"Pride of Detroit" - A Detroit Lions dynasty (M25 CFM)

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2013 NFL Season: Detroit Lions Looking for More Balance

Detroit, MI -- Preseason success doesn't always translate to the regular season—especially in the case of the Detroit Lions.

In 2008, Detroit finished 4-0 in the preseason, but during the regular season—when the games mattered—the hearts of the Lions skipped a few beats…about 16 to be exact.

However, this 2013 Detroit team is completely different from the Lions that held their heads low every Sunday in 2008. The offense is very potent with Calvin Johnson coming off a record-setting season. The addition of running back Reggie Bush provides quarterback Matthew Stafford with a dependable option in the backfield and an additional offensive play besides of a heave to a receiver.

According to profootballreference.com, Stafford threw the ball an NFL-record 727 times last season—a number that will greatly decrease in 2013. With that decrease in quantity, an increase in quality should follow.

But the main issues come on the opposite side of the ball.

The Lions re-signed many key defensive players, such as safety Louis Delmas and cornerback Chris Houston, and much of this squad is similar to that of 2012, which continually gave up big plays.

Back then, Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch broke a 77-yard touchdown run, Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson burst out for a 61-yard TD run and former Vikings wide receiver Percy Harvin and Marcus Sherels had a kickoff and punt return in the same game.

Big plays happen, but this is excessive.

Detroit’s defensive unit cannot allow multiple big plays such as those listed above in 2013. Their 4-3 defense is going to have to put more pressure on offenses and learn to stop the chains from moving down the field so easily.

Defensive tackle and often-misbehaved Ndamukong Suh managed to behave (for the most part) last season, which may have been the D-line’s problem. Perhaps Suh should put his name in more headlines this season, so the Lions defense will play with the heart of their mascot and stop the highlight plays.

Regardless of the route the defense goes, Detroit needs to get on the same page on both sides of the ball. Green Bay has already perfected the art of killer-offense, absent-defense style football, so Detroit needs to make the proper adjustments to not play a similar style.

Game Settings:

Spoiler

Console: PS4
Mode: Owner Mode
Skill Level: All-Madden
Quarter Length: 14 Minutes
Accelerated Clock: On
Minimum Play Clock Time: 10 Seconds
Game Speed: Normal
Auto Strafe: On
Heat Seeker: On
Ball Hawk: On
Switch Assist: On
Injuries: 50
Fatigue: 50
Min Player Speed Threshold: 25

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Schedule | Standings
Current Status: 2013 Regular Season

Detroit Lions Preseason 2013 Schedule
DATE	OPPONENT	RESULT
Aug 9	vs New York Jets	Lost, 30-13
Aug 15	at Cleveland Browns	Won, 27-10
Aug 22	vs New England Patriots	Lost, 38-28
Aug 29	at Buffalo Bills	Won, 17-6

Detroit Lions Regular Season 2013 Schedule
DATE	OPPONENT	RESULT
Sep 8	vs Minnesota Vikings	Lost, 23-20
Sep 15	at Arizona Cardinals	Lost, 20-17
Sep 22	at Washington Redskins	Won, 31-9
Sep 29	vs Chicago Bears	Won, 36-14
Oct 6	at Green Bay Packers	Lost, 33-20
Oct 13	at Cleveland Browns	Lost, 28-21
Oct 20	vs Cincinnati Bengals	Lost, 24-13
Oct 27	vs Dallas Cowboys	Won, 34-10
Nov 10	at Chicago Bears	Won, 33-20
Nov 17	at Pittsburgh Steelers	Lost, 20-17 (OT)
Nov 24	vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Won, 41-16
Nov 28	vs Green Bay Packers	Won, 31-28
Dec 8	at Philadelphia Eagles	Won, 13-10
Dec 16	vs Baltimore Ravens	Won, 26-16
Dec 22	vs New York Giants	Lost, 35-17
Dec 29	at Minnesota Vikings	Won, 20-16

NFC North Standings - Updated: Dec 30, 2013
NFC NORTH	W	L	T	PCT	DIV
Green Bay Packers	10	6	0	0.620	5-1
Detroit Lions	9	7	0	0.560	4-2
Minnesota Vikings	8	7	0	0.500	2-4
Chicago Bears	7	9	0	0.430	1-5

