Lions News

[TK]

Matthew Stafford, 3 year extension. Now he's safe to develop his underhand throws while arguing that his mechanics are peachy.

[DrRay11]

Good to hear. Interested to see what next 4 years' cap hits will be.

[TK]

No but for real, I'm a big Stafford fan. Jaws ranked him #16 in the NFL and I thought that was kinda bullshit (especially with Romo at #15), but I can't really complain. Stafford has to lead the team to the playoffs and win a few games there before he's taken seriously by the national media. Jaws doesn't like his inconsistent delivery, and I didn't either until late last year, when he seemed to get a handle on his different throwing styles.

Regardless, Stafford is the one Lions QB in my lifetime I haven't been uncertain about. Yet.

[DrRay11]

Same here. I think he's a top-12 QB at worst. I'm excited to see what Corey Fuller can do this year, we have Nate Burleson back, and I half expect Patrick Edwards to be 85% of what Titus Young was on the field (I liked him a lot last year... apparently he was dealing with hamstring troubles). Not to mention Reggie Bush.

Receiving game is going to be a lot closer to 2011 than 2012 this year, IMO, which is a good thing.

[TK]

Same here. I think he's a top-12 QB at worst. I'm excited to see what Corey Fuller can do this year, we have Nate Burleson back, and I half expect Patrick Edwards to be 85% of what Titus Young was on the field (I liked him a lot last year... apparently he was dealing with hamstring troubles). Not to mention Reggie Bush.

Receiving game is going to be a lot closer to 2011 than 2012 this year, IMO, which is a good thing.

Also Pettigrew hopefully coming back strong after a down year. The Offense could be the best in the NFL IF they stay healthy.

If the defense is even mediocre, I'll be happy.

[DrRay11]

I have no faith in Pettigrew. Agree about possibly being the best offense.

A lot of people think the d-line took a huge downgrade in the offseason. I don't agree at all. KVB was probably top 3 worst starting DEs last year and I've never liked Avril, who's a one trick pony. We got freaking massive across the d-line. Devin Taylor is 6-7 266, Ziggy Ansah is 6-5 270, Jason Jones is 6-5 275, Israel Idonije is 6-6 275.

At the least, I expect our run defense to be significantly better. 2012 KVB is replaceable/outdone by anyone, and I like Idonije's potential here. Ansah has the potential to be better at rushing than Avril, but that remains to be seen.

All in all, I feel like the d-line is better than last year. Idonije = Avril in terms of worth. Ansah >= KVB.

Add Glover Quin and Slay in the secondary, and that's a pretty big improvement. I'm not worried about the dropoff from Durant to Palmer or Lewis.

We got a lot better this offseason, partially by subtraction and partially by addition.

[TK]

I have no faith in Pettigrew. Agree about possibly being the best offense.

A lot of people think the d-line took a huge downgrade in the offseason. I don't agree at all. KVB was probably top 3 worst starting DEs last year and I've never liked Avril, who's a one trick pony. We got freaking massive across the d-line. Devin Taylor is 6-7 266, Ziggy Ansah is 6-5 270, Jason Jones is 6-5 275, Israel Idonije is 6-6 275.

At the least, I expect our run defense to be significantly better. 2012 KVB is replaceable/outdone by anyone, and I like Idonije's potential here. Ansah has the potential to be better at rushing than Avril, but that remains to be seen.

All in all, I feel like the d-line is better than last year. Idonije = Avril in terms of worth. Ansah >= KVB.

Add Glover Quin and Slay in the secondary, and that's a pretty big improvement. I'm not worried about the dropoff from Durant to Palmer or Lewis.

We got a lot better this offseason, partially by subtraction and partially by addition.

Still, with the horses w had in the middle last year (Suh and Fairley) and a decent LB corps, we gave up way too many yards up the middle on the ground. I seriously hope they can fix that, because if they can't it'll be another long year. They can have all the CB and S improvement in the league, and it won't mean shit if they can't stop the 4-6 yard runs up the middle.

[TK]

http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcnorth/pos...nce-back-in-13

The Lions played the toughest schedule in the NFL last season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Their opponents were 144-110-2 last season for a .566 winning percentage.

Losing eight games by one score against the toughest schedule in the league puts last season's 4-12 in statistical context.

[Glenn]

^

ESPNpologists.com

[TK]

Because if there is anyone who makes apologies for the Lions, it ESPN.