2010 Detroit Lions

[kenp]

Bly is passed his prime, probably going to be more of a nickel back which could be a real positive. He takes chances for INT's, and this will be a big benifit to him not to have to cover every down. If they expect him to start as a corner then thats a mistake.
I dont really care about his past history with us, we all know this is a business. And after all he was correct....

[smogboy]

Domino number one in Sam Bradford has been signed. Next in line should be Suh for some tidy sum of cash. It is refreshing to see that Jahvid Best is signed sealed and delivered though.

http://www.freep.com/article/2010073...still-unsigned

[ejames01]

Detroit lions rule!!

[Detroit Stylin]

Detroit Lions may make have a winning record this year. This looks promisisng with the moves they are finally making on the offensive line...

[GOAT]

Still three bigneeds for this team. Corners, MLBs and I still think another 1 ot 2 on the O line.

By the way, isn't Bly a veteran? Then why such a rookie mistake on his easy tackle that he missed? Plus another Backus-assbackward move...nice trip penalty bud!

[smogboy]

Still three bigneeds for this team. Corners, MLBs and I still think another 1 ot 2 on the O line.

By the way, isn't Bly a veteran? Then why such a rookie mistake on his easy tackle that he missed? Plus another Backus-assbackward move...nice trip penalty bud!

Agreed about the lack of depth and/or talent at the secondary and linebacker position. Additional depth on the O line never hurts. It's funny to think that team actually has depth at the wide outs for once, despite Millen picking one nearly every year during his ill fated regime. The tight end, defensive line and running back position also seems to have some measure of depth too for once [[to the point of releasing promising DE Jason Hunter today). Will all of that depth mean more victories? Dunno, but it's guardedly nice to see some upgrades here and there.

As far as Dre Bly's veteran "move" there, he's never been known for his tackling ability. He's always been a cover guy willing to take a chance at getting the interception. Run stoppage and tackling were never Bly's forte. Backus' penalty, among the slew of other penalties that the team took just wasn't good. There's no way to candy coat those other than to shake them off in the pre-season and hope to God it doesn't cost us in the regular season. It's not just Backus' issue [[although his is glaring because of the great play it erased); it's a team issue that Schwartz will have to correct. Penalties will kill this team if they persist and while no team is immune to them, an emerging young team like our Lions can't afford the drive stalling, great play negating, or momentum killing gaffes like that.

[GOAT]

Good post Smogboy. The Lions can't afford Bly taking chances just to get an interception he needs to contain especially on those bite plays as a 15 yard gain easily becomes a touchdown.

The penalties will kill us on both sides of the ball and will cost us a few games if they don't settle down.

I am still looking forward to the season! [[hopefully without that stupid Gridiron Mike, cripes I can't stand that college rah-rah-rah crap. Plus the song is stupid anyway).

[smogboy]

I am still looking forward to the season!

I think all football fans feel this way, not just Lions fans. We've seen a few encouraging signs from our team [[some could argue how much lower could we go).

And while I will always be a little guarded about expectations I think I have realistic expectations of this team with over all team improvement. Since Millen's ineptness has been gone, just the sheer professionalism of this bunch has been stepped up [[Lewand's incident has been the one lapse), the reliance on weak wobbly free agency has dropped, the commitment to rebuilding from within has begun, and there are some really nice pieces in place for the core of this team.

I really want to see not just the growth of the on field talent, but I want to see how Jim Schwartz will manage the play calling, clock management, and gamesmanship. He and his staff must step up their game as well. As much as I'm going to be cheering on Stafford's arm, Calvin's catches, Best's runs, Suh's aggressiveness, and other things that happen between the chalk lines- I really want to see Schwartz win a game for us.

[kenp]

I see an improved Defense but not enough talent yet. The Linebackers we have are not going to get it done this year and D backfield is very iffy especially if Delmas hasa bad injury as was rumored. Gotta hope the D-Line can come to the rescue. We better score a lot of pionts.
I perdict 6 wins

[jefferson78]

I wish I could agree with you but in the NFL you need good depth because of the likelihood of injuries and the Lions' have very little of it.
I think they will struggle to win 4 games.

