Drew Stanton: Alive and Well

Just two years ago, Drew Stanton was the home-grown potential savior of the Detroit Lions franchise. The former Michigan State standout, waiting in the wings.

Now, it seems, he's more like the Star Trek extra; everyone wonders whether or not he'll survive through the opening credits, but doesn't necessarily care.

Yesterday (or Monday, for you sporadic readers), Stanton showed signs of life: updating his blog and refusing to mention at all his deathgrip on relevancy. Aptly titled "Football is Fun Again," he generalized his camp experience and had a few encouraging remarks about the new football staff.

"This year is my year to prove myself, and I take that approach every day I step foot on the practice field. I go out with the mindset of completing every pass and learning every single day. There are times I might not be the one taking the actual repetition, but I am getting that rep mentally."

Added Stanton later: "At this level it is truly a chess match, and I feel as if we have all the tools on our team to win every match we are in ... I honestly believe we have many more pieces around here than in my two years past, so the reason for optimism is there and real. It all starts with Coach Schwartz, ... . He values our time, which is tremendous, and gets us off our feet when needed."

But Stanton's diminished significance is due primarily to the position he plays, rather than his actual play. He has had a strong training camp while the focus has centered around the battle between Daunte Culpepper and super rookie Matthew Stafford.

DISCUSS MORE LIONS FOOTBALL IN THE DEN MESSAGE BOARD

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New Shaun at DT says Old Shaun at DT would like to return

Remember those rumors that former Lions DT Shaun Rogers wanted to return to Motown? Tom Kowalski at MLive.com reports that they're true, according to Rogers' former Cleveland Browns teammate and new Lions DT Shaun Smith.

"That's my best friend and he wishes he could come back here now. He misses it," Smith said after the Lions' morning workout. "You've been somewhere your whole career and you have some good times and you see the talent they're bringing in - (Larry) Foote, (Julian) Peterson and (Phillip) Buchanon - the defense is better now. They've got some quality veterans who can play and there are some young guys with potential.

"He said the people in the building were good and the people in the locker room were good. Just happy to be in the NFC and play ball. It's fun playing in the NFC."

Lions fans remember Rogers as the team's best defensive player in recent seasons. They also, however, remember a player who sometimes had attitude issues, who seemed to take plays off and took whole series off on the sidelines, huffing and puffing. Still, in balance, memories of a Pro Bowl-calibre player outweigh the negatives.

There's not much likelihood of the prodigal son returning, however. Rogers is settling in with the Browns. Still, it's nice to hear of players wanting to come, or come back, to Detroit -- particularly when they're citing an improved defensive corps as one of the attractions.

Talk about it in The Den!

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Lions to "shut down" Bullocks

Lions S Daniel Bullocks just can't seem to shake his injury troubles.

Tom Kowalski at MLive.com reports that what Lions Coach Jim Schwartz had to say about Bullocks wasn't really specific, but wasn't really good, either:

"We're going to shut him down for a little while and then sort of take it slow again with an eye toward with getting him back on the field," Schwartz said. "He's not day-to-day, he's a little bit longer than that, but I'd like to get him back on the field sooner rather than later."

Since a major right knee injury in a preseason game in 2007, Bullocks has had trouble with the knee, Killer reports.

Schwartz is not planning to move on without Bullocks at this point, but acknowledged that "every day he misses, he's missing things and he's getting a little bit farther behind," according to Killer's article.

Obviously you hope for the best for Bullocks, but unfortunately, there's nothing to indicate more rest in the preseason is going to help his knee. This has been going on for years now. Marquand Manuel, Stuart Schweigert or Kalvin Pearson will likely need to step up on the other side of Louis Delmas.

Discuss in The Den.

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Update: DeVries out for year with achilles tendon injury

The Detroit Lions' worst fears were confirmed as veteran defensive end Jared DeVries suffered a season-ending injury to his Achilles's tendon today at practice, Tom Kowalski at MLive.com reports.

Denizen Wildcat67, looking for a silver lining, likes the idea of DeWayne White at left defensive end, Cliff Avril getting more snaps at right defensive end, and Ikaika Alama-Francis getting more snaps in general.

Martin Mayhew will no doubt be looking for help. Fortunately it's early enough to find some.

Join the conversation here in The Den.

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Former Browns DL Shaun Smith Visits Detroit; DeVries hurt

Looking to shore up a questionable defensive line, the Detroit Lions invited recently cut Browns' defensive lineman Shaun Smith for a physical on Monday.

Smith, who also played nose tackle for the Browns, clashed with the new coaching staff in Cleveland over his attitude and work ethic. He also reportedly punched quarterback Brady Quinn during a weight-room altercation last December.

