Tinderbox: Displaced Fan Contest, Ford Field Review

One of the amazing things about this blog is meeting Lions fans from all over the world. Fans who can’t attend games, watch local TV, or listen to local radio can use the same Internet that everyone in southern Michigan can! Displaced Lions fans can follow all the news and analysis like they never left—and new fans from around the world can get up to speed like a local.

DirecTV is holding an Ultimate Displaced Fan contest. Entries can be an essay, photo, or (ideally) a video explaining why they are the ultimate displaced fan. There are some ridiculous prizes: a trip to the super bowl, a media tour with one of your favorite Lions, and a chance to play in the nationally-televised celebrity Beach Bowl.

I know this blog’s readership contains some ridiculously creative people. The last time I held a contest, I asked people to write about their greatest moment of Lions pride. Here’s the intro paragraph of the contest winner:

There I was, in the body of a Lions fan at 18,000 feet. Oil covered my windscreen -- my lifeless Merlin engine on fire. My canopy could not be budged - I was locked inside an aerial coffin. I watched, transfixed, as my altitude evaporated like rubbing alcohol in the noon-day sun. Paralyzed by fear and anxiety, suffocating under the weight of knowing I would be obliterated in a matter of moments when my stricken Spitfire met the hard, dusty surface of the Libyan desert below. The trim, sand-colored little Messerschmitt, my destroyer, spiraled away to celebrate his kill. A life snuffed out in a flash. A momentary blip on a radar screen only the gods will ever see. Oh, the humanity!

He eventually got around to the Lions thing.

Last year’s winner made a little tutorial video on how to win this thing, and I’d LOVE one of you to go out and win it. So, if you’re a huge Lions fan and you need at least a hotel and probably airfare to see a game in person, enter the Ultimate Displaced Fan contest—and win it for all of us.

What’s the opposite of a raving, team-color-bleeding homer who can’t ever go to the stadium? One guy who goes to all of the stadiums. Paul Swaney of StadiumJourney.com goes to—and reviews—basically every stadium in every sport. He recently attended the Chiefs game and reviewed Ford Field.

The review was fair and accurate, giving top marks for the food, and above-average ratings for everything else. The “fans” rating was especially intriguing:

It is certainly human nature for a fan base that has endured what Lions fans have endured to be down on their team. There is no doubt though, that a new aura of hope is almost tangible as you walk through Ford Field, and sit in the stands amongst the loyal supporters.

Fans don Lions jerseys more often than not, and they can get very, very loud when they want to. Still, this is a group that seems to responsive to the noise meter on the scoreboard than any instinctual reaction to the play on the field. The Lions still have trouble selling out many games. Again, this is understandable given the lack of success year after year.

It will be interesting to see if the Lions can begin to produce consistent winners with the young core of talent they have assembled. You can certainly feel the optimism in the air, but for now, this fan base seems so-so compared to many others.

Now if he'd come on Monday Night . . .

Honestly though, I think Paul was spot-on with the feeling and atmosphere. In my very first post, I called Ford Field a “hollow jewel” because of the lifeless, shrink-wrapped, sterile feel of the stadium. I don’t think that’s the case now—but remember that at the Chiefs game (when Paul attended), many still weren’t sure how “for real” this year’s Lions team was, so the quick Chiefs start sucked some of the life out of the building—and the sudden blowout flipped the switch to the other extreme: having a blast without necessarily paying rapt attention to the game. Still, Paul could sense what’s building within the fanbase:

Time will tell if the Lions can become contenders, and if they do, then this could easily become a raucous stadium to watch the NFL. Do yourself a favor and visit Ford Field in the near future. Better yet, sped your Thanksgiving at Ford Field, an NFL tradition going back to 1934 when the Lions moved from Portsmouth, Ohio to the Motor City.

So do yourself a favor and read the official Stadium Journey review of Ford Field. Many thanks to Paul for coming to Detroit and checking our team.

