Restore the Roar - A Detroit Lions Franchise

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Preseason Round-up

Week 1

8/14
Away

Loss 3-12

Defense looked decent, but the offense could not get it together. It was a very ugly game for the offense. Overall a very sloppy and boring game.

Week 2

8/21
Away

Won 31-24

The starting defense looked phenominal in this game, only giving up 7 points the entire first half. It was 7-7 heading into halftime before the 2nd team came out and busted the game open. Jahvid Best showed his speed and talent getting a 40 yard touchdown run on 4th & 1 in the 2nd quarter to put the Lions on the board.

Highlight: Jahvid Best 40 yard TD run

Week 3

8/28
Home

Won 41-35

The starting team did not play well at all in this game, going into halftime the Browns were up 28-7 and were moving the ball at will on the Lions. Matthew Stafford struggled to get into a rhythm and therefore the offense couldn't get anything going. It was the 2nd team led by Shaun Hill and Kevin Smith that brought the Lions back. Kevin Smith with his 2nd straight solid performance has put himself in the lead to win the starting RB job.

Week 4

9/02
Home

Won 48-35

The first team brought it this week, going into halftime the Lions were up 31-3. Matthew Stafford looked to be in midseason form while Jahvid Best locked up the starting job. The 2nd team defense allowed things to get a little too close for comfort giving up numerous big passing plays. One thing is for sure, the depth at CB is severely lacking and this is something I look to address as the season arrives.

Preseason record: 3-1

The first team offense was very inconsistent throughout the preseason, they showed flashes of potential in the 2nd preseason game but they really didn't get it together until that last game against the Bills. The 1st team defense was also very up and down. Overall though I'm happy with the performance.

[funkybunk]

Lions Insider

Sept 5th, 2010

Detroit Lions headcoach Jim Schwartz announced the starting roster today. Some surprises but for the most part this starting lineup was to be expected. Headlining the moves is running back, Jahvid Best who beat out Kevin Smith during preseason. Smith who had a very solid preseason was still beat out due to his injury concerns last season. Best showed his potential in the last preseason game against the Bills, running for 86 yards on just 12 caries. His speed and explosion brings an added element to the Lions offense and Best brings a certain level of excitement the Lions haven't seen at running back since the days of Barry Sanders.

Other announcements include Corey Williams, Cliff Avril, and Amari Spievey winning their respective roster battles to earn a starting spot.


Injury Report:

Wide reciever Nate Burleson was injured during the fourth pre season game against the Bills, he will be out for 11 weeks with a knee injury. Burleson hopes to be back be for the final 6 games of the season, however Lions head coach Jim Schwartz is currently considering putting Burleson on IR to free up a roster spot. This is a major blow to the Lions as Burleson was brought in to take pressure off from Calvin Johnson.

Also injured was TE Tony Scheffler, his injury however was less severe and will only miss the first two weeks of the season. Scheffler will be back by week 3 against the Minnesota Vikings.

Transactions:

In other news, the Lions announced they have signed offensive guard Mike Goff (77 OVR) to a 1 year, 3 million dollar deal. Goff was brought in because of his versatility, as Goff is able to play all three interior line positions. Mike Goff is expected be a valuable back up for Detroit who only had 3 players at the offensive guard position.

To make room for Goff, the Lions released TE Dan Gronkowski. The Lions will be very thin at TE for the first two games of the season, suiting up for the Lions will be Brandon Pettigrew and Will Heller.

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LIONS ROLL INTO CHI-TOWN

Sept 13, 2010

The Lions offense picked up where it left off following its last preseason game absolutely demolishing the Chicago Bears Sunday afternoon. Matthew Stafford led the charge completing 22 of 30 passes for 213 yards and a 112 passer rating. Jahvid Best did not dissapoint scoring his first TD as an NFL running back on a 49 yard TD yard. Best finished with 128 yards on the day. Completing the trifecta was Calvin Johnson with a 6 catch, 100 yard day. CJ caught 2 touchdown passes from Stafford.

