Bleacher Report - Articles by Keith Shelton

Why Drew Stanton should start over Daunte Culpepper for Lions on Turkey Day

Keith Shelton — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:03:15 -0500

It figures.

Many Lions fans watched and listened at the edge of their seats last Sunday as they watched the star rookie quarterback Matthew Stafford, complete a thrilling game that ranks as the greatest comeback in Detroit Lions history, and he did it with a separated AC joint (shoulder).

It's the archetypal birth of a legend story and it will be told for years to come when Stafford is a perennial pro-bowler, when the Lions can look back on these days and laugh;just ask Peyton Manning.

It figures then, that Detroit's newest hero will almost certainly be out for the annual Thanksgiving Day game and probably Calvin Johnson too.

*groan*

Do I need to explain how big of a bummer this is? The Lions get one nationally televised game per year; ONE.

For pretty much the past decade, the Lions have used this one nationally televised game to basically give the NFL reason to take away their one nationally televised game.

They have been blown out repeatedly on Thanksgiving. I don't even want to remember last year's game, when the Lions seemed to go to new heights by allowing Tennessee to score inside the first minute of the game, and the Lions got the ball first!

This is especially painful for those of us who vaguely remember the days when Detroit played their best game on Turkey Day. Even in a rough season, the Lions would rise up and defy all logic, beating a better team.

My point? With Stafford and Johnson, the Lions had a chance to do just that this Thanksgiving. Green Bay is decidedly mediocre this year, which means they are leaps and bounds better than our Lions.

But with Stafford coming off the game of his life, and Calvin Johnson returning to dominating form, the Lions had chance for a Thanksgiving win. Even the media thought so.

No Stafford? No Johnson? Forget about it.

The Lions of course were without both Stafford and Johnson the first time they faced the Packers this season, and they were thoroughly dominated by a score of 26-0. Do we really want to watch that again?

Really, who wants to watch Daunte Culpepper throw to scrub receivers that will drop passes all day long. It's no fun watching the Lions defense repeatedly get burned, when the offense has no recourse.

That's the funny thing about Culpepper too. Most years, the Lions backup quarterback is the most popular man in Detroit.

This year, he is anything but. Lions fans, get this, actually like their starting quarterback; crazy, I know.

Culpepper gives us no reason to be excited. A freshly sold out stadium bought tickets believing they were going to get a show and now they'll get a nap instead.

Most importantly, the nation will fume once again. There will again be talk of taking away the Lions hold on the annual Thanksgiving Day game.

Daunte Culpepper cannot take that field and the Lions at least have to be competitive. They at least have to show the nation something.

So the Lions must start Drew Stanton in the event that Matthew Stafford is too hurt to play.

Yeah, yeah, I know.

I know Stanton is nothing to get excited about either. I know the Detroit coaches think poorly of him. Hell, the Lions former offensive line coach, Jim Coletto famously declared last season that he couldn't in good faith start Stanton. Why? Because he didn't want the kid to embarrass himself.

This was in the middle of an 0-16 season in which Dan Orlovsky had lost a game by running out the back of the endzone and Coletto didn't want Stanton to embarrass himself?

Truthfully, Drew Stanton is a poor practice quarterback. He always has been though, going back to his days at Michigan State and going all the way back to his high school days at Harrison High School.

Stanton however, is a gamer like Stafford.

This is why I've always wondered why the coaches soured on him. He embodies great football qualities. He's far from the most talented quarterback out there, but he will compete for you until the bitter end.

I guess in the NFL, or maybe just on the Lions, you make or break yourself on the practice field. Hell, we always hear about how great the Lions play in practice.

If Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson cannot play, William Clay Ford, Martin Mayhew, and the coaching staff, owes Lions fans and the nation, a competitive game.

They aren't going to get it from Daunte Culpepper, he's gone next year anyway. Maybe Drew Stanton is too, but he at least deserves a real shot at latching on with the team at proving to the coaches that he can play.

Put Stanton out there on Thanksgiving and lets see what he can do. Why not? I suspect he'll be playing by halftime anyway once the score is out of hand. Let's avoid that and let the man compete from the start.

The Lions should do whatever possible to avoid forcing NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's hand.

The Anointing of Matthew Stafford: Detroit's Quarterback Is Here to Stay

Keith Shelton — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:51:19 -0500

In one game—in one instant, really—Matthew Stafford won over the hearts of Detroit.

In possibly the most insane game I have ever witnessed as a Lions fan, the Detroit Lions found their quarterback.

This is huge.

You might now be writing me off as a delusional Lions fan raving about a meaningless game between 1-8 teams, but I assure you, I am anything but.

I long ago severed any emotional attachment to the Lions, watching now only as an observer, indifferent to the flood of losses. Indifferent even to the victory over Washington earlier this season that broke the 19-game losing streak.

How do I know something magical happened last Sunday? Because I felt something. I felt excitement and outright stupid joy when, with zero seconds left on the clock, Matthew Stafford, who I was sure had a separated shoulder, fought off team doctors, trudged back out onto the field, and delivered the game-winning touchdown to complete the greatest comeback in Lions history.

I have seen just one quarterback ever do something like that before, and his name is Brett Favre.

This kid has heart, and lots of it.

This one magical play was so important because up until this game, Matthew Stafford was just another Joey Harrington to many Lions fans. A high-priced draft pick that had accomplished nothing but turning the ball over and not finding his star receiver.

Joey Harrington he is not. Did Harrington ever lead a fourth-quarter comeback? Would Harrington fight off team trainers and throw a clutch-as-they-come touchdown pass in writhing pain?

Stafford embodied the spirit of Detroit in that one play. Hard work, never say die attitude, and playing through pain. That's what you have to do to win over Detroiters.

Steve Yzerman did it. Barry Sanders did it. Joe Dumars did it.

Add Matthew Stafford to the list. If this is what this kid is made of, he's going to be loved in Detroit for a long time.

Yes, it was against the worst team in the NFL. Yes, it was in a meaningless game. Every legend has to start somewhere, though, and Stafford just wrote the first chapter in what will potentially be a long NFL career.

Joey Harrington never had this moment. Neither did Charlie Batch or Jon Kitna. In fact, no Lions Quarterback really had this moment since Bobby Layne in the '50s.

Truth be told, this was only the second time since 1957 that Detroit had come back after being down by ten or more points.

The second time since 1957.

It was more than ten points down, too. It started out as a cruelly typical game for the Lions. Here was not only the most offensively-challenged team in the NFL, but one of the three worst NFL offenses of all-time in the inept Cleveland Browns.

So of course Brady Quinn and the Browns jumped out to a 24-3 lead before the first quarter was even over. In the past, I would have turned off the television at that point. I kept watching, though, because my emotionally-detached self wanted to see Cleveland run up the score even further, for my amusement.

Apparently I wasn't alone, because in a surreal moment of the bizarre, the denizens of Ford Field began cheering on the Cleveland Browns.

It may have been the mutiny of the crowd that flickered the light bulb inside the minds of the Detroit Lions, but things began to change from there.

The Lions offense was suddenly unstoppable. They were the offense that Matt Millen must have envisioned when he drafted Joey Harrington and gave him a gluttony of talented receivers to work with.

Here was Stafford hitting Kevin Smith for huge gains, and Calvin Johnson for huge gains, and Brandon Pettigrew for huge gains, so quick you wouldn't believe it.

And before you could believe it, the score was tied at 24-24. You would think this would snap me out of my haze of indifference, but I kept watching merely to answer the question, how will the Lions screw up the game today?

And screw it up they nearly did.

Up by four points in the fourth quarter, and backed up to his own one-yard line, a frantic Matthew Stafford threw the ball away in the end zone, but didn't reach the line of scrimmage.

Intentional grounding in the end zone is a safety. I didn't know that. Wow, I thought, they really do find new, creative ways to lose every week.

Now with the score at 31-29, Detroit would have to kick back to the Browns. Cleveland wouldn't score at that point, but they got their agonizing, knife-in-your-heart drive with about five minutes left in the fourth quarter.

That it was former Lions tight end Michael Gaines that caught the lead-changing touchdown, made it all the more bitter.

Upon getting the ball back, Matthew Stafford, playing the part of Joey Harrington, Jon Kitna, Charlie Batch, and Scott Mitchell, promptly threw an interception when he tried to hit Calvin Johnson in triple coverage.

The game was essentially over at this point. The Lions had just two timeouts and Cleveland only had to kill just under three minutes of clock; a task we have seen Lions opponents ably perform for decades.

But the Lions felt like toying with our emotions this day, so they burned their timeouts to stop the clock, and the defense rose up and stopped Cleveland's suddenly conservative offense. The Lions would get the ball back on their own 12-yard line with about a minute-and-a-half to go, and no timeouts.

Stafford then went to work, and I was sure as could be that there was no way he could lead Detroit on an 88-yard drive with less than two minutes remaining and no timeouts.

My suspicions seemed to be confirmed when Stafford repeatedly hit his receivers in the the middle of the field. Again and again, they couldn't get out of bounds and Stafford had to rush to the line and spike the ball.

This, however, was what Cleveland was willing to give up. They took away the deep ball and they took away the sidelines.

Finally, we were down to eight seconds to go and Detroit was down to Cleveland's 30-yard line. Enough time for two end zone shots, said the announcers. I agreed.

Stafford took the snap and immediately came under pressure. He scrambled out of the pocket and still couldn't find anyone open! The clock ticked zero. Stafford now had to go for all or nothing. He spun out and heaved a desperation throw.

The pass had no chance. Defenders swarmed over Calvin Johnson, and Matthew Stafford was nailed hard right after releasing the pass.

He didn't move.

Then the yellow flags were thrown. Pass interference. On a Hail Mary play? Seriously?

NFL rules state that a game cannot end on a defensive penalty, and so the Lions were awarded a final play with the clock at zero seconds.

Pass interference in the end zone, by rule, gave the Lions the ball at Cleveland's one-yard line.

Hey, we'll take it.

At this point, Dominic Raiola was trying to pull Stafford up and screaming at him that the officials had given Detroit another play. Stafford was escorted off the field by trainers, though, as it appeared he had injured his collarbone or shoulder, and out came Daunte Culpepper.

This was the worst possible scenario. We had Matthew Stafford, who up until this point had given Detroit the game of his life. He had thrown for over 400 yards and four touchdowns, which equaled up to this point, the greatest performance by a rookie quarterback in NFL history.

All of it would be for nought if a cold Daunte Culpepper came out and blew this play.

Then, like a gift from the heavens, Cleveland called a timeout. I'm sure Eric Mangini just wanted to get his defense focused for the play. He never could have envisioned Matthew Stafford fighting off four team doctors to painfully trudge back out onto the field.