NFL.com lists Smith at 6-2, 275 pounds. An undrafted free-agent, he's been a bit of an NFL journeyman since joining the league in 2003, spending time in five different NFL cities including New Orleans, Cincinnati, and recently Cleveland. He accrued 48 tackles and two sacks in 2007, his most successful year in the league. The Lions still have an interest in veteran defensive end Kevin Carter, who was recently spurned by the New England Patriots for the Raiders' Derrick Burgess. Need across the defensive line becomes even more prevalent after Jared DeVries was reportedly carted off the field during Monday's practice session.

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WR an unsettled -- and unsettling -- lot for Lions

And you thought you could just chew your nails over the lines and defensive backs.

As Grand Rapids Press Lions writer Brian VanOchten notes, despite Matt Millen's attention there year after year, other than All-World Calvin Johnson, wide receiver remains the position most lacking depth for the Lions.

There's Calvin and newcomers Dennis Northcutt and Bryant Johnson, who still hasn't played after he fought the golf cart and the golf cart won. There's last year's free-agent pick-up Keary Colbert too. After Calvin that's a "less-than-enthralling group, to be sure," VanOchten writes.

The others vying for a job are even less impressive -- Demir Boldin, Adam Jennings, Bobby Sippio, John Standeford, Derrick Williams, Eric Fowler and Kenneth Harris. Williams, a third-round pick, hasn't exactly set the world on fire.

Maybe someone will emerge in the preseason games -- but don't count on it. It wasn't just the jumble of mediocre QBs throwing to Calvin that made his numbers amazing last year. Megatron had no complement at WR pulling attention away from him. The second-leading receiver on the team last year, the departed Shaun McDonald, had 1,000 fewer yards than Calvin.

The best hope for making things better, it seems, is if Brandon Pettigrew emerges as a reliable receiving threat down the middle of the field.

Discuss in The Den!

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Gunther Making Noise

It is sheer pleasure to see Gunther Cunningham and Jim Schwartz so involved with the media, and in Schwartz's case in particular so articulate and such a strong promoter of the team. Cunningham is a little different, while also a quote machine he doesn't hold much back and isn't afraid to either praise or call a player out, as we witnessed a few days ago with DeAndre Levy.

When Detroit hired Cunningham there were whispers, reported by Pro Football Weekly that he was done. That "The last time he got anything done, Derrick Thomas was coming off the edges ... he's lost his edge as a coordinator." While that report was alarming the story was yet to be written, and so far the story is all good. The players seem to be enthusiastic about his system, and they seem to love d-line coach Bob Karmelowicz's teaching, which is somewhat odd because that was Marinelli's wheelhouse.

Anyhow, this has been a rich week for Gunther articles and quotes. In the Oakland Press blog Matthew Mowery shared this

We're heading down the road on the packages. Jimmy (head coach Jim Schwartz) says the other day, 'Gun, you've got every coverage in football.' And, in some respects ... yeah, we are experimenting with what fits us the best, but we have a multitude of defenses in, both up front, and in the secondary, and we must have 40 blitzes in already.

"We're still not good enough in blitzes," Cunningham said. "I'm not used to guys coming slow. When we send them, they have to get there, and we're going to have to have a little attitude adjustment meeting after this practice. They're going to hear it, loud and clear.

"When you put pads on, you find out the real men. There's lots of frauds around. You know, the coaches are, too. They talk a good game, then you watch them coach, and they don't do it. Players do the same thing. And sometimes, the guys you don't expect to be the real tough guys they show up, and you go, 'My god, was I wrong on this guy.'

There's an intensity and level of demand that wasn't present under Marinelli. With Rod it was 'we'll keep the shovels sharp, we'll keep trying, we'll work more', and while those are nice sentiments they don't compel urgency like Gunther does.

The Oakland Press blog was written on 8/6. On 8/7 Tara Ryan shared another Cunningham quote at DetroitLions.com

“I think we are starting to get that attitude adjustment; we had a couple of good one-on-ones with the secondary yesterday; Ramzee Robinson hit one guy under the chin, drove him to the sideline and dumped him on his back. I haven’t seen that since I was coaching in the 90’s and I made a big deal about it last night. We are going to be that kind of team; we are going to be aggressive, so we have to practice aggressive.”

Also on Friday John Niyo reported another quote

general manager Martin Mayhew asked him to watch 75 plays of a player the Lions are considering."He asked me, 'How'd you like him?' " Cunningham said. "I said, 'I've seen a lot better, and you wasted a lot of my time.' But that's my job, and you've got to look."

I guess Cunningham doesn't care who it is, he'll say it like it is.

