From Nothing to Something: A Detroit Lions Dynasty

[RJTurneR]

From Nothing to Something
A Detroit Lions Dynasty

Controlling All 32 Teams
Injuries: On
Sim Injuries: On
Salary Cap: Off
Quarter Length: 10 Minutes
Accelerated Clock: 15 Seconds
Slider Set: ++++NFL Franchise Authentic Gameflow Experience Sliders+++++

Franchise:
- Can only sign FA's during Off-season.
- Can only sign FA's during the season if they are replacing guy's who are on IR.
- Maximum of 2 draft day trades.

Gameplay:
- No switch on defense if the CPU runs the ball. Allowed one switch on a pass play, after the pass is complete.
- No user catching.
- Can't run the same offensive play twice in a row.
- Must use Ask Madden for all defensive play selection.

Welcome to my Dynasty. This Dynasty is based on the struggling Detroit Lions and their eventual rise to becoming one of the more dominant teams in the NFL. Even though this is based on Detroit, I will be posting news, injuries and all other kinds of stuff regarding the other 31 NFL teams. I will be starting from the 2011 season.

Coming Up:
Detroit Lions 2011 Off-Season Review
Old Faces, New Places
The 2011 NFL Season Preview

[RJTurneR]

The Detroit Lions 2011 Off-Season Review

After finishing the season 6-10, the Detroit Lions headed into the Off-season hoping to patch up any remaining weaknesses. Detroit managed to re-sign some key players on the roster, including:

- HB Kevin Smith
- FB Jerome Felton
- WR Bryant Johnson
- TE Tony Scheffler
- LG Rob Sims
- DE Cliff Avril
- SS Kevin Ellison

After re-signing players, the Lions moved onto Free Agency, focusing their attention to both sides of the ball. WR Mario Manningham was picked up by Detroit after the Giants decided not to re-sign him. Manningham was selected 95th overall in the 2008 Draft by the New York Giants, and could be yet another nice target for QB Matthew Stafford, alongside Calvin Johnson and Nate Burleson.

Detroit then focused on improving the O-line, after letting up the 4th most sacks in the league. Detroit signed C Kyle Cook and RG Jonathan Goodwin. Both have already played for teams in Michigan. Cook played for Michigan St, and Goodwin played for the Wolverines.

After re-signing stand out Safety Kevin Ellison, Detroit continued to improve their secondary, adding CB's Dwight Lowery and William Gay. The Lions also added depth at the LB position, signing MLB's Keyaron Fox and Antwan Barnes.

Unlike previous years, the Lions used the Draft to add depth, rather than key players. In the 1st round, Detroit selected Ole Miss OLB Domonic Reynolds, who looks to be Julian Petersons eventual replacement. Detroit then selected S Sylvester Ketchum, who could compete with Kevin Ellison for the starting job.

Oregon LT Vonte Stephens was Detroit's 3rd pick of the draft, who looks to be replacing Jeff Backus. With two picks in the 4th round, Detroit selected HB Christian Denton and DE Justin Jones.


[center]

Old Faces, New Places

DT Albert Haynesworth
Now With Houston Texans



WR Vincent Jackson
Now With Seattle Seahawks


Coach Wade Phillips
Now With Carolina Panthers



Coach Gary Kubiak
Now With Denver Bronco's

Up Next:
2011 Season Preview

[RJTurneR]

2011 Season Preview

Detroit Lions 2011 Schedule

Sunday Sept 11th, 1:00pm - Vs Packers
Sunday Sept 18th, 4:15pm - Vs Buccaneers
BYE
Sunday Oct 2nd, 4:05pm - @ Raiders
Sunday Oct 9th, 4:00pm - Vs Bronco's
Sunday Oct 16th, 1:00pm - Vs Chiefs
Sunday Oct 23rd, 1:00pm - @ Panthers
Sunday Oct 30th, 8:30pm - @ Bears
Sunday Nov 6th, 4:15pm - @ Chargers
Sunday Nov 13th, 8:30pm - Vs Falcons
Sunday Nov 20th, 1:00pm - @ Packers
Thursday Nov 24th, 12:30pm - Vs Vikings
Sunday Dec 4th, 4:00pm - @ Saints
Sunday Dec 11th, 1:00pm - Vs Cowboys
Saturday Dec 17th, 1:00pm - @ Rams
Saturday Dec 24th, 1:00pm - Vs Bears
Saturday Dec 31st, 8:00pm - @ Vikings

Who To Watch?


Minnesota Vikings
With the retirement of Favre and the firing of Brad Childress, the Vikings look to be a strong contender this year. Kevin Kolb takes the reigns at QB, hoping to show everyone that he can be a starter in the NFL. With Sidney Rice and Percy Harvin at WR, Kolb shouldn't have too much trouble finding targets.


Denver Bronco's
Josh McDaniels only lasted two seasons, and now Gary Kubiak has been given the job. Kubiak played for Denver while backing up Hall of Fame QB John Elway. Denver hopes to turn things around quickly and try and win the division.


