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Detroit Lions News

Stafford confident but avoids bold predictions in ESPN interview
February 11
Detroit News
 
"Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford didn't take the bait Friday when ESPN "SportsCenter" anchor Chris McKendry asked him for a 2012 season prediction. "One and done in the playoffs or are you going farther?" asked McKendry, who appeared to be fishing for a bold prediction. "Hopefully, we're going farther," Stafford said, grinning. "It's no fun to go one and done, that's for sure." The Lions finished the 2011 regular season with a 10-6 record before a playoff loss to the Saints in New Orleans. Stafford's in-studio ESPN appearance occurred less than a week after he visited Indianapolis for the Super Bowl and received the Associated Press's NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award. Stafford"
Lions QB Matthew Stafford's national popularity skyrocketing
February 10
Detroit Free Press
 
"Life has changed quite a bit for quarterback Matthew Stafford the past 12 months. Coming off a breakout 5,000-yard season and the Lions' first playoff appearance in 12 years, Stafford rarely gets asked questions about his shoulder anymore, which is a good thing. And he's much more in demand, which has its ups and downs. Stafford spent a few days at the Super Bowl last week, conducting radio and TV interviews on behalf of DirecTV, signing autographs for Courtyard hotels and walking red-carpet events with the help of Van Heusen menswear."
Cliff Avril is top priority for Lions
February 10
Detroit Free Press
 
"The Super Bowl may have just come and gone, but you know the NFL season is really never over. No, there aren't any games scheduled for a while, but there's now plenty of time to discuss how the Lions can improve their roster and make a return trip to the playoffs (at least). Across the Internet, writers are chiming in on what should be on the Lions' priority list this off-season, and it looks like the consensus swirls around one guy: defensive end Cliff Avril."
Lions finish ninth in NFL power poll -- thanks to No. 9
February 9
Detroit Free Press
 
"Fittingly, the Lions finished No. 9 in the final power poll conducted by the NFL's website. Of course, the Lions' own No. 9, quarterback Matthew Stafford, deserves a lion's share of credit for that ranking in the poll released Tuesday. A panel of nine NFL.com and NFL Network analysts and contributors voted in the poll. The Super Bowl champion New York Giants finished first."
Lions' Ndamukong Suh among most disliked athletes, poll shows
February 8
Detroit News
 
"Ndamukong Suh's image is getting stomped on again. The Lions' star defensive tackle ranks fourth among the most disliked athletes in the United States, according to Forbes magazine. The publication said the ranking is the result of surveys conducted by Nielsen and E-Poll Market Research. The magazine said Suh was the most liked player in the NFL just four months ago, according to a Nielsen-E-Poll survey, but took a hit following his infamous stomp of Green Bay offensive lineman Evan Dietrich-Smith's arm on Thanksgiving."
Lions' architects following a super blueprint for success
February 7
Detroit Free Press
 columnist Dave Birkett
"Tom Lewand did his usual drive-by at the Super Bowl this year. He showed his face at a few league functions, made small talk over a couple of meals, and by the time the Giants and Patriots kicked off Super Bowl XLVI on Sunday night, the Lions' president was back home, far from the spectacle of the game. "For me, it's always a reminder that we're one of the 30 teams that isn't here, and that's not what we aspire to," Lewand explained of his annual pilgrimage home before kickoff. "I used to come down to Super Bowls with Roger Penske before we hosted because Roger was our chair of the host committee and Roger would always wonder why I left on Saturday night or Sunday morning, 'What are you"
Lions' offensive line needs work this off-season
February 7
Detroit Free Press
 
"The Lions gave up 90 points in their last two games, losses to the Packers and Saints, and didn't force a punt in their playoff trip to New Orleans. But NFL Network analyst Michael Lombardi said to take another step in the playoffs next season, the Lions need to upgrade their offense this off-season. "They've got to rebuild their offensive line," said Lombardi, a longtime NFL front-office executive who spent three seasons with the Lions coach Jim Schwartz in Cleveland. "They can't ever get control of the game because they never can get control of the offensive line. "Whether it's a new left tackle, moving (Jeff) Backus in to guard, getting a better right tackle, they never can get control"
Lions' Matthew Stafford, Louis Delmas, Gosder Cherilus get raises
February 6
Detroit Free Press
 
