Clearing the Air: Detroit Lions Will Not Trade Calvin Johnson

It’s nearly impossible to turn on sports talk radio or pick up a newspaper in Detroit these days without hearing chatter about the prospect of the Detroit Lions trading Calvin Johnson.

Columnists Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press, Pat Caputo of the Oakland Press, and 97.1 the Ticket, have both recently touched on the subject, as have many contributors here at the Bleacher Report;it won’t happen.

Beyond my personal opinion that the concept of a team trading its best and only noteworthy player, exceeds even a Lions level of stupidity. People within the Detroit Lions organization took strides to shoot down the rumors as well.

Jim Schwartz called Johnson “virtually untouchable” when asked about the subject recently and offensive coordinator Scott Linehan said it would be “insane” to trade Johnson. Linehan also said he would be “pretty depressed” if Johnson was traded.

So would a lot of people who follow the Lions and know anything about football.

If Johnson were traded, the Lions would likely get draft picks; potentially high ones in return. Look at the history of players drafted high by the Lions.

Aaron Gibson? Bust. Charles Rogers? I think he’s back in prison. Joey Harrington? Taking piano lessons. Mike Williams? Looking for a job. Kevin Jones? Bust. Kalimba Edwards? Last seen at the bottom of the Oakland Raiders depth chart and now out of the league.

Is there any need to go on?

Calvin Johnson is one of the best offensive football players in the NFL and he plays for the Detroit Lions. The notion of a bad team trading an elite player simply because they are a bad team has no precedent in the NFL; this is not Major League Baseball.

Should the Lions have traded Barry Sanders back in the day just because they were a bad team?

The two quickest ways to hinder a young quarterback’s development, is to put him behind a terrible offensive line and give him no weapons to work with on the field.

Matthew Stafford already has the disadvantage of being “protected” by Jeff Backus and Gosder Cherilus. Can you imagine how bad things would get if Bryant Johnson was his go-to guy?

Calvin Johnson is not going anywhere.

Let’s end this subject and move on to something else.

Talk more about Tiger Woods and bimbos or Tim Tebow and the Bible. Both have more relevance than the concept of the Lions trading Johnson.

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Daunte Culpepper Will Start For Detroit Lions on Sunday

In a surprising turn of events, Detroit Lions head coach Jim Schwartz gave an honest injury report before “game time decisions” must be made public.

Schwartz announced that Daunte Culpepper would start for the Lions this Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens. He had previously said Matthew Stafford was day-to-day and that the decision would be a game-time choice on whether or not to sit Stafford. Damn you, Bill Belichick. Injury reports have never been the same sense you started all this nonsense.

Anyways, Schwartz made the right call on this one. Culpepper should start Sunday, and every Sunday after until the record is 2-14. There is nothing left to be gained from having Stafford get slammed to the ground week after week while his shoulder is about as well connected as Mr. Potato Head’s moustache.

Stafford has already made great strides and accomplished all he needs to in his rookie season. He has shown toughness, has led a two-minute drive comeback victory, has been embarrassed, has been spectacular, and he has been beaten to a pulp.

Looks like a full slate to me.

As pointed out in a recent article by Bleacher Report Columnist Greg Eno, there is no reason to keep Stafford out there this season.

Culpepper does not make the Lions a better team. Not by a long shot. But starting him will spare Stafford an unneeded beating over the final four games. Just as many NBA coaches implement the strategy of inserting lesser players into the game to rack up fouls, inserting a backup quarterback to absorb Ray Lewis hits is a beneficial move.

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Tough To a Fault: Matthew Stafford Should Not Have Played Thursday

Football is a game centered around toughness. Teammates and coaches respect it. Fans love it. Players themselves are determined to show it.

Matthew Stafford is one tough dude. He proved as much last Sunday when he willed the Lions to a comeback 38-37 win, throwing the game-winning touchdown pass with a separated AC joint.

During the game, Stafford was wired for sound and was quoted as saying, “I can throw the ball if you need me to throw the ball.”

It was courageous and the type of moment that can endear a quarterback to a city. Particularly a self proclaimed blue collar town such as Detroit.

Thursday, Stafford’s desire to show his toughness costs Detroit a chance to win a football game. He should not have played. Jim Schwartz said all week that Stafford was “unlikely” to play. Stafford himself sat out every practice.

Why did he start?