It was here that Stafford took the snap and on pure adrenaline and probably with a separated shoulder, heaved the game-winning pass to Brandon Pettigrew. Pure agony followed, but I'm sure if Stafford could have forced a smile, he would have.

Beware the one-armed man.

Stafford will have more ups and downs from here, more highs and lows, but he now has the best performance by a rookie quarterback in NFL history: 400 yards and five touchdowns. No one can take that away from him.

He also now has the city and the team behind him, and I'm sure that's more valuable than numbers.

The Lions are still very much a work in progress, but at least they have their quarterback. They don't need to worry about that any longer. It's a small step, but a giant leap at the same time.

Matthew Stafford is here to stay.

Michigan Wolverines' Season Will Mercifully Come to an End on Saturday

Keith Shelton — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:07:54 -0500

They won't have to suffer much longer. We won't have to suffer much longer.

The end of the season can't get here soon enough for the Michigan Wolverines and what a season it has been.

At this point, the once promising 2009 campaign, can now only be looked upon with utter disgust. Disgust at the way it ended. Disgust at what could have been, and what now is.

Folks, Michigan has sunk to rock bottom. They are the worst team in the Big 10. When is the last time that could be said about the Wolverines? Possibly never?

That this team was once 4-0 seems like an impossibility. In fact I wouldn't believe you if you told me, had I not seen it myself.

From 4-0 they of course transitioned to 5-6, with the lone win in the Wolverines last seven games coming against FCS opponent, Delaware State.

The plummet can be attributed to a multitude of things.

1) Injuries

Starting center David Molk went down with a knee injury a few games into the season, which forced the entire offensive line to readjust. It began with miscues and bad snaps from center, and has morphed into good old fashioned inconsistency.

Wide reciever Martvaious Odoms has also been hampered for most of the season with a knee injury.

2) NCAA Investigation

The giant elephant in the room. The team got off to a 4-0 start on a defiant high when the investigations were announced, however that can only last for so long. It may be weighing on this team now, as the investigation heats up. It was recently announced that Michigan did not keep any time logs during the 2008 season.

3) Freshmen at quarterback

Tate Forcier certainly didn't appear to be the average freshman quarterback through the first half of the season. He led big time comebacks against Notre Dame and Indiana, and nearly accomplished the same feat against Michigan State and Iowa as well. Then he began to regress. His accuracy decreased, his turnovers increased.

Rich Rodriguez also appeared to lose some faith in the young Forcier as fellow freshman, Denard "Shoelace" Robinson got more and more playing time, often with disastrous results.

However it wouldn't be fair to place all the blame on the quarterback situation.

4) The defense

It's the worst defense Michigan has ever had, to put it bluntly. There are a few factors that go into this.

Greg Robinson is the third defensive coordinator in three years at Michigan. Although Robinson has a solid reputation as a defensive guru and has the Superbowl ring to prove it, he still has to undo the damage done by Schafer. At least, we hope that's all it is.

One of Michigan's prized secondary recruits, Boubacar Cissoko, was also kicked off the team midway through the season for violating team rules. That spiraled an already shaky secondary into utter chaos.

Other positions on the defense suffer from a lack of depth. The linebackers are in complete disarray with Obi Ezeh getting benched against Illinois in favor of a walk-on, and the tackles resembling a Swiss cheese line.

Brandon Graham and freshman Craig Roh seem to be the only bright spots here. Unfortuantely, Graham is a senior and won't be back in 2010.

Michigan has allowed 35 or more points, four games in a row, and at least 30 points in eight out of 11 games.

All of this seems to be getting to embattled coach, Rich Rodriguez. It is possible he is now losing his grip on his players.

Tate Forcier spoke out after the Wisconsin game, revealing that Denard Robinson took all the snaps with the first team offense leading up to the game, but Rodriguez started Forcier anyway, and played him for most of the game.

Where is the logic in that?

Is it any wonder then, that there are rumors circling of Forcier wanting to transfer out?

Now, the 5-6 Wolverines limp into the Ohio State game. A rivalry that has now lost most of its luster.

Michigan needs a victory in their final game just to become bowl eligible. Truthfully, they will be lucky to keep it within three touchdowns.

If Wisconsin can put up 45 points, and Illinois and Purdue can decimate you with over 300 yards rushing, what will Ohio State do?

I shudder to think, but I will watch with a wince on my face anyway.

There is no telling what next season will bring now. There is only uncertainty. What will the results of the NCAA investigation bring? Will Michigan's defense be shored up with the new recruiting class? Will more players transfer out? Who will start at Quarterback next year? Tate Forcier? Denard Robinson? Devin Gardner? Is Justin Turner the real deal? How about Will Campbell?

At any rate, Michigan should not accept anything less than a winning Big 10 record from Rodriguez next year. At bare minimum.

For now, this season cannot end soon enough. This team has been embarrassed, beaten, degraded, and decimated. They enter the Ohio State game with their tail between their legs and if there is any fight left in them at all, hopefully they will unleash it all on the Buckeyes.

Maybe, just maybe, this season can end with a glimmer of hope. One bright spot in an ocean of ugly. A momentum boost for 2010 and a small reason for hope.

Rich Rodriguez will Face Ultimatum in Year Three

Keith Shelton — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 10:40:01 -0500

Let's think about the word improvement. Teams are always looking to improve from what they were the year before, even title-winning teams want to improve.

The Detroit Lions were 8-8 in 2000 and were looking to improve when they brought in new General Manager Matt Millen.

The Michigan Wolverines were 8-4 in 2006 and looking to improve when they brought in new head coach Rich Rodriguez.

Yes, I just compared our Michigan Wolverines to the Detroit Lions. That is how far this program has fallen. I can't think of any better way to accentuate the point.

Sometimes even the best plans backfire.

The team wasn't bad, by any means when Rich Rodriguez was hired, but they weren't elite either. Rodriguez was brought in to make this program elite again.

We knew it would be a process, we knew there would be bumps in the road, we knew it would be frustrating at times, but did anyone really expect this ?

This of course, is a 3-9 season, the worst season in Michigan history, followed up by what will surely be a 5-7 season, among the worst in Michigan history. Two consecutive bowl-less seasons for the first time since 1973-74, and one of the worst defenses in the nation, two years in a row.

You could write a book on all the lows this program has hit in the last two years.

Perhaps most surprising of all, is that Greg Robinson, a man with a rock solid reputation as a defensive guru has completely failed in every sense of the word.

This defense is horrendous. If it isn't the worst defense in the nation, its close to it. When you give up 367 rushing yards to Purdue, you have no credibility at all.

In fact, this was the second consecutive game that Michigan has allowed over 300 yards rushing on them.

It was the third consecutive game, their opponent has scored at least 35 points, and fifth time this season that Michigan has allowed over 30 points.

In my previous article I compared the 2008 and 2009 defenses but I am realizing that this defense is bolstered by a game against Delaware State. So let's re-evaluate.

I am eliminating Miami, Ohio and Toledo from 2008, and Western Michigan, Eastern Michigan, and Delaware State from 2009 for comparisons sake.Those are pushover opponents and I aim to measure Michigan's defense against quality opponents.

The 2008 team gave up an average of 32.8 points per game. This year's team has given up 33.4 points per game.

Our defense has actually gotten worse with Greg Robinson leading it. How in the world is that even possible?

The offense has improved, which is good, but you could have the best offense in the nation. If your defense is horrible, you won't win any games.

How many rushing yards will Wisconsin rack up? How many points will Ohio State score? When will the embarrassment stop?

Not for another year at least.

As much as Rich Rodriguez deserves to be fired and run out of town for his debacle, firing him now only sets the program back.

You would have to bring in a new coach and implement another new system, and watch another flood of players transfer out of the program. It just isn't worth it yet.

So Rodriguez will get another year to prove his point before his head on a platter is called for. However my standards are high, as they should be. Michigan has high standards.

Rodriguez knew what he was getting into when he became coach of the Wolverines. He knew this was the winningest program of all time, he knew about the streak of bowl games, the streak of winning seasons, the greatness of Michigan.

And he has let Michigan down immensely.

Simply making a bowl game in 2010 does not correct this disaster. Michigan must play in a BCS bowl next year or Rodriguez's tenure was a complete and utter failure.

It gets a little complicated if the team turns in an 8-4 season and it would depend who the wins were against, but I stand firm that 8-4 would not erase what has already been done to this program.

Lloyd Carr was run out of town by an angry contingent of fans for going 8-4.

I'll conclude this rant by addressing the loud supporters of Rich Rodriguez. For everyone saying "He's implementing a new system, that takes time!" and "You can't expect great things in his first two seasons!" I point to Georgia Tech.

Paul Johnson came into Georgia Tech before the 2008 season with a new system and had to replace ten starters on defense. That team went 9-4. His team is currently 9-1 this year, first place in the ACC with wins over then No. 4 Virginia Tech and a ranked North Carolina team.

It can be done.

Hopefully Rich Rodriguez is paying attention and feeling the heat, and hopefully Michigan president Mary Sue-Coleman and the new athletic director, whoever that may be, are also paying attention.

If Rodriguez misses a third straight bowl game in 2010 and is still retained, the heat will be re-directed at the people above him.

The Detroit Lions Need To Go 3-13 In Order To Avoid Financial Disaster

Keith Shelton — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:58:30 -0500

It's that time of year again. Yes, that magical time is upon us again when carols are sung and Lions-fans' heads everywhere are filled with dreams of wins or just high draft picks.

I'm referring of course to the NFL's mid-season point, or as it's known in Detroit, Wishing Day.

It's that day when you realize the Lions have absolutely no shot at making the playoffs and you officially start thinking about next season.

Yes, the Lions are so bad, they make awful teams look good. This is not breaking news. If they continue on their current pace, they will finish 2-14 this season.

That will assuredly get this team a top-five draft pick. Great! Right?

High draft picks always come with high hopes and dreams. If you're a Lions fan, you know that those dreams are often shattered at some point during the first two seasons of that player's career.

But forget about that. There's another danger that comes with having high draft picks, and that's the high price-tag attached.

Calvin Johnson was taken No. 2 overall in 2007. He signed a six-year deal worth $64 million. In 2009, Matthew Stafford was taken No.1 overall. He signed a six-year deal worth $72 million.

That's $136 million tied up in two players for those of you keeping track.

At the current rate of inflation, a top five pick in 2010 will cost anywhere from $75 million to $80 million. That means the Lions will have at least $211 million tied up in just three players.

That amounts to $35 million worth of payroll per season. The NFL salary cap is currently at $127 million, meaning that one-quarter of the entire payroll will be spent on three players.

If all three of those players end up being superstars, you might say its money well spent. But what if even just one of them busts?