"At least three Detroit Lions will receive a bump in base pay next year, after triggering contract escalators, according to NFL Players Association records. Quarterback Matthew Stafford is the biggest winner, with his base salary rising $1 million, to $11.5 million. Stafford's 2013 salary also increased $500,000, to $12 million. According to Brian McIntyre of Mac's Football Blog and Football Outsiders, Stafford's contract called for the bump in pay because he ranked in the top five in at least one predetermined passing category. Safety Louis Delmas, a 2009 draft pick like Stafford, triggered an unknown escalator that increases his base pay to just over $937,000, from $822,000, and right"
New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick a big help to Lions' Jim Schwartz
February 5
Detroit Free Press
 
"Aaron Lavarias' brief NFL career has taken him from the practice squad of the Patriots to the Lions back to New England. And one thing that struck Lavarias, a rookie outside linebacker/defensive end who'll win a Super Bowl ring if the Patriots beat the Giants today, was how alike Lions coach Jim Schwartz and Patriots coach Bill Belichick are. "That's one of the first things I noticed when I came to Detroit is how similar the atmosphere was," Lavarias said. "The schedules are really alike, the way that they conduct their practices and meetings, things like that. You can tell that Coach Schwartz worked with Coach Belichick because they're both really intense, obviously.""
NFL prospers under the leadership of Roger Goodell
February 5
Detroit News
 columnist Jerry Green
"The speakers blasted out "The Theme From Star Wars," filling the entire hotel ballroom. "Hail To The Chief" would have been more appropriate. The most powerful man in American sports walked in. He stepped onto the stage as large as an airfield and strode to the lectern. A hundred or more television cameras traced his steps. Then he worked the crowd. Solo. His name is Roger Goodell. He is commissioner of the NFL, and he appeared smug and satisfied. His league, after pretty much winning a nasty, bitter labor war, has settled on labor peace for the next decade. It is, according to Goodell, leading a national effort in the study and prevention of concussions. Its in-house NFL Network has plans"
Matthew Stafford OK without comeback player of year award
February 4
Detroit Free Press
 
"It'd be nice to win comeback player of the year when the award is announced tonight, but Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford won't be too heartbroken if the voting doesn't go his way. "If I win it, it's great," Stafford said Friday between appearances on radio row at the Super Bowl. "If I don't, I'm not going to be all torn about it. Hopefully don't have a chance to win it ever again. Hopefully I'm not coming back from anything." Stafford played 16 regular-season games this season for the first time, bouncing back from 2011 shoulder surgery to become the fourth quarterback in NFL history to throw for 5,000 yards. He led the Lions to 10 wins and the playoffs, and set franchise single-season"
Stafford: 'We're close' to reaching Super Bowl
February 4
Detroit News
 
"Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford is a finalist for the NFL's comeback player of the year award and he's not entirely sure how to feel about that. "If I win it, great, if I don't, I am not going to be all torn up about it," he said Friday, as he made some 30 stops along radio row at the site of Sunday's Super Bowl. "Hopefully, I don't have a chance to win it ever again. I hope I am not coming back from anything." The NFL awards show is Saturday night, but if he had his druthers, Stafford would rather trade places with Tom Brady or Eli Manning. "Yeah, you want to be playing in the game and not be busy walking around radio row, that's for sure," he said. "But we took a good step forward"
NFL expands Thursday schedule
February 4
New York Post
 
"Are you ready for a lot more prime-time football? NFL commissioner Roger Goodell used his annual Super Bowl news conference yesterday to reveal the league is dramatically expanding the Thursday night package on its own network starting this fall. In what appeared to be a way to up the pressure in its long-running dispute with Time Warner Cable and Cablevision over New York-area carriage of the NFL Network, the league said that channel will now show Thursday games from Week 2 through Week 15. The NFL Network previously broadcast Thursday games the final eight weeks of the season, but Goodell said the expansion resulted from a desire to guarantee every team in the league at least one"
Lions' coach Jim Schwartz: 'Things are crazy in the NFL'
February 3
Detroit Free Press
 