Agree? Disagree? Have something to say about it? Discuss it Here, in The Den

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Mortensen On The Lions

In which he says nothing. One wonders why they wasted the gasoline.

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Killer: Stafford will win starting job over Culpepper

Before even the first preseason game, MLive.com's Tom Kowalski believes the quarterback competition between Daunte Culpepper and Matthew Stafford has been won by the rookie.

For now, Culpepper has the No. 1 spot, but he's not going to have it for long.

Unfortunately for Culpepper, he hasn't done anything to lose the job except that he's competing with the wrong guy in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Stafford isn't perfect, and he's going to make plenty of mistakes as he develops, but the first overall pick in the draft is showing he's the real deal.

The Lions aren't saying anything like this publicly, simply because there's nothing to be gained in doing so at this point, according to Killer.

But trust me, when the scouts and coaches watch the practice tape every night, they're grinning from ear to ear.

It's not just Stafford's rocket arm or overall athleticism, which is impressive, but it's his decision-making, quick release, knowledge of the offense, leadership and his overall presence.

And away we go!

They're talking about it in The Den.

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Lions Uncaged! (Airing on FOX 2 Detroit @ 2pm)

Today at noon, the Detroit Lions will be opening the doors of Ford Field for the first time of their 2009 campaign. This event is hosted by SVS Vision Optical; SVS Vision Optical Centers around the metro-Detroit area have been handing out tickets to the event for free since Wednesday (7/29/09), however all fans, with or without tickets will be admitted (the tickets offer 30% off any single pair of glasses at local SVS Vision Optical Centers).

The event is set to begin this afternoon (8/8/09), at 12:00pm. To begin the event, some Lions team members will take part in an autograph session which also starts at noon, and will sign autographs until approximately 12:45. Selected team members will be taking part in the autograph session and will be located at various parts throughout Ford Field; pictures of the players will be allowed, however, pictures with the players and personalized autographs will not be allowed during today's event, attempting to allow more fans to meet their favorite player.

The Lions are then scheduled to take the field afternoon practice around 1:00pm for their afternoon practice, open to all who attend the event. Today's open practice currently does not have a scheduled ending time. Expect the Lions to practice/showcase the play of some of the new members of the team, as well as some of the more popular players.

As a side-note, ESPN's SportCenter host and news correspondent Chris Mortensen may be another attraction this afternoon. Currently, Mortensen is hosting a show "Mort goes to Camp", which is somewhat of an NFL Training Camp Diary show featuring Mortensen at various NFL training camps, interviewing team personnel and reporting team progress during ESPN's show "NFL Live". For those attending, don't be surprised if you see an ESPN tour bus along with Mortensen and his entourage ESPN personnel and camera's.

Today's events, if anything, should provide some much needed excitement for Lions fans after a long off-season (and an even longer 2008 regular season!). Today's events will also be televised on FOX 2 (or WDIV Detroit) starting at 2:00pm and is scheduled to run for 60 minutes. So if you can't make it to Ford Field, tune it to Fox 2 to catch some of today's events. Also, on Monday afternoon, tune your TV to ESPN's NFL Live (airing at 4:00pm) to get some further info and analysis from both Mortensen and the ESPN panel as they give the team a pre-season grade as well as more insight as to what Lions fans can expect from the new look Lions during the 2009 season.

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Rookie RB Aaron Brown showing flashes -- but why he may be practice squad-bound

Practice attendees liked what they saw during 11-on-11 drills at Lions practice Thursday, when rookie RB Aaron Brown "sprinted up the middle, juked a defender and sprinted free for a long touchdown," Amelia Rayno reports at detnews.com.

Brown, a sixth-round draft pick out of TCU, has speed to impress, but says he's trying to fight a perception that all he can do is bounce it outside. "The one thing that he has is the raw skill that God only gives a select few -- he has good speed, good hips and he's a good receiver out of the backfield," running backs coach Sam Gash said.

That tends to indicate Brown could make it as a change-of-pace pass-catcher out of the backfield, a role Lions fans kept waiting and waiting for Brian Calhoun to take.

But a quote from the article by offensive coordinator Scott Linehan gives me a hint that Brown may be beaten out by perennial hanger-on Aveion Cason for the third RB spot behind Kevin Smith and Maurice Morris. (bolding mine)

"You see the speed -- that's the first thing you see that flashes," offensive coordinator Scott Linehan said.

"But he's gotta work on his game, both inside and outside the tackles in the run game. Just like all rookies, (he needs to) become a guy that is reliable in pass protection.