When one-quarter of your payroll is locked up in three players, that doesn't bode well for the rest of the team, particularly the defense, when at least two of those players are on offense.

And we wonder why Detroit always has scrubs playing in their secondary and defensive line.

So how to avoid this disaster from happening? Win.

Given that St. Louis, Cleveland, Tampa Bay, and Tennessee all currently have one or no wins, if Detroit wins at least three games, it should elevate the Lions above all of them, and more importantly, out of the top five picks.

It has nothing to do with progress, it has nothing to do with getting better as a team— because they aren't—it has everything to do with avoiding financial disaster.

Should the Lions manage to go 2-14, or worse, 1-15, which is entirely possible (it is the Lions after all), Detroit will have no option but to either trade down in the draft or trade the pick for another player.

Trading down would be the smarter move.

In fact, Detroit should consider trading down even if they are picking eighth or ninth. Picks 6-10 are more attractive to teams looking to trade up than picks 1-5 are because they carry less money, and thus less risk.

But for now, Lions fans, wish away, and keep looking forward towards draft day 2010 where hope springs eternal. Just be careful what you wish for, for it may come true, and with it another terrible decade.

Michigan Football: No Improvement For Rich Rodriguez, Wolverines

Keith Shelton — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 22:53:39 -0500

Something is broken with the Michigan Wolverines. Something is seriously wrong.

The team is 5-4 but they haven't improved from last season's 3-9 debacle. Call me crazy if you will, but allow me to explain.

Five wins. This is likely all Michigan will get. Purdue remains their last credible shot at a victory. They aren't going to beat Wisconsin on the road, and they aren't beating Ohio State.

Games that once looked winnable, now look hopeless. Getting blown out and flat out embarrassed by the hapless Illini will do that to you.

There will be no bowl game for the second consecutive year. If Michigan should get to six wins, they should respectfully be denied a bowl game. Wins over FCS opponents shouldn't be included in their resume.

That would just be humiliating. That isn't Michigan.

Five wins. That is what we are evaluating. Now one win was over Delaware State. Not only are the Hornets an FCS team, they are a bad FCS team. I'm not even going to acknowledge that as a credible victory.

Two wins were over Western and Eastern Michigan. Both are bottom rung MAC teams. Again, nothing to be proud of. Nothing that helps the resume.

The other two wins are Notre Dame and Indiana. Of those, only Notre Dame offers a win to really be proud of, but Indiana is still a worthy victory as they are an in-conference opponent.

Again, no improvement from last year.

Last Saturday's game only puts a big exclamation point on that fact. This was perhaps the most embarrassing loss of Rodriguez's tenure as coach at Michigan.

Yes, potentially more embarrassing than the loss to Toledo.

Illinois came into the game with one victory over an FCS opponent, Illinois State. Every other game they played in, they lost by at least 10 points.

That this horrible team was able to drop 38 points on Michigan and win by 25 points? I don't know what to say, except it has come time to take a serious look at the coaching staff.

This is the worst team in the Big Ten. How can you say otherwise after getting destroyed by Illinois?

Can anyone really say, that through two years, we have seen improvement? Not just record-wise, I'm talking about individual player improvement.

How about the defense? Michigan allowed 341 points last year. A record worst for the team and an average of 28 points allowed per game.

So they fired the defensive coordinator and hired Greg Robinson, a proven defensive genius to turn things around.

So far this year, Michigan has allowed 226 points with three games to go. That's an average of 25 points allowed per game.

A whopping three-point improvement.

We again have one of the worst defenses ever seen at Michigan. Five of nine opponents have dropped over 30 points on the Wolverines defense. That 2-6 Illinois team racked up over 500 yards of offense against Michigan for crying out loud!

Has this team bailed on Rodriguez? The question needs to be asked.

Just a few weeks ago, things were looking good. Michigan was heading for seven or eight wins and marked improvement.

Year Three was looking promising.

Five wins, six wins—considering the schedule, that's not improvement. That's turning in back-to-back horrible seasons. Among the worst in Michigan history.

Year Three now becomes an ultimatum that should have been reserved for Year Four.

Am I being too critical?

Don't Wolverines fans have high expectations? They do and so do I.

The bottom line is those expectations are not being met.

Far from it.

It's as simple as that, except it's not simple when the school has invested so much into one coach, one who with each mounting loss is looking more and more like the wrong coach.

The NFL's Undisputed Worst Team Is...Your Detroit Lions

Keith Shelton — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 22:15:04 -0500

We're going to call this a blessing in disguise.

I'm referring of course to the fact that Sunday's comical impersonation of an NFL game between the Detroit Lions and St. Louis Rams, which was blacked out locally.

It was a joke. In one corner we had a team that had lost 17 consecutive games, coming dangerously close to surpassing the Lions recent 19-game disgrace.

In the other corner, we had a team that had lost 28 of their last 30 games, one of the longest streaks of futility in NFL history.

This was quite possibly the most pathetic matchup the NFL had ever witnessed. Yes, thank God we didn't have to see it.

So without seeing the game, and knowing only that a banged up, obviously not healthy Matthew Stafford started his first game in three weeks, and that the Lions biggest offensive weapon in Charles Johnson was again absent, what did we learn?

The Detroit Lions are again (or should I say still), unquestionably, the worst team in the NFL. How can they not be?

They wouldn't be anything more than awful had they won, and they don't really move any further down in the pecking order by losing, but this does begin the train-wreck. From here on out, the ugliness gets worse.

In fact I'll predict right here and now that the Lions aren't going to win another game this season.

Losing to the lowly Rams is a complete confidence killer. Goodbye confidence in Jim Schwartz, goodbye Matthew Stafford's confidence.

The team is already starting to turn on the fans, and we haven't even reached the halfway point. As fans taunted Stafford's horrible performance, center Dominic Raiola lashed out at the fans. This just weeks after he personally thanked them after the Lions lone win over Washington.

The self destruction begins.

It was an idiotic move marching an obviously hobbling Matthew Stafford out there in a meaningless game like this. In doing so, Detroit only set their expensive young star back.

There is an ideal situation to use Stafford. This team cannot offer it, but the best they can offer is a healthy Stafford with all of his weapons to utilize.

No Calvin Johnson? It should have been No Stafford as well. This was a Daunte Culpepper situation.

That is by no means saying Culpepper is a better quarterback, quite the opposite. He's the more expendable quarterback. He's the least valuable commodity on this team.

There is nothing but more failure in this team's future. When Detroit inevitably gets a top 3 pick again this year, they should refuse it. This team cannot afford to pay another $50M for a rookie player that they probably will not develop properly. $100M tied up in two players? That is lunacy.

The NFL of course was never built to assume such a situation would ever happen, but happen it will. Leave it to the Detroit Lions.

Will Schwartz last beyond one season? Will 1-15 suffice as improvement? I suppose we'll find out. Fire him or keep him though, it doesn't matter. It's been a revolving door of coaches since 2000, and the result remains the same.

The Lions best course of action would be to fold, and restart as an expansion team. They would get their pick of an unprotected player from each NFL team, and the first overall draft pick...again.

Presumably this would be under new ownership.

What new laugh-fests await? The Cleveland Browns visit in three weeks. How will Detroit lose that one? That is the only intrigue for this team—what new creative ways can they lose?

There is no player development. There is no improvement.

Perhaps Matt Millen's wife was correct in her final assessment of this team to the media.

Welcome to football hell.

Detroit Lions: Will These Furry Cats Finally Catch Their Prey On Sunday?

Keith Shelton — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:30:51 -0400

Jim Schwartz said he didn't have anything to feel good about as his 1-5 Lions headed into the bye week. I can't say I disagree much.

Although the Lions have made some semblance of stride in transforming from the playful furry cats to...I don't know, farm cats that aren't very good at catching mice, they still have a long long way to go.

Now, you can point to a couple things that might give us reason to think that Detroit isn't as bad as their 1-5 record.

Matthew Stafford has missed the last two games with a knee injury. The speculation about how serious it is varies wildly. I'll say this much; without Stafford, Detroit is just as bad as they were last year. Yes, that means they probably won't win another game without him.

However, all signs currently point to the rookie phenom returning next Sunday against St. Louis.

Secondly, Calvin Johnson has been injured to some degree for most of the season. He missed half of the Steelers game and all of the Green Bay game.

Seeing as Megatron is the Barry Sanders of this year's Lions, they don't stand much chance of winning without him.

Fortunately, Johnson is also slated to return next Sunday.

If these two players were healthy and playing, there is no way the Lions get shutout against Green Bay. In fact, they might have even won considering that Green Bay was obviously off their game. That's sad, being that they still blew the Lions out 26-0.

Again, if Detroit had Johnson and Stafford for the entirety of the Pittsburgh game, that's another game that Detroit wins believe it or not. They were close the entire game even without their two star players.

So with the cutesy St. Louis Rams coming to town next week coinciding with the return of the hope of the Lions' offense, it by all means should amount to a victory for Detroit.

It's puzzling to think about, but the Lions, even at 1-5 are not the worst team in the NFL. In fact, there are easily five worse teams. Three of them are winless—Tampa Bay, Tennessee, and St. Louis. The other two are the 1-6 Cleveland Browns who have forgotten what a touchdown is, and the 1-6 Kansas City Chiefs.

Yes, if the season was over today, for all of the Lions misfortune, they would still only be picking sixth in the draft. How's that for bad luck?

Might as well make the best of it. Detroit must beat the Rams because St. Louis simply doesn't do anything right.

They look the Lions did last year. They have one credible NFL talent in running back Stephen Jackson, and the rest of their team looks like they're kids on a scavenger hunt looking for footballs.

They have lost 17 games in a row dating back to last season. Yes, that means they are very close to topping Detroit's 19-game streak of futility.

Detroit can move them one step closer, and they should. Make some other team feel the pain we have felt for the past two seasons. Let it all out against these jokers.

Because as bad as Detroit is, they have an offense that can score points. St. Louis certainly does not.

Yes, we are accustomed to seeing our Lions blow games they theoretically should have a chance in. We have also seen our Lions be extremely competitive in games that they should have no chance in.

So next Sunday, when two completely garbage teams meet, and no one that isn't bored to tears will be paying any attention whatsoever, the Lions should take advantage and take another pounce towards that big ball of yarn in the distance, that golden saucer of milk.

There's a big, slow, stupid rat that's sitting there taunting them, and it is the St. Louis Rams. Pounce now or remain hungry for another year.

Michigan Recruiting in Danger After NCAA Announces Ongoing Investigation

Keith Shelton — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 09:28:43 -0400

Rich Rodriguez finds himself back on the hot-seat this week, and unfortunately it's not because of matters concerning the results of a game.

