances on several shows and had interviews throughout the day. In addition, he visited SportsNation where he was challenged to catch as many balls (and hold on to them) as he could in 1:30. Johnson broke the previous record of catching 12 balls, by catching 16. You can see the video of the event, here.  For a full breakdown of Johnson’s day at ESPN, click here. » Continue reading “Lions’ Droppings: News, Notes and Nonsense”

Hi, I'm Nate Burleson. And I'm awesome.

Nate Burleson stopped by the NFL Network earlier this week to address — among other things — the off-season arrests that have brought attention to a few of the Detroit Lions second-year players.

When asked if he would talk to Mikel Leshoure, Johnny Culbreath, and Nick Fairley about their recent charges of marijuana possessions, Burleson gave the affirmative. And it makes sense, considering Burleson is certainly a leader in the locker room and a widely respected athlete on and off the field.

“I’m just going to say tighten up,” Burleson said during an appearance on “Total Access” Thursday on NFL Network. “We’ve done too much to get to where we’re at. There’s been a black cloud hanging over Detroit for so long, so for us to go from 6-10 to 10-6 and feel like we’re heading in the right direction and just a few mistakes happen, we’ve got to tell the young guys to get it together.

“But here’s the thing, I really believe that, in the analogy of football, you’ve got to fumble in order to have great ball security. So in life, these guys got to stumble a little bit. And you know as a young guy in the league, you’re going to make those mistakes and hopefully this is just one thing that happens and doesn’t happen again for a lot of these guys.” » Continue reading “Nate Burleson Addresses the State of the Detroit Lions”

Picture via @Nate13Burleson

It pays to know people. Or in the case of Nate Burleson, Stefan Logan and Maurice Stovall, it pays to be a teammate of Calvin Johnson.

As a way to say “thanks” to his fellow WRs for the support they gave him throughout the season, Johnson took them to Hawaii. He also brought along practice-squad receivers Marcus Harris and Nate Hughes, and others.

Coincidentally, the Pro Bowl takes place Sunday, but Johnson will not be participating due to a sore Achilles. I’m glad to see he wasn’t going to let a little injury ruin a good trip to the islands!

And according to Burleson’s Twitter (see picture at left), they are flying private jet style. Niiiiiice.

I, for one, think this is awesome. Total class move on Johnson’s part. How often do you see superstars who are as humble and clearly grateful as Johnson is. Let’s hope that new contract is in the works.

Fnd me on Twitter @MelissaHeyboer and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/barrysandersmemorialblog.

In Sunday’s win over the Minnesota Vikings, Nate Burleson caught a pass in the endzone that was ruled incomplete. The indication was that he didn’t get both feet down prior to going out of bounds.

The play was reviewed and the ruling on the field was confirmed. As a result, Burleson and the Lions settled for three points, instead of six.

I’m going to be honest, they showed the replay half a dozen times, and there was absolutely zero doubt in my mind that the refs made the right call. Burleson’s feet didn’t look anywhere near the grass. The game ended, the Lions won, and I haven’t thought about it since.

Until, that is, Burleson decided to state his case on Twitter. He thinks it was a touchdown, and from the picture he posted, he certainly has a point.

Now, being the person he is, Burleson did try to make light of the situation. I think he’s more worried about the NFL ruining his “ToeDragSwag” reputation than he is about whether or not it was a touchdown. Either way, I love this guy. Here are his tweets:

• “Is there a conspiracy in #NFL to stop my #ToeDragSwag …lol Picture worth a thousand words…? Nope, 2 letters – TD! “
• He followed that up with this tweet: “My questions is how the refs not call it a Touch Down?!? Went from #ToeDragSwag to #SoDamnMad …I’ll get 1 Sunday.”

Now check out the picture he attached to both tweets and tell me what you think. Was it a touchdown or not? Sure looks like one to me. But as much as “a picture is worth a thousand words,” they can also be pretty damn deceiving. » Continue reading “Nate Burleson States His TD Case Via Twitter”

Since it’s almost Christmas, and I have yet to give you all my list, I figured now would be as good a time as any. So for those of you interested, I would like a Lions playoff berth for Christmas. (I also like peanut M&Ms and cable TV subscriptions.) Let’s make it happen, folks.

But while I wait, I’ll run through some news around Lions camp for your reading pleasure. Ready … break!

• Ndamukong Suh returned to team facilities yesterday. In his Monday press conference head coach Jim Schwartz said he had talked to Suh, but declined to elaborate, saying only that he was healthy and ready for Oakland on Sunday. I certainly hope he’s ready. I am rather eager to see Suh not only this week at practice, but also on gameday. It will be interesting to see what, if anything, has changed about his on-field demeanor. To clear the roster spot for Suh, it appears that the Lions have released Jovan Haye.

