NFL Football at its best. NFL Football at its craziest.
All right, please send comments, but keep in mind this list is not mine. Where are all the Detroit Lions? Okay, that was a joke, but Calvin Johnson better be somewhere on that list or something is wrong.

The top two are easy, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady.

The next two players are less easy to guess, but more a product of the Super Bowl, Ben Roethlisberger and Larry Fitzgerald. Just the fact that the Squibster can even come close to spelling Roethlisberger is a testament to the impact of playing in the Super Bowl.

Ben Roethlisberger is number 3

Number 5 is Adrian Peterson.

5. Adrian Peterson, RB, Minnesota Vikings: A.D. had an incredible sophomore season, tossing the Vikings on his back down the stretch and carrying them to an NFC North title. There’s no player in the league who has greater big-play potential, and he brings that big-play potential 25 times a game. Hands down the best running back in the league, he will be in the MVP conversation over the next decade of his career.

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Oh, and Calvin Johnson, he made number 83 on the list, the lone Lion.

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For those of you that do not follow the Detroit Lions NFL team religiously and that is most of the world, you have to realize that the season for the Lions is fast approaching. The beginning of the season is during the morning of the draft and ends when the draft is over.

The exhibition season is a chance to see how bad all the newcomers are and the regular season is a chance to lose enough games to prepare for the real season, which is draft day, in case you forgot.

This year we plan on drafting Matt Stafford, because, well, because that would be the most fun for draft day. Even if a tackle would ultimately lead to more victories, it is more fun to think of Matt Stafford throwing game winning bombs to Calvin Johnson.

Calvin Johnson was a real victory in the real season of 2007

So when that regular season begins, how will the Lions perform? Will they lose enough games to do well in the real season (you know, draft day. Geez, how many reminders do you need?).

This schedule has 3-13 written all over it – and that’s only if divine intervention kisses the Lions,” writes Sharp. “There’s only one game in which the Lions should even be a slight favorite: at home against St. Louis on Nov. 1. They’re 0-6 before that game.”

You can read the rest of Drew’s article but I’m sending him a bill for ruining my cornflakes.

At least Nicholas J. Cotsonika, the Freep’s Lions beat writer, has broken the schedule down, game by game, this morning, although I’m not sure he’s expecting the Lions to do much better.

“At this point – the low point – the goal is modest,” writes Cotsonika. “It isn’t the Super Bowl. It isn’t the playoffs. It isn’t 8-8 or even something like 6-10. It’s a W.”

Well, from behind the security net of this Web site, I’m predicting an 8-8 year, with a chance of 9-7, and, oh yes, a 3-1 preseason record.

How do you like that, Drew?

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This has turned into a gossip column, instead of a sports report. You know, he said and then she said and then he said back. Well, this time it is more than gossip, it is just a feeling people have about Calvin Johnson.

George Foster, a tackle on the Detroit Lions, told Matt Stafford all about Calvin Johnson. Calvin is awesome. Those are the Squibster’s words not George’s. Calvin caught 78 balls for over 1,300 yards playing for the hapless Lions. They used about 5 different worthless quarterbacks.

Calvin soars to bring down a touchdown against the Bears

So will the Lions agree with George Foster? Read more

NFL Football at its best. NFL Football at its craziest.

Matt Stafford started out of high school as an Elite 11 quarterback in 2005

In Michigan you have choices. You can be a Bears fan, Packers fan, Steelers fan, or a Lions fan. The Bears and Packers are closer than the Lions for a lot of people and the Steelers? Don’t know. It just works that way. Most of us are Lions fans. We are cursed.

Now along comes Matt Stafford. He plays for Georgia or did anyway. Georgia played Michigan State University in a bowl game this year, so we got a one game look at him.

In the first half, he did nothing really. We could not see what all the hub bub was about. Then in the second half he threw some perfect passes. Yes, the word is perfect.

The Lions just lived with Matt Or-lose-sky, One legged Culpepper, the Two Drews’, Jon career backup Kitna, and it seems like somebody else. All of them just chucked the ball up to Calvin Johnson and he made incredible grab after incredible grab.

What if Matt Stafford was drafted by the Lions and threw some perfect passes to Calvin Johnson? What is that in my mouth? Is that saliva? Is drool coming down my chin?