Highlight: Jahvid Best 49 yard TD run

The defense looked great early on only allowing three points in the first half. The Detroit Lions absolutely stuffed the run only allowing 38 yards on the ground. One of the key plays for the Lions was a Dre Bly interception in the first quarter, Chicago was moving the ball well through the air but Dre Bly ended that run with an interception early in the first quarter to shift the momentum the Lions way.

Highlight: Dre Bly INT (1st QTR)

The one negative you can take away from this game is the Lions passing defense, which still remains non existent. Aside from a couple of interceptions, the Lions defensive backs were picked apart giving up 320 yards through the air. The Lions gave up two big plays in the fourth quarter - an 83 yard TD pass to Devin Hester and a 76 yard touchdown pass to Johnny Knox. Cornerback and strong safety are certainly a glaring need going into the offseason.

Other Highlights:

M. Stafford 33yd TD pass to C. Johnson
M. Stafford 7yd TD pass to C. Johnson

Players of the week:

Offense
Steve Smith 6 rec 158 yards, 3 TD's

Defense
OJ Atogwe 3 tkl 1 int 1 TD

Next Week:

Sept 19 @ 1:00 PM

[Adam14]

I'm curious, how do you do the highlights?

[funkybunk]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWSXnHOyjUY

After that go to the main menu, my madden, and there should be a place to manage media and you can upload the videos to EA from there. Make sure to have an EA account first.

That video is Madden 10 but it works the same way. You can only have 5 uploaded at a time, so they wont stay forever though if you plan on doing highlights for each game.

[funkybunk]

[funkybunk]

BACK DOWN TO EARTH

Sept 20, 2010

DETROIT -- Following a surprise victory of the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field, the Lions first win away from Ford Field in two seasons, the Lions remind us who they really are.

The Lions defense forced a quick three and out on the first possession, leaving a glimmer of hope the Lions could start the season 2-0. That feeling quickly left as the Eagles marched right down the field on their 2nd posession for an easy touchdown.

The Lions offense could not get it together, Matthew Stafford showed flashes of brilliance, however Jahvid Best hit a wall - litterally as he only gained 20 yards on the ground with 12 carries.

Matthew Stafford managed to put one solid drive together, with one big play, a 42 yard pass to WR Calvin Johnson. The Lions capitalized on that drive with a 20 yard touchdown pass to rookie Jahvid Best.

Despite the Lions woes on defense, Detroit was only down 14-7 at halftime. The Lions were still in the game despite being clearly played... Then the proverbial wheels came off for the Lions, on the opening kickoff return of the second half, Lions kick returner Dennis Northcutt fumbled the ball deep into Lions territory, the Eagles quickly capitalized and increased their lead to 21-7 in the 3rd quarter.

The errors continued for the Lions as Jason Hanson missed a 47 yard field goal and Matthew Stafford threw 2 interceptions.

INJURY REPORT

Jordan Dizon, backup middle linebacker for the Lions was injured Sunday afternoon during the Eagles game. It was a very serious knee injury and he will put on IR effectively ending his season. Coach Jim Schwartz had this to say:

Quote:

"Losing Jordan was a big blow to our defense, he was an effective backup to DeAndre Levy and he contributed immensely on special teams. He will be put on IR and we are currently working out a couple of guys to fill Dizon's role."

In brighter news, tight end Tony Scheffler will make his return this week against the Vikings. The Lions have been thin at tight end these first two weeks, his return couldn't come at a better time.

With Nate Burleson still out with a knee injury, look for the Lions to run more two tight end sets with Scheffler back. The Lions have a great pair of tight ends and hopefully both Scheffler and Pettigrew will take pressure off from Calvin Johnson who has recieved a substantial amount of double coverage his first two weeks.

REVIS WATCH

Darrelle Revis sat out his consecutive game against the New England Patriots. Things are heating up in New York, the Lions have expressed interest in Revis as well as a couple of other teams. Look for the Lions to make a move as they try and shore up their defensive backfield.