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Tinderbox: First Week of Bleacher Report Stuff

I didn’t do a gameday post for tonight’s game because, well . . . fourth preseason games are rarely worth dissecting. I also am watching it on digital delay, so I don’t have any pertinent analysis just yet. So, I thought I’d recap my first week on the job at Bleacher Report:

• Detroit Lions Can't Wait For Investment In Derrick Williams to Pay Off - The title pretty much says it all.
• Detroit Lions Cuts: Tracking Players Dropped From 2011 Roster - This is a slideshow, which I'll continuously update with released Lions and their eventual landing places. You might want to bookmark it.
• How and Why the NFL Transitioned From Football to Two-Hand Touch – This one . . . this one is special. I put a lot of love into it.  For a while today, it was the main story on the front-est front page of Bleacher Report Dot Com, and a lot of people have said a lot of nice things about it.

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Tinderbox: Mlive’s Ndamukong Suh Camp Giveaway

You’ve likely heard Ndamukong Suh is hosting a football camp for kids aged 7 to 12. You may have heard that Mlive.com is giving away two tickets, as well as offering a discount on purchased ones. You may even have already entered in the contest, or bought tickets for your kids. You should still read Phil Zaroo’s column announcing the giveaway. It’s majestic. 

Progress on the labor front continues in the best, if most boring way—quietly. The owners are meeting today in Chicago, and have been told to be ready for it to be a two-day affair. Quote Mike Florio:

The planning undoubtedly relates to the looming effort to persuade most, and preferably all, of the other owners to buy in to the notion that a fair, win-win deal should be finalized, and that any desire to force the players to take a bad deal should be abandoned.

Finally, Lomas Brown recently said Jeff Backus could be an All-Pro guard, which, gee, thanks to Lomas for swatting that hornet’s nest. It’s not that he’s wrong—Lomas was an All-Pro left tackle—as well as a seven-time Pro Bowler, so he knows exactly what it takes. But, at this point, there’s been so much hot air expelled on Backus and whether he passes muster at tackle,  even intelligent, credible discussion on the topic is unwelcome.

Remember when Tom Kowalski mentioned on WDFN that some thought Backus might lack the raw power to play guard?  “Backus is too weak” was the Detroit Lions Internet Meme Du Jour for several weeks. Now, I’m sure everyone is ready to wail and gnash their teeth over what Jeff Backus might have been—instead, let’s focus on what he is:

Brown, 48, who hosts his sixth annual free football camp July 22-23 at Detroit King, said Backus was "one of the top 10 tackles in our league now" but that his physical attributes might necessitate a move before too long.

Interestingly, I’m not seeing a lot of “Lomas Brown Says Jeff Backus is a Top 10 Tackle” headlines this morning.

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Tinderbox: Ford Field and the Gold Cup

I got my tickets for the USA-Canada Gold Cup match tomorrow night, and preparations are apace. There’s been a steady stream of interesting pre-match tidbits trickling out.

• Pride of Detroit has a great shot of the rolls of real grass laying on top of Ford Field's FieldTurf.
• Jennifer Hammond reported that Bill Ford, Jr. is a huge soccer fan, and she got a picture of him with the collected USMNT at Allen Park.
• Speaking of which, the Freep has an excellent story about the USMNT's training and warmups at the the Allen Park facilites--including a quote from my favorite player, Clint Dempsey:

  "You have to look at it in a good way -- (we) got kicked up the backside, and (it) humbled us," he said. "Now we have to go out and get the job done.

  "Everybody is going to make sure they're fired up for this game, so we can take care of business."

• Glenn Toran from Mlive.com made a great point: the Canadian fans coming across the border from Windsor for the Gold Cup haven’t had a top-flight soccer club to root for, either. If/when Detroit gets an MLS bid, there’ll be a great natural rivalry with Toronto FC.
• Zac from SideLion Report chipped in his thoughts on soccer in Detroit (and hooked me up with a link--thanks, man!)
• Righting what many percieved to be a roster wrong, Alejandro Bedoya has been called up to replace the injured Benny Feilhaber.

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Tinderbox: NFL Mediation, and the Draft

Well, the one eventuality I didn’t prepare myself for was the one that occurred: Judge Nelson decided to take a couple of weeks to mull it over. Meanwhile, she urged both parties to continue talks in hope of reaching a settlement. As you all likely saw, the NFL invited the players to return to the FMCS and resume collective bargaining under federal mediator George Cohen; the players—who, no longer unionized, can’t collectively bargain—invited the NFL to negotiate a settlement presided by Judge Nelson herself.

