kwhiz73

Stafford would not being playing this week(imo) if his injury was going to limit his potential against Minnesota. Shaun Hill is a capable back up and the Lion's would simply rest him through the bye week if that was the case. Based on the big plays given up by the Lion's secondary last week, I can see the thought process about starting Ponder......But......if there is any game that will get the Lion's on track, its this week. I see them blowing up against Minnesota. I see them getting up on Minnesota early and teeing off of Ponder all day. As Aggie said in previous post--this is more of a week to week decision vs. a season long bust title. Don't Panic

Look's like there is a decent chance(Best) will be back with a different role. I wonder why the Lion's wouldn't have just put him on IR if he wasn't going to. On a related note...I'm thinking the main reason Leshoure was losing carries to Bell later in the game was the groin injury---nothing serious, but precautionary. "Tim Twentyman of the Lions' official website envisions Jahvid Best (concussions) playing a role similar to Darren Sproles if he comes off the PUP list in Week 8. Coach Jim Schwartz suggested Best was placed on the PUP list because doctors wanted him to be a full year removed from his last concussion when he plays again. Best expects to return in Week 8, but there has been no indication that he's been given full clearance. Mikel Leshoure is expected to be the primary runner, perhaps combining the Pierre Thomas and Mark Ingram roles in the New Orleans model. " rotoworld

I'm not sure I could name anyone who has been more responsible for the success and the popularity of the NFL. ..RIP.

fact of the matter is: in today's NFL creating turnovers on D is part of the defintion of a good defense. Yeah NO was moving the ball well, but the Lion's stuck with them until early in the 4th quarter. The score was 24-21 early in the 4th, when (I think was Berry) dropped an easy int. Who knows what would have happened if that went the other way. The Dree Bree's fumble that would have returned for a TD could have also greatly changed the momentum of the game. As easy as it could have been 65-28, it could've went 35-31 the other way just as easy. It was a good game, NO was the better team and showed that the last 10 minutes of the game, but don't make it sound like Detroit was outclassed or compare their D to NE's. I'm sure there were plenty of uncomfortable NO fans early in the 4th quarter.

I'm eating crow big time. I found myself cheering for Denver and hoping they would pull it out in overtime. Kudo's to them and their fans for doing what I thought was impossible for them; especially after Decker went out with the injury. NFL=not fully logical

I completely agree. Anytime there's a penalty for Denver the drive is over, anytime they have a rush for less than two yards the drive is over, anytime they start on their side of the 50 the drive is over. If Denver ever has over 5 yards to go on third down, starts more than 30 yards from field goal range, or has a penalty of any sort go against them--they might as well just punt. (Sorry I needed 3 points from Tebow last week to win my superbowl, and he scored 2)

He did have a Tommy Maddox type of year... a few points: 1. I am actually thrilled they finished the way they did. I'm not quite ready to count them out against NO. 2. I know GB was missing some of their best players this week; however, I'm sure Rodgers would not have put up better numbers than Flynn---missing Woodson and Clay on D was much more significant. Hats off to the GB line filling in--would be nice to have that kind of depth. 3. The Lion's took a step back from the week before not so much with the secondary play as the defensive line play, turnovers, and penalties. With all due respect to Flynn, he simply had too much time to throw the ball. When the Lion's tried to blitz, they were burned repeatedly. 4. Although we don't, as Lion's fans, have the luxury of expecting at least a conference championship appearance like many of the teams in the playoffs, we finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I agree that he should be number 3, but I wouldn't compare what he has done to Dan Marino. I think quarterback stats achieved 20 or more years ago hold much more weight than stats achieved in today's league. I will say this: Stafford has been the best quarterback the Lion's have had since I've been a fan (Gary Danielson was the qb as far back as I remember). His numbers do not lie, but having Calvin Johnson as a reciever will make any quarterback better. Although his 98 yard drive was as impressive of a drive as I've seen, he actually made a terrible throw to CJ that should have been a touchdown. It could've have just as easily been intercepted--CJ adjusted and made the play. I have to give CJ as much if not more credit to the game winning drive.

James is just in his mind going, "This guy is going to get killed. I got to take his mind off it, give him something else to do." So he says, "Ok, every time you're in a pile, I want you to focus on something. I want you to untie his shoes." He goes, "What?" "Anytime you can, just reach in, he's got floppy shoe laces, he doesn't spat or anything, just untie his shoes. It will irritate him. He untied his shoes three times in the game. That's why he stomped him. That's why he banged his head on the ground and he stomped him. When (Suh) went to the sideline it looked like he was telling the coach, "I didn't do anything" and he put his foot up like, "I didn't stomp him. I didn't do anything." He was actually going, "The damn guy keeps untying my shoes." http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2011/12/did_the_green_bay_packers_anta.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+detroit-lions+%28Detroit+Lions+-+MLive.com%29 For the record I just thought this was funny---please don't put me in the apologist category because of it.