The NCAA announced this morning that they have found just cause to press ahead with their investigation of the Michigan football program.

NCAA Bylaw 32.5 states: “If the enforcement staff has developed reasonably reliable information indicating that an institution has been in violation of NCAA legislation that requires further investigation, the enforcement staff shall provide a notice of inquiry in writing to the chancellor or president.”

So what does that mean?

It means that the NCAA infractions committee believes that major violations may have occurred.

This doesn't mean heads are about to roll. It doesn't mean sanctions are forthcoming. It just means that Michigan is one step closer to sanctions.

That doesn't bode well for this program.

Rich Rodriguez has obviously taken the steps to improve this football team greatly from his first year to his second year. On the field, it would be hard to argue the fact that he is doing a solid job transforming this program.

However, if the NCAA does in fact find that major violations did occur, Rodriguez's success in games will no longer matter. His job should remain contingent on the results of this investigation.

Athletic Director Bill Martin's fate would also have been tied to Rodriguez and the results of the investigation, but he announced his retirement last week. As of now, there is no reason to believe that his timing was related to the news this morning.

What is the impact of this news?

The most obvious impact will come from recruiting. Recruits who were on the fence may have just made up their minds. If they were looking at Michigan and Ohio State, they might see smoke billowing up from Ann Arbor and find it hard to breathe there.

News like this is never welcome at any major program, and for it to come in the middle of the season is just lousy timing because it puts the focus on the NCAA investigation rather than the progress of the football team.

Nonetheless, Michigan must continue to tread carefully this year and keep their fingers crossed. Major violations would be the death knell of this proud program. It would mire Michigan in a haze of mediocrity for the next decade, if the basketball team of the '90s is any indication.

Obviously we will hope those words are never uttered by the NCAA. We will hope Rodriguez is around to turn this program into champions. We will hope Michigan remains Michigan.

2009 Michigan Wolverines Are Who We Thought They Were

Keith Shelton — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 18:23:07 -0400

Last Saturday was a chance for Michigan Football to prove the skeptics wrong.

It was a chance to prove that the win over Notre Dame wasn't a fluke, that indeed this team might just be Rose Bowl worthy, should the Hawkeyes win out.

Surely there were expectations for this young Michigan squad this year. They were low expectations when measured against previous Michigan teams, but there were expectations nonetheless.

Michigan was predicted to be a six or seven win team, finishing fifth in the Big 10 and humbly accepting a third-tier bowl game against the MAC champion.

Those predictions took a hit before Michigan even took the field for the first game of the season amidst allegations that coach, Rich Rodriguez violated NCAA practice rules.

So when Michigan rushed out to a 4-0 record, many eyebrows were raised. True freshman quarterback Tate Forcier, was being called a Heisman candidate, and the team was being called a conference title contender.

Then came the overtime loss to Michigan State and suddenly we weren't sure what to make of the Wolverines.

Suddenly, their 4-1 record was inflated with wins against Eastern and Western Michigan, and that Notre Dame game might have just been luck.

But here was an undefeated Iowa team with a win against Penn State, bringing with them an opportunity to quiet those doubts.

A night game, on the road however proved to be too much to overcome for an inexperienced team. Tate Forcier was knocked out at a crucial point in the game with a concussion, and the speedy but raw, Shoelace Robinson faded down the stretch.

The following week gave Michigan brief reprieve as FCS cupcakes, Delaware State came into town. After a 63-6 shellacking, Michigan was still feeling pretty good at 5-2.

So it was here, that Michigan would get a real test of measure. Notre Dame may have been a fluke. Michigan State and Iowa were tough road games. So here was a legitimate team in Penn State. They would make or break Michigan's season.

This game would determine if Michigan was the fifth place team many predicted they would be, or something more. If you want to be mentioned among the best of the conference, you have to beat ranked teams at home.

Instead, Michigan was systematically blown out. It started out great, with Brandon Minor smashing his way downfield, punctuating a bruising drive with a touchdown and giving Michigan a 7-0 lead.

It looked like we might have a game on our hands.

Michigan however, would only score three more points for the remainder of the game, while Penn State with Daryll Clark and Evan Royster cruised along, doing no wrong and rarely having to punt.

Now we know.

Michigan is who we thought they were. At 5-3, barring a complete collapse, Michigan is a bowl team, but they aren't much more than that. It's possible for them to win three of their last four games and finish 8-4 which might get them a New Years Day bowl, but that would seem to be the ceiling for this team.

8-4 after all is what Michigan fans were upset with under Lloyd Carr. It is Rodriguez's burden to surpass that on a consistent basis

They must beat Illinois on the road, and they must beat Purdue. Wisconsin and Ohio State are the rubber games, but after Penn State's dismantling of this squad, Ohio State doesn't look quite as winnable as it once did.

Penn State was Rich Rodriguez's 20th game as coach of Michigan. Through 20 games, he has comprised a record of 8-12. The 2008 debacle aside, Michigan is showing signs of becoming the dominating team that the new coaching regime envisioned.

This program demands excellence though. The win over Notre Dame was nice, but when you're the coach at Michigan, you are expected to consistently beat the Michigan State's and Iowa's. As recent history has shown, you're also expected to beat the Penn State's as well.

Rodriguez will be given another mulligan this year, but all excuses come off the table in year three.

Only Human: Tate Forcier and Michigan Lose Heartbreaker to Michigan State

Keith Shelton — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 18:06:40 -0400

Tate Forcier really brought this upon himself. When you have a first four games like the Wolverines' young freshman quarterback has had, the expectations tend to eventually reach unattainable levels.

So on a chilly fall Saturday, when the Wolverines would play their first road game of the season against their in-state rivals from East Lansing, all eyes were on Forcier.

What heroics would he unleash today? What big plays would we all be talking about for the next week?

There would be big plays, and there would be heroics indeed. However, in the end, it finally became apparent that young Tate Forcier is, in fact, human after all.

It was a game in which, through the first three quarters, Michigan did little right, while Michigan State put on a clinic.

During the Spartans' first offensive series, quarterback Kirk Cousins threw an interception to senior, Stevie Brown. Michigan would begin their first offensive drive in Michigan State’s red zone.

However, Michigan went three-and-out, losing yards on the drive, and settled for a field goal. From there, it was all Michigan State.

Cousins and the Spartans embarked on an 80-yard touchdown drive, which was actually more like 120 yards. Twice, Michigan State committed personal fouls after the play, pushing them back 15 yards. Multiple times, Michigan put the Spartans in a long third-down situation, only to be burned by the legs of Cousins.

It was embarrassing, frankly. When you have a team that is beating themselves by taking foolish penalties, and you have a defense that puts the opposition in long third-down situations, you have to capitalize and get the ball back for your offense. Michigan failed on all counts.

This is how much of the game would go. Michigan’s running attack, ranked first in the Big Ten coming into this game, would be completely ineffective. Michigan State stuffed the run all game long, but ran the ball effectively themselves.

Michigan State’s secondary, shell-shocked all season long up to this point, would step up, breaking up passes and making life tough for Michigan’s offense.

Through the first half, the time of possession wasn’t even close; the total yards weren’t even close. Michigan State flat-out dominated the Wolverines in every aspect of the game.

However, despite that, Michigan State only carried a 10-6 lead into halftime.

Things would not get better in the third quarter for the Wolverines, though. Late in the third quarter, Michigan would recover a fumble from the Spartans' freshman running back, Capers, and would assume possession deep in Wolverines territory.

Three plays later, Michigan was looking at fourth and inches and elected to punt. Here’s where things went wacky.

Zoltan Mesko came out to take the punt, but then elected to take the ball and run with it. He was stopped well short of the first down, and Michigan State would take over deep inside Wolverine territory.

Did Rich Rodriguez call that play? Or did Mesko decide to run on his own? Obviously, being behind your own 20-yard line is not the ideal situation to try a fake punt.

Fortunately, Michigan’s red-zone defense rose to the challenge and held Michigan State to a field goal.

As the fourth quarter started, Michigan was still within a touchdown of Michigan State, but the Spartans seemed well in control.

This was emphasized when, late in the third quarter, Michigan State embarked on what would be another long drive. Starting from deep within their territory, the other Spartan quarterback, Keith Nichol would lead the Spartans downfield.

Michigan was at a loss to stop the big passing plays and well timed running plays from running backs Glenn Winston and Larry Caper. The drive was punctuated by a 16-yard touchdown rush by Winston.

Things looked grim. Up to this point, Michigan’s running attack was stuck in neutral, Tate Forcier and Michigan’s potent passing attack had not gotten going, and Michigan State had a 20-6 lead with the fourth quarter just beginning. What a crazy fourth quarter it would be too.

Michigan got the ball back and backup Denard Robinson came in at quarterback, in hopes of sparking the offense. At this point, however, opponents have gotten wise to the use of Robinson. If he comes into the game, he’s going to run the ball, because as we have seen, Robinson still cannot throw the ball well.

After a quick three-and-out, Michigan would punt again, but there was hope! On Michigan State’s next drive, Kirk Cousins was sacked by Brandon Graham and fumbled the ball. The ball bounced around between defenders before linebacker Obi Ezeh finally came down with it. Michigan ball.

Forcier came back on to the field for Michigan and subsequently hit Darryl Stonum for a big gain; however, the ball was stripped from him as he came down. Fumble, Michigan State ball.

So much for that idea.

On MSU’s next drive, Kirk Cousins did what he had done to Michigan all game long—killed them with his legs. Cousins took off on a 42-yard burst, taking him all the way down to Michigan’s 38-yard line. It looked like the game was over.

Then Michigan’s defense stepped up for really the first time all game. They stuffed the Spartans' offense three times, and when they elected to go for it on fourth down, Michigan stuffed them again.

It would remain a two-score game, and that was of paramount importance.

It would finally be here, the moment Michigan had been waiting for all game, the clutch moment of the fourth quarter, when Forcier would cease to become just a freshman quarterback, but a legend.

Call it luck, call it whatever you want, but Forcier hit Darryl Stonum out in space, and he took that ball and transformed into Barry Sanders, weaving through defenders, spinning and juking, before breaking free for a 59-yard touchdown run.

The Wolverines were now within a touchdown, but there were only four minutes left to go in the game, and Michigan State had embarked on time-consuming drives all game long.

Again, Michigan’s defense would rise to the challenge, though, forcing a quick three-and-out while burning their last timeouts.

There would be just under three minutes left on the clock when Michigan would get the ball back. Plenty of time.

Tate Forcier dinked and dunked down the field on a drive marred with incompletions and close calls, and when Michigan finally entered MSU red-zone territory, there were mere seconds remaining on the clock.