[smogboy]

Kenp, Jefferson 78... I'll split the difference and make the wild prediction of five victories. My stab in the dark here is just based upon looking at the schedule and a pre-season gut call. Lord knows things will change as the season progresses. We'll have injuries, other teams will have injuries, and a whole litany of unforeseen things will happen over the span of the sixteen games. I'm sure we'll have a game stolen from us as well as we steal a game from someone else too. In the end, talent will bear out most of the time and while our beloved Lions have improved in most of the positions, we're still a ways from being a contender.

I'd also like to think [[and hope) that Martin Mayhew is savvy enough to understand where this team is thin [[thanks again, Millen) and will try to fill those needs in next year's draft. I can honestly see us snagging a linebacker or a corner with our first pic in 2011. After that, I think it should be devoted to the trenches again with the offense line being a bit more of a priority than the defensive line. But that's a discussion to have at the end of this upcoming season.

It's nice to at least have some hope for this team and discuss this rationally now. We know what our deficiencies are. We shouldn't delude ourselves to thinking that this team is suddenly the new Super Bowl contender. We know we're still missing a lot of pieces, but considering where we've been with those hideously dark dismal years of Millen, we're at least making somewhat of a climb back to relevancy. For those fans that really really hate the team, think we'll go 0-16 again, and bemoan how piss poor this bunch is- I ask the question "Why bother following the Lions team then?". Seriously- go cheer for a contender if your heart so desires. Why waste time following this team if it causes you so much misery? Now if you want to sit down Monday morning and discuss the game the day before in a rational way- let's bring it on! We can sing the team's praises and torch where they screwed up too. Let's be fair and balanced about the discussion.

[kenp]

I will always be a Lions fan, always hope for the best. We are getting better, still along way to go. Saw our schedule last night, wow its brutal. I guess Im stuck with 6 wins.

[gnome]

PRESEASONWk.DateOpponentTime [[ET)TV1
August 14, 2010 at Pittsburgh Steelers 7:30 PM WWJ-TV2
August 21, 2010 at Denver Broncos 9:00 PM WWJ-TV2
August 28, 2010 vs. Cleveland Browns 5:30 PM WWJ-TV4
September 2, 2010 vs. Buffalo Bills 7:00 PM WWJ-TV

REGULAR SEAS
September 12, 2010 at Chicago Bears 1:00 PM FOX
September 19, 2010 vs. Philadelphia Eagles 1:00 PM FOX3
September 26, 2010at Minnesota Vikings
1:00 PMFOX4
October 3, 2010at Green Bay Packers
1:00 PMFOX5
October 10, 2010vs. St. Louis Rams
1:00 PMFOX6
October 17, 2010at New York Giants
1:00 PM FOX
October 24, 2010---BYE WEEK---
October 31, 2010 vs. Washington Redskins
1:00 PMFOX
November 7, 2010 vs. New York Jets
1:00 PMCBS
November 14, 2010 at Buffalo Bills
1:00 PM FOX
November 21, 2010at Dallas Cowboys
1:00 PMFOX
November 25, 2010vs. New England Patriots*12:30 PM
CBS
December 5, 2010vs. Chicago Bears1:00 PMFOX
December 12, 2010vs. Green Bay Packers1:00 PMFOX
December 19, 2010at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
1:00 PMFOX
December 26, 2010at Miami Dolphins
1:00 PMFOX
January 2, 2011vs. Minnesota Vikings1:00 PMFOX


every year I get lured into their hateful scheme. Again, I say the Lions are walking tall with 11 wins and then lose in the first round by a score of 0 - 2 after Matt loses his senses and runs out the back of his own endzone.

[smogboy]

[every year I get lured into their hateful scheme. Again, I say the Lions are walking tall with 11 wins and then lose in the first round by a score of 0 - 2 after Matt loses his senses and runs out the back of his own endzone.

We don't get lured in. We're fans! We're already in on this epic Greek tragedy of a team. The joke's been on us for years and yet we're loyal to a fault. No need to apologize at all. You're amongst fellow Lions fans here. We understand and can commiserate with you!

Now I can't tell if you truly believe the Lions will win 11 or if I'm missing the blaring Sarcasm Alarm here. I personally think they've improved but not to that degree. I would absolutely love it if you were the second coming of Nostradamus and were dead on right though. If they could win 11 so quickly after only a 2 win season, it would be absolutely amazing. I'd build a mink lined sedan chair to hoist Martin Mayhew up upon if that were the case. Oh... I can only dream.