"And once you get there, then you can be that guy you utilize for the passing game and the running game trying to create plays. But he's a guy that shows up out here as far as pure speed. Its legitimate, and he's a guy that can take it to the house."

Ah yes, pass protection. Something the Lions have struggled with for years. And with virtually the same underperforming offensive line coming back this year, they'll most definitely need backs experienced at pass protecting to guard billion-dollar-baby Matthew Stafford (or as one blogger described Stafford and his contract to my amusement, "the gross domestic product of Guam.")

Even if you believe Daunte Culpepper will start most of the year, he's a veteran with a history of some serious injuries, who doesn't move as well as he used to. Yet more evidence that pass protection will be critical.

The Lions will have a choice for their third RB -- go with flash, receiving ability and big-play potential in Brown, or a more reliable pass blocker who can do enough of everything to always stick around in Cason. My guess is that they'll go with the latter and that Brown is practice squad bound.

If Brown wants to save himself a roster spot, he needs to wow coaches with holding off big defenders, too.

Talk about it in The Den!

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Rave reviews for Stafford continue to pour in

A no-look pass?

Rookie QB Matthew Stafford apparently threw one in practice recently, faking out both LB Julian Peterson and the pass's intended recipient, Calvin Johnson, Yahoo! Sports' Michael Silver reports.

Lions officials and players are having increasing difficulty remaining cautious and measured when talking about Stafford and his immediate prospects:
* Peterson - "As rookies go, he’s way ahead of the curve."
* Calvin - "He doesn’t even look like a rookie. He picked up the playbook very quick; he’s a smart kid. He looks very, very comfortable out there."
* Head Coach Jim Schwartz - "There is no debating that everything about him has been very, very impressive."

There is nothing to be gained by anointing Stafford the starter -- Schwartz wants everybody competing -- HARD -- for their spot in the lineup, and there are four preseason games to come on which to additionally measure the players.

But the thing is, Stafford is competing hard. He's playing and acting like he wants to start Game 1. He's showing things that indicate he's not just the Lions' best option at QB, but may be something special even looking from a league-wide view.

Better hone those clipboard-holding skills, C-Pep.

UPDATE: Finding these similar old quotes about Joey Harrington from around the time he was drafted gave me a much-needed dose of perspective.

The bottom line is, Stafford's looking good; he needs to keep it up in preseason game situations and the starting spot could be his through simply earning it.

They're talking about it in The Den!

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The jumble at CB -- and who's that with the Fords?

Detroit News football writer John Niyo reports its become a sad rite of spring for the Lions in recent years -- the annual roster purge of the team's secondary.

After an historically bad performance last year, the Lions are at it again. The top four cornerbacks on last year's roster are gone, and only two of the eight in camp -- Keith Smith and Ramzee Robinson -- have been with the team longer than 10 months, Niyo writes.

Coach Jim Schwartz admits he has "a stew" at CB -- a mix of young and veteran with backgrounds in a lot of different schemes. (Feeling confident about the secondary's improvement this year yet?)

Still, things are beginning to take shape. The starting CBs look like they will be Phillip Buchanon and Anthony Henry, and Eric King, who was with Schwartz in Tennessee the past three years, has been making plays in practice and may be tightening his hold on a nickel back spot.

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As an odds-and-ends aside at the end of his article, Niyo notes that Wednesday's practice was attended by owner William Clay Ford, vice chairman Bill Ford Jr., and former Giants general manager Ernie Accorsi.

What's that all about? No explanation. Is Accorsi a buddy of the Fords? If that's the case, where was he during the Matt Millen era, when we needed him?

Talk about it in The Den!

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Salary Cap Forum Updated - PREMIUM

2009 Lions Cap Status through August 6th

Transaction Log Updated through August 6th

Sammie Lee Hill Player Cost

Derrick Williams Player Cost

Louis Delmas Player Cost

Brandon Pettigrew Player Cost

Cap Adjustments

Follow Detroit's salary cap with expert George Ketchman here. (Requires premium membership to RoarReport.com)

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Calvin Johnson Teaches The Fade Route

(Special thanks to Wildcat67 in The Den for bringing the below video to our attention)

OK, so fans aren't coaches for a reason. But if you have a 6'5, freak-of-nature wide receiver in your goal-line package, anyone with the capability of breathing without choking on the oxygen could offer this suggestion: the fade route.

Unfortunately, Detroit's coaching staff the last two years didn't see the benefit of using Calvin Johnson's 47.5 vertical inch leap very often. Then again, 0-16 doesn't happen by mistake, either.

Regardless, Calvin excited a few folks in the message board with this YouTube video, where he explains -- rather, teaches -- the fade route.

A sign of things to come? We hope.

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