Was it to show he was tough? Was it for the national television audience and Detroit’s fear of ultimately losing its one day in the national spotlight? Was it because the Lions coaching staff feels that Stafford at 50 percent is better than the next guy at 100 percent?

I do not know why he played.

I know that he was hurt. Everyone saw it. The Green Bay Packers exposed it. Stafford’s shoulder was so injured he couldn’t not step into any of his throws. Almost every pass was throw of his back foot or with him fading to one side.

All for of his interceptions were. So were the other two balls that should have easily been picked off.

By the way, the Lions lost the game 34-12. Their sixth straight loss on Thanksgiving Day.

Schwartz is clearly still wet behind the ears as an NFL head coach. But one thing that hasn’t been questioned by anyone, especially not me, is his intelligence.

Thursday was a terrible lack of judgement on Schwartz’s part. As a matter of fact, it was utterly incompetent. By the end of the first quarter, everyone in the stadium and watching at home should have been able to see that Stafford just wasn’t right.

Duante Culpepper saw it. He was also seen in a heated argument with Lions general manager Martin Mayhew. Culpepper knows he’s not the starter, but he also has enough pride to know that he’s better than a quarterback with a destroyed throwing shoulder.

The Lions could have won this game. Green Bay did not play well at all. The only reason the score was close at halftime, 13-7, was because the Packers were a bad enough football team to allow it to be.

Stafford has already gotten his feet wet and experienced both success and failure in the NFL, albeit primarily failure. The guy has talent and I’m convinced he’s going to be around a long time. He does not need to play another snap this season, especially if he’s not 100 percent healthy.

Toughness often conflicts with intelligence. And virtually every player in the NFL is tougher than they are smart. It shouldn’t be up to Stafford whether or not he feels well enough to play. The Lions as an organization need to step in and decide what’s best for the franchise.

Stafford has the rest of his career to play and make a name for himself, and hopefully that career takes place entirely in Detroit. But for right now, he needs to sit.

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Matthew Stafford’s Finest Moment Temporarily Overshadows Lions Woes

What happened at Ford Field last Sunday was terrific. Other than the end result of the Detroit Lions winning a football game, there was the “coming out party” of hopeful franchise quarterback Matthew Stafford.

Stafford threw for 422 yards and an NFL rookie record five touchdowns. More importantly, he led the Lions on a game-winning touchdown drive with less than two minutes on the clock. His game-winning touchdown pass, with a separated shoulder mind you, to fellow rookie Brandon Pettigrew allowed the Lions to come all the way back from a 24-3 deficit and defeat the Cleveland Browns 38-37.

Wait…the Lions were down 24-3 to the Cleveland Browns? Yes, yes they were.

This is not about being negative or an attempt to deflate Detroit’s momentary balloon of hot-air pride, but facts are facts. Being a 2-8 football team should not be celebrated, even if it does come after a 0-16 season the year before.

Coming into the game against Detroit, the Browns averaged just nine points per game, and had scored only five offensive touchdowns all season. Brady Quinn had just one touchdown pass on the year—he threw four against the Lions on Sunday.

Until the Lions defense stops impersonating a bunch of blind kids playing capture the flag, this team will not and cannot be successful.

Sports fans are collectively a short-minded bunch. The some 30,000 Lions fans in attendance at Ford Field on Sunday that were cheering, high-fiving, and celebrating a win over the NFL’s new worst team will likely be booing at some point this Thursday.

Go ahead, stand up and boo. If anything, it would only be good for this franchise. People in Detroit should not celebrate being better than the bottom. It should be expected, it should be demanded.

But it’s not. It has never been. Not with the Lions at least.

Remember when Mary Mornhinweg had a bucket of Gatorade poured over him after winning his first game as an NFL coach? I believe the Lions were 1-13 at that point. Or when Rod Marinelli gave his team an extra two days off because it beat Denver 42-6 and improved to 6-2, with eight games still left in the season? Even when Jim Schwartz sent the team back out on to the field to “celebrate” the Lions first win of the season against Washington with the fans in attendance, was that really something to celebrate?

I say no, heck no. Success should be celebrated, but stealing wins from teams just terrible enough to let you get away with it should not be.

Take a minute to think about why the Detroit Pistons have been so successful this decade. They have been as consistent as any team in the NBA. Why? Because heads roll if excellence is not accomplished. Losing is not tolerated, and mediocrity is unacceptable.