[smogboy]

Random things to look forward to this year as a Lions fan…

1) Ndamukong Suh getting his first sack of the season.
2) Calvin Johnson & Matthew Stafford hooking up for a long bomb.
3) Jahvid Best breaking a move through the line and getting his first touchdown.
4) Jim Schwartz throwing the red hankie out there and winning a challenge [[did Rod Marinelli ever win one?).
5) A convincing road victory... hell, any sort of road win.
6) Kyle VandenBosch chasing some poor beleaguered quarterback fifteen yards back from the line of scrimmage [[someone queue up the Benny Hill theme music)
7) Louis Delmas laying the lick on some poor unsuspecting receiver brave enough to come into the middle.
8) Nate Burleson making a catch and having Calvin Johnson blocking and taking out two of his defenders him down field.
9) A better quarterback rating for Matthew Stafford.
10) No Millen sightings anywhere near the Detroit area. No Millen smellings either.

Mind you, they're in no particular order at all. They're not scientific by any stretch and I think they're all reasonably attainable. Any other things to look for in our team??

[GOAT]

Smogboy, going 11 wins after the 2 win seasonlast year would be great. But it is the Lions so we know that won't ever happen [[the turnaround so quickly) unlike other teams in the NFL.

I love the list and they will all give me reasons to cheer. But Delmas has me questioning just how effective he will be this year with this groin injury. This might be a lot worse than we think and I believe may even taint his career should he not get back on track soon. The first couple years of a rookie [[are they rookies after one year?) are their most important in their development.

I also think Stafford and Burleson along with Scheffler are going to do some serious damage.

IMO, I think Johnson is gone when his contract is up. Then we have the guaranteed lock out for next year unless the veterans pipe up about these outrageous rookie salaries. If there is a lockout next year we can kiss good progress for the Lions goodbye.

[sirrealone]

Stafford seems to be the real deal. Pro analysts whose job it is to know such things seem to think he's the real deal. All the folks who booed on draft day, thinking Aaron Curry should have been the choice, I'd love to know what they're doing these days.

The offense should be much improved. A more experienced Stafford, a guy [[Burleson) who can legitimately take the pressure off Megatron, a RB that has break-loose potential, adding a TE that is another legit receiving threat [[and opening the door to some two TE schemes, which I've been dreaming about for years), and a solid LG in Sims, should help the offense take some big strides.

The defenisve line is much improved and should mask some of the other problems. Still, there are too many problems for them to do a whole lot of good in the end. The linebacking corps is still incredibly thin. The d-backs, except for Delmas [[who might be running at lower capacity) are terrible through and through.

Depth is another issue. They have depth at QB, WR [[maybe), RB [[maybe), TE, and the D-line, but outside of that, there really isn't any. When injuries hit, there will be some huge holes opened up.

All in all, I see this translating to five or six wins total for the year. They'll put a lot of points on the board and give a lot up. They'll be in games a lot longer than they have been.

I think another offseason, though, can really accomplish a lot. A CB drafted here, a LB signed there, continuing to upgrade the depth through free agency, trades, etc. Assuming there's no labor lockout in 2011, that should be the year that they legitimately start putting together a team that can be expected to compete. By then, they will still have holes and lack of depth at some key positions, but what NFL team in the free agency era doesn't? Still, another offseason of shrewd / smart moves by Mayhew plus another year of experience should really push this team where they need to be.

Until then, I hope the guys have fun. I hope that, even though they'll probably have more losses than wins, that the perpetual dark cloud of doom moves away from Ford Field. I hope they get better. I hope they beat Brett Favre once this year. I hope they stay relatively healthy. If all this can happen, I'm going to be happy watching Lions football this year.

[smogboy]

I hope they beat Brett Favre once this year.

Now that would be a nice thing to see happen. I would love to see Suh, VandenBosch or any one of the new Lions defensive crew chase Brett Favre around like a scared chicken in an alley way. Part of that desire is to have some reparation for all of the years Favre has torched our team and there's also some disgust I have for Favre's shafting of his old Green Bay fan base. He could've retired from Packer Nation a god; instead his fragile ego was hurt and now he looks really forward to beating them- wow, that's gratitude for years of fan loyalty. It's one thing to move to another team, play hard, and want to do well against your former team but he has some venom towards his previous team. Also all of this primadonna attitude that he displays with his current Vikings team is unreal. This coddling of this one player over the Team will be the downfall of Brad Childress in Minnesota soon.

