Turner Burns Pathetic Lions
Sunday night I went to the grocery store to buy my daughter Celine a pack of Twizzlers. It was my small punishment for believing in now.
I explained to Celine how the Lions were going to beat the Atlanta Falcons because Atlanta started a rookie quarterback and rookie left tackle along with a rookie head coach.
Celine, who is all of eight years old, laughed.
"The Lions are not going to win dad," she said. "They stink."
From now on my web logs and Lions stories will be written by Celine for she is wiser than me.
Do you believe the Lions laid that cow in Atlanta?
Can you believe running back Michael Turner shredded the Lions defense for 220 yards on 22 carries during the Falcons 34-21 victory? Do you believe he averaged 10 yards per carry against the new vamped, new look, new attitude Lions defense?
Do you believe the Lions looked this bad after trying to tell us they are going to be better?
They were beaten up on both front lines and the result is you saw both Jerious Norwood (93 yards rushing) and Turner the Burner clowning on the Lions as if they were a Little League team.
I want to apologize to some folks. I am not saying I believed in now, but I thought the Lions were good enough to beat Atlanta and good enough to finish 7-9. Part of it is I grow tired of ripping on them all the time and tried to give them the benefit of the doubt. Every time I do that I get burned. I suppose I should stick to my old evil ways until they show me otherwise.
What do they say in Missouri? Show Me!
We not only saw the defense melt down but we saw the Lions leader Jon Kitna melt down on the sidelines. That should not happen. When the quarterback is stomping and acting a fool then the rest of the team follows. That was not a good sign.
And speaking of good. Did you check out this little gem from defensive tackle Corey Redding?
"It wasn't them," he said. "It wasn't their offensive line. It was us. When guy's numbers were called to make plays, they didn't. It's a long season. Don't try to write us off. We're good. It just didn't show up today."
Their good huh? Can we be foolish enough to give them the benefit of the doubt again? I won't embrace them now. I also won't write them off just yet. I want to see how they do at home first before we do that. But every game you thought they might win became a little tougher.
Do you believe in now? Of course not.
I just can't believe we are going through this again -- now.
I can be reached at Terry.Foster@detnews.com or 313-222-1494.
I Need Help From Myself About Lions
Somebody help me. Talk me down from the bridge. Throw some water in my face.
Do anything.
I've been listening to the talk from the Lions. I've seen them practice with a new spirit and bust each other up pretty well. The defense is a living and breathing machine of team work and hustle.
Now there is a tiny part of me that thinks they might do something this season. What should I do? Do I need help?
Head coach Rod Marinelli has preached team work and toughness. His players are in better condition and he has weeded out many of the trouble makers who did not want to be here. They are selling us that the best talent does not always win. It is the best team that wins.
I love that concept. I love that thought. Will it work?
There are a lot of good things happening with the Lions. Yet I still picked them to finish 7-9 and finish outside of the playoffs simply because they are the Lions. I see reasons to believe in now, but I know better. If I start believing in now they will fall flat on their faces.
But there is this tiny little man sitting on my shoulders telling me to walk off the plank of sanity and romp in the utopia of believing in the Lions. He is also telling me the Lions are going to crush the Atlanta Falcons in the season opener Sunday. Lions? Crush? Oh boy.
What should I do with this guy?
I can be reached at Terry.Foster@detnews.com or 313-222-1494.New Blog at Motorcitybowl.com
If you are into college football take time out to check out my new blog at Motorcitybowl.com. I am writing mostly about the Big Ten and Mid American Conference. The blog comes out twice a week. I promise to post updates by Monday and Thursday each week. If something big happens I might do more.
So if you are interested check it out.
A Time to Heal
Yes it was time. Yes we needed to move on. He needed to move on and we all need to heal.
All of that is obvious in the aftermath of Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick stepping down, getting his punishment and we all wiping our hands of this mess called the Kilpatrick Administration.
Kilpatrick allowed himself to become a shell of a man because of his own doings. Over the weeks he appeared to be a little shorter and less dynamic. You could see the scrutiny and scandal eat at the man.
He knew the dogs were coming and he knew eventually he'd be engulfed.
On Thursday he pulled a hockey move called icing. He got the wolves away from his net and fired the puck down the ice. Now he must spend some time in jail, pay fines, get out of office for at least five years and let the heat die.