That mindset is not shared with the Detroit Lions organization, or the fans that support it. Random moments of Silverdome success were enough in the ’80s. Barry Sanders provided enough excitement in the ’90s. Newly constructed Ford Field and the promise of a “change in direction” sparked enough excitement in first part of this decade. But no truly positive results have ever come.

Other than Stafford’s play and toughness at the end of the game, the only other positive that can be taken away from this game was the leadership of Schwartz.

He was excited after the game, and rightfully so, but he was by no means celebratory. He downplayed the game as merely, “just one win” and cautioned the media to “not make too big of deal out of it.” In his Monday press conference, he looked like a coach with a 2-8 team. Not a coach still giddy about a recent victory.

That was the first sign of true leadership I have seen from Schwartz and his statements could not be more correct.

If the Lions win again on Thursday, that will be a sign of some slight progress taking place. Feel free to cheer for the moment and show some excitement. But if they lose, please, stand up and boo. This franchise will only get better when the City of Detroit demands that it does so.

While this past Sunday was a terrific moment, it was also a terrible reminder.

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Detroit-Cleveland: Both May Be Bad, but Only One City Can Be the Worst

Quick, try to name two Midwest cities with prideful sports fans, faltering economies, freezing cold winters, horrible football teams, and that absolutely hate one another.

Detroit and Cleveland fit that description perfectly.

Detroit was once known as Hitsville, USA and has since been called a Third World Metropolis. Cleveland is the home of the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame, yet often is labeled as the Mistake on the Lake.

Cleveland’s economy is centered on LeBron James. Detroit’s economy is currently being funded by government bailouts. And yes, the Lions and Browns are both 1-8 on the season.

Am I the only one who’s jacked up for the game this weekend?

There are a handful of city rivalries that exist in this country, and Detroit and Cleveland is one of them. The records don’t matter; neither does the sport, whether it be Pistons vs. Cavaliers, Indians vs. Tigers, Michigan vs. Ohio State (I know that rivalry takes place out of the respective cities, but the fire is still there), and of course, the Lions and Browns.

These two teams even play for a trophy in the preseason. They may both represent the lowest level of professional football, but it is a rivalry. A big one, every time.

I grew up in Michigan and live in Metro Detroit, so clearly my natural alliances are with the Motor City. But I spent a year working as a media relations intern with the Cleveland Indians. I lived in that city for a year and absolutely hated it.

It’s the only city I’ve ever gotten cited for jaywalking in and received a parking ticket after paying to park my car in a parking garage. Apparently a PT Cruiser with Michigan plates doesn’t fit the “compact only” description. It doesn’t matter what Cleveland area team is playing or who the opponent is—I hope they lose. I hope they lose badly. It’s bitterness at its highest level.

These two cities may be laughed at by the rest of the country, but whenever their respective teams face off in athletic competition, it’s a chance to point the finger at the opponent and say, “At least we’re not that bad.” Even the TV shows Home Improvement and Drew Carey battled in the ratings to one-up each other.

Unfortunately, the game at Ford Field will be blacked out Sunday, again. Yet here’s the good news; it’s cheaper to drive from Detroit to Cleveland and watch the game at a sports bar than it is to park your car in downtown Detroit and buy a ticket to the game.

No joke. If your car gets at least 25 miles per gallon, you can drive to Cleveland for an estimated $17.91 each way. Parking is free in downtown Cleveland on Sundays (non-game days only, of course), so throw in a $25 restaurant bill and that puts the total expense at roughly $63.

The cheapest ticket available at the Lions box office is $55, plus a cost of $35 to $50 to park. No wonder the Lions can’t sell out games.

I thought about taking this approach, but in the end decided not to contribute another dime to the Cleveland economy. Besides, there may be some unpaid speeding/parking tickets in the state of Ohio with my name on them.

Instead, I’ll be driving to my hometown of Grand Rapids, Mich., out of blackout range, to take in the game. I’ll also be in Ann Arbor Saturday hoping for a miracle to crush the dreams of Ohio State alums everywhere.

Since becoming part of a newspaper sports department, a large part of my “inner fan” has been put to rest. I haven’t cheered at a sporting event or yelled at the TV in years.

But this weekend, against Cleveland and the state university of Ohio, I’ll be just like every other cursing, fist-pumping loudmouth that resembles the average sports fan.

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Lions-Vikings: Matthew Stafford Gets a Second Shot at Minnesota

For the first time in his NFL career, Matthew Stafford will get to play against an opponent for the second time.