So yeah, let's go beat Brett Favre.

[smogboy]

Generally I don't give two hoots about a pre-season game but I just wanted to chime in on how impressive I thought our first team offense looked against the Broncos first team defense. It was actually interesting to see how masterful and, dare I say how calm Matthew Stafford looked in the pocket. He ran the offense with what seemed like relative ease; he marched the team down the field, mixed the play selection up between run & pass, and really didn't hit the turf that much. Despite only a minor tweak in obtaining Rob Sims, the line held up pretty well in protecting our QB. Part of that might be attributed to the other team's reluctance to pin their ears back because they have to respect the run, a tight end rolling out or a toss to Burleson or Johnson. So overall praise to the first team offense with the minor caveat of not performing well in the red zone.

Yes, it's nice that we still put up point on the board with field goals BUT it sure as heck would be a lot nicer if we could punch it in and get 7. I'm not sure if our team just performs better in the open field and we can work vertically a little more but I hope Schwartz will address our red zone effectiveness soon. Whether it's more handoffs to a Jerome Felton, swing out passes to a flairing tight end or something- we just need to be much more effective within the other team's 20 yard line.

As it stands now, this team looks as though it's going to have to win games with their offense. Shoot outs are going to be the norm from the looks of things just because defensively we're just not there yet. The few times the Denver O line blocked out our rush, Orton had a field day picking apart the seam between the linebackers and secondary. Maybe against a less mobile QB, we could have some more sacks and hurries but we're still quite a way from forcing the other team to have three and outs.

Again- it's pre-season, so absolutely no worries yet. It's still make believe and it's audition time for the depth guys. Work out the kinks, figure out the timing, instill some confidence, and build up some momentum for the real games now.

[d.mcc]

I know I am already thinking ahead of time, but I am thinking we end up with the 6th-7th pick of the draft. Now, homerism abound here, and my green and white might be showing a lot here, Greg Jones is an All-American LB who is a stud Middle Linebacker. I am not saying he's a top 10 candidate, but who knows if we can't trade out of the top ten, snag him in the mids, and pick up another 2nd or 3rd round pick. That affords us the chance to get some decent CB picks in there...

I still think we get 6 wins this year, and 9-10 next season

[Lowell]

They won? On the Road? Is this the end?

[smogboy]

They won? On the Road? Is this the end?

Not yet Lowell. 'Twas pre-season. I wouldn't look too much into it just yet, but I'm hoping for a real road victory to start off the season in Chicago though.

[kenp]

Greg Jones is an All-American LB who is a stud Middle Linebacker.

Greg Jones is a good college player, that doesnt have anything to do with the pros. He is undersized for a pro middle linebacker. Thats the reason he didnt go pro after his Junior year.

[d.mcc]

Greg Jones is a good college player, that doesnt have anything to do with the pros. He is undersized for a pro middle linebacker. Thats the reason he didnt go pro after his Junior year.

Oh, I am aware, but the fact that he's put on another 15 lbs of muscle, with sideline to sideline speed. That's why you trade out of the top-10 and pick up a few extra picks. Every indication says that he will be a Mid to late first-round pick next season. If he stays healthy, well... depending on another 140+ tackle season, he could be a smart draft choice that has the potential to be a very serviceable MLB in the NFL

[Bong-Man]

Although I certainly am willing to acknowledge an improvement in the defensive line, this team still sucks....and playing .500 ball this year is a pipe dream. In our struggle to go 2-30 over the last couple years, some people seem to forget that our defense was so bad that no one even really ever had to test our secondary. Why throw when you can run to your heart's content ? Once teams have to throw the ball, they are going to march up and down the field in big chunks. Corey Williams is a nice addition, but talk to me halfway thru the 3rd quarter when he's sucking some air.

I also still don't think this offensive line is capable of playing .500 ball either. Raiola and Backus have never accomplished that in 10 years, and it isn't going to happen now.

None of this is a knock against our coaching staff. They know where the problems and weak links are. This team's problems can't be solved in two drafts.

Gosder.....Just another wasted pick, and Lomas Brown knew it after one practice session of watching his feet.