Now he has positioned himself for the come back he talked about Thursday night. Eventually the voters in Detroit will decide if they will take him back again. I hope the answer is no. He hurt you and embarrassed you.
Now it is time to find superior leadership than what you had before. You cannot pick someone simply because you know their last name or you shook hands with him or her. You cannot push aside a candidate because he or she is not black enough for you.
And you cannot accept a candidate simply because they promise to keep suburban folks at bay.
It is time to pick the right candidate. It is the person who is best for you and best for the city of Detroit. That should be the only criteria.
And whoever accepts the job cannot become intoxicated by the power of that seat. Kilpatrick meant well. However, the power got to him and placed a choke hold on him. He was possessed by the chair of mayor in the same way everybody became possessed by that golden ring in Lord of the Rings.
It is time for all of us to heal. More importantly it is time to find the right person for the job.
Tatum's Bell is Rung
ALLEN PARK -- Sometimes you wonder what goes through a pro athletes head.
Right up to the bitter end Lions running back Tatum Bell was convinced he was the answer and that he would eventually lead the Lions running attack. He nearly had me convinced just hours before the Lions decided to offer a one-year contract to running back Rudi Johnson and then release Bell.
From talking to this guy I thought the Lions were calling the Hall of Fame to induct him, not send him into the streets.
"I think they believe in us," Bell insisted just as management was writing up his walking papers upstairs from the Lions dressing room. "I am going to back up (Kevin Smith)."
What did he expect? Bell was terrible during the preseason. He didn't even average two yards per carry. But the man insisted he enjoyed a great training camp. We just didn't see it during games.
But isn't that when we are supposed to see it? If you listened to Bell he was going to be the only back to gain 2,000 yards during practice but only about 400 yards during actual games.
The thing he must fight is that he simply was a back that benefited Denver's run block system. He has been a bust since leaving the Broncos.
It will be interesting to see how Johnson works out here. He was a troubled young man in Cincinnati, but that dressing room is not the most solid foundation in the world. The Lions are more professional than I've seen them in quite sometime. Maybe that will rub off on him and add to his career.
Stay tuned.
Johnson is In. Can Bell Be Out?
ALLEN PARK -- Now what happens to Tatum Bell?
That is the big question following the Lions reaching a one-year agreement with free agent running back Rudi Johnson. The team plans to officially sign him on Tuesday probably right around the time the Lions tell Bell to hit the highway.
I spoke to Bell following practice Tuesday and he continues to insist he enjoyed a good training camp and that his yards would come during the regular season. Meanwhile, the Lions were busy talking to his replacement. They are not buying his story and he should be shipped out of town by night fall Tuesday.
Sometimes a pro athlete is the last to know his game is not up to par. The guy rushed for fewer than two yards per carry during the preseason and expected to keep his job? If you are Barry Sanders you can get away with it. You can't do it if you are Tatum Bell.
He has run in the zone blocking scheme before with Denver and run for more than 1,000 yards. That is his primary value. But anybody can run in Denver. He has not proven he can run in Detroit. Besides Bell looked very lethargic during games even though he insists he had a good camp.
My guess is Bell is out. I asked CEO Tom Lewand what the team plans to do with Bell and he simply said the team does not plan on making any personnel moves until Tuesday.
That is not a good sign for Bell.
Sporting News Blames Lions Ownership for Blahs
The Sporting News listed three teams that have failed to take advantage of the 1993 Collective Bargaining agreement between the NFL and the NFL Players Association that in effect brought parity to football.
The agreement set a hard salary cap preventing big market teams from buying all the best players and it created a very liberal free agency policy. Once this was in place parity hit football. But the news magazine points out three franchises that failed to take advantage.
The Detroit Lions hit that list along with the Cincinnati Bengals and Arizona Cardinals. Since then the Lions only made the playoffs five times -- all with Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders -- and have not been in the playoffs since 1999. That is an eight year dead spot and even the worst of franchises should make the playoffs two or three times in a 10-year period.
TSN blamed ownership's antiquated thinking and said there is no hope for these three teams to turn it around until there is a change in thinking. The best hope for the Lions is when William Clay Ford Sr. passes the torch to Bill Ford that the mentality changes.