After some po-tay-to/po-tah-to back and forth, Judge Nelson will host a conference call today to settle the issue of where and how mediation will occur. I applaud the league for offering written assurances that these talks will in no way be used against the players as the lawsuit goes forward. It’s a clear sign that both sides truly want an agreement. I also applaud Judge Nelson for giving the sides another chance to settle it like grownups, before she gets out the wooden spoon and starts paddling heinies.

Among many more important things, I worried that government shutdown would prevent federal mediation. However, Gabe Feldman, director of Tulane's Sports Law program, says George Cohen would be available to mediate even in event the Republicans and Democrats prove even harder to bring together than the NFL and NFLPA*.

The Net Rat deconstructed the idea that Lions should draft an offensive tackle 13th overall. He goes point-by-point: the Lions’ line was quite good at pass protection, none of the available tackles will be an immediate upgrade, a rookie may not be as ready as Fox or Hilliard, and it’s unlikely that only one of Backus, Cherilus, Fox, Hilliard, and Ugoh will be able to play at a high level this year. I agree with all of this.

Here’s what the case for an OT (and, for that matter, a DE) boils down to: there will surely be a couple of very good ones available when the Lions pick. Year after year, the Lions have passed on taking an OT with truly elite size and athleticism, because they had more pressing needs elsewhere. Time after time, Lions fans decried the wasted opportunity . . . now, one may fall in their lap.

I believe the situation is perfect for a guy like Colorado’s Nate Solder. He possesses that magically rare combination of huge frame (6’-8”, 319) and incredible athleticism—but he needs time to develop bulk and technique. If he were a little more developed, and a careerlong OT instead of a converted TE, he’d likely not make it out of the top five. Instead, he’s a project with the potential to not only replace Backus in a few years, but be the kind of elite blindside guardian Lions fans have craved ever since Lomas Brown.

Don't get this twisted; I'm not saying the Lions NEED to draft an offensive tackle, or even Solder specifically. I’m saying Backus’ consecutive-start streak, Gosder Cherilus’ knee, and Jason Fox’s development, are things the Lions can’t bet on beyond 2011. There is a need for a long-term solution, and—if everything goes to plan—the Lions  won’t be drafting high enough to net an OT with Solder’s tools for a long, long time.

One last bit of business: I have to take time out to plug my friends over at Sideline Scouting. They’re a bunch of fanatical fans, like me, who’ve been putting their nose to the grindstone and churning out excellent draft guides year after year. The 2011 edition of Sideline Scouting’s draft preview is 391 pages, over 32 megabytes, and just $5.00. I love their work, I use their guide extensively as a reference, every year, and I recommend you do so, too.

Technorati Tags: nfl,nfl mediation,nfl lockout,jeff backus,nate solder,gosder cherilus

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Lame content promise

Hey, all, I’m busting my tail on two pieces right now, including the cornerback OMH and the latest lockout stuffs. PLUS, make it three I guess, the “every other rule change analysis” article. So.

I can’t promise it’ll be up tonight, because my eldest has a figure skating competition tomorrow and I’ll be on the road, but this weekend should see a flurry of stuff go up. Don’t forget to watch the USMNT’s best take on the Argentina Reigning World’s Greatest Player, Lionel Messi: Saturday night, 7:00, ESPN2.

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Tinderbox: Back in Blue at Scout.com

Hey, all, some quick meta/housekeeping notes. First, I’m completely thrilled to say my name (and ugly mug) will be back under the masthead at Scout.com’s Roar Report. For the most part, it will be the articles I write here, cleaned up by Nate Caminata—the editor I always say my stuff needs. If anything exclusive to Scout goes up, though, I’ll be sure to link you from here.

Second, the site redesign hit a major roadblock, and it’s called “I used beta software without testing my backups.” Still in progress, but I promise y’all will be thrilled with it when it’s done.

Third, the Old Mother Hubbard series continues apace. The spacing will be a little funky sometimes, but I’m definitely on track to get this cranked out before whatever free agency will happen, happens. Please don’t hesitate to email me, thelionsinwinter@gmail.com, if there’s anything you want my take on, if you have input, if you have feedback, or anything. I’m totally up for doing some mailbag posts.