No problem, though. From there, Forcier would take matters into his own hands, rushing down to the eight-yard line, before finally hitting sparingly used receiver, Roy Roundtree for a touchdown with under ten seconds left on the clock. Forcier was visibly exhausted, breathing heavily and aching from the punishment his body had taken.

The freshman sensation had done it again. His third fourth-quarter comeback in just his first five games. In a game that Michigan State had dominated, Forcier and the Wolverines had erased the deficit in two last-gasp drives at the end of the fourth quarter.

The game would go to overtime and Michigan State won the coin toss, electing to defer.

It looked as if Forcier would complete the victory in overtime. He began where he left off in the fourth quarter, rushing up field and hitting Martavious Odoms. Then on Michigan State’s eight-yard line, Forcier dropped back to throw what would have been the possible game-winning touchdown, and was picked off.

Forcier fell to the ground. He just didn’t have anything left in the tank.

Michigan State only needed a field goal to end the game, but the life was sucked out of Michigan. Cousins handed off to the freshman Capers, who rushed 24 yards down the sideline. Touchdown. Michigan State had won the game.

It was a victory well earned for the Spartans. They controlled the majority of the game, and they were well balanced. Michigan was not.

The Wolverines rushing game was non-existent for nearly the entire game. They chose to live and die by the true freshman quarterback, Tate Forcier.

As good as Forcier was, you can only ask so much of a freshman before he reaches his breaking point. He is only human after all.

So the Spartans earned their first two-game win streak over Michigan since the 1960s, and through it all, are still just a 2-3 football team.

Michigan can recover from this. They are still in a brilliant position to play in a decent bowl game, but they will need a much more balanced effort to beat Iowa on the road.

Rich Rodriguez has now seen how his young team can handle a big game on the road, and all things considered, they played well enough to give themselves a chance at the end.

Sometimes, with an inexperienced team, that’s all you can ask for.

The Detroit Tigers and The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Of 2009

Keith Shelton — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 22:29:51 -0400

"Like I said at the beginning of the season, this division won't be decided until the very end." - Jim Leyland

If you set out to underachieve, chances are, you will. Jim Leyland is a manager of a team that has a chance to win the AL Central Division with two games left to go in the season.

They are one game up on their divisional rivals, the Minnesota Twins. This is a far cry from the team's respective positions at the beginning of September.

Tigers fans are understandably worried and on the pessimistic side of things. The Tigers have played nothing short of awful baseball in the month of September to get to this position. Just one month ago, they had a decisive seven-game lead on the Twins and the division was all but theirs.

Let's go back to March now. The Tigers had just come off a 2008 season in which they finished in last place, after such high preseason expectations.

The expectations for 2009 then, were diminished. Back in March, Detroit looked like a team that might hover around .500 and miss the playoffs by about 10 games.

Now they hold the unique and undesirable position of a team overachieving and underachieving at the same time.

The fanbase is divided. Some think Jim Leyland should be a nominee for coach of the year for even getting the Tigers in a position to win the division.

Others think he should be fired for squandering a seven-game lead with one month to go.

No team in Major League Baseball history that has been in first place on or before May 10 has ever lost a division in the final week.

Detroit could be that team unless something happens in the next two days.

On the first day of the last weekend of the regular season, the Tigers were blown out 10-0 against the Chicago White Sox, a team long out of the running for postseason contention.

You can say a lot of things about that, mainly that the White Sox were hungrier than the Tigers, a team playing for their postseason lives.

Minnesota meanwhile, is cruising 10-0 against Kansas City in the fifth inning, as of this writing.

The two teams couldn't be further apart.

At this point the division is now completely up for grabs. Detroit's magic number remains two, with two games left to go.

One Tigers win combined with a Minnesota loss, wins the division for Detroit. But what if Minnesota wins its next two games? What if Detroit only wins one of its last two?

That would set up a one-game playoff at the Metrodome. The final game at the Metrodome up to that point. A game Minnesota would be heavily favored in.

That all but makes the final two games of the season must-win games for Detroit.

Jim Leyland predicted this would happen at various points this season, but did it really have to happen? Or did the team just make this a self-fulfilling prophecy?

Should Jim Leyland win manager of the year? Or be fired? Or should he just fade into the background?

It was a moment of Detroit Lions-like stupidity when Jim Leyland was inexplicably signed to a two-year contract not even halfway through the season.

This of course was after Leyland was issued an ultimatum before the season started. Get this team to the playoffs, or find another team to coach.

The contract should have been contingent on a postseason berth, but owner Mike Illitch and GM Dave Dombroski uncharacteristically jumped the gun.

Jim Leyland will not be fired, even if the Tigers complete their self-destruction and lose the division on the final day of the season.

This of course, also happened in 2006. Three years ago the situation was nearly identical. Detroit held a respectable lead in the division, only to lose it to Minnesota...on the final day of the season.

Of course, in 2006 Detroit's record was good enough to earn them a wild-card berth.

That obviously will not happen this year. The results may end up the same as 2006, but minus the wild-card safety net. That belongs to Boston.

Two games. These last two games, are arguably more important than a first-round playoff series.

Getting swept by the New York Yankees wouldn't be a huge shock. It would be disappointing, it would hurt.

But how much would it hurt to lose the division on the last day of the season? After leading the division for five months?

It would be worse than getting swept by New York. Easily.

The Tigers are sitting between overachieving and underachievement. They are in baseball limbo.

Can two games really determine whether a manager wins a manager of the year award or gets fired?

We're about to find out.

Sweet Victory: Detroit Lions Get 19-Game Loser Monkey Off Their Backs

Keith Shelton — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 00:16:36 -0400

It began the way many Lions games we're accustomed to seeing often begin: a 15-yard face mask penalty, an injured player, the opposition with good field position.

"Here we go again," you may have said. I know I did. It's been the Lions' slogan over the past year and a half: "Here we go again."

Something was different about today, though. You could see it in Jim Schwartz's steely eyes and in the determination on quarterback Matthew Stafford's face.

The Lions took the city upon their shoulders today and didn't just win by accident. They worked for it. They won with hard work and a long field.

After Washington was stopped in the first quarter by an impressive goal line stand, the Lions found themselves on their own one-yard line.

"Here we go again"; 99 yards may as well have been 99 miles if recent history had anything to say about it.

But Stafford, showing the poise of a veteran, used a hard count to draw Albert Haynesworth offsides, like a breath of fresh air for the embattled Lions.

From there, a series of handoffs to Kevin Jones and play-action passes to Dennis Northcutt and Bryant Johnson led the Lions 99 yards to a touchdown.

What?!

Washington would again have to punt after their next series, and again, the Lions were forced to start at their own six-yard line.

No matter. Been there, done that, right?

Against all logic, Detroit would again charge down the field. It wasn't always pretty, and Stafford often overthrew or underthrew his receivers, but the hard running of Kevin Smith kept everything in balance.

The drive would end on a sack on Stafford and a Jason Hanson kick, but the Lions still had a 10-0 lead.

They still weren't done though.

Yet again, Detroit would get the ball back after a Washington punt, and again, the Lions would have a long field, starting from their own six-yard line.

There would be nearly seven minutes still on the clock at this point, and the Lions masterfully would use every second of it.

I can't explain how this happened, because I've watched a lot of football games, and I've never even seen the greatest teams accomplish what the Lions did in this half.

For a third straight time, starting in the shadow of their own end zone, the Lions marched downfield, using every second on the clock, and as time expired, Hanson booted another field goal.

13-0 Lions at the half.

But even then, I still had that feeling that we were witnessing a mirage, an anomaly. I was waiting for something to go wrong, as it had 19 times every game before.

Sure enough, on Washington's third play after halftime, Santana Moss would sprint downfield, 57 yards for a touchdown.

"Here we go again."

Right? Wrong.

The Lions defense would not let such a monumental first half offensive performance go to waste. Get this—they actually preserved a lead!

I cannot stress this enough: The Lions dominated on both sides of the ball. Washington's rushing attack was continuously stuffed; the Lions stopped Washington on fourth down twice. They sacked Jason Campbell twice and intercepted him at a key point in the game.

Still, you got the feeling that a tenuous 13-7 Lions lead would not hold—that they would blow it somehow.

Midway through the fourth quarter, the Lions forced another Washington punt. They returned the punt nearly to midfield, but a penalty put them back on their own 15-yard line.

Faced with yet another 85-plus-yard field, Stafford and the Lions went to work again, and the Lions would pull out all the stops.

Smith had suffered a shoulder injury in the third quarter, but the Lions' other backs, Aaron Brown and Maurice Morris, saved their best for this drive. Stafford had an impressive 22-yard run of his own on a critical third down. A little used tight end named Will Heller made a couple nice catches.

Then Stafford let loose and hailed a bomb downfield to Bryant Johnson. It wasn't caught, and there was a flag. "Here we go again." But wait, it was pass interference in favor of the Lions! That would give Detroit the ball on Washington's one-yard line.

It culminated in a short touchdown run by Morris, the backup running back. It put Detroit up 19-7 after a failed two-point conversion.

There were six minutes left on the clock at this point, and it was here that Lions fans may have truly felt, for the first time in 19 games, that Detroit had a legitimate chance to win this game.

Still, a Lions fan's nerves are never calm until victory is completely assured, as evidenced by four zeroes on the clock at the end of the fourth quarter.

Washington reminded us of that.

Schwartz would go to the prevent defense, taking away the deep threat, knowing full well that the Redskins needed to score twice in six minutes, and they would have to dink and dunk their way to doing it.

Campbell racked up most of his 340 passing yards in these final minutes, and he was able to get his team downfield in a hurry with a flurry of short passes. He would find Rock Cartwright in the end zone to narrow the Lions' lead to 19-14.

With two-and-a-half minutes left on the clock, and all of their timeouts remaining, Washington would forego the onside kick and kick off to the Lions.

It proved to be the right decision. Detroit was able to get a first down out of the drive and forced Washington to use all of their timeouts, but the Lions couldn't run out the clock.

Nick Harris punted to Antwaan Randle El, and with just over one minute remaining, Washington would get the ball at their own 25-yard line.

From there, Campbell promptly shot laser beams down the field, his receivers running out of bounds with ease, down to the Lions' 23-yard line. Twenty seconds remaining on the clock. "Here we go again."

This was it. Campbell was going to take the dagger already lodged firmly in the back of every Lions fan and give yet another twist for good measure.

The first attempt was overthrown. Time for one final play. The Lions sideline was pandemonium. Coaches and players alike were jumping up and down. The 40,000 fans in attendance was the smallest crowd to ever see a game at Ford Field, but at this moment, you couldn't tell. The roar of the crowd drowned everything else out.

Stafford couldn't bear to watch, his head buried in his hands, his eyes lasered in on the ground.