Sure, the Lions need about 20 players out of 22 positions, but wouldn’t it be nice to see a perfect pass or two?
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Calvin Johnson - it is his time to fly!

Who are these Lions?

They lost to the Houston Texans and even though they rallied in the second half, the game was never close. Sure the final score said the Lions were one lucky play away from winning, but the Texans went into a shell to just get the game over.

Detroit keeps in the running for the first pick in the draft with the Cincinnati Bungles. Is this a good thing?

Orlovsky looks Orlovsky-ish. Once in a while a good play, but most of the time clueless.

And please, start featuring Calvin Johnson and not Shaun McDonald. Shaun does not even get a flag when he is mauled, because nobody cares.

This Detroit Lions team needs a face and Calvin is the obvious choice.

It looks like the Lions did not go to Calvin Johnson enough (he caught two passes for 154 yards, including a 96-yard TD bomb), even though the TV commentators kept mentioning he was in single coverage. The good news is that they did not abandon the run early. It kept the offense balanced and led to Kevin Smith’s third-quarter TD run.
• Still, the Lions’ offense lacks an identity. When Roy was around, it was a four-wide mentality (even if that wasn’t really true after Mike Martz’s departure). Now? It seems to be an attempt at balance, but even Houston’s pedestrian defensive front held the Lions’ running game in check.
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Matt Millen destroyed the Detroit Lions. One of his special skills was to pick wide receivers with ultra high draft picks. They are almost all gone, Charles Rodgers, Mike Williams, Roy Williams. Only Calvin Johnson remains out of that group.

Detroit Lions first round pics by picture back to 1985.

There are other Matt Millen 1st rounder’s still with the team. It is actually in day two where Matt Millen and company totally failed.

First rounders that are still with the team in Matt Millen’s eight drafts?
Jeff Backus
Ernie Sims
Calvin Johnson
Gosder Cherilus (not starting)

First rounders that are gone?
Joey Harrington
Charles Rodgers
Roy Williams
Kevin Jones
Mike Williams

Not exactly a stellar group of players considering how high the picks were each year.

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Calvin Johnson and the Lions dream of joining the NBA, where they could compete with the Clippers

Unreal. Simply unreal. The Detroit Lions could not sell out their stadium for the Bears game. The Bears game!

For those of you that do not realize how bad this is, consider the fact that the Bears are sort of the natural rival for the Detroit Lions, except it is hard to be a rival when both teams are usually so bad.

It is a great zoo animal game, Bears and Lions. Can’t they market this thing?

Did you know your intrepid author once flew in a plane from Detroit to Chicago and due to the time change it was actually earlier in the day upon arrival. (Stop sucking on the beer can attached to your Chicago Bears helmet. The plane left at 2 pm EST from Detroit and arrived in Chicago before 2 pm CST.) You sort of go back in time.

So you would expect many rabid Chicago fans to attend the game (We are not sure, because all Bear fans are not tested for rabies.), and many regular Bear fans as well.

Do we need some Calvin Johnson vs. Matt Forte billboards?

This game is important, because Roy Williams is on my Fantasy Football team. Not to mention, the Chicago Bears defense is also on my Fantasy Football team.

You would think that most Lions fans would still be so giddy over the firing of Matt Millen that they would forget the Lions are just plain bad. Maybe Roy Williams needs to predict a victory. Maybe Chicago needs to remember that Rex Grossman is not the quarterback anymore. Well, there is that Kyle Orton thing.

Does not matter. The fact remains that the stadium is not sold out and the NFL wants to help. The NFL has given the Lions a 24 hour extension to sell out the stadium and need only sell 2,000 more tickets.

Yes, even the NFL is admitting that the Lions suck.

The Lions now have until 1 p.m. Friday to reach their goal. The team has sold out every home game since it moved into Ford Field in 2002.

If the game is a sellout, it will be broadcast on Fox (Channel 2 in Detroit) at 1 p.m.
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You think Matt Millen is somewhere smiling?

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Matt Millen sitting with everyone that thought he should keep the job

Hey, hey, hey!

Your intrepid author went home today and told the wife, “Honey, don’t get me anything for Xmas, my present already arrived”. The Detroit Lions owner, William Clay Ford, fired Matt Millen the GM.