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Tinderbox: Meta/Housekeeping

Offseason is upon us, and I’m working like the dickens on a very big piece of debatable topicality. I was derailed last night by unexpected car trouble, but it should be up late tonight, or early tomorrow.

In Lions news, NFC North blogger Kevin Siefert announced his All-NFCN team, and five Lions made it. Thanks to input from mutual reader/commenter/Twitter follower @JohnWayne506th, Jeff Backus got a well-deserved nod at left tackle.

Also, Pride of Detroit is grading Martin Mayhew’s performance with a poll . . . go give the man top marks.

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Tinderbox: Mo’ eBooks, Mo’ Begging

Last month, I asked you all to punch a chad for TLiW in the BallHyped.com Blog of the Year award. This blog finished fifth, not too shabby of a showing—many thanks to all who voted. You all have been rewarded for your time by the BallHyped folks; they’re serving up 200+ pages of delicious sports blog content, free for the taking. The BallHyped Best Sports Blogs of 2010 eBook is out, and one of the posts I’m most proud of made the editorial cut. There’s lots more meat on that chicken wing—so if you’re starved for sportswriting, tuck in.

Now, there’s another web awards thing going down: the About.com Reader’s Choice awards. Fellow Big Lead Sports site TheHuddle.com is making a big (deserved) push for the Best Fantasy Football Site category. I’ve been a regular there for something like thirteen years, and the head dude kindly suggested to Huddlers that they throw TLiW on the ballot for Best NFL Team Blog, as well. Since they’re scratching my back, I’ll asking y’all to scratch his.

That link takes you right to the voting form for the Football category of the About.com Reader’s Choice awards. If you don’t mind hooking The Huddle (and TLiW) up, I’d really appreciate it.

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Tinderbox: Housekeeping, and Jerome FElton

A couple quick housekeeping items:

In a long-overdue move, I updated the Links tab up there under the header graphic.  Some Lions folks have switched primary sites, some have shiny new digs, and unfortunately some have stopped writing entirely.  This page has been sadly out of date for quite some time, and I’m glad to get it straightened out.

If you’re interested in seeing how the sausage gets made, keep an eye on http://tliwindraft.blogspot.com.  That’s where I tinker with new layouts, designs, etc.  I’m toying with Blogger’s site designer, so drop me a line if you dig—or despise—what’s up there. 

If you want even more proof that the Lions are becoming a plain-old regular football team, instead of the collective avatar of failure and disappointment in sport, check out the Freep’s article on Jerome Felton complaining about his role:

"I want to be involved, period," he said. "Whether that's here or somewhere else, the next few months will decide that."

Back in the preseason, I did a Gameday Preview post with The Steelers N'At, and answered one of their questions like so:

4. Any sleeper players that might be surprises in the game?

Third-year FB Jerome Felton has been a very impressive athlete through his first two years, but is developing into a dangerous two-way threat. Lions fans haven't seen a dynamic, multi-faceted fullback in a long time--but rumor has it Felton's quietly blossoming into the kind of Kleinsassery weapon that Scott Linehan has had so much success with.

Indeed, Felton got two carries and a reception in that game, and if memory serves they were all consecutive.  The Lions seemed to have a “Felton drive” in each of the first three preseason games, where they’d just feed him and feed him until he stopped moving the chains.  He also got a lot of looks early in the season, but his problems with fumbles made the coaching staff shy to deploy him down the stretch.  Further, the effectiveness of the 2-TE set limited the number of snaps that Felton could be out there. Even further, the evolution of Will Heller into an H-back-type-thing made Felton almost completely redundant.

This is exactly the kind of thing you’ll see throughout this offseason: good players, who have contributed to the Lions’ success, who can still contribute elsewhere, getting squeezed out by the better players the Lions are acquiring.  Nothing against Jerome Felton, but the Lions’ starting lineup is going to be a tough one to crack in 2011—and if he is looking for 40+ carries a season, he’ll likely have to look elsewhere.  He deserves a chance to play somwhere, though; best of luck to him.

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Tinderbox: Watchtower today!

I’m working feverishly on the Watchtower post; I’m being tripped up because both Giants coordinators have run, or been taught under, several distinct schemes.  I’m trying to figure out what’s relevant data and what isn’t.  In the meantime, here are some excellent links to tide you over:

Dave Birkett of the Free Press wrote a great piece on C.C. Brown's understanding of Eli Manning's game. I'd forgotten that C. C. played with the Giants last year, and has seen an awful lot of reps against Eli.

