Monday Notes: Playing Catch Up

Note: This is a long post, as it's the first notes one I've done since before the draft.  That means there's a lot of stuff to talk about, so let's get right to it...

• First things first, I want to thank you all for making April the biggest month ever in Pride of Detroit history traffic-wise.  March's record quickly went by the wayside, as April ended up with more than 668,000 page views when all was said and done, and that was with one less day.  Between the insane traffic and the amazing amount of activity on the site, April was without a doubt the busiest month in Pride of Detroit history.  Thanks again!
• Cedric Peerman and DeAngelo Smith, who were released by the Lions after the draft, were quickly claimed by the Bengals and Browns, respectively.  It's weird to see other teams go after players the Lions let go, but this has happened a few times recently.  Perhaps it alone is a sign of progress.
• Ndamukong Suh's jersey is the second-best selling one out of this year's rookies.  Tim Tebow's jersey is in first place by a wide margin.
• If you're looking into getting some autographed Ndamukong Suh memorabilia, check out Steiner Sports, which is offering a special deal to POD readers.  You can get an autographed 8x10 photo for only $39.99 instead of $69.99 by using the code SUHLION1, and by using the code SUHLION2 you can get an autographed football for $199.99 instead of $299.99.
• Just like Matthew Stafford a year ago, Suh was the Lions' consensus pick.
• Unlike the Stafford pick last year, fans at the Ford Field draft party cheered when Suh was announced as the Lions' selection.
• The Lions in Winter has a nice recap of the aforementioned draft party at Ford Field.

(Much more after the jump)

• Jim Schwartz was getting a little impatient while the trade with the Vikings was being worked out.
• Jason Fox had an interesting response to a question about the fact that he missed a game last season because of an irregular heartbeat.
  

  "I'd really prefer not to get into that," he said. "It was a fluke one-day thing that will never happen again. I've had several stress tests and they've all come back clear."

  Take that as you will I suppose.
• Peter King talked to some people who think Fox can be a "long-term tackle."
• As pointed out on MGoBoard, Tim Toone sort of looks like Lance Armstrong with dreadlocks.
• Mel Kiper gave the Lions' draft a B+.
• Todd McShay's first 2011 mock draft has the Lions picking North Carolina's Robert Quinn with the eighth selection.
• Pete Prisco re-graded the 2007 draft -- Matt Millen's second-to-last draft with the Lions -- and unsurprisingly gave Detroit a D.
• The Cowboys' draft board was leaked out.  This is why it's not a great idea to let cameras into your war room.
• Buffalo Rumblings put together an interesting study on speed backs in the NFL.
• Eminem likes the direction the Lions are going in.
• Former Lion Teddy Lehman got a tryout with the Jaguars.
• Another former Lion, Will James, was scheduled to visit the 49ers on Monday.
• The Lions are currently 7-point underdogs for their season opener against the Bears.
• The Lions' odds of winning the 2011 Super Bowl are 80/1.  That is good enough to put them ahead of four teams and tie them with the Browns and Raiders.
• The Lions are going to play in the Crime Stopper benefit basketball game on May 12 at Saginaw Heritage High School.
• This year's draft was the most watched one in NFL history, so it's no surprise that the move to primetime is likely here to stay.
• Matthew Stafford has the highest throwing power rating of any quarterback in Madden 11.
• Pastapadre has a screenshot of Ndamukong Suh sacking Jay Cutler in Madden.  I hope we will be seeing a lot of that both in Madden and in real life.
• Speaking of Madden 11, Gus Johnson might be this year's announcer instead of Tom Hammond, which would just be all kinds of awesome.  There is going to be a big Gus Johnson-related announcement on May 5, so I'd be willing to bet that it is about Madden.
• ESPN Detroit is coming at some point, at least one would think since ESPN owns the domain ESPNDetroit.com.