Finally there is something to look forward to in the Lions season. Now we can’t quit there. Just keep on firing. Get rid of the entire front office, the coaches, most of the players, maybe even the parking lot attendants. Ok, not the parking lot attendants.

The Lions have not fixed the problem. They have only reset the clock on a process that could take years.

Now they have to hire the right person — or people — to turn around this woebegone franchise. And when you think about the mess Millen leaves behind, you realize how big a job it’s going to be.

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We all came to realize that Matt did not know what he was doing, but did you know Matt did not even live in Michigan? He kept a home in Pennsylvania. Yeah, it was like he was a part time worker with no stake in the outcome.

What was Matt Millen’s record as a General Manager, something like 31 - 84? Is that right? Uhh, that only makes him the worst General Manager of all time in any sport in the history of mankind.

For all the ability Millen had as a multi-Super Bowl winner in his playing career, he was a fraud — a 31-84 record — when it came to building a team.

Millen, a Fox broadcaster when hired, talked a good game. He sounded like the smartest man when he broke down players on TV. He told you who could play and who couldn’t.

What most people missed is that it’s easier to determine the better players once they’re at the pro level. Being able to determine which college players can move to the next level is the hardest job.

Clearly, Millen had no clue.

Worse, he never asked for help
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It will still be a long road with Jon Kitna trying to be quarterback, no offensive or defensive line, Roy Williams and Calvin Johnson hardly getting the ball, Jim Colletto at offensive coordinator, and … need we go on?

And don’t forget the Silver Lining (can you have a silver lining when something good happens?), the Fords cannot hire someone worse than Millen, because that would be physically impossible. Nobody could do a worse job. The next GM automatically has to be an upgrade.

In fact, go get that parking lot attendant, at least he lives in Michigan.

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Michael Turner of the Atlanta Falcons. And where are the Stinkin Lions in this picture?

The Detroit Lions stink.

Maybe this should end right there, but that would tell you nothing, because they always seem to stink. They should be renamed the Detroit Stinkin Lions.

How can they lose to the Atlanta Falcons? Oh, that part is easy; any NFL team can lose to another on their home field. But how do you get blown out by a team with a rookie coach, rookie quarterback, rookie linemen, heck probably a rookie water boy (The falcons water boy out executed the Lions water boy by several sips of water.)

And we hear again and again and again that Marinelli is the guru of defensive linemen. He helped turn Warren Sapp and Simeon Rice into stars. Well, maybe Sapp and Rice turned Marinelli into a star. Because yesterday, Matt Ryan looked awfully comfortable in the pocket the few times he tried to pass. And when the Falcons ran, the inexperienced line mauled the Lions defenders. The clock was already ticking on Marinelli, and yesterday’s game moved the hands forward a little bit.

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Can we call for Matt Millen’s head already? Will Jon Kitna still be our quarterback 10 years from now?

Were there any good parts for the Lions?

Calvin Johnson looked great at receiver.
Kevin Smith looked pretty good for a rookie running back.
Roy Williams had a nice touchdown grab.

What about Atlanta? Are they for real? Well, Matt Ryan had a nice debut at QB, but still only had to throw the ball 13 times. That may never happen again. Michael Turner looked pretty good at running back. Ok, he looked awesome, but it was the Stinkin Lions.

Ryan’s first NFL pass was a 62-yard touchdown. Running back Michael Turner — LaDainian Tomlinson’s understudy in San Diego the past four years — followed with 66- and five-yard touchdowns to give the Falcons a 21-0 lead in the first quarter.

Turner finished with a career-high 220 rushing yards. His career high for a season is 502.

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In two preseason games Calvin Johnson has now posted 7 catches for 154 yards and looked impressive doing it.

Last year Calvin was not healthy and he played with a sore back. This year is different.

Johnson was bothered by a back injury most of his rookie season. Kitna said Johnson never complained about it but admitted in the off-season he was 65-70% after going down in Week 3 at Philadelphia.

“Being 100% is totally different for that guy,” Kitna said. “He’s a freak of nature.”
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Calvin Johnson has size and speed. He also has huge hands that are perfect for a receiver. After being drafted second in the 2007 NFL draft there were high expectations with some analysts saying Calvin could be a Pro Bowler for 10 years in a row.

Here is a YouTube of Calvin Johnson.

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