Tim Twentyman wrote a nice story for the Detroit News about Jeff Backus, and his 150-game starting streak.  Backus has overcome a lot of physical adversity, yes, but this season has also wrestled with some serious personal stress.  Definitely worth a read.

Big Al of The Wayne  Fontes Experience did a cool Q&A with UltimateNYG, Bloguin’s Giants blog.  They have not forgotten that C. C. Brown played for their favorite team last year.  Also, they have similar feelings to my own about their OC, Kevin Gilbride.

If you haven't been following the Adventures of the Great Willie Young, Armchair Linebacker's chronicling of Lions DE Willie Young's epic feats throughout human history, the latest installment reveals Willie’s adventures in the heart of 8th-century China.  Fair warning: Willie (according to the legendary tale of his epic legend) was involved in some seriously not-family-friendly stuff, so if that kind of thing isn’t your thing, don’t bother.

EDIT TO ADD: Oh, one more thing. I don't have a Homecoming post up yet—but this is Homecoming Weekend for Michigan State.  So, if you’re in to MSU football, check out my new MSU football blog, A Beautiful Day for Football.  Wolverines, fret not: I’ll keep TLiW Spartan-free.

Technorati Tags: nfl,detroit lions,new york giants

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Tinderbox: Impending Doom

I’m currently working on the Watchtower for the Rams game, and I can’t get away from a sense of impending doom.  No, the numbers don’t look that bad—in fact, I have no logical reason for this whatsoever.  It’s just . . . well, this one was supposed to be the patsy, the gimme, the sure thing.  And, well, I don’t know if you folks remember, but the Rams were supposed to be the patsy last season too, and, well . . .

Impending doom.

Okay!  Enough of that; let’s keep this fire going.

Remember that time Alphonso Smith was a guy the Lions might have taken with the second pick in second round of last season's draft, but instead they took Louis Delmas so Denver traded their first-round pick this year to take Alphonso Smith instead, and then the Broncos decided they didn’t like him or something and traded us Alphonso Smith for Dan Gronkowski?  Well, Shawn Windsor of the Freep writes that Smith is pushing for a starting spot now, much as if the Lions had taken him in the second round to begin with.

If Smith and Houston continue to play well, it will be a huge boon to the defense—and we may have two starters at cornerback that start next year, as well.  If my research is correct, that’s the first time that’s happened since the Bryant Westbrook/Terry Fair combination, more than a decade ago.

Tom Kowalski writes that Sam Bradford is, if not actually scared, well aware of the heat the Lions’ pass rush can generate:

"To be honest, I think that it's one of the better defenses that we've seen,'' Bradford said. "They're very good up front. I think they cause a lot of problems with what they do up front, with some of the pressures that they bring."

People: the Lions are tied for fifth in the NFL in sacks, with thirteen.  That is HALF of their 2009 total!  They’re fourth in sacks-per-dropback, with ten.  Of course, they’re still 30th in opponent yards-per-attempt, and 28th in opponent passer rating—this is still not a good pass defense.  But pass rush?  Yes, and the Lions will be facing their best-yet combination of sackable quarterback, and porous offensive line.  That, at least, is something to get excited about.

 

Technorati Tags: nfl,detroit lions,st. louis rams,sam bradford,alphonso smith

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Tinderbox: Sellout!

  . . . or close enough.  The Lions have been granted a 24-hour extension to sell out Sunday’s game, which typically means they have an agreement in place to sell any remainders to a local business.  This means those of us who live close enough to Detroit to root for the Lions, but far enough from Detroit to make going to the games a chore, will be able to watch on TV without dragging themselves (and their children, if applicable) to a far-flung bar.  This is good.

Louis Delmas and DeAndre Levy practiced Thursday morning, meaning it’s highly likely they’ll be available against the Eagles—and thank goodness; the defense will need all the help it can get.  The picture is murkier, though, when it comes to Cliff Avril.  Avril had surgery on his broken finger on Tuesday—but, as the Wayne Fontes Experience tells us,  Jim Schwartz has kept the details of his knee injury a state secret . . .