"Lions coach Jim Schwartz bounced around radio row Thursday hawking an energy drink and re-enacting his October handshake with 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh. Quarterback Matthew Stafford was just down the street, representing a hotel chain and satellite TV. Defensive end Cliff Avril, receiver Titus Young and running back Mikel Leshoure made their way to Indy, too. The Lions, it seems, are everywhere at the Super Bowl this year -- except in the game."
Lions' Jim Schwartz won't discuss contract but defends Ndamukong Suh
February 3
Detroit News
 
"Lions coach Jim Schwartz didn't create quite the buzz on radio row Thursday that Tim Tebow did — no other celebrity did, either, not even Jay Mohr or Larry Fitzgerald — but he came close. Schwartz was scheduled to make about 15 stops, and just about every one started him off with the same joke — a takeoff on his handshake issues with 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh this season. The host on the San Francisco station asked to shake his hand and then made a big deal about how Harbaugh was wrong, that Schwartz's grip wasn't too strong."
Goodell: If NFL expands, it'll add two more teams
February 3
CBSSports.com
 
"It's no secret the NFL wants to expand to Los Angeles. And while so much of the attention has been focused on which franchise would relocate to L.A. -- whether it's the Chargers, Vikings, Jaguars or Rams -- we haven't discussed much the possibility of the NFL expanding. Apparently, that's an option. Commissioner Roger Goodell said Thursday on Costas Live on the NBC Sports Network that if the league places a team in L.A., the NFL probably would add two more franchises to make it an even 34. Goodell said the league "doesn't want to move any of our teams" and "we probably don't want to go to 33" if the NFL decides expansion is a good choice."
Cliff Avril doesn't want Lions to use franchise tag on him
February 1
Detroit Free Press
 
"Martin Mayhew didn't use the franchise tag in his first three off-seasons as Detroit Lions general manager, and defensive end Cliff Avril doesn't want him to start now. "I definitely don't want to be franchised," Avril said today, during a visit to the Super Bowl. "I mean, I've been in Detroit for four years, and I wouldn't mind being there for another couple more years or whatnot. The franchise tag kind of makes it a yearly thing, and you want security. You want to know you're going to be there for a couple years so your family can get comfortable." Avril will be an unrestricted free agent next month and one of the top pass rushers available if he and the Lions don't agree on a long-term"
Lions' Cliff Avril says he would love to stay
February 1
Detroit Free Press
 
"With the Super Bowl hoopla in full swing, is it crazy to dare to imagine the Lions being in the game next year? "Is it crazy to think that?" defensive end Cliff Avril said Tuesday on "The Huge Show," a radio show heard across Michigan. "No, not at all. Definitely possible. ... I definitely think we can make it happen, as long as we can go out there and work harder than we did last year and not make the same mistakes, I think everything will be all right. And we'll make it there.""
Lions' Ndamukong Suh says 'I would never hurt somebody'
January 31
Detroit Free Press
 
"ESPN is hyping its sit-down interview with Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh on Tuesday night. Here is a preview clip of "Face-to-Face with Hannah Storm" that has been airing on the Worldwide Leader today: Asked about accusations that he tries to hurt people on the field, Suh said, "I see it as I would never hurt somebody, because why would I want somebody to hurt me? You're taking somebody's livelihood away, their opportunity to fend for their family and grow. For somebody to say that, it's kind of outrageous.""
Lions fan accused of threatening to blow up Superdome expresses regret
January 31
Detroit News
 