Pulling out every stop he had, Schwartz sent in Calvin Johnson on defense to protect the end zone.

Campbell dropped back, the crowd giving him every ounce of vitriol they had left in them. The ball was thrown, the collective gasp from the crowd sucking the remaining air from the stadium, and..."Here we go again."

But not this time.

The pass fell incomplete. The clock ticked zero. The fat lady sung. The Lions won a game.

The tears that fell from the players said it all. We often derided "those overpaid jerks," but in the midst of a 19-game losing streak, we forgot about the weight that they carried.

They celebrated as if they had just won the Super Bowl. Maybe this win was just as important.

The streak is over. That streak now belongs to the St. Louis Rams, losers of 13 straight. They can have it, and all that comes with it.

After the game, the Lions came back onto the field to personally thank the few fans who remained for their loyalty. A class act.

This doesn't mean an automatic return to mediocrity. This does give the Lions room to breathe though. A win!

We've gone 19 straight games, over a year and a half, without being able to say that! There will be more to come. Not many more, but more nonetheless.

To hell with 0-19. Now we're 1-2. Respectfully mediocre—just the way we remember it.

Michigan's Tate Forcier is as Clutch as They Come in Win Over Indiana

Keith Shelton — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 17:16:10 -0400

If Michigan didn't appreciate the value of a solid starting center, they sure do now. It was nearly their undoing this week against an upstart Indiana Hoosiers team.

It was a game that will rank among the greatest in the long-time series between two Big Ten teams, but mistakes by Michigan's patchy offensive line made it so.

With trustworthy David Molk out for four to six weeks, David Moosman came in to replace the man who snapped every ball for the Wolverines.

It could have gone better.

Moosman had at least four bad snaps that each resulted in losses of ten yards or more. That Michigan didn't turn the ball over on any of them is a miracle in itself, but they did kill drives, as well as create uncertainty and inconsistency in the offense.

For much of the first half, quarterback Tate Forcier was terrorized by Indiana's powerful, senior-led defensive line. Although he was only sacked twice, the line put pressure on young Forcier all day long. At one point, the pressure resulted in a poor up-for-grabs interception.

Indiana also had strength on offense with a powerful rushing attack. It staked them out to a 20-14 lead late in the second half.

Sensing a shift in momentum, Rich Rodriguez replaced Forcier with Denard "Shoelace" Robinson. Up until this game, we knew Robinson could run. Scratch that, he could fly. Passing was a different story. Going to the air was ill advised for the true freshman.

He's learning though. That much is evident.

Robinson sparked the offense down the field, including throwing a 36-yard bomb to tight end Kevin Koger. That set up Brandon Minor's 13-yard touchdown run.

That wouldn't give Michigan the lead for long though. Indiana had their best team in a decade here, and they weren't going away quietly.

Indiana was able to march back down field in the waining minutes of the half, ending the drive with another field goal to go up 23-21 at the half.

Despite that score, Michigan was lucky. They should have been down by multiple touchdowns.

The way Indiana moved the ball seemingly at will, was shameful. They had four red-zone opportunities in the half. Fortunately, the Wolverines defense was just good enough to limit the Hooisers to three field goals and one touchdown.

Strangely enough, it was more of the same in the second half. Michigan's offense came out mistake-ridden and listless. More bad snaps, more missed passes.

Still, fortunately for Michigan, Indiana's red-zone trouble would continue. Going into the fourth quarter, despite Michigan's listless offense, Indiana only had a five point lead.

Then, midway through the fourth quarter, Tate Forcier did his thing. Looking very much like the quarterback that led the game winning drive against Notre Dame, Forcier dinked and dunked his way downfield before taking it in himself.

Michigan had the lead for the first time since midway through the first quarter and seemed in control.

Then disaster struck.

On the Hoosier's next offensive play, they swept the air out of Michigan Stadium. Darius Williams, carrying Indiana's 15-game losing streak to Michigan on his shoulders, bolted downfield as if zooming by on a zephyr, 85 yards for a touchdown.

The Hoosiers led 33-29.

Could Forcier work his magic twice? Or would that be asking too much of a true freshman?

Yes, and no.

On the ensuing drive, Michigan would go three and out, but the spirit of Michigan Stadium was still alive.

Punting from their own end-zone, Zoltan Mesko would receive a very favorable bounce and the Indiana would start from their 25-yard line.

The Wolverines would again get the ball back after an Indiana punt, and again, out came the hero of the hour, Tate Forcier.

Forcier again began to lead the Wolverines downfield as the clock inched its way down from four minutes. That is, until a hard hit knocked him out of the game.

Forcier would hand the ball over to Denard Robinson. He also may have transferred his clutch ability to Robinson momentarily.

Robinson would continue the drive, rushing twice for a first down, getting Michigan into red-zone territory.

Then Forcier, summoning the last of his strength, with one limp arm, trudged back onto the field, and did what clutch quarterbacks do.

Forcier dropped back as Martavious Odoms flew down his post-route, and a 28-yard jet of a pass was squeezed into the end-zone.

Michigan would go up 36-33 and Forcier was promptly knighted by the Queen of England.

Is there nothing this kid can't do? Certainly, Forcier has all the intangibles that superstar quarterback's possess, even if his ability is still fledgling.

Still, the game wasn't over yet. There was still a full two minutes left on the clock and Indiana had all three of their timeouts remaining.

Then, what you never want to see happen in a close football game, did.

Indiana quarterback Ben Chappell tossed a pass to Terrance Turner who had been having a solid game. Michigan cornerback Donovon Warren grabbed the ball at the same time as Turner did, and both players came down with it.

While on the ground, Warren stripped the ball from Turner. The refs called it Michigan ball.

Except, the rules say that if both players come down with the ball, the offensive player retains possession.

A video replay couldn't find enough evidence to overturn the call. Tough break for Indiana. They would not get the chance to comeback.

With a final first down, Michigan would run out the clock and win the game. Live to fight another day.

However, Indiana fans should not dwell on the missed call as the reason they lost this game. Instead they should point to the four red-zone trips they had that ended in field goals instead of touchdowns.

If just one of those trips ended in a touchdown, Indiana wins.

That's how close this game was, and that's how lucky Michigan was. Luck was only part of the equation today though, and the other half was the will of Tate Forcier.

This is a freshman, who after four games has shown enough determination and poise, that he could eventually become one of the greatest quarterbacks in Michigan history. His never say die attitude is an undervalued trait that often times, can trump outright skill.

He will only get better, as will Michigan.

The defense still remains a large concern, and so does Michigan's problem at center. They will have to find a way to manage without David Molk which will be easier said than done.

For now though, this is a team that finds a way to win. A hungry team, a determined team. That's going to get them wins, even if their talent level still leaves something to be desired.

How far will Michigan go? As far as the arm of Tate Forcier takes them. Right now, it looks like the sky is the limit.

Detroit Lions Have Record Losing Streak In Their Sights

Keith Shelton — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 09:05:45 -0400

Man this is getting repetitive isn't it? After writing about Lions losses for 16 games last year, I thought it couldn't get any worse.

Sure, they could keep losing, but there would be no intrigue left. The nation watched last season as the Lions stumbled to the NFL's first and only 0-16 record.

Now they continue to lose, but no one cares anymore. They already accomplished the most dubious feat in the NFL, what more can they do to prove how bad they are?

Allow me to explain.

You may have heard of the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers—the expansion team that went 0-14 and up until last season, held the title of worst team in NFL history.

I'm here to say, they still hold that title...for now. In 1977, fresh off an 0-14 season, Tampa Bay lost their first 12 games before finishing 2-12. That means they lost 26 games in a row, the longest losing streak in NFL history.

Well guess what? Detroit has lost 19 games in a row.

They are seven losses away from tying that record. Anyone think it won't happen? Can anyone really say for sure that the Lions will win a game this season?

I can say I think they'll win at some point this year, but you should probably ignore my thoughts. They are the psychotic ponderings of a delusional Lions fan.

The Lions can't pass, and can't run either. Schwartz is afraid to let Stafford air it out, because of the risk of turnovers. He's still thrown five interceptions in his first two starts.

The Lions have one legitimate receiver. One. The rest may have been solid options elsewhere with an experienced quarterback throwing to them, but not here.

Stafford is a rookie with a big arm, but he makes very poor decisions and his accuracy is awful at this point. He may challenge Peyton Manning's record for interceptions by a rookie quarterback.

Teams will stack the box on Kevin Smith. The Vikings did. Smith performed as admirably as possible, running hard all game, but it still wasn't enough.

The entire secondary from 2008 was cut or traded, and new players filled in. Yet, Detroit still likely has the worst secondary in the NFL. You can't go from horrible to pro-bowl talent in one offseason.

That the Lions led against Minnesota 10-0 at one point is nothing short of a miracle, but in the second half the stars dis-aligned, the Vikings cruised, and all was right with the world again.

I don't need to write stats, I don't need to say which Lions played well and which ones played like pylons. All you really need to know is the Lions lost. Again.

Cut and paste, rinse and repeat. It's like Detroit is in the fifth circle of hell and this is their ironic punishment for all eternity.

0-19? Hah! Just you wait, the Lions will show you.

They're going to be the best damn worst team they can be.

Michigan Unleashes a Stampede Of Running Backs On EMU

Keith Shelton — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 11:19:50 -0400

The distance between Ypsilanti, Michigan, home of the Eastern Michigan Eagles, and Ann Arbor, the site of the match between the Eagles and host Michigan Wolverines, is roughly six miles. That's not a whole lot further than the nearly four football fields' worth of rushing yardage that the Wolverines poured on the unsuspecting Eagles on Saturday.

According to Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez, the passing game wasn't very effective, so they decided to run.

How nonchalant, considering the decision to run gave Michigan their best game on the ground in six years. Rodriguez, master of the spread offense, tapped into his inner Bo Schembechlar for one day, and played to his strengths.

We learned a couple things on Saturday. Tate Forcier is human after all and Michigan's running back depth is impressive.

Oh, Eastern Michigan might be improving under Ron English, as well.

For an entire half, the school down the road kept up with the Wolverines, perhaps even besting the Wolverines.

Michigan kicked a 37-yard field goal; Eastern Michigan kicked a 43-yarder. Michigan scored a 9-yard rushing touchdown; Eastern Michigan scored an 11-yard rushing touchdown.

The game was tied at 3-3 and 10-10 before Carlos Brown got angry. Led by brilliant blocking from the offensive line, Brown ripped off a 90-yard touchdown run, blazing past the chasing defenders.

It was the third longest run in Michigan history.

Forcier was having a rough go of it early on, barely completing half of his passes without a touchdown, before getting the wind knocked out of him. He was replaced by Denard Robinson.