The Detroit Lions travel to Minnesota this Sunday for their second game against the Vikings this season.

Stafford, like most rookie quarterbacks who see the field right away, has been through some growing pains this season. The difference between college and NFL defenses is astounding. But Sunday, Stafford will have the advantage of playing against a defense he has already seen once.

In the first meeting between the two teams, Stafford looked good, particularly in the first half. He completed a touchdown pass to Calvin Johnson, and the Lions grabbed a 10-0 lead at halftime. Yet Detroit lost that game 27-13.

The Lions are coming off their worst loss of the season, a 32-20 letdown at Seattle last week. The loss was paired with Stafford’s worst game as a professional quarterback, as he threw five interceptions and played a crucial role in squandering Detroit’s early 17-0 lead.

A rebound on the road against a very good Vikings team will not be easy and may not be possible. But it will be interesting to see what adjustments Stafford and the Lions coaching staff make for this game.

Both Calvin Johnson and Kevin Smith are expected to start for Detroit. Linebackers Ernie Sims and Larry Foote both missed practice this week.

In other news, I will say the Lions are not one of the “surprising” teams talking to former Kansas City running back Larry Johnson. Johnson’s agent said multiple teams have talked to his client, and a few “surprising” teams are very interested. Regardless, Johnson will not end up in Detroit.

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Kevin Smith Is Not the Reason For the Detroit Lions’ Failures

Don’t blame Kevin Smith for Detroit’s offensive ineptitude. He is not at fault.

Yes, his 3.1 yards per carry average is below par, as is his 393 total rushing yards eight games into the season. But there is enough mud to be slung around the Lions locker room so Smith should not bear much, if any blame for the Lions’ lack of production.

The talk show hosts who label Smith a bust are too quick to judge. It’s only his second season in the NFL. The frustrated fans who post on message boards that Aaron Brown is a better running back are nothing short of incompetent.

Kevin Smith could end up being another Kevin Jones. But to write him off as such this early in his career is unjust.

Other than Calvin Johnson, and hopefully—dare I say potentially—Matthew Stafford, Smith is the most talented offensive weapon Detroit has.

As far as the running game goes, Smith is the only weapon Detroit has. Maurice Morris has been generously labeled as serviceable and nothing more for his entire career. Brown is fast, but far from a complete runner.

Give Smith time to grow. Stafford, Johnson, and Smith could develope into a Manning, James, and Harrison trio. Seriously.

In the meantime, blame the offensive line for not blocking, blame the secondary for following in the footsteps of Chris L. Rucker at Michigan State, or blame the coaching staff for slow development.

There are 40-plus guys in that locker room who should be thrown under the bus before people start trying to run Kevin Smith out of town.

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Adding Chris Chambers Could Help Detroit Lions This Season

Recycling someone else’s trash is not a formula for long-term success.  If it was, the city of Detroit wouldn’t be littered with homeless people wearing ripped jackets and teal Pistons hats.

Yet there are times when someone’s curbside pickup is better than anything in your living room.  In terms of football, and the Detroit Lions, recently waived wide receiver Chris Chambers fits this metaphor.

Detroit’s current core of wide receivers is horrible.  On a scale of one to happy hour at Cheetah’s strip club, it ranks as a two.

Sure, Calvin Johnson is great.  But even when healthy, he draws so much attention from defenses it is hard for him to be consistently productive.  He needs help, and the Lions have no other options in the passing game.

Dennis Northcutt can’t catch a ball.  Bryant Johnson has not had the breakout year Martin Mayhew predicted.  Derrick Williams appears to have no future as a pass catching threat, and John Standeford is not going to be the next white receiver to become a household name.

If Matthew Stafford is going to continue to develop and make positive strides this season, the Lions need to give him another target.  Coincidentally, Chris Chambers needs a job.

Why not take a flier on a guy who has had success in the NFL?

In his prime with Miami, Chambers was a fantastic receiver and a big play threat.  He even had a brief resurgence with San Diego before being waived this week.

A three-receiver set of Calvin and Bryant Johnson along with Chambers would give Detroit a respectable receiving core.  It would also give Stafford a chance to move the ball downfield.  It’s not like Detroit can rely on the running game to move the chains.

Although, to his credit, nobody works harder for 40 yards than Kevin Smith.  Watching Smith try to gain positive yardage is like watching one of those out-of-shape car salesmen try to complete an obstacle course on ABC’s Wipeout.  I just can’t help but feel bad for the guy.