"A Detroit Lions fan threatened to blow up the Superdome during the team's Jan. 7 playoff loss to the New Orleans Saints, according to federal court records. Jackson resident Shawn Payton called in bomb threats after the Lions fell behind in the playoff game, according to an FBI agent's affidavit filed in a Louisiana federal court. "Hi, I want you to relay a message to the sideline, if your stupid Southern team keeps winning, there will be reper… severe consequences, OK?" Payton, 34, told a Superdome employee, according to court records. During a second call, the caller threatened: "I will blow up your building." According to court records, investigators traced the calls to Payton. He"
Lions need to give Matthew Stafford tools for Super Bowl title
January 30
Detroit Free Press
 columnist Drew SHarp
"The star voltage in Detroit sports right now is blinding. With Prince Fielder and Miguel Cabrera crowding the spotlight the past few days, it's easy forgetting that the Tigers are also home to that rarest of baseball double plays -- the reigning American League Most Valuable Player and Cy Young Award winner, Justin Verlander. The Red Wings are ... well, once again, the Wings. Matthew Stafford is the best under-25 quarterback in the NFL. Wide receiver Calvin Johnson is wondering what model of Brinks truck he'll motor around in considering he and the Lions are in the process of negotiating a contract extension that should make Johnson the highest paid non-quarterback in the NFL."
New era for NFL OTAs starts in April
January 29
Detroit Free Press
 
"The Lions are scheduled to begin their off-season program April 16, about a month later than organized team workouts would have resumed under the old collective bargaining agreement. It's only a month, but ... "That's a long time," guard Rob Sims said. "They can hurt you in a month." Under the new CBA, off-season programs have been scaled back five weeks, and organized team activities have been reduced from 14 to 10. Teams are now allowed to have nine consecutive weeks of off-season workouts, with the first two weeks limited to strength and conditioning and the final four weeks designated for OTAs and a three-day mandatory veteran minicamp."
Super tired of the Super Bowl already
January 29
Detroit News
 
"Shelby Strother, the late, great Detroit News columnist, once wrote about a leper colony while covering Super Bowl week in New Orleans in 1990. I wonder if there are any leper colonies in Indianapolis. Strother was a remarkable writer and one of the all-time characters our business has ever known. He was also a mentor to many of us veterans who are still around. He has been on my mind plenty as I try to muster some enthusiasm for the week ahead in Indy. Strother hated pack journalism back then; I can't imagine the depths of his loathing now, with what Super Bowl week has become. The game is still a week away and already every major angle has been dissected and inspected for a full week."
Detroit Lions interview Boise State running back Doug Martin at Senior Bowl
January 29
Michigan Live
 
"Boise State running back Doug Martin walked into a meeting with the Detroit Lions' coaching staff and had a rare feeling of nervousness. "They had everybody there," Martin said. "I came in with a little butterflies. It's kind of intimidating when you have all the guys around there looking at you and writing stuff down. I think it went really well. They are great people." Martin could potentially become a great running back in Detroit."
Lions reportedly unsure if Best will be able to play again
January 29
NFL.com
 
"The sad saga of Detroit Lions running back Jahvid Best's attempt to return from a concussion that ended his 2011 doesn't appear to be over. Best missed most of the season following an Oct. 16 loss to the San Francisco 49ers and was bothered by post-concussion problems the rest of the season. But Best, who also suffered a concussion during the preseason and had a scary head injury while at the University of California, Berkeley, told the Detroit Free Press earlier this month that he's symptom free and "definitely" will be back next season. The feeling from within the Lions appears to be quite different. Multiple people within the organization are concerned the second-year running back"
Lions long snapper Don Muhlbach among free agents
January 28
Detroit Free Press
 
"The Lions have plenty of major free-agent decisions to make this off-season, and most center on Cliff Avril, Jeff Backus, Stephen Tulloch and Eric Wright. One that's under the radar is long snapper Don Muhlbach? After eight mostly anonymous seasons, Muhlbach will be an unrestricted free agent in March. He changed agents this past fall, leaving Jordan Solomon for David Dunn, and said he wants to re-sign with the only team he has known. "This is a great place, and I'd love to be here," Muhlbach said a day after the season ended. "But just let the guys that figure it out figure it out." Muhlbach would appear to be in the team's near-term plans. He's dependable, has a good rapport with kicker"
Bill Ford Jr. wouldn't trade Matthew Stafford for any QB, he tells website
January 27
Detroit News
 
"Lions vice chairman Bill Ford Jr. told the team website that he wouldn't trade quarterback Matthew Stafford "for any quarterback in the league," and he also said it was important to get receiver Calvin Johnson signed long-term. He made those comments in a long, sweeping interview the website is running in three parts. In Stafford, Ford said the team did as coach Jim Schwartz vowed to do — they finally replaced Bobby Layne."
Calvin Johnson, Justin Verlander make list of most powerful athletes
January 27
Detroit Free Press
 