• As far as injuries go, it’s still unclear who will be ready to go Sunday. As it stands right now cornerback Chris Houston (knee), safety Louis Delmas (knee), defensive tackle Nick Fairley (foot), defensive end Lawrence Jackson (thigh), running back Kevin Smith (ankle), cornerback Aaron Berry (shoulder), cornerback Eric Wright (hamstring), linebacker Justin Durant (hamstring) and running back Maurice Morris (chest) are all out with injuries. Schwartz did seem confident in his press conference Monday, however, that many of these players would return at some point this season. And with only three games left on the schedule, that bodes well for sooner rather than later. » Continue reading “Lions’ Droppings: News, Notes and Nonsense”

The Lions are continuing their trend of throwing away money.

In addition to Nate Burleson’s $7,500 fine for his facemask penalty against the New Orleans Saints last Sunday, two other Detroit Lions were fined as well.

Tight end Brandon Pettigrew was hit with a $25,000 fine for shoving an official in the fourth quarter and Stefan Logan was fined $7,500 for his unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

Here is the NFL’s official explanation for each fine:

– Burleson was fined $7,500 for unnecessary roughness. He grabbed an opponent by the facemask.

– Pettigrew was fined $25,000 for violating league rules prohibiting abusive conduct toward game officials.

– Logan was fined $7,500 for unsportsmanlike conduct. » Continue reading “Lions-Saints Game Results in $40,000 in Fines”

Continuing on the “Sunday was the weirdest game of the year” trend, it was announced today that Nate Burleson is being fined $7,500 for his facemask penalty.

Ten minutes ago I was shouting “WTFs” loud enough for my entire office to hear. And then Aerys Sports resident official-in-training, Joe Tufaro, talked me down from the ledge by showing me this. Thanks, Joe! (You can read his posts on Aerys Offsides.)

This doesn’t mean I’m not still pissed about this, but it does prove that the NFL’s fines aren’t completely arbitrary. Though, the jury is still out on that.

The thing is, you won’t find me defending any of the Lions from Sunday’s game. They acted ridiculously and immaturely. Except Burleson. Dude was called for THREE OFFENSIVE pass interferences and I’d argue that maybe, maybe, one of those was valid.

He apparently drew the short straw prior to Sunday’s game.

And on the particular play where he was called for a facemask, he essentially got murdered (sorry, most appropriate word I could come up with) by at least three Saints defenders. But whatever. » Continue reading “Nate Burleson Fined $7,500 for Facemask Penalty”

Barry Sanders Memorial Blog is introducing a new feature here today: From the Lions’ Mouth.

Each edition of FtLM will highlight a player, coach, or someone from the Lions’ organization who said something noteworthy — be it a tweet or interview, amusing or offensive. I can’t promise you’ll see it every day or even every week, but what I can promise is this: It will always be awesome and it will always be from the mouth of a Lion.

For the first edition of FtLM I give you Detroit Lions TE Tony Scheffler. Scheffler joined Twitter just yesterday and introduced himself in the most awesome way possible:

As you may or may not know, Scheffler and WR Nate Burleson seem to have a bit of an end zone dance-off going on this season. It started in the preseason and has quickly escalated through the first two games. Though, as it stands right now, Scheffler is winning the touchdown celebration war. » Continue reading “From the Lions’ Mouth: ‘Born From a Boom Box’”

Not too much going on in Lions world this week. Plus, I wanted to let the Calvin Johnson post linger on everyone’s minds for at least 48 hours. Mission accomplished!

But now, since I’m sure you’re feeling deprived of news, I’ll see what I can dig up for you. Hang tight … I’ll be right back.

Via @Ndamukong_Suh

*Elevator music plays*

OK, guys, I’m back. I think I found some stuff you’ll be very please with. Ready? Here goes …

• We all know Ndamukong Suh is a Twitter enthusiast. But I didn’t know just how awesome him and his followers were until I saw this. Suh tweeted this on Monday after many of his followers pulled off an awesome display at Ford Field: ” Wanna S/O a big thanks to my #SUHsquad who helped pull this off at the game yesterday!! More to come!! #Lions” He also attached this picture:

• Nate Burleson — in all his Nate Burleson awesomeness — did an interview with the NFL Network in which he expressed interest in being the “Black Wes Welker.” Does that make Calvin Johnson Randy Moss? Because I don’t like him in that role. But, I do think what Burleson is saying makes sense. And only he would choose to phrase it that way. Gotta love him.

“This year I’m going to try to be the black Wes Welker,” Burleson said today on NFL Network. “I’m going to get as many catches in that slot or on the outside opposite Calvin because he’s going to attract a lot of attention all year.” » Continue reading “Lions’ Droppings: News, Notes and Nonsense”