The Detroit Lions added defensive end Ugo Chinasa to their practice squad today, according to Dave Birkett. A spot opened up after defensive end Kyle Moore was signed off the Lions practice squad by the Buffalo Bills, and the Lions opted to fill it with another DE.

Chinasa is a first-year player from Oklahoma State. He spent some time with the Carolina Panthers this summer before being let go during the final round of roster cuts.

Moore joined the Lions practice squad in early September. He was previously with the Tamp Bay Buccaneers, which let Moore go during the final round of roster cuts.

In other practice squad news, the Kansas City Chiefs added former Lions linebacker Caleb Campbelll today. He joins their practice squad after being on the open market ever since the Indianapolis Colts let him go from their practice squad after two weeks in September. He was picked up by Indy after the Lions let him go during the final round of roster cuts.

David Syvertsen of New Era Scouting, who has been interviewed on this site a couple times before, is back again to help preview the 2010 NFL Draft.  I always enjoy reading David's insights on the draft and football in general, and this most recent interview gave me the chance to pick his brain about a variety of draft-related topics, including specific players like Ndamukong Suh, Gerald McCoy, and Eric Berry, and more broad subjects like the Lions' needs and late-round sleepers.  You can check out the interview below, and thanks again to David for taking the time to answer my questions.

Pride of Detroit: The vast majority of Lions fans favor Ndamukong Suh over Gerald McCoy by a fairly wide margin. Is that simply because Suh has received more publicity, or is he that much better than McCoy? At the same time, are Suh and McCoy really head and shoulders above the rest of the prospects in this year's draft?

David Syvertsen: You really can't go wrong with either, as both Suh and McCoy are going to shine in the NFL. Both have enormous talent and are fully capable of solving the issues along the interior of Detroit's defensive line. Personally, I graded Suh slightly higher than McCoy, but the difference in minimal. I feel Suh's power is more NFL ready than McCoy, and he will be a greater force against the run right off the bat. One could make the argument that McCoy has more explosion into the gap, but Suh's combination of power and initial quickness on top of that enormous pop is something that McCoy still needs to develop. In comparison to the other first round caliber defensive tackles, Suh and McCoy are without a doubt head and shoulders above everyone else. But they are in the same tier on my sheet as Eric Berry, Russell Okung, Rolando McClain, Derrick Morgan, and Joe Haden. Any player graded at 90 or above according to my system is considered elite, and those are the names in that category.

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Matthew Stafford has been down in Miami this week to promote, among other things, AXE Hair, and he took some time out of his busy schedule to catch up with Pride of Detroit to answer some of the questions you guys submitted for him a couple weeks ago.  In the interview Stafford shared his thoughts on last season, the future, and Jim Schwartz, just to name a few of the topics covered.  Check it out:

Pride of Detroit: How big is the difference - if there is one - between preparing for games in college and games in the NFL? What types of things do you now do in the NFL (i.e. watch more film, spend more time practicing, etc.) that you didn't do as much or at all in college?

Matthew Stafford: It's spending more time in the film room because there's no class. Pro practices are very similar to college. In the pros, it's especially important to put last week behind you and focus on the upcoming game.

POD: On a related note, how long does it take for a quarterback and a receiver to truly get on the same page and develop a rapport with one another? Is it just a matter of playing together long enough that it will naturally happen or can you go out on the field and throw passes in the offseason to speed up the process?

MS: Building a rapport is extremely important; every situation is different, but getting a chance to play with another receiver for multiple years is how you gain success in this league as an offense.

POD: In hindsight, do you think you came back from your shoulder injury too quickly in order to play on Thanksgiving, just four days after you injured it against Cleveland?

MS: I probably could have sat out that game, but as a competitor, I really wanted to be in there. Wish I could have played better.

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Back in April I talked with New Era Scouting's David Syvertsen about the draft, and now he is back again to talk about the upcoming NFL season.  (You can now follow David on Twitter, where he will be providing scouting notes all season long for both college and pro football.)

Pride of Detroit: Matthew Stafford was named the Lions' starting quarterback, getting the nod over Daunte Culpepper.  What has Stafford shown in the preseason to justify this decision?

David Syvertsen: If Stafford came into the league from a spread offense where his keys were short and simple, this would have been a terrible decision.  However he came from a Georgia offense that plays an NFL style pro set.  On top of that, Stafford impressed scouts and coaches across the league with not only his throwing ability, but his NFL ready know-how when it came to breaking down NFL defenses.  Scott Linehan made it simple for him but as the preseason progressed, he was given more and more responsibility when it came to controlling the offense.  Instead of taking a couple steps backward like most rookies, Stafford really excelled as the weeks went on.  His performance against the Colts was the point where I was 100% confident the job was his.  He looked decisive and confident, two "musts" for a young quarterback.  Everyone knows the ability is there in his arm, but what he showed in between the ears was what really got him that starting job.

(Rest of interview is after the jump.)

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The Football Outsiders Almanac for the 2009 season was recently released, and the author of the Lions' section of the book, Bill Barnwell, answered five of my questions about last year's team and what to expect out of the '09 Lions.

1. Based on a couple different formulas used in Football Outsiders, last year's 0-16 Lions weren't actually the worst team of all time, statistically speaking.  Obviously they will always be remembered for going winless, but how much better than their record were the '08 Lions?

Bill Barnwell: Well, it depends on how you calculate it. Their points scored and points against were indicative of a 3-13 team. DVOA, our stat which measures performance versus the league average on every play after adjusting for down, distance, situation, and opponent, would consider them to have played at the level of a 2-14 team.

DVOA suggests that the Lions were the worst team in the league, but only by a slim margin over the Rams. It also pegs the Lions to be a garden-variety really bad team as opposed to the worst team in NFL history, which is an "honor" we might bestow on a team like the 2005 49ers.

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I recently interviewed David Syvertsen of New Era Scouting, and he answered many questions about what the Lions should do in the draft and analyzed a few specific players as well.  He also gave his thoughts on the Matthew Stafford debate, making his opinion on the situation pretty clear.  Take a look:

(Rest of interview is after the jump.)

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Lions cornerback Ramzee Robinson was nice enough to take some time out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions I had for him about making the team, being Mr. Irrelevant, the type of coach Rod Marinelli is, and much more.

The questions and answers are below, and I want to give a big thanks to Robinson for taking part in the interview.

Pride of Detroit: When you first found out that you had made the team, what went through your mind?

Ramzee Robinson: Actually, it was bittersweet at first, reason being, if you receive a call that day from player personnel its usually because your expected to be released. Well, I DID receive a call from Sheldon (Personnel) and my heart begin to beat fast, along w/short breathes, almost like I was drowning in an ocean from just answering assuming I was going to be released. Well, he informed me that I made it and he only was calling to ask me to bring DeVonte"s playbook up to the facility because D left it in my bag. Some may think that's funny, but for myself it was even more nerve wracking because I didn't sleep the entire night before waiting to see how things shape up. So, AFTER fussing at Sheldon for such a call, first thing went through my mind was "FINALLY I MADE IT" and I began to cry for only about a minute and praising God for such a blessing.

(Ed. Note -- The rest of the interview can be found after the jump)

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I'm going to be interviewing Lions cornerback Ramzee Robinson in the coming future, so if you have any questions you'd like me to ask him, submit them in the comments section.  I'll pass them along and you can get your question answered by Mr. Irrelevant himself.