Don't get me wrong. The Lions will make the playoffs now and then. But how does this franchise become a consistent threat in the NFL? That is the key question. And TSN said that won't happen unless ownership changes.
I agree. My belief is that the Lions will be headed soon by current CEO Tom Lewand and Bill Ford. I have to believe they've studied this situation to understand that more forward thinking is needed.
Scott and Pinner Among Lion Cuts
ALLEN PARK -- Lions offensive tackle Jonathan Scott thought the tape looked good. He got extended time in the Lions preseason game and felt he played well enough to play.
The Lion coaches disagreed. Scott and running back Artose Pinner were the biggest names released as the Lions selected their final 53 players.
Scott became expendable when the Lions began playing rookie Gosder Cherilus at left and right tackle. He did not beat out veteran George Foster for the starting right tackle spot but he will be the back up to left tackle Jeff Backus and Foster.
But this is hardly the final roster. The Lions placed running backs Aveion Cason and Brian Calhoun on the injured list and go into the season with just three running backs.
In another good sign, none of the 2008 draft picks were released.
Pinner was also optimistic about his chances of staying after getting extended playing time Thursday night against the Buffalo Bills. However, he finds himself looking for a new job unless he is kept on the practice squad.
The other interesting cut was that of linebacker Buster Davis. Davis was listed ahead second on the depth chart at middle linebacker ahead of rookie Jordon Dizon. However, the Lions kept more versatile linebackers that can play in the middle and the outside.
The Lions also decided to keep only four wide receivers and 10 defensive linemen. Running back Brian Calhoun was placed on the injured list and will miss the rest of the season with a
Here is a list of the Lion cuts.
Ron Bellamy, wide receiver, University of Michigan
Darnell Bing, linebacker, Southern California
Damion Cook, tight end, Bethune, Cookman
Buster Davis, linebacker, Florida State
Frank Davis, offensive guard, Southern Florida
Victor DeGrate, defensive end, Oklahoma State
Dovonte Edwards, corner back, North Carolina State
Devale Ellis, wide receiver, Hofstra
Rudolph Hardie defensive end, Howard
Claude Harriott, defensive end, Pittsburgh
Clarke Harris, tight end, Rutgers
Drew Henson, quarterback, Michigan
LeMarcus Hicks, safety, Iowa State
Stephen Howell, cornerback, Richmond
Corey Hulsey, offensive guard, Clemson
Leon Joe, linebacker, Maryland
Brandon Middleton, wide receiver, Houston
Kenneth Moore, wide receiver, Wake Forest
Artose Pinner, running back, Kentucky
Jonathan Scott, offensive tackle, Texas
John Standeford. Wide receiver, Purdue
Drew Henson, quarterback, Michigan
Kiwaukee, Thomas, cornerback, Georgia Southern
Injured reserve
Brian Calhoun, running back, Wisconsin
Aveion Cason, running back, Illinois State
Hart Makes The Colts
Former University of Michigan running back Michael Hart kept his promise and made the active roster on the Indianapolis Colts Saturday. The Colts made Hart their third back and he will see action on kickoffs and the punt team.
Hart was a sixth-round draft pick and a long shot to make the team in some people's eyes. But the Colts were impressed with his grit and tough inside running. Hart graduated from Michigan as the school's all-time rushing leader with 5,040 yards.
Another U-M running back got good news Saturday also. Chris Perry won the starting tailback spot for the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals released long time starter Rudy Johnson and gave the starting job to Perry.
Perry is sixth on Michigan's list with 3,596 yards.
Stay tuned for Lion cuts which will be released on this blog at 6 p.m.
Cut Down Day
Today the Lions will reduce their roster to 53 players as they prepare for the season opener against the Atlanta Falcons in eight days.
I invite you to return later today to this spot and the Lions web log for my take on the new-look Lions. Coach Rod Marinelli said he has some tough decisions to make and I believe him. It will be interesting to see who sticks around as a fifth wide receiver and there is a chance the Lions might keep 10 defensive linemen.
Also does linebacker Buster Davis stick around after being the back up to Paris Lenon. This could be a strange story. Davis could be released although he earned a back up spot? I don't believe that will happen. I am simply saying watch out for that.
I do not believe any big name players will be dropped, but there will be some interesting cuts nonetheless.
Also look for the Lions to try to pick up an offensive right guard from around the NFL after other teams make their cuts.