Unfortunately, Robinson still can't pass. He threw four balls. Two were caught—by Eastern Michigan. Ouch.

Michigan would go into halftime with only a 24-17 lead.

In the second half, Michigan fully unleashed their stable of running backs. Brown, Brandon Minor, Michael Shaw, Michael Cox, and Vincent Smith steamrolled the EMU defense. Two dazzling runs by Robinson led to touchdowns, as well.

Oh, and there was the 13-yard reverse by Martavious Odoms that went for a touchdown.

As the game drew to a close, Michigan was using their sixth-string running back.

By the time the game was over, Michigan had 380 yards rushing, their best total since 2003.

The final result was expected, but how Michigan got there was unexpected.

Future opponents must now be scratching their heads, wondering how to stop the suddenly unstoppable Michigan offense. Shut down the pass? Here's six running backs we can throw at you.

Stuff the box? Have fun with Tate Forcier and Co.

As of now, there is a very real possibility of Michigan starting out 5-0, possibly 7-0.

Michigan's next four games are Indiana at home, at Michigan State, at Iowa and Delaware State at home. All four teams are either gimmes or teams with obvious flaws. If Michigan can capitalize, they should be looking at an eight-win season at worst.

The sky is the limit.

The games against Penn State and Ohio State, both at Michigan Stadium, now hold intrigue, when a month ago you could have written them off as sure losses.

How quickly things can change.

The system is working, and this is but a glimpse of the Michigan football team to come.

We Must Protect This House: Jimmy Howard Leads Trend of Detroit-Bred Goalies

Keith Shelton — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 11:47:45 -0400

He doesn't wear an old school mask like Chris Osgood, instead opting for the flashy artistry that is commonplace on goaltenders' head wear. He's been bounced around the system for years. His ability has been questioned by Detroit's front office and fans alike. As far as pro experience goes, he's as green around the gills as they come.

Despite all that, I believe in Jimmy Howard.

Why? Because this time, he's ready.

You might remember last year when Jimmy Howard was "ready." At this time last year, Ty Conklin was brought in merely as a contingency plan in case Howard couldn't win the backup job, which he was expected to, by the way.

Conklin was simply a journeyman who had bounced around the league like a pinball, until that ball rolled into the jackpot slot in Detroit. He played outstanding in the preseason, and although Howard put up a decent performance, Detroit couldn't ignore the wide discrepancy and made Conklin the backup.

Of course, Conklin went on to lead Detroit in goal to the playoffs, making up for a struggling Osgood in the regular season.

What if it had been Howard instead of Conklin? Would Detroit have still won the division? It's a valid question.

The Wings brass believed Howard was ready last year but had too much talent and only one open slot.

That's not to say that Detroit doesn't have talent this year. The Wings are very high on their trio of goalie prospects which include Jimmy Howard, Daniel Larsson, and newest prospect, Thomas McCollum.

The plan is to have Jimmy Howard backup Osgood while Daniel Larsson assumes the starting position in Grand Rapids. Larsson will be backed up by McCollum.

Think about that for a minute. When is the last time Detroit was this stocked with homegrown goalie talent? Maybe never.

Chris Osgood remains the only goaltender in recent history that was drafted and developed by the Detroit Red Wings.

Since drafting Osgood, the Wings have signed a plethora of goalies to fill in the gaps. Mike Vernon, Dominik Hasek, Curtis Joseph, Bill Ranford, Manny Legace, Ty Conklin, Ken Wregget, just to name a few.

They might not have to do that anymore and it starts with Howard. The kid started the Wings first preseason game yesterday and allowed one goal on seven shots.

He was shown up by Daniel Larsson who stopped all 14 shots he faced.

One way or another, Detroit will have a homegrown goalie backing up a homegrown goalie this year. I'm rooting for Howard because this is likely his last chance to prove he can be the guy.

Some doubt he can do it, I'm not one of them. Detroit has had the luxury to develop Howard slowly. The vast majority of goalies don't come into their full ability until around age 25 and Howard has spent most of that time developing in Grand Rapids.

That doesn't mean he's bad, it means that Detroit didn't want to throw him to the wolves, such as what Pittsburgh did with young Marc-Andre Fluery.

Howard is coming off a season in Grand Rapids where he posted career highs in GAA (2.54) and save percentage (.916). In the playoffs last year he posted a GAA of 2.41.

On a Griffins team that's constantly in a state of flux and is mostly stocked with young, developing European talent, that is pretty impressive.

He's ready for his next test.

Chris Osgood swears to us that he won't have another regular season like last year. If we're lucky he won't ever have to play on a back-to-back set of games, but that depends on Jimmy Howard.

Howard doesn't have to be spectacular, but he does have to be steady. If we're really lucky, he'll surpass expectations and push Osgood. We'd love to see that, because that means he's starting material.

Wouldn't it be great if in a few seasons Jimmy Howard was the starting goaltender for the Detroit Red Wings, Daniel Larsson was the backup and McCollum was the hot prospect in Grand Rapids who could be traded for a flashy forward at the deadline?

It could happen, and it probably will. Detroit is sitting pretty in goal for the foreseeable future.

Detroit Lions Roundtable Week 1: Improvement?

Keith Shelton — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 12:20:25 -0400

Welcome to the first edition of the 2009 Detroit Lions Roundtable. Each week we will ask two questions concerning the Detroit Lions to four B/R Lions columnists.

Our questions this week:

1) Give a brief breakdown of Matthew Stafford's first professional game.

2) Last year, the Lions lost to the Saints 42-7. Was there an improvement against them this year? If so, where were the improvements?

Here are the columnists for this week, along with a link to their most recent article.

Keith Shelton

Recent Article - Matthew Stafford Will Get Worse Before He Gets Better

1) Stafford looked every bit a rookie. He overthrew and under-threw receivers, and finished with three interceptions; one of which appeared to be thrown directly to Darren Sharper.

He should have had one passing touchdown when he hit Calvin Johnson for a 60+ yard gain. But Johnson was ruled out at the three yard line. Stafford ended up running that one in himself.

Were there bright spots? Yes, but not many of them.

Stafford needs to work on finding his third and fourth receivers out there, and not concentrate solely on Calvin Johnson, who more often than not, will be double covered. That will come with time, but as of right now, the kid's brain hasn't caught up with his arm.

2) There was improvement to be found and it was all on the offensive end, because the defense stunk it up.

The Saints nearly racked up nearly the same amount of yards on Sunday as they did last year, which was over 500 yards. Brees threw for a near NFL record six touchdowns.

The Lions didn't just lie-down though; they fought the entire game. There were quite a few three-and-outs, but in-between those, Stafford led a few scoring drives, one of which was set up by Aaron Brown's long punt return.

All in all, the Lions scored 27 points which is more than they've scored in quite a while. They were still blown out, but I suppose there's reason to believe they are improving.

Dean Holden

Recent Article - Detroit Lions Notch A Good Loss In New Orleans

1) Matthew Stafford is a rookie quarterback who had a typical first game. Anybody who's ready to throw him under the bus now is out of their minds.

He made just as many good plays and good decisions as bad ones.

What he needs to do now is go to work, watch some film, and figure out how to keep doing the good stuff and prevent the bad. Part of that is not trusting his arm so much.

He is gifted with a huge arm, but nobody- especially quarterbacks- can get by in the NFL on physical skill alone; because the defenses are also physically skilled, and will make you pay for bad decision-making.

Sooner or later, Stafford has to realize he isn't playing high school or college defenses anymore. The Lions decided they want him to learn on the job. That starts now.

2) Improvement? Where to begin?

We cut the loss deficit in half (35 last year, 18 this year), and notched an interception against a top-three quarterback in the league. That interception in Week 1 equals the secondary's total INT count for all of last season. We also scored a defensive touchdown, two special teams touchdowns, and never trailed by more than 18.

Most importantly, the Lions never let the game get out of hand. Yes, they trailed between 11 and 18 points for the entire second half, and an 18-point loss isn't something to be proud of. But they were only a couple of missed opportunities away from making this a close, winnable game. They played to keep themselves in it, but never capitalized or made a surge.

As we are well aware, this is a team with a deeply ingrained losing culture. It's nothing new; it drove Barry Sanders to retirement nearly a decade ago. For once, the Lions have the right people in place (aside from the owner) to reverse that culture, but it won't happen instantly.

A team that knows how to win gets touchdowns in the red zone instead of turnovers and field goals; points off of long kick returns and sustained drives; and big plays and stops when they need them. Those are the things the Lions were unable to get in New Orleans. Had they gotten them on Sunday, they could have not only played close, but possibly won the game.

Should they get them on future Sundays, we will start to see that losing culture reversed one game at a time; and we'll see a team capable of putting up numbers where it counts- the win column.

Seattle Lion Fan

Recent Article - Detroit Lions Going Through Growing Pains

1) Stafford's first start was, at best, underwhelming. He displayed good footwork, threw nice tight spirals, but his accuracy was off with passes ending up in the ground in front of receivers. But he did show some potential when he hit Calvin Johnson for a 64 yard gain.

One thing I wasn't sure of is why he made a tackle on a 365 lb. lineman. Perhaps, with more experience, he'll learn not to do that.

But since everyone wants to compare Stafford's situation to other rookies that started their first year, most notably Peyton Manning and Troy Aikman, lets take a look at how he compares to them:

Stafford:16 for 37, 205 yards, 0 TD's, 3 INT's

Manning:21 for 37, 302 yards, 1 TD and 3 INT's

Aikman:17 for 35, 180 yards, 0 TD's and 2 INT's

Comparing Stafford's first game to Manning and Aikman doesn't mean anything. However, as far as first games go, Stafford didn't do all that bad.

By the same token, neither Manning's 1998 Colts and Aikman's 1999 Cowboys were anything special going 3-13 and 1-15 respectively. In fact, it was the New Orleans Saints that shut out the Cowboys 28-0 for Aikman's debut.

How's that for a bit of irony?

2) About really the only thing that "improved" for the Lions this game from last years 42-7 debacle, was the fact that they held Drew Brees to only two touchdowns as opposed to six, and scored 20 more points.

2008 2009

1st downs 15 14

Rushing yards 129 33

Passing yards 126 205

Total Yds (Offense) 255 231

Total Yds (Defense) 532 515

Outside of scoring 27 points this year, not much else has improved. The secondary was lit up in both games and the defensive line couldn't even get near Brees. They did sack him twice last year, but none last week.

Matthew Stafford Will Get Worse before He Gets Better

Keith Shelton — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 11:46:57 -0400

That was pretty bad wasn't it?

Two rookie quarterbacks debuted on Sunday. The Detroit Lions' Matthew Stafford, and the New York Jets' Mark Sanchez. While Sanchez was adequate, Stafford was borderline bad.