If the Lions sign Chambers, he instantly becomes the second best receiver on the team.  He won’t be a long-term solution to the Lions abundance of problems, but he can help the situation this season.

The best way to go about getting Chambers is to wait until he clears waivers.  Once he clears waivers, Chambers can sign with any team, and the Chargers are still obligated to pay him the rest of his contract for this season.  The Lions, assuming Chambers won’t have a long line of potential buyers, could greatly improve their receiving core for close to league’s minimum salary.

 

 

 

 

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Detroit Lions Fail to Meet Even The Lowest of Expectations

Expectations are low in Detroit. No question about it. But even the lowly Lions have some expectations they should meet.

Sunday’s 17-10 loss, at home, to the St. Louis Rams was a total disaster. For the first time this season, the Lions looked completely unprepared.

Getting outplayed by a superior opponent is understandable for a rebuilding team like Detroit, but not being prepared to play, against a winless team, after a bye week is unacceptable.

The Rams have one dependable offensive option, Steven Jackson. How did the Lions coaching staff not know Jackson was going to get the ball on that third down play which he took 25 yards for the go-ahead touchdown?

Offensively, the Lions were just as disappointing. NFL receivers should catch passes that hit them in the hands. There were six clear drops by Detroit receivers in the first half and a few more over the final two quarters.

The offensive line was horrible, although this should come as no surprise. Poor offensive line play has become as much of a tradition in Detroit as Thanksgiving Day football.

The execution was poor, but this loss falls squarely on the shoulders of the coaching staff. Jim Schwartz and his staff had an extra week to prepare for an 0-7 team, and their game plan was horrible.

Any scouting report on the Rams will say that pressuring Marc Bulger makes him erratic. It will also point out that Jackson is the workhorse of the team.

These two factors alone should have been enough to convince Gunther Cunningham to bring pressure and load the box against St. Louis. Yet, the Lions continually dropped linebackers and safeties into pass coverage.

Keep in mind, the Lions final record this year does mean something. Detroit is playing not to have the No. 1 overall pick in next year’s draft, and teams like St. Louis are the direct competition.

Detroit cannot afford another Matthew Stafford-contract for a rookie next year. For the sake of the salary cap, and for the overall well-being of the franchise’s future, at least one team must finish with a worse record than the Lions this season.

The Lions go on the road for two tough games, at Minnesota and at Seattle, before returning home to face Cleveland. A loss to the Browns in three weeks could make the Lions a shoe-in for a 1-15 record and another No. 1 overall pick.

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Detroit Lions Have an Opportunity to Make Real Progress Against St. Louis

DETROIT—Progress is a broad term. Is going from zero wins to one progress? Is it progress to go from being ranked the as the worst team in every defensive category a year ago to now being ranked 22nd overall in total defense?

In a sense, yes, the Detroit Lions have made progress this year. But when considering that the Lions and their opponent today, the St. Louis Rams, have a combined record of 1-32 over the past 33 games, that progress comes with a grain of salt.

But hey, at least the Lions are the team with the one win. It could be worse.

They could be St. Louis, or Cleveland. I mention those two teams specifically because the Rams and Browns may very well be the only teams remaining on Detroit’s schedule that the Lions are capable of winning against.

The quest for 3-13 continues today, with a home game against St. Louis. This article is being written from a back booth at Hockey Town café in downtown Detroit, a pre-game gathering spot for Detroiters. The walls may be littered with Red Wings memorabilia, but all the talk is about football.

People can sense a potential victory looming.

And for progress sake, it had better come. A sign of true progress is beating the beatable teams on the schedule, and for the Lions, not many games fit that category. But St. Louis does. The Lions are favored today. It’s amazing how large the gap between one and zero (wins) can actually be.

In reality, this is not a must win for Detroit. Let’s face it, in the NFL, any win before eight is irrelevant. Yet, if the Lions can win today, in my opinion, they will be 2-0 against “beatable” teams. How’s that for a glass-half-full approach?

If the Lions win every game they are “supposed” to win, is that not progress in its purest form? Upsets are billed as such for a reason; they’re not supposed to happen. Detroit was not supposed to be Pittsburgh, or Green Bay, or Minnesota, or New Orleans.

Yet, the Lions should beat St. Louis today. And if they do, it will be a sign of real progress in Detroit.

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