In TLiW, news, I’m working on the Eagles Watchtower; hoping to get that up tomorrow rather than Sunday this time!

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Tinderbox: Fireside Chat Lions Podcast Options

For those of you who have—or have not—been listening to the Fireside Chat podcast, there’s now a veritable cornucopia of ways to follow it:

• First, just click the "Podcast" tab on the linkbar beneath the main banner.  It'll take you to a page where the live stream window is permanently embedded—and a couple all-time favorite episodes are highlighted, too.
• Second, you can go to the Ustream Fireside Chat homepage, which includes all the groovy chat windows, schedule, archives, etc.  This is the best way to follow the show with all the bells and whistles—including interacting with me during the chat.
• Thirdly, you can open up iTunes, go to “Advanced -> Subscribe to Podcast”, and paste  in the URL for the episodes’ RSS feed:
  

  http://feeds.feedburner.com/thelionsinwinterfiresidechat

The Fireside Chat is currently being reviewed by Apple for inclusion in the iTunes store, but that method will subscribe you whether Steve approves of me or not! As for non-podcast content, more is coming soon.  I’ve been burning the midnight oil on the famous CBA post; my hard drive creaks and groans under its mighty weight.

As for news, it looks like we'll know a lot more about how close Louis Delmas is very soon, as he may play against Cleveland--and we'll see if he'll practice Monday.  Calvin Johnson tweaked his ankle today, but it looks like it’s not serious.  However, Jason Fox’s knee may have led to the Lions’ latest roster move: a claim of just-waived Giants OT Cliff Louis.  In Tom Kowalski’s words:

Lions' right tackle position getting interesting

Michael Schottey dug up a nice little scouting report on Cliff Louis from back in ‘07.  Obviously, Louis hasn’t yet hit that upside, but he clearly was on the Lions’ scouts’ radar all this time.  Is IR coming for Jason Fox?  We’ll see . . .

That reminds me of one last multimedia-related note: Michael Schottey was the guest on The Knee Jerks last night!  Three of my favorite Lions writers all talking Lions; great stuff.  Pop on over to The Knee Jerks to check it out.

Technorati Tags: nfl,detroit lions,detroit lions podcast,fireside chat,the knee jerks,mlive.com

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Tinderbox: It Never Fails! Lawrence Jackson Trade

When Twitter exploded with the news that the Lions had traded a late 2011 draft pick to the Seahawks for 2008 first-round DE Lawrence Jackson, I slapped my forehead.  Of course, it never fails; I wait for the wheeling and dealing to stop so I can summarize and analyze the changes from an intelligent big-picture perspective, and the instant the post goes up the Lions pull off a trade.
“Lo-Jack,” as he’s been called since his days at USC, stands at 6’-4”, and goes 271 pounds—precisely the same stature of the man he replaced, Jason Hunter.  Jackson, as he put it, was the only guy between 260 pounds and 280 pounds on the Seahawks roster; he was a misfit there, but is prototypical here.  I’ve written several times before that this exact phenomenon—scooping up talented young players cut down for not fitting The Scheme—seems to be a specialty of Martin Mayhew’s.  Again, the Lions profit.
If you want to know what Seattle fans thought of Lo-Jack, what they think of the trade, and what his future prospects are, Phil Zaroo pointed out an excellent post by the Seahawks blog Field Gulls, “The Slow Exit of Lawrence Jackson”:

Detroit wins this trade because the Lions have bought low on a still very good, very young and very volatile talent. Detroit wins because Jackson still has much better potential than a mid- to late-round draft pick. Detroit wins because Seattle had schemed Jackson out of its defense and had to either sell low or burn a roster spot on a misfit.

Besides the gradual, inexplicable Sehawkening of the Lions’ roster, this spells doom for longtime Lions end Jared DeVries—one of only two pre-Millen Lions left on the roster.  When DeVries was re-signed, much of the money was tied to the condition that he make the final 53—a hedge against both injury and lost performance.  It looks as though that hedge was wise, as DeVries’ knee has been keeping him out of practice—and having only Turk McBride and Willie Young behind Avril and Vanden Bosch would not have inspired confidence.
I won't engrave DeVries' epitaph, not yet--but I'm polishing the granite.

Technorati Tags: nfl,detroit lions,seattle seahawks,lawrence jackson,jared devries

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