Yet, Stafford almost certainly has the higher upside. He may not have shown it against the New Orleans Saints, though.

On Sunday, Detroit's shiny new quarterback completed a God-awful 43.2 percent of his passes for 205 yards and three interceptions. He targeted star receiver Calvin Johnson 14 times during the game, but only completed three of those passes to him.

The fact is, Stafford has plenty of offensive talent around him, but it's going to take some time for him to figure out how to use it.

Prized rookie tight end, Brandon Pettigrew didn't have a catch all game, and only two wide receivers caught a pass. Dennis Northcutt and Derrick Williams couldn't be found.

There are things to like about him now, such as his big arm that can reach all over the field, and his aggressiveness. However, those could also be weaknesses at the present time, when you factor in that Stafford's brain hasn't quite caught up to his arm yet.

Things will click eventually, but don't count on it happening next week, or the week after that, or for the three weeks after that even.

Stafford and the Lions' next five games are against Minnesota, Washington, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Green Bay. All five of those teams have quality defenses.

The kid is going to have some very bad games. The Saint's secondary isn't exactly top tier in the NFL and he threw three picks to them, what will happen in the weeks to come?

Still, Detroit's front office absolutely must stick with Stafford. They made the decision to start him in week one and pulling him after a possible 0-5 start would only set him back further.

We can take solace in the coaching staff, which I think is finally the right mesh to get this team turned around. I hope I can still say that by the end of this season.

The Lions must take their lumps and think of the future. That's the only blessing that comes with going 0-16 during the previous season. There are no expectations for this year other than the expectations of the fans to see the Lions develop a quarterback.

So brace yourselves for more humiliation, it's coming right around the bend. Keep in mind, though, that good times should be coming in the future.

Saints-Lions: Matthew Stafford, Detroit Destined for Failure at First Snap

Keith Shelton — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 22:49:55 -0400

I hate to pick on the kid like this. I'm sure the New Orleans Saints humbled him enough.

On a day when the Lions would unveil their brand spanking new QB to the world, it wasn't about him at all.

It was about Drew Brees approaching the NFL record for touchdowns in a game. It was about Jeremy Shockey catching his first touchdown passes in over a year. It was also about a Lions defense that still can't grasp the foreign concept of covering opposing receivers.

It was doomed from the start.

Taking your first snaps in an NFL game is hard enough without spotting the opposing team a 7-0 lead before you even take the field. Stafford and the Lions offense promptly went three and out. I hate to say this, but that's fitting. Par for the course.

You knew what was coming next before it happened. Over the past decade I have been conditioned to see the future. All Lions fans have this ability, some can just tap into it better than others.

The Saints returned the punt to midfield and two plays later, yes two plays later, New Orleans went up 14-0.

I was getting visions of last season's opener. Would Detroit spot the opposition another 21-0 lead before the second quarter started?

Mercifully, they weren't that bad.

The Lions played more or less the same Saints team in Week 16 last year. They lost that game 42-7. So if you're looking at that game as the measuring stick for improvement, you'll see that the Lions offense was able to score more points.

However, truthfully only about 13 of the 20 points scored by Detroit's offense can be attributed to actual scoring drives.

Aaron Brown returned one kick all the way to the Saints' 11-yard line. The short field resulted in a Kevin Smith touchdown run on fourth down.

That may have been the best play of the game for the Lions offense because it showed heart. We aren't accustomed to seeing gutsy plays like that from this woeful team.

Sure, at one point Stafford hit Calvin Johnson and he promptly ripped off a 64-yard gain as he danced around defenders to the New Orleans three-yard line. Stafford topped that drive off with a touchdown run of his own.

It wasn't enough though. The only receivers to catch a ball was Calvin Johnson and Bryant Johnson. The catches were sparse.

He looked every bit a rookie out there for the rest of the game. I advise against looking at the box score for any longer than necessary. Glancing back and forth between Stafford and Brees's stat line really hurts.

One QB had no touchdowns and three interceptions for 205 yards. The other threw for six touchdowns, one interception and 358 yards.

After the game Brees remarked how he and the Saints left some points on the field. Imagine that.

I can't argue with him though. Brees could have tied the NFL record for touchdowns in a game in the final minutes, but New Orleans coach Sean Payton showed mercy. I don't think he'll be getting any thank you cards though.

Saying the defense is stuck at square one would almost be a compliment. They're back to Triangle one.

Granted Drew Brees is a stiff test for any NFL defense, but they also let the Saints' third string running back, Mike Bell, rush for 143 yards. Ridiculous.

There was one single bright spot. It came when rookie safety, Louis Delmas recovered a Bell fumble and returned it 65 yards for a touchdown. Is that cause for hope? Ask me again when a play like that contributes to a win.

A win? Man could this team use one. One-24 in their last 25 games. It's not even fair. There as over 40 percent turnover on this Lions team. The defense was nearly completely wiped out and replaced with new starters, the coaching staff is brand new, the new general manager got high marks for his overhaul, and yet the result is the same.

What more can be done?

A couple months ago they must have had next week against Minnesota circled on the calender, but now they get to face their longtime nemesis, Brett Favre.

Brace yourselves.

College Football Talent Gap Is Closing

Keith Shelton — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 21:02:16 -0400

The underdog is catching up.

There's never been a better time to root for the little guy, and at the rate things are going, the word underdog may soon become obsolete.

The small school down the road hasn't quite caught up to their BCS counterparts yet, but the talent gap has never been closer.

The recent rash of upsets or near upsets began two years ago when Appalachian State stunned the then No. 4-ranked Michigan Wolverines. It was a game that shocked the nation, but little did we know, that would only be the beginning.

The 2008 East Carolina Pirates opened with a 27-22 victory over Virginia Tech. Then they followed that up with a 24-3 blowout over West Virginia.

That ECU team did the unthinkable, scoring huge upsets over the best teams in the ACC and Big East respectively.

Fast forward to 2009. Things would come full circle for the East Carolina Pirates as their first game of the season would match them up against none other than Appalachian State.

This time East Carolina would be the big favorites, while Appalachian State would go for their second win over a FBS school in three years. They nearly did it, but the Pirates would hold on.

Leading the Mountaineers 27-7 at the half, the Pirates almost blew it, allowing Appalachian State to score 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter. ECU squeaked out the 29-24 victory though.

On the opening Saturday of the season, Navy would come to Columbus to face the No. 6-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes while Northern Iowa would face Iowa.

Navy of course is a legitimate mid-major team and perennially has one of the best rushing offenses in the nation. However, no one expected such a close game against the class of the Big Ten.

The Midshipmen came within a two-point conversion in the fourth quarter of tying the game at 29-29. Fortunately for the Buckeyes, the attempt was intercepted and the Buckeyes would come away with a 31-27 victory.

I'm sure the immediate reaction is that it never should have come down to that for Ohio State, but that wouldn't be respecting Navy. The underdog is catching up to the BCS.

Northern Iowa, like Appalachian State, is a FCS school. For over a decade, Northern Iowa has faced off against their in-state FBS and BCS rivals, Iowa, and for over a decade, Iowa has won every game quite handily.

Not this time. The Panthers would control most of the game, taking a 10-3 lead into halftime, and then holding on until just seconds remained on the clock.

NIU would get down to the Hawkeyes 25-yard line where they set-up to kick the game winning field goal. It was blocked, but Iowa forgot to fall on the ball. The Panthers recovered and amazingly with one second left on the clock, they would get a second chance to create history.

Inexplicably, Iowa blocked the second attempt and would go on to win the game. However, Northern Iowa's upset bid can't go unnoticed. This wasn't just any near miss.

The Panthers had to march all the way down field from their 11-yard line with just two minutes left in the game to even get in posistion for their field goal tries. That's something only the best teams can do on a regular basis, but here was little NIU pulling it off against a BCS school.

The underdog is catching up.

It was bound to happen. These BCS schools that consistently schedule FCS schools or seemingly inferior opponents from mid-major conferences would eventually pay for it.

There is of course, nothing to be gained for a BCS school blowing out a FCS school, but there is so much to lose. Just ask the 2007 Wolverines.

However despite that crushing defeat, Michigan has scheduled another FCS opponent this year. They will face Delaware State on Oct. 17. Hopefully the Wolverines will be ready this time. The Hornets should be prepared for, the same way a BCS opponent should be.

Michigan should play with the same tenacity as they would against Ohio State, the same sense of urgency.

There will be more upsets before the year is over. Around the nation more so-called underdogs are hovering beneath the radar while their BCS counterparts lick their chops.

One day, a mid-major school will play for the national title. Don't laugh, it will happen. Whether in the current BCS format, or when a playoff system is finally implemented, it will happen. Maybe then, the underdog will be respected.

Until then, the East Carolinas, Navys, Fresno States, and Tulsas of the world will be waiting in the wings for their chance at greatness.

The underdog is catching up.

LeGarrette Blount Punch Takes Pressure Off Rich Rodriguez and Michigan

Keith Shelton — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 11:13:12 -0400

It was possibly the worst display of sportsmanship I've ever seen in a college football game, and there have been quite a few bad incidents out there.

From watching Ohio State receivers turn and back into the end zone while taunting Michigan, to watching University of Miami and Florida International players brawling it out, emotions can easily take over a game. That's not the way you want it happen though.

Certainly, Oregon fans couldn't have expected what went down last night.

The No. 16-ranked Oregon Ducks came into town against the No. 14-ranked Boise State Broncos.

Oregon's senior running back LeGarrette Blount was last seen running wild over the Oklahoma State defense in the Holiday Bowl.

Expectations were high for him this season.

Before Blount's senior season even started, however, he was hit with an academic suspension that kept him out of spring practice. Then came the Boise State game that would open the 2009 season of NCAA football.

Throughout the game, Oregon's offense sputtered and tanked. Blount actually finished with negative rushing yards. The final score: Boise State 19, Oregon 8.

After the clock ticked zero, there was some trash-talking going on, as I'm sure happens on a regular basis after college games. You can probably guess what Boise State's Byron Hout said to Blount, but Blount's reaction wasn't very pretty.

Blount clocked Hout right in the face as Boise State's Head Coach, Chris Peterson was trying to get Hout off the field. Hout fell to the ground.

Blount was next seen being restrained by his Oregon teammates, and then a fight broke out between Blount and Garrett Embry, with Blount decking his teammate as well.

Coaches and staff all tried to restrain Blount while he still fought to be taken off the field. Eventually the police helped.

You can view the video here.

Blount will likely be suspended, possibly even for his entire senior year, which in turn could also hurt his future NFL career. All because of an instant where Blount apparently lost his mind.

It was a sad way to open the new season of college football, marred by a slew of unsportsmanlike conduct.

The college football world now