Pride Of Detroit - All Posts

Charles Woodson signs with Raiders

2013-05-22T03:01:05Z

For those of you who were hoping to see Charles Woodson play for the Detroit Lions, I have bad news. The former Michigan Wolverine is returning to the Oakland Raiders on a one-year contract. He visited the Raiders on Tuesday, and he didn't leave town without a deal in place.

The Lions were never actually interested in signing Woodson, but he said last week that he would be open to the idea of returning to the state of Michigan to continue his career. That was contingent on a deal not getting done with Oakland, though, so it never got to the point where it was a realistic option for either side.

According to Josina Anderson, Woodson's deal has a base salary of $1.8 million and is worth a maximum of $4.3 million. That's likely way, way more than the Lions would have been willing to offer given that they are pretty much set at safety right now. At the veteran's minimum, Woodson would have been a solid addition as a leader and a mentor for the younger defensive backs. At $1.8 million, though? That's a bit much.

Of course, money isn't the only reason Woodson decided to sign with the Raiders. He clearly liked the idea of returning to his original team to wind down his NFL career. And Raiders fans did an excellent job of showing him the love while he was in town for his visit.

The Raiders fans still at headquarters for the Charles Woodson announcement. #RaiderNation #dedication twitter.com/RAIDERS/status…
— OAKLAND RAIDERS (@RAIDERS) May 22, 2013

If any high-profile free agents visit the Lions next year, perhaps we should organize a rally at their facility in Allen Park.

Max Starks signs with Chargers

2013-05-22T02:38:45Z

As far as we know, the Detroit Lions never expressed any interest in signing veteran offensive tackle Max Starks. However, the Lions were mentioned by Sports Illustrated's Chris Burke as a possible landing spot for Starks. They are in need of a veteran to serve as extra depth at offensive tackle, and Starks would have been a solid fit given his starting experience.

Starks is no longer an option, though. On Tuesday, he signed a one-year deal with the San Diego Chargers. Chances are he will end up starting at left tackle for the Chargers, so it's no shock that he decided to sign with them.

The best the Lions can offer to a veteran tackle at this point is the chance to compete for a starting job at one of the tackle positions. In all reality, though, Riley Reiff will likely be the starting left tackle and Jason Fox or Corey Hilliard should start at right tackle. Even if Fox pulls off the upset by winning the starting left tackle job, Reiff would simply shift over to right tackle.

The Lions do need to address this need at some point simply so there is some insurance in case an injury happens. You don't want there to be a situation where you're scrambling for a new starter or depth behind the top three tackles if somebody gets hurt, so look for the Lions to add somebody at some point this offseason.

Reggie Bush looking forward to playing in Lions' offense

2013-05-21T23:19:33Z

The Detroit Lions' move to sign running back Reggie Bush earlier in the offseason created a lot of excitement, and not just among fans. The Lions themselves are obviously quite excited about the addition, as they see Bush as someone who can keep defenses guessing. Wide receiver Calvin Johnson, for example, thinks Bush will force defenses to respect the run more than they have in the past when facing the Lions.

Calvin on Bush's impact: "He's gonna make them bring another man down (in the box). If you don't, Reggie will make you look foolish."
— Chris McCosky (@cmccosky) May 20, 2013

Bush himself is excited about getting to play in the Lions' offense. During interviews last week, he compared the Lions' style of offense to what it was like playing for the New Orleans Saints. He likes how the Lions spread things out in their passing game, and he is also a fan of the "screens and draws and stuff like that." Via the Lions' official site, here's more of what Bush had to say:

"I look forward to getting back to this style of offense," Bush said on Sirius NFL Radio. "There's a lot of room for big plays and scoring a lot of points. There's never a dull moment with this offense and the talent that we have."

Hopefully the Lions will be able to better take advantage of all the talent they have in 2013 by actually scoring a lot of points on a consistent basis.

NFL names locations for Super Bowl 50, 51

2013-05-21T19:39:10Z

On Tuesday at the NFL owners meetings in Boston, the locations of Super Bowl L (50) and Super Bowl LI (51) were awarded. As expected, the Bay Area will host Super Bowl L in 2016 and Houston will host Super Bowl LI in 2017.

The 2016 Super Bowl will be played at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara. This is the new home of the San Francisco 49ers, and it is set to open in 2014. The fact that it is a new stadium had a lot to do with the Bay Area landing Super Bowl L.

A year later, in 2017, the Super Bowl will return to Reliant Stadium in Houston for the first time since 2004. Houston, like the Bay Area host committee, defeated South Florida's bid to host another Super Bowl.

Here's a rundown of the next four Super Bowl locations:

2014: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ
2015: University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, AZ
2016: Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, CA
2017: Reliant Stadium, Houston, TX

Lions to host new bowl game at Ford Field?

2013-05-21T15:53:17Z

The Detroit Lions are putting together plans to host a new college football bowl game at Ford Field that would begin play in 2014, according to ESPN's Brett McMurphy. The game would feature a team from the new-look Big Ten against a team from the new-look ACC, according to the report.

I know what you're probably thinking. Isn't there already a bowl game at Ford Field? The answer is yes, but it's not hosted directly by the Lions. If the Lions created their own bowl game, it would take the place of the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl, which has been in existence since 1997 (previously called the Motor City Bowl).