Decent defense yes--but has been suspect against the run. They've been giving up quite a few long runs this year.

ALLEN PARK The Detroit Lions got a bit of good news with the return of cornerback Chris Houston and running backs Kevin Smith and Maurice Morris to practice Wednesday. Houston and Morris warmed up, then participated in individual drills with their teammates; Smith went off to work out with a trainer by himself after warmups, at least during the portion of practice open to media. http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2011/12/chris_houston_returns_but_detr.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+detroit-lions+%28Detroit+Lions+-+MLive.com%29&utm_content=ESPN I'd say he's playing. He's been doing well when he's in; however, the risk is him not making it into the second half.

Yeah his peers decided to get together and do an impromptu players only vote for NFL's dirtiest player. The Sporting New's --that's media. Here's one example: "I'm not necessarily saying dirty but just aggressive and intense," Arizona Cardinals linebacker Daryl Washington said of his vote for Suh. "I'm on the defensive side of the ball. I like the way he plays. I wouldn't mind having a guy like that in front of me." sounds like a reliable dirty player poll to me. I'm sure the players are taking the poll vote as serious as some of you are. By the way and for the record I never said he didn't deserve to be penalized, nor did I say he didn't deserve to be disqualified from the game. I'm just fed up with all the suspension talk. The end result of what he did was wrong--I'm simply questioning the maliciousness of it. I don't think he deserves a suspension because of it.

Refer to the title of the post...If you think the Packer's "embarrassed" the Lion's I think you are dead wrong. Never did I say they didn't get beat, or should've won, or anything of the sort. As a matter of a fact I stated the Packer's were the superior team, and it was because of the final score. As far as calling me an apologist. C'mon man, I was just stating how I interpreted the video. Comparing this to punching someone in the face is a terrible analogy. Take a look back at Robison kicking the Packer player in the groin(not that he didn't deserve some retailiation from what happened earlier) awhile back--imo way more malicious than Suh's stomp. No suspension there. What doesn't make sense to me is all this outcry for a suspension based on past behavior. If the commissioner think's Suh deserves a suspension based on this incident so be it, but to say "well I normally wouldn't suspend a player based on what I see here, but because on the media driven effort to portray Suh as this dirty player, I must act more harshly than I normally would" is just stupid. Suh didn't hide from the camera's after the game. He told his side of the story, and I see where he is coming from. It that makes me "special" than so be it. Next time read the whole post instead of every other line.

Just my two cents as a Lion's fan who was at the game yesterday. Green Bay was the superior team, not because of better talent or better coaching, but because they didn't make mistakes. The next step for the Lions is to be more consistent with fewer turnovers and penalties. The feeling I had in the first half and especially the first quarter was that the Lions were better prepared and were physically dominating the Packers. Detroit could never quite close the deal shortly after they crossed midfield several times. I haven't seen the Packers with so many 3 and outs and other stalled drives all year. But to the Packer's credit, they stopped the Lion's when they needed to. Kevin Smith's injury followed by Suh's penalty (VandenBosh's as well) swung the momentum in Green Bay's favor, and they never looked back. They did what great teams do--they capitalized on their opponent's mistakes. I'm not saying that the Lion's would have necessarily won without the picks or penalties, but I can almost guarantee that it would have come down to the final quarter before the game was decided. From a Detroit Lion's fans perspective, I left the game feeling we got beat by the better overall team; however, I wouldn't in any way chalk up the last game of the season in the guaranteed win column for Green Bay. Regarding Suh's penalty: I didn't even really see it at the game but watched the video several times. I find it impossible to completely reduce my bias to 0, but I don't think it was nearly as malicious as reporters are describing it. I see Suh trying to get up with his and the OL's arm locked together, and pushing on his helmet in frustration of not being able to stand. As he turned away and stomped his foot, I saw it as more of a "get the f*ck off me" exclamation to what was a super intense moment and game. I really don't believe he was thinking--"I'm going to stomp on this guys arm/shoulder because he wouldn't let me up". Fact of the matter is: When all eyes are on you, you'd be better off being as gentlemanly as possbile after the whistle blows. He's a young guy with a ton of talent who just needs to temper down a bit in the heat of the moment. Based on Rodger's performance in the second half vs the first, the Lion's are going to need Suh in there if they are going to make the playoffs.

Ironic how close Smith's numbers were to the Choice prediction. Biggest mistake was number of carries.....