NFL Standings - NFC North - 2010 Season

Teams	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	PF	PA
Minnesota Vikings	2	0		100	0-0	71	46
Green Bay Packers	2	0		100	0-0	51	23
Detroit Lions	1	1		.500	1-0	38	45
Chicago Bears	0	2		.000	0-1	23	57

OperationSports.com

[funkybunk]

NFL Scoreboard - Philadelphia Eagles (0-1) at Detroit Lions (1-0)

September 19, 2010 1 2 3 4 F Philadelphia Eagles 7 7 7 7 28 Detroit Lions 7 7 Top Performers Philadelphia Eagles - Stats K. Kolb 14-21 180yds 3td's 2int's L. McCoy15att 102yds 1 td 5rec 70yds 1 td Detroit Lions - Stats M. Stafford 14-21 175yds 1td 2int's C. Johnson 4rec 76yds	Team Stats Comparison PHI DET First Downs 16 9 3rd Down Efficiency 7-9 (77%) 4-8 (50%) 4th Down Efficiency 0-0 (0%) 0-0 (0%) Total Yards 386 231 Passing Yards 198 175 Rushing Yards 188 56 Penalties-Penalty Yards 4-35 0-0 Turnovers 2(+1) 3(-1) Time of Possession 22:40 17:20
Scoring Summary First Quarter PHI DET PHI 6:11 K. Kolb 11yd TD pass to H. Basket 7 0 Second Quarter PHI DET DET 7:37 M. Stafford 20yd TD pass to J. Best 7 7 PHI 4:22 K. Kolb 6yd TD pass to L. McCoy 14 7 Third Quarter PHI DET PHI 8:56 K. Kolb 11yd TD pass to D. Jackson 21 7 Fourth Quarter PHI DET PHI 5:43 L. McCoy 9yd rushing TD 28 7
Philadelphia Eagles Passing C/ATT YDS TD INT Kevin Kolb 14/21 180 3 2 Michael Vick 1/3 18 0 0 Rushing ATT YDS AVG TD LeShaun McCoy 15 102 6.8 1 Mike Bell 5 21 4.2 0 Jeramy Maclin 2 60 30 0 Receiving REC YDS AVG TD LeShaun McCoy 5 70 14 1 Jason Avant 4 62 15.5 0 Jeramy Maclin 2 24 12 0 Hank Basket 1 11 11 1 DeShaun Jackson 1 11 11 1 Defense TKL SACK INT TD Asanti Samuel 6 0 1 0 Ernie Sims 4 0 0 0 Stewart Bradley 4 0 1 0 Kick Returning NO. YDS TD LONG N/A 2 41 0 N/A Punt Returning NO. YDS TD LONG N/A 3 0 0 0 Kicking FGM/A XPM/A PTS LONG David Akers 0/0 4/4 4 Detroit Lions Passing C/ATT YDS TD INT Matthew Stafford 14/21 175 1 2 Rushing ATT YDS AVG TD Kevin Smith 4 36 9 0 Jahvid Best 12 20 1.6 0 Receiving REC YDS AVG TD Calvin Johnson 4 76 19 0 Bryant Johnson 4 48 12 0 Brandon Pettigrew 3 19 6.3 0 Jahvid Best 1 20 20 1 Dennis Northcutt 1 10 10 Defense TKL SACK INT TD Julian Peterson 6 1 0 0 Ndamukong Suh 5 0 0 0 Louis Delmas 5 0 0 0 DeAndre Levy 4 0 0 0 Amari Spievey 3 1 1 0 Ko Simpson 0 0 1 0 Kick Returning NO. YDS TD LONG Dennis Northcutt 5 92 0 26 Punt Returning NO. YDS TD LONG Aaron Brown 2 11 0 11 Kicking FGM/A XPM/A PTS LONG Jason Hanson 0/1 1/1 1

OperationSports.com

Players of the week:

Offense
Adrian Peterson 21 att 220 yards, 3 TD's

Defense
SS, David Bruton 8 tackles, 1 int

Next Week:

Sept 26th @ 1:00PM