Aside from potentially adding revenues by hosting a bowl game directly, the Lions may also be interested in creating a higher profile for Ford Field's bowl game. The Big Ten and MAC (with the Sun Belt as an alternate) have had the tie-ins for the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl most recently, but the game rarely actually features a team from the Big Ten. Perhaps the new bowl game at Ford Field will garner a bit more attention with the Big Ten once again expanding, new bowl lineups starting in 2014 and the ACC being added as a tie-in.

The Lions, for what it's worth, declined to comment on this report, according to Dave Birkett. However, Birkett reports that while nothing is finalized, a game "is in the works."

Lions offseason schedule: Let the OTAs begin!

2013-05-21T12:00:13Z

We're still months away from training camp and actual football games, but the Detroit Lions are set to hit the practice field on Tuesday to open their 2013 organized team activities. There are 10 OTAs in total, and the Lions have three this week: one on Tuesday, one on Wednesday and one on Thursday.

While OTAs are far from full practices, they at least allow veterans and rookies to come together to get on-field instruction and participate in drills. They're sort of like an appetizer to training camp. We'll get a brief taste of on-field news, but the main course will have to wait until the summer.

More: Dates for Lions' OTAs and minicamp

Part of the reason this is merely a preview of things to come is because there are limitations on what can take place during an OTA. Pro Football Talk has the details:

OTAs are voluntary workouts. On-field coaching instruction is allowed, but live contact is prohibited. Per the CBA, prohibited contact includes "blocking, tackling, pass rushing [and] bump-and-run" situations. Players can wear helmets, elbow pads and knee pads, but OTAs are not to be fully padded practices.

Some offense vs. defense team drills are allowed during OTAs; for instance, 11-on-11 drills can be conducted. Some special teams work is also allowed. However, no one-on-one workouts can occur, such as a receiver competing against a cornerback.

With the 11-on-11 drills, I'm most looking forward to seeing who is part of the first team at positions like offensive tackle, linebacker and cornerback. Obviously the depth chart is far from set, but we should still get a pretty good idea of where things stand as these position battles start to heat up.

What are you planning to keep an eye on as the Lions' OTAs begin?

Calvin Johnson sets sights on 2,000 yards, more wins

2013-05-20T21:53:19Z

2012 was a record season for Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson. He finished with 1,964 yards receiving, breaking Jerry Rice's single-season record. He did all of this despite dealing with multiple injuries throughout the course of the season. Also, he was able to accomplish this feat despite playing for a team that went 4-12.

In 2013, Johnson wants an even better season both for himself and the Lions. For starters, he wants to break 2,000 yards receiving after coming up just short in 2012. He also wants to score more touchdowns after only having five last season. But most importantly, Johnson wants the Lions to win more games. From MLive:

"That's exactly where we're at," Johnson said. "It's funny because I talked to (former Pittsburgh Steelers receiver) Hines (Ward) in the offseason, over the last few offseasons, because we share the same trainer (Tom Bender). He's like, 'You can have all the accolades in the world, but it doesn't really mean nothing'. He told me, and he could attest to this, (it does not mean anything) if you're not winning.

"I could have three touchdowns and 200 yards, but if we lose the game, what's it all for?"

Watching Johnson set records last season was certainly cool, but it's even more fun seeing the Lions actually win games. Hopefully in 2013 we'll get a healthy dose of both.

2014 NFL Draft to be held in May?

2013-05-20T19:25:07Z

It looks as though the NFL's plan to overhaul its offseason calendar is moving closer to becoming a reality. Back in February, Adam Schefter reported that the NFL was talking about a possible change to the start of free agency and the dates for the combine and draft. Now it looks like some form of these changes could be coming to fruition.

NFL and NFLPA are on verge of pushing back draft to May and moving up start of league year to before combine, per sources.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 20, 2013

Ian Rapoport mentioned May 15 as the likely start date of the 2014 NFL Draft, and he says it would be a "tryout" rather than a permanent change. Because there is a scheduling conflict with Radio City Music Hall (the location of the draft) and Easter, the NFL apparently sees next year as a good time to test out holding the draft in May.

Rapoport also reports that because of logistical issues, the date of the 2014 NFL Combine is unlikely to change. However, in the future, it seems like the league is planning to have the combine take place in March. This would allow the start of the league year and free agency to take place in February. The NFL originally wanted free agency to start in April, but I don't think the NFLPA had any interest in delaying it by a month.

If the NFL does overhaul its offseason calendar, it sounds like free agency will begin 2-3 weeks after the Super Bowl. The combine will then be held a couple weeks later in March as the buzz starts to build for the draft. Then, instead of having the draft at the end of April, we'd get an extra couple of weeks to read about mock drafts before the actual event is held in May.

What's the point of these changes? Money, quite simply. Having the draft in May (during sweeps week, perhaps) could result in bigger advertising dollars, and it would keep the NFL in the news through the middle of the month. OTAs would presumably be pushed back a bit, meaning there could be stuff going on through the end of June instead of simply through mid-June. There would still be a bit of a quiet period in July before training camp begins, but as we've learned over the years, there's always seemingly something going on in the world of the NFL.

Personally, I am not a huge fan of pushing the draft back, but I like the idea of moving free agency ahead of the combine. I still would like for free agency to be held after the draft like it was in the lockout year, but it's a safe assumption that that will never happen again in a normal offseason.

What do you think of these potential changes?

UPDATE: Here are more details on the changes:

Proposed new league year would start before combine in 2015 and 2016. Change of draft to May effective in 2014.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 20, 2013