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Lions Season Stats
Current Status: 2013 - End of Season

Detroit Lions Stats - 2013
Passing	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	YDS/G	LONG	TD	INT	RAT
Matthew Stafford	343/534	3,656	6.8	261.1	64	20	22	79.4
Shaun Hill	48/76	524	6.9	58.2	54	4	2	90.0
Kellen Moore	19/28	145	5.2	48.3	19	1	1	77.2
Rushing	ATT	YDS	AVG	LONG	20+	TD	YDS/G	FUM
Mikel Leshoure	206	818	4.0	37	3	4	51.1	3
Joique Bell	29	92	3.2	10	0	0	5.8	0
Brandon Bolden	20	58	2.9	19	0	2	7.3	1
Matthew Stafford	20	25	1.3	12	0	1	1.8	7
Montell Owens	15	36	2.4	9	0	0	2.3	0
Calvin Johnson Jr.	4	18	4.5	7	0	1	1.3	0
Shaun Hill	4	6	1.5	6	0	0	0.7	2
Theo Riddick	1	1	1.0	1	0	0	0.1	0
Receiving	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	20+	YDS/G	YAC
Calvin Johnson Jr.	95	1,435	15.1	10	64	-	102.5	465
Brandon Pettigrew	74	646	8.7	3	27	-	43.1	296
Ryan Broyles	43	400	9.3	2	28	-	44.4	129
Joseph Fauria	36	216	6.0	2	18	-	13.5	101
Nate Burleson	31	394	12.7	3	54	-	26.3	113
Mikel Leshoure	26	152	5.8	0	19	-	9.5	103
Jeremy Ross	25	209	12.4	1	50	-	19.3	155
Kris Durham	23	358	15.6	2	60	-	29.8	116
Joique Bell	21	136	6.5	1	17	-	8.5	165
Corey Fuller	12	84	7.0	0	19	-	6.0	25
Montell Owens	4	16	4.0	0	5	-	1.0	17
Michael Williams	2	10	5.0	1	6	-	0.6	0
Blocking					PCAKE		SACK
Riley Reiff					15		4
Rob Sims					3		6
Dominic Raiola					10		3
Larry Warford					10		5
LaAdrian Waddle					5		15
Leroy Harris					3		2
	Tackles			Sacks		Interceptions
Defense	SOLO	AST	TOT	SACK	TLOSS	PD	INT	TD
Stephen Tulloch	-	-	105	4.0	10	3	0	1
DeAndre Levy	-	-	80	5.0	19	3	0	0
Louis Delmas	-	-	79	2.0	4	3	5	0
Glover Quin	-	-	74	0.0	3	6	4	1
Bill Bentley	-	-	54	0.0	4	12	4	1
Chris Houston	-	-	52	0.0	4	10	3	0
Ezekiel Ansah	-	-	43	14.0	17	1	0	0
Willie Young	-	-	43	16.0	21	0	0	0
Ndamukong Suh	-	-	40	16.0	26	0	0	1
Darius Slay	-	-	38	0.0	1	3	6	1
Nick Fairley	-	-	35	11.0	18	0	0	0
Ashlee Palmer	-	-	30	1.0	7	0	1	0
Rashean Mathis	-	-	24	0.0	1	1	0	0
Don Carey	-	-	16	0.0	0	1	2	1
D.J. Smith	-	-	11	0.0	0	0	0	0
Rocky McIntosh	-	-	10	0.0	0	0	0	0
Tahir Whitehead	-	-	10	0.0	2	0	0	0
DeJon Gomes	-	-	6	0.0	0	0	0	0
Julian Stanford	-	-	1	0.0	0	0	0	0
C.J. Mosley	-	-	1	0.0	0	0	0	1
Jason Jones	-	-	1	0.0	0	0	0	0
	Kickoffs					Punts
Returning	ATT	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD	RET	YDS	TD
Jeremy Ross	30	763	25.4	72	0	-	-	-
Theo Riddick	30	708	23.6	30	0	71	519	0
	Field Goals				Extra Points
Kicking	FGM	FGA	PCT	LONG	XPM	XPA	PCT	PTS
Dustin Hopkins	34	38	89%	61	38	38	100%	140
Punting	PUNTS	YDS	LONG	AVG	NET	BP	IN20	TB
Sam Martin	79	3,492	56	44.2	3,050	0	18	12

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Detroit Lions Depth Chart
Current Status: 2013 - End Of Season

Detroit Lions Depth Chart - 2013
Regular Offense
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
WR	Nate Burleson	Ryan Broyles	Jeremy Ross
TE	Brandon Pettigrew	Joseph Fauria (R)	Michael Williams (R)
LT	Riley Reiff	Jason Fox
LG	Rob Sims	Leroy Harris
C	Dominic Raiola	Eugene Amano
RG	Larry Warford (R)	Rodney Austin
RT	LaAdrian Waddle (R)	Corey Hilliard
WR	Calvin Johnson	Kris Durham	Corey Fuller (R)
QB	Matthew Stafford	Shaun Hill	Kellen Moore
FB	Montell Owens
HB	Mikel Leshoure	Brandon Bolden	Joique Bell	Theo Riddick (R)
Base 4-3 Defense
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
LDE	Willie Young	Jason Jones
LDT	Ndamukong Suh	C.J. Mosley
RDT	Nick Fairley	Andre Fluellen
RDE	Ezekiel Ansah (R)	Devin Taylor (R)
WLB	Ashlee Palmer	Tahir Whitehead
MLB	Stephen Tulloch	D.J. Smith	Julian Stanford
SLB	DeAndre Levy	Rocky McIntosh
CB	Chris Houston	Rashean Mathis
SS	Glover Quin	DeJon Gomes
FS	Louis Delmas	Don Carey
CB	Bill Bentley	Darius Slay (R)	Chris Greenwood
Special Teams
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
K	Dustin Hopkins (R)
P	Sam Martin (R)
H	Sam Martin (R)
PR	Theo Riddick (R)
KR	Jeremy Ross
LS	Rodney Austin

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Contracts Ending In Off-season
Current Status: 2013 NFL season

***BOLD denotes priority signing***
($$/yr) = Signed for

Detroit Lions' Expiring Contracts
#	OFFENSE	POS	AGE	HT	WT	COLLEGE
90	Willie Young	DE	28	6'5"	251	1yr/$1.50M. (5yr/$45.00M.)
88	Dustin Hopkins	K	23	6'2"	193	1yr/$400K. (Tagged)
86	Dominic Raiola	C	35	6'1"	295	4yr/$16.00M. (Retired)
85	Brandon Pettigrew	TE	26	6'5"	265	5yr/$12.50M. (Released)
78	Joique Bell	HB	28	5'11"	220	1yr/$630K. (1yr/$1.30M.)
76	Chris Greenwood	CB	25	6'1"	193	1yr/$460K. (Released)
73	Kris Durham	WR	26	6'6"	216	1yr/$550K. (Released)
73	Don Carey	FS	27	5'11"	192	3yr/$1.50M. (1yr/$850K.)
73	Jason Fox	LT	26	6'7"	303	1yr/$1.30M. (Released)
72	Brandon Bolden	HB	24	5'10"	222	1yr/$570K. (Released)
71	Rashean Mathis	CB	34	6'1"	193	1yr/$710K. (Released)
71	Rocky McIntosh	OLB	31	6'2"	242	1yr/540K. (Released)
70	Leroy Harris	LG	30	6'3"	303	1yr/$710K. (Released)
69	D.J. Smith	MLB	25	5'11"	239	1yr/$600K. (Released)
69	Eugene Amano	C	32	6'3"	300	1yr/$910K. (Released)
67	Andre Fluellen	DT	29	6'2"	302	1yr/$540K. (Released)
67	Justin Veltung	WR	23	5'11"	183	1yr/$500K. (Released)
66	Shaun Hill	QB	34	6'3"	220	2yr/$4.00M. (Released)

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Detroit Lions Draft Picks
Current Status: 2014 NFL Draft

Detroit Lions 2014 NFL Draft Recap
Pick	Player	College	Pos	Ht	Wt
19	Leventrice Lampley	Houston	LG	6'2"	292
51	Karlos Sladek	Indiana	OLB	6'2"	237
73	Shane Hamilton	Louisville	TE	6'5"	266
83	Abraham McClure	Texas	WR	6'2"	206
115	Javonta Erick	S.D. State	LG	6'3"	298
179	Charlton Maddox	Georgia Tech	DT	6'2"	320
211	Ricky Aristotle	Iowa	FB	6'0"	251

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NFL Award Winners 2013
Current Status: Final Winners

NFL Award Winners
Award	Player	Pos	Team
Most Valuable Player	Drew Brees	QB	New Orleans Saints
Coach of the Year	Sean Payton	HC	New Orleans Saints

AFC Award Winners
Award	Player	Pos	Team
Offensive Player of the Year	Jamaal Charles	HB	Kansas City Chiefs
Defensive Player of the Year	Derrick Johnson	MLB	Kansas City Chiefs
Offensive Rookie of the Year	Le'Veon Bell	HB	Pittsburgh Steelers
Defensive Rookie of the Year	Kiko Alonso	MLB	Buffalo Bills
Best Quarterback	Peyton Manning	QB	Denver Broncos
Best Running Back	Jamaal Charles	HB	Kansas City Chiefs
Best Wide Receiver	Wes Welker	WR	Denver Broncos
Best Offensive Lineman	Nate Solder	LT	New England Patriots
Best Defensive Lineman	Cameron Wake	DE	Miami Dolphins
Best Linebacker	Paul Posluszny	MLB	Jacksonville Jaguars
Best Defensive Back	Troy Polamalu	SS	Pittsburgh Steelers
Best Kicker	Matt Prater	K	Denver Broncos

NFC Award Winners
Award	Player	Pos	Team
Offensive Player of the Year	Drew Brees	QB	New Orleans Saints
Defensive Player of the Year	A.J. Hawk	MLB	Green Bay Packers
Offensive Rookie of the Year	Eddie Lacy	HB	Green Bay Packers
Defensive Rookie of the Year	Tyrann Mathieu	FS	Arizona Cardinals
Best Quarterback	Drew Brees	QB	New Orleans Saints
Best Running Back	Matt Forte	HB	Chicago Bears
Best Wide Receiver	Jordy Nelson	WR	Green Bay Packers
Best Offensive Lineman	Jordan Gross	LT	Carolina Panthers
Best Defensive Lineman	Ndamukong Suh	DT	Detroit Lions
Best Linebacker	Patrick Willis	MLB	San Francisco 49ers
Best Defensive Back	Stevie Brown	FS	New York Giants
Best Kicker	Dustin Hopkins	K	Detroit Lions

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Pro Bowl Rosters
Current Status: 2014 Pro Bowl

2014 NFL Pro Bowl Rosters
AFC Offense	Pos	Votes	NFC Offense	Pos	Votes
Peyton Manning (DEN)	QB	1,163,123	Drew Brees (NO)	QB	1,162,747
Tom Brady (NE)	QB	975,623	Aaron Rodgers (GB)	QB	1,112,979
Philip Rivers (SD)	QB	962,819	Colin Kaepernick (SF)	QB	1,025,735
Jamaal Charles (KC)	HB	1,013,171	Matt Forte (CHI)	HB	1,063,199
C.J. Spiller (BUF)	HB	937,883	Doug Martin (TB)	HB	1,013,361
Chris Johnson (TEN)	HB	863,491	Alfred Morris (WAS)	HB	826,023
Orson Charles (CIN)	FB	25,783	Mike Tolbert (CAR)	FB	50,439
Wes Welker (DEN)	WR	1,663,327	Jordy Nelson (GB)	WR	1,488,059
Julian Edelman (NE)	WR	1,588,491	Marques Colston (NO)	WR	1,337,627
Keenan Allen (SD)	WR	1,325,319	Dez Bryant (DAL)	WR	1,262,755
Reggie Wayne (IND)	WR	1,250,639	Larry Fitzgerald (ARI)	WR	1,225,347
A.J. Green (CIN)	WR	1,237,751	Robert Meachem (NO)	WR	1,213,339
Andre Johnson (HOU)	WR	1,125,635	Anquan Boldin (SF)	WR	1,188,177
Stevie Johnson (BUF)	WR	948,671	DeSean Jackson (PHI)	WR	950,851
Antonio Gates (SD)	TE	751,022	Brandon Pettigrew (DET)	TE	762,945
Julius Thomas (DEN)	TE	713,203	Vernon Davis (SF)	TE	737,947
Dennis Pitta (BAL)	TE	713,201	Jimmy Graham (NO)	TE	700,366
Duane Brown (HOU)	T	700,315	Riley Reiff (DET)	T	862,875
Nate Solder (NE)	T	625,891	Jordan Gross (CAR)	T	750,479
Sebastian Vollmer (NE)	T	600,751	Anthony Davis (SF)	T	600,159
Michael Oher (BAL)	T	575,431	Zach Strief (NO)	T	575,967
Marshal Yanda (BAL)	G	637,755	Larry Warford (DET)	G	700,303
Louis Vasquez (DEN)	G	625,639	Jahri Evans (NO)	G	688,379
Chad Rinehart (SD)	G	563,075	Mike Iupati (SF)	G	688,233
Logan Mankins (NE)	G	550,959	Ben Grubbs (NO)	G	600,879
Nick Hardwick (SD)	C	612,851	Dominic Raiola (DET)	C	750,381
Ryan Wendell (NE)	C	513,331	Brian De La Puente (NO)	C	588,091
AFC Defense	Pos	Votes	NFC Defense	Pos	Votes
Cameron Wake (MIA)	DE	2,037,863	Willie Young (DET)	DE	2,200,479
J.J. Watt (HOU)	DE	1,775,127	Ezekiel Ansah (DET)	DE	1,988,459
Mario Williams (BUF)	DE	1,213,011	Jason Pierre-Paul (NYG)	DE	1,950,367
Quanterus Smith (DEN)	DE	762,851	Calais Campbell (ARI)	DE	1,875,511
Geno Atkins (CIN)	DT	1,725,959	Ndamukong Suh (DET)	DT	2,350,511
Marcell Dareus (BUF)	DT	1,037,867	Nick Fairley (DET)	DT	1,575,511
Sen'Derrick Marks (JAX)	DT	975,813	Henry Melton (CHI)	DT	1,387,698
Melvin Ingram (SD)	OLB	2,762,755	Lavonte David (TB)	OLB	2,737,659
Justin Houston (KC)	OLB	2,713,457	Sean Weatherspoon (ATL)	OLB	2,225,383
Robert Mathis (IND)	OLB	2,175,879	Nick Perry (GB)	OLB	1,725,211
Manny Lawson (BUF)	OLB	1,388,103	Scott Shanle (NYG)	OLB	1,563,342
Derrick Johnson (KC)	MLB	2,838,003	A.J. Hawk (GB)	MLB	2,538,199
Lawrence Timmons (PIT)	MLB	2,812,683	Karlos Dansby (ARI)	MLB	2,462,881
Dee Milliner (NYJ)	CB	1,538,011	Trumaine Johnson (STL)	CB	1,401,021
Corey Graham (BAL)	CB	1,488,522	Casey Hayward (GB)	CB	1,388,395
Kyle Wilson (NYJ)	CB	1,462,987	Janoris Jenkins (STL)	CB	1,350,191
Sean Smith (KC)	CB	1,450,891	Asante Samuel (ATL)	CB	1,300,255
Jairus Byrd (BUF)	FS	2,063,011	Stevie Brown (NYG)	FS	2,513,098
Eric Weddle (SD)	FS	1,788,110	Barry Church (DAL)	FS	1,862,811
Troy Polamalu (PIT)	SS	1,900,221	William Moore (ATL)	SS	1,600,351
James Ihedigbo (BAL)	SS	1,437,723	Quintin Mikell (CAR)	SS	1,475,493
AFC Special Teams	Pos	Votes	NFC Special Teams	Pos	Votes
Justin Tucker (BAL)	K	1,050,710	Steven Hauschka (SEA)	K	1,050,895
Robert Malone (BUF)	P	812,915	Sam Martin (DET)	P	775,823
Josh Cribbs (NYJ)	KR	638,331	Tavon Austin (STL)	KR	575,955