"So who's the king of Detroit sports? Bloomberg Businessweek, the Horrow Sports Ventures and CSE, a marketing agency, have combined to compile and interesting list. They've come up with the 100 most powerful athletes in sports. Now, what does powerful mean? The panel took into account not just the prowess on the field of play, but an athlete's ability appeal, influence and popularity. So, with that in mind, the highest-ranking local athlete is Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson at No. 10. He's just ahead of golfers Luke Donald (11) and some guy named Tiger Woods (12). A further down the list is Tigers first, er, third baseman Miguel Cabrera at 38th. Lions QB Matthew Stafford is at No. 43."
Lions' Johnny Culbreath pays fine for marijuana possession
January 26
Detroit News
 
"Offensive tackle Johnny Culbreath, the Lions' seventh-round draft pick in 2011, was charged with simple possession of marijuana in Orangeburg County, S.C., according to a report. The Times and Democrat of Orangeburg says Culbreath paid a $412 fine Monday to end the case."
Lions penalties, personal fouls don't trouble GM Martin Mayhew
January 24
Detroit Free Press
 
"The Lions finished third in the NFL in penalties and led the league in personal fouls this past season, but general manager Martin Mayhew said this month that doesn't think his team has a discipline problem. "Maybe I'm by myself on that," Mayhew said. "I think we had a problem in that particular game, in the Saints game. I think it was addressed appropriately by Jim (Schwartz) and by some of the leaders on our team, and after that we didn't really have a problem. I don't know if that's really an issue."
Lions WR Calvin Johnson expects to have extension talks 'soon'
January 24
Detroit News
 
"Lions receiver Calvin Johnson has a year left on his contract, but sounded Monday night in an ESPN interview that he's interested in signing an extension with the team this offseason. "Yeah, definitely, we're going to see here — soon," Johnson told ESPN's Jim Rome during an appearance on "Rome is Burning." "We're going to have some talks soon, and hopefully get things rolling." Johnson declined to say in the interview if he would prefer to resign with the Lions or go elsewhere. But Johnson didn't look or sound like he's eager to leave Detroit when Rome asked about his future."
Lions DT Ndamukong Suh tough enough to play in any NFL era
January 24
Detroit News
 
"ESPN kicked off its "NFL Any Era" project Monday, revealing the first four current players to make the cut. And Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh made it, coming it at No. 18. ESPN brought together 20 members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, who then were charged with coming up with 20 current NFL stars "who would have thrived in the years before television helped make football a secular religion and the nation's favorite pastime.""
Lions kicker Jason Hanson ready to fight for his job, again
January 23
Detroit Free Press
 
"Lions kicker Jason Hanson has been in the NFL too long to mince words. Hanson just completed his 20th season and tells it like it is when discussing the competition he expects for his job next season. "I think the days of not having competition are over, because I'm old and they're probably always wondering when's the day when he falls to the ground," Hanson said. "Not going to happen. And competition's good. Unless you're 30 of 31 (on field goals), then I don't think you get the freebie. But I feel like I can kick as well as anybody if I'm healthy. And I was, and I will be.""
Roar at Ford Field caused Lions' opponents to jump the count
January 22
Detroit Free Press
 
"If you're a Lions fan and attended a game at Ford Field this season, give yourself a pat on the back. Go ahead. You earned it. Simply put, you were the best. Ford Field fans helped the Lions lead the NFL in most false-start penalties by opponents in home games. According to STATS LLC, the Lions led the league in that category with 22. Arizona was second with 21. Kansas City holds the single-season record with 32 in 1999, according to STATS. Not only was the Lions' tally impressive, it also blew away their 2010 season total of 11, which tied for seventh most in the NFL."
With lots of RBs, Kevin Smith's future with Lions up in air
January 21
Detroit Free Press
 
