Recent News

As Detroit Lions Try to Reinvent Bowl Game at Ford Field Again, Here’s Some Unique Naming Ideas

May 21st, 2013 at 12:55 PM
By Max DeMara

'Ford Field, host of the MotorCity Bowl being played on December 26, 2008' photo (c) 2008, Debra Drummond - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

Hungry for Little Caesars Pizza no more, the Detroit Lions are apparently trying to create a bigger, better bowl game for their Ford Field home.

The Detroit Free Press reported Tuesday that the Lions were exploring the possibility of a new bowl game for their stadium which would see the Big Ten taking on the ACC. The Little Caesars Pizza Bowl, as the Free Press notes, has a Big Ten tie in, but has often struggled to fill the slot given the conference's lack of bowl eligible teams.

With meaningful late December football often at a premium in the Motor City, it makes sense the Lions want to increase the specter of Detroit's bowl game. In addition to attendance issues, half the problem with the game in the past has certainly been its name. The Motor City Bowl sounded good, but lacked sizzle. The Little Caesars Pizza Bowl had that sizzle, but wasn't marquee enough to motivate a much broader audience.

So what would be motivating to a national audience, yet also speak to the Lions' and the city of Detroit hosting the game? Here's five ideas the Ford Field folk should bring to their next board meeting on the issue. After all, a bigger game needs to be matched with a much bigger name.

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Calvin Johnson’s Broken Finger Revelation Only Makes 2012 Season Look More Impressive

May 20th, 2013 at 1:37 PM
By Max DeMara

'Calvin Johnson' photo (c) 2012, Mike Morbeck - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

Stop the presses! For another year, the Detroit Lions are finding a small bit of offseason heat, but this time, it isn't exactly the team's fault at all.

Monday, Calvin Johnson revealed he played with three broken fingers in 2012, to most only enhancing the fact that he set a single season record for receiving yardage. Naturally, one member of the media couldn't help himself with some criticism and quickly rained on Detroit's parade.

Mike Florio was irritated that the Lions didn't fully reveal Johnson's "true" injuries during the season, going through week to week injury reports to note that Detroit listed their wide receiver twice on the injury list with a thumb issue, but never said anything about other broken or injured fingers.

Of course, Florio couldn't simply be impressed that Johnson managed to play through pain and remain a viable receiver minus one line of praise at the end of his column. Mostly, Florio had to use this "incident" as a reason to lambaste the NFL for their injury reporting procedures, saying Baltimore should be calling the league office to complain, given they were fined for not reporting Ed Reed's shoulder injury during the year.

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Charles Woodson Could Put Detroit Lions’ Defense Over the Top

May 19th, 2013 at 8:55 AM
By Max DeMara

'Nick Barnett (56) and Charles Woodson (21)' photo (c) 2009, Mike Morbeck - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

Over the weekend in Michigan, Charles Woodson was doing plenty of talking at a charity event. Amongst other topics, he commented on his surprise over not signing yet and even addressed the hometown Detroit Lions, a team which should now seek out his services for defensive leadership.

Naturally, given that Woodson was around his old college stomping grounds and is still a free agent, people will begin to put two and two together. The Detroit Lions just so happen to have a perpetual need for depth and play making in their secondary. Knowing all of this, is Woodson and Detroit a match made in heaven?

The answer is yes, especially if you're lifetime Lion Jeff Backus, who recently retired. Backus did his part to help make Woodson's mind up and also influence his old team. Heaping glowing praise on the veteran, Backus said Detroit coaches were always worried about Woodson's presence on the field and reassuring everyone he is still in good shape and very hungry to win.

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Through Helping Words, Mean Joe Greene Proves a Better Tutor for Ndamukong Suh than Warren Sapp

May 17th, 2013 at 12:16 PM
By Max DeMara

'DSC_0005_A' photo (c) 2007, Jessa - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/

Casually, early in his career, Detroit Lions' defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh has been compared to "Mean" Joe Greene, both in play and in physical and mental stature on the gridiron.

Finally, some type of personal link was established between the two, if only through the media. When Greene was asked by the Detroit Free Press about Nick Fairley's recent assertion that the Lions' tandem of Suh and himself were the best defensive tackle combination in the league, the former Pittsburgh Steeler didn't disagree at all. "I wouldn't argue that," Greene said.

Between the two, however, Greene sounded most impressed with the controversial Suh, going on to call him "a powerful man" while urging him to not lose an edge given the intense publicity he's recently gained. Perhaps the most important concept from what Greene said to Suh regarding his play on the defensive line? "You need an edge to play in the pit. Anyone that talks about what you shouldn't do hasn't been in there." That's certainly a novel thought, but don't clue in the media.

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Detroit Lions Should End Revolving Door in Return Game by Adding Versitile Joshua Cribbs

May 14th, 2013 at 11:13 AM
By Max DeMara

Yesterday, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press penned a column which wondered aloud if the Detroit Lions' answer at kickoff returner could be solved by someone already on the roster.

Every year we're told that's possible, and every year we're deceived. The move to try out random players on special teams never represents a step forward, and indicates complacency with failure. Instead of that, the Lions shouldn't over think this particular roster opportunity and simply add free agent Joshua Cribbs, who's been perhaps the most electrifying returner not named Devin Hester and is scheduled to visit Detroit.

Birkett casually tosses around some names of potential returners in his piece, be them rookie Steven Miller from Appalachian State, wide receiver Patrick Edwards or cornerback Lionel Smith. All, he writes, were auditioned at the position by the Lions during their initial camp this past weekend. None, outside of the unknown quantity that is Miller, could be counted on for an immediate impact.

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