San Francisco 49er's
Coach Singletary managed to keep his job, and ended up drafting some interesting prospects. Florida State's Tommy Garvin takes over at QB, after cutting QB Alex Smith, who is now with Arizona. With a huge amount of talent, the 49er's look to finally become a contender again.


Carolina Panthers
The Panthers hired Wade Phillips as their new HC. Carolina has one of the youngest WR core's in the NFL, with Steve Smith being the only WR with 3+ years experience. Panthers also look to have a very nice pass rush, with Phillips switching to a 3-4 defense, and using to those fast LB's to his advantage.


Simmed Pre-season, Went 1-3

With Pre-season over, Coach Schwartz has decided who starts and who sits. Here's how the depth chart looks heading into Week One.

Detroit Lions Depth Chart - 2011
Regular Offense
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
WR	Calvin Johnson Jr.	Nate Burleson	Bryant Johnson
TE	Brandon Pettigrew	Tony Scheffler	Eddie Williams
LT	Vonte Stephens	Jeff Backus
LG	Rob Sims	Jimmy McMarthy
C	Kyle Cook	Dominic Raiola
RG	Jonathan Goodwin	Stephen Peterman
RT	Gosder Cherilus	Jason Fox
WR	Mario Manningham	James Hardy	Cole Enere
QB	Matthew Stafford	Shaun Hill
FB	Jerome Felton	Eddie Williams
HB	Jahvid Best	Kevin Smith	Christian Denton	Aaron Brown
Base 4-3 Defense
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
LDE	Cliff Avril	Lawrence Jackson
LDT	Ndamukong Suh
RDT	Sammie Hill
RDE	Kyle Vaden Bosch	Justin Jones
WLB	Julian Peterson	Domonic Reynolds
MLB	DeAndre Levy	Antwan Barnes	Keyaron Fox
SLB	Zack Follet	Landon Johnson
CB	Alphonso Smith	Dwight Lowery
SS	Kevin Ellison	Amari Spievey
FS	Louis Delmas	Sylvester Ketchum
CB	Chris Houston	Byron Westbrook
Special Teams
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
K	Brett Swenson
P	Jeremy Kapinos
PR	Nate Burleson	Dwight Lowery
KR	Nate Burleson	Aaron Brown
LS	Jeff Backus

Game Preview
Week One - Vs Green Bay

With Green Bay once again looking like strong contenders, Detroit may struggle stopping them. In order to win, Stafford will need to spread to ball around and attack a Green Bay secondary which struggled last year. CB Charles Woodson will will most likely be lined up opposite Megatron, meaning Manningham could maybe have a nice game here.

Green Bay will need to come out and do the same. Detroit's secondary also struggled last year, and if Rodgers finds Jennings and Driver deep, Detroit could be in trouble. The Lions will need to take away Green Bay's run game and force them to go to the air, which may make things easier, especially if Detroit's insane pass rush can get to Rodgers.

[nusie]

Good luck with this man. I'll definitely be following. Lions were always a fun team to play with in Madden 10 so I'm sure it's the same in 11.

[RJTurneR]

Thanks man. Got the game recap coming up next along with some 'Around the League' type stuff. Should be fun.

[Mogar]

Are you planning on changing the defense to a 3-4 next year or at all? I like the 4-3 I personally think you should keep it. Just thought I would ask lol.

[RJTurneR]

With the front four I already have (Suh, Bosch, Avril Hill) I'll probably keep it 4-3. I get good pressure with those guys, especially Suh.

I mainly only change to a 3-4 if I have big physical run stoppers (Vince Wilfork type) and good pass rushing LB's.

[RJTurneR]

Lions Shut Down Packers
Detroit Wins Big Against Division Rivals

Detroit are certainly not the team they used to be, but heading into the season opener, they were not favorite team to win. What may be the upset of month, Detroit destroyed Green Bay 34-13. Green Bay couldn't get anything going on offense, and were held to only 12 yards on the ground. Detroit completely shut down Green Bay's running game, and Rodgers only threw for 218 yards and no touchdowns.

Detroit's offense was completely the opposite, with Stafford throwing for 303 yards on 23 attempts and 3 TD's. Calvin Johnson and Mario Manningham caused havoc all day, combining for a total of 225 yards and 2 TD's. Jahvid Best also had a nice day, rushing for 70 yards and 1 TD.

Sep 11, 2011 - GB at DET
TEAM	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Green Bay Packers (0-1)	3	0	0	10	13
Detroit Lions (1-0)	7	13	7	7	34

Team Stats Comparison
GB		DET
230	Total Offense	374
12	Rushing Yards	71
218	Passing Yards	303
9	First Downs	14
12	Punt Return Yards	10
174	Kick Return Yards	43
416	Total Yards	427
2 (-1)	Turnovers	1 (+1)
1-10 (10%)	3rd Down Converstion	5-13 (38%)
0-1 (0%)	4th Down Conversion	0-0 (0%)
0-0 (0%)	2-Point Conversion	0-0 (0%)
1-1 (100%)	Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	4-4 (100%)
3-46	Penalties	2-10
14:23	Posession Time	25:37

Player of the Game

Matthew Stafford - 112.7 Passer Rating, 23/34, 303 Yards, 67% COMP, 3 TD's, 1 INT