"As the Lions headed into the off-season, free-agent running back Kevin Smith was not sure about where his path would lead. Smith made a valuable contribution this season. He had a career-high 4.9-yard rushing average and had three solid games, including a 140-yard day against Carolina, after signing off the street in the middle of the season. But Smith struggled with a high-ankle sprain and saw his production wane in the final few games. That, plus four running backs still under contract with the Lions -- Jahvid Best, Mikel Leshoure, Keiland Williams and Joique Bell -- makes his situation sticky in Detroit. "I'll let my agent handle that," Smith said. "I would love to be here. This is all"
Lions still high on Nick Fairley
January 20
Detroit Free Press
 
"Nick Fairley had a disappointing rookie season by any measure. He had one sack, missed six games and wasn't always a factor when he was on the field. But Fairley's lack of production, brought on by a training-camp foot injury, hasn't done anything to sour the Lions on his future. "I've had a lot of experience with guys who have had broken feet and screws put in and things like that, they've had the same experience," Lions coach Jim Schwartz said last week. "It probably won't be for a few months now in the off-season of rest before that thing will be in his rearview mirror. But I think we also saw enough when he was healthy to know that we have a really good player there and a guy that can"
Lions should have reacted to Suh's 'borderline plays,' Mayhew says
January 19
Detroit News
 
"Lions general manager Martin Mayhew says there were a couple warning signs early in the season that defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh might have trouble controlling his emotions during games. But Mayhew, appearing on 790 The Zone sports talk radio show in Atlanta, added that he is confident Suh has overcome his issues. "Early on he had a couple borderline plays, and looking back on it probably not enough people talked to him in those situations," Mayhew said during the interview."
Lions backup QBs might change with Matthew Stafford healthy
January 18
Detroit Free Press
 
"The Lions were one of 14 teams that carried three quarterbacks all season, and one of five -- the Colts, Jets, 49ers and Panthers were the others, according to Stats LLC -- who never dressed their third quarterback on game day. But general manager Martin Mayhew said he liked having three QBs on his roster and was still evaluating whether to carry that many next season. "You make those decisions probably in August, when we start putting our roster together trying to find the best 53," Mayhew said last week. "If that third quarterback is one of the best 53, then we'll probably keep three.""
Lions' odds to win next season's Super Bowl are 20-1
January 18
Detroit News
 
"The Lions took a big step toward the Super Bowl this season by winning 10 games and making the playoffs for the first time since 1999. How close are they to actually winning the whole thing? Their odds are 20-1 for next season, according to the Las Vegas Hilton, which has released Super Bowl odds for the 2012 season."
Playoffs showcase Browns' lack of big-play tight end
January 17
Akron Beacon Journal
 columnist Marla Ridenour
"After sitting through the better part of four NFL divisional playoff games last weekend, I came away with a serious case of tight end envy. That's in the football sense, mind you, not in the heart's aflutter sense. Watching the game-changing abilities of San Francisco's Vernon Davis, New England's Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez and New Orleans' Jimmy Graham and what happened to Green Bay when Jermichael Finley was no factor struck me on two fronts. One was the Browns' lack of a big-play threat in the same class of these players, even with depth at the position. The other was how tight ends have become a focal point of teams that pile up points."
Lions' recovery is a big hit with Eminem, too
January 17
Detroit Free Press
 columnist Steve Schrader
"We knew Kid Rock liked Detroit sports -- and cigars -- but who knew Eminem was into the Lions, too? He gushes about them in a sports interview with GQ. "Oh, my God, it's incredible," Em said. "It's so (darn) exciting. We've got pieces, man. We just need a few more things. We need to spend a few of our draft picks getting better in the secondary. Delmas is ill. Our defensive line is awesome. We get Mikel LeShoure and Jahvid Best back next year, too. We've got bona fide stars. It feels good to finally root for a team that's headed in the right direction. "(Golly), man, if you look at Stafford -- this was his first full season. 5,000 yards! He did some incredible (stuff), and I can't grasp"
Lions' Matthew Stafford wins comeback-player-of-the-year award
January 17
Detroit Free Press
 
"Matthew Stafford finished his first two NFL seasons on injured reserve. In his third, he led the Detroit Lions to the playoffs for the first time in 12 years and became just the fourth quarterback in NFL history to throw for 5,000 yards. Stafford was rewarded for his bounce-back year today by being named Pro Football Weekly/Professional Football Writers Association comeback player of the year. He's also a favorite for the Associated Press award, the one officially recognized by the NFL and handed out on Super Bowl eve."
Lions' Calvin Johnson, Matthew Stafford earn Pro Football Weekly honors
January 17
Detroit News
 
"Lions receiver Calvin Johnson has been named to the All-NFL Team by Pro Football Weekly and the Professional Football Writers of America. Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford was named Comeback Player of the Year. Johnson was named to the Pro Bowl after catching 96 passes for 1,681 yards and 16 TDs. Stafford, limited to just 13 games during his first two seasons, started all 16 games in 2011. He completed 421 of 663 passes for 5,038 yards and 41 TDs. Johnson and Stafford led the Lions to 10 regular-season wins and their first playoff appearance since 1999."
Jason Hanson revels in Lions' rebound
January 16
Detroit Free Press
 
"Kicker Jason Hanson had to wait a little more than half of his career for the Lions to return to the playoffs. But his patience was rewarded with a dramatic season he thinks is the start of something big. "I kind of started saying during the season, 'We're good, and we're going to find out how good.' We're pretty good, but it's not good enough, and I think everybody feels that way. "So it was a good start after all we've been through, and you feel like there's a foundation there that we're going to be a team in the coming years that's going to stay like this. But, as we said this year, you have to prove it and so, here we go. Take a deep breath and another off-season of trying to get"
Lions' Ndamukong Suh chats with CBS
January 16
Detroit News
 
"Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh was a special halftime guest Sunday on CBS for "The NFL Today." Among the topics Suh addressed was his Thanksgiving Day stomp on Packers guard Evan Dietrich-Smith, saying he had a "great conversation" with Dietrich-Smith."
Goodell: NFL to consider some full-time officials
January 16
Chicago Tribune
 
"Aiming to ensure NFL rules are enforced the same way from game to game, the league will consider making about 10 officials full-time employees next season. As of now, all game officials are part-time employees. Responding to a question about consistency in officiating while speaking to a group of about 75 fans before Sunday's playoff game between the Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the proposal would bring a group of officials to the league offices in New York to help review game films and evaluate the calls. They then would be spread out among the crews at games."
Fears of losing Calvin Johnson compelled Lions to stop losing
January 15
Detroit Free Press
 
"Maybe Calvin Johnson deserves more credit for the Lions' turnaround than anyone realizes. After all, it was the Lions' superstar receiver whose saber rattling 13 months ago apparently spurred the Lions to a nine-game winning streak and the playoffs this season. On Dec. 9, 2010, fresh off the Lions' fifth straight defeat of the '10 season, Johnson went on his weekly radio appearance on WXYT-FM (97.1) and said: "I've been used to winning. And if this thing can't get turned around, man, like I said -- I'm just going to leave it at I can't get used to it. I want to win." The Lions must have felt like Metropolis residents hearing Superman was packing his bags. Johnson downplayed his comments a"
Lions' report card: Season of progress raises expectations, respect
January 15
Detroit Free Press
 
"They were one of the surprise teams of the NFL this season, but the Lions didn't exceed everyone's expectations. In August, a week or so into training camp, general manager Martin Mayhew said the team was at the point in its rebuilding process "where we expect to challenge for our division." "That's what most good teams expect to do," Mayhew said. You can quibble over whether the Lions were ever really in the NFC North race. The Packers were the best team in the NFL all regular season. They won 15 games, beat the Lions twice and looked most of the season like they would go undefeated. But, for the first time in more than a decade, the Lions were a good team. They won 10 games, one of nine"
Lions defense made big plays - but more needed
January 15
Detroit News
 
"You don't overreact to a couple of games. That's what the "old" Lions would do. Give up 45 points in each of the last two games and start blowing things up — fire the coordinator, fire the position coach, overhaul the system and the roster. Martin Mayhew and Jim Schwartz are smarter than that. They have brought this defense too far to start over now. Their evaluation will be based on 17 games, not two. The good that was done in the first half of the season will be processed along with the ugliness of the final two games. As they deconstruct the 2011 season they will absolutely red-flag the final nine games where the defense gave up an average 31.6 points after the bye week."