Now that the Detroit Lions have signed Calvin Johnson to a brand spanking new contract, the fun of free agency can start.

The Lions don’t have a ton of money to spend, but they are rumored to be interested in a few free agents. One of those being San Francisco 49ers wide receiver/return specialist Ted Ginn Jr. Ginn reportedly visited Allen Park Wednesday, according to Anwar Richardson. 

Ginn would likely be a fourth option at wide receiver and would hopefully fill the roll of return man, which is something the Lions desperately need. I like Stefan Logan, but he wasn’t the most productive return specialist last season.

Ginn caught 19 passes in 14 games with the San Francisco 49ers and excelled as a return specialist last year, scoring on both kick and punt returns. He helped the 49ers win the NFC West, and his absence because of an ankle injury was a big reason they lost in the conference championship game after two huge special-teams turnovers.

The Lions are also scheduled to host Eric Winston, Marcus McNeill, and Jacob Lacey at some point this week.

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

Oh, hey LaRon Landry. So, uh, you're rather large.

Happy official first day of the 2012 NFL season, everyone. As of 4 p.m. ET today (err, yesterday), free agency started and the entire football nation went nuts. Except the Detroit Lions. Because, well, they don’t have any money.

What they do have, however, is unrestricted free agents. As of right now, all those free agents are still officially with the Lions. But that doesn’t mean there weren’t plenty of rumors today about what could potentially happen over the coming days, weeks, and months. Here’s a rundown of the first day of free agency.

Deep breath, guys.

• Shaun Hill is reportedly set to visit the St. Louis Rams. Hill has expressed interest in staying in Detroit, but you can’t blame the guy for wanting to test the waters.
• Speaking of backup QBs, Drew Stanton is also reportedly set to visit the New York Jets in a couple days. Like Hill, Stanton is also open to saying in Detroit.
• The Lions are reportedly interested in free agent safety LaRon Landry, though no visits have been scheduled as of yet. I would have absolutely zero problem with this. He’s like the size of Vin Diesel, only bigger, and without the awful acting repertoire to back it up. Which doesn’t mean he can play football. But dear Lord. (Pictured above). » Continue reading “I Got a Fever. And the Only Prescription is More Free Agency”

We knew this day would come eventually. No one actually expected the Detroit Lions to go 16-0. We just hoped.

Unfortunately, the Lions unbeaten streak ended today in a 25-19 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. There was very little normalcy to this game. Both during the four quarters of play and after the final seconds ticket off the clock.

Jim Harbaugh and Jim Schwartz got into a post-game altercation that will most likely be reviewed by the NFL, and several players exchanged “entertaining” commentary on Twitter following the game. The boxing gloves were certainly out this afternoon.

If you had told me before the season started that the Lions and Niners would be a combined 9-1 when they met on the sixth week of the season, I would have laughed in your face. And if you had told me prior to the game that these two teams would damn-near hate each other after the game ended, I wouldn’t have believed it either.

But they were and they do.

So here we are. I won’t talk anymore about the post-game altercations, as I’ve truly exhausted every opinion I have in my previous posts, but I will say this: If and when these two teams meet again (I hope it’s in the playoffs), it will likely be a very, very heated game. I, for one, cannot wait.

So with that, let’s talk a little bit about the game. Here are some of the highlights:

• The game started off with a lot of Detroit momentum. The Lions took the 49ers out of their comfort zone … and it showed. Three false starts within the first quarter and a turnover on their first drive gave the Lions faithful a lot of hope for what might be to come in the game. Kyle Vanden Bosch stripped the ball from an otherwise great ball-managing QB in Alex Smith.

• Unfortunately, the Lions had to settle for a field goal after the turnover. And that was much of the problem for the Lions for the remainder of the game. Detroit converted only two redzone appearances into touchdowns, despite getting there five times. » Continue reading “Detroit Lions Fall to 49ers, Get First Loss of the Season”

I have a bad taste in my mouth. I guess a 25-19 loss — and the first of the season — will do that to you. But this is actually directed more at what happened after the game, than what happened during it.

I’ll have a game recap up soon, but for now, the loss can pretty much be summed up by this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zp1Q0MZE9Y&feature=player_embedded

Let’s not pretend like Jim Harbaugh has ever kept his emotions to himself. And for that matter, let’s not pretend like Jim Schwartz has either. These are two head coaches who are reserved when they need to be but also have very little problem in celebrating a victory right along with the rest of their players. The “Jim Schwartz Fist Pump” has become a recurring theme throughout the season.

In a lot of ways, the emotion these two guys show is one of the main reasons these formerly terrible teams are a combined 10-2 through the first six weeks of the NFL season.

I will not confuse celebrating your teams victory with classlessness. They are very different. » Continue reading “Schwartz, Harbaugh Get Into Post-Game Scuffle”