Don’t believe Lions Kevin Smith is on the bubble
I don’t believe the reports that Detroit Lions RB Kevin Smith is on the bubble at all. Kevin Smith has undergone a devastating knee injury, but one only has to look at Tampa Bay Buccaneers RB Carnell Williams who has torn the patellar tendon twice in his knees to see that Kevin Smith can recover to become a productive back for the Lions once again. Do the Lions really want Maurice Morris backing up Jahvid Best this season? How about keeping Kevin Smith and Aaron Brown and letting Morris go. He’ll be 31 in December.
In 2008, Smith was one of very few bright spots on a Lions team that was the first to go 0-16. I suggest that the Lions retain Aaron Brown who has had 10 carries for 54 yards and had two scores in last weeks game against the Cleveland Browns. But to give up on Smith so soon I think would be a mistake.
Maybe even put him on the PUP list, let him sit another 6 games, and then when he returns cut Morris loose. Personally, I believe Kevin Smith can regain his confidence and his running style and can become a great compliment to Jahvid Best and the Lions running game. He just needs a chance.
He’ll have an opportunity along with the other backs tonight against the Buffalo Bills, a team the Lions will face during the regular season this year. If he shows anything, I suggest the Lions keep him.
Lions make roster moves, Suh under investigation
The Detroit Lions have reached he 5 man roster limit mandated by the league this afternoon by cutting tow players. The Detroit Lions have released OT Tyler Polumbus and the Lions placed CB Jack Williams on the Physically Unable to Perform list.
The Lions just recently claimed Polumbus off waivers less than a week ago from the Denver Broncos.
Well, the NFL league office said they are going to be reviewing DT Ndamukong Suh’s tackle of Cleveland Brown’s quarterback Jake Delhomme this past weekend. Cleveland Brown’s quarterback Seneca Wallace was outspoken early in the week by saying that Suh should be suspended by the league. It is interesting that as the league moves forward towards protecting the quarterback, Suh simply received a 15 yard penalty in the game in a situation where it appeared Suh was ready to twist off Delhomme’s head like he was opening a jar of mayonnaise.
Suh had said after the game that he was not harboring any anger towards Delhomme and was unaware that he no longer was holding the ball. I love an aggressive ball player, but you’ve got to watch plays like that. I believe in the regular season, that play would have drawn a suspension, especially against a high profile quarterback.
Lions offense appears ready, how much does Suh get fined?
The Detroit Lions defeated the Cleveland Browns on Saturday 35-27 and the offense appears ready for the start of the season, but you have to wonder what the fine will be on DT Ndamukong Suh after he tried to remove Cleveland Browns QB Jake Delhommes head. Any way you look at it thought, the Detroit Lions offense with Matthew Stafford, Calvin Johnson and Jahvid Best are going to make the Lions a potent offensive team this season.
It appears that Matthew Stafford has perfected the fade pass to the back of the endzone, as he connected early on with the other Johnson, Bryant for a 7 yard score. The Lion’s first drive was impressive, three first downs, and a score in under 1 minute 30 seconds. The drive was highlighted by a nifty 51 yard scamper by rookie RB Jahvid Best. That run was all the Lion’s coaches needed to see and he was removed for the rest of the game. Stafford finished the game with a 120.0 passer rating.
The Lions made the most of their offensive chances despite the Browns controlling the ball for most of the game. The Browns ran 76 plays compared to the Lions 59.
The Lions defensively gave up 414 total yards, but they did manage to recover 3 fumbles and score on one recovery. Just be patient with this group. I know Lions fans are not wanting to hear, be patient after the lost decade of the Matt Millen regime, but the Lions have added several veteran free agents and sprinkled in some new players through the draft, it will take some time for this unit to work cohesively.
DT Ndamukong Suh should be receiving some sort of fine this week for his tackle on Browns QB Jake Delhomme. I appreciate aggressive defense but you have to admit that Suh was over the top on the tackle. He grabbed Delhomme’s facemask and then tried to remove Delhomme’s head like he was opening a jar of pickles. Suh said recently that the quarterback he’d like the most to sack is Brett Favre. If he hits Favre like that, Favre might not be getting up.
The good news is though, this will be a fun offense to watch this year. It will be interesting to watch Matthew Stafford, Calvin Johnson and Jahvid Best all mature as players over the next few years. Head coach Jim Schwartz is laying the ground work here for some good things to happen with the Lions, just be patient.
Detroit Lions likely to have open roster spot
The Detroit Lions have acknowledged that DE Jared DeVries has undergone knee surgery and is likely gone for the season which would open up a roster spot. The most likely move for the Detroit Lions would be placing DeVries on the injured reserve list. DeVries has been plagued with injuries the past few seasons, tearing his Achilles tendon prior to the start of last season, and hasn’t participated in live action football since the 2008 season.This is according to Tom Kowalski of Mlive.com
However, there is a completely contradictory story from the Detroit Free Press, which states DeVries did in fact have arthroscopic knee surgery in Atlanta. DeVries agent, Mark Bartelstein claims that all went well with the surgery and that DeVries looks to play this season.
So I guess the underlying factor here is whether or not DeVries actually can return this season and how much time he would be missing in the regular season. There is always the possibility of placing him on the PUP list, whereby he could return after the 6th week.
Would you walk a mile to watch the Detroit Lions?
Would you walk a mile to watch the Detroit Lions? No? How about 425? Yes, you read that correctly, 425 miles. There is a new sense of optimism surrounding the Detroit Lions heading into 2010, so much so that 63 year old Joe Paquette Jr decided to bring his personal message to the Lions after hiking 425 miles from his home in the Upper Peninsula.
Pacquette brought a message for the Lions, Sisu. “It means perseverance and being able to bounce back from a difficult situation, which we all know the Lions are in. I said that’s what the Lions need, they need Sisu. But how do you get it down there? Do you send them a letter that ends up in the waste basket?” Paquette told the Detroit News.
Lions head coach Jim Schwartz was amuzed by Paquette’s actions “We’ve had a long training camp and it was nice to see someone who had as long a training camp as we did. Football is a game that’s meant to be played with emotion and you need to have some excitement and Joe brought some excitement. Lions fans never cease to amaze me”
I guess we’ll see how much Sisu Paquette has brought to the Lions when they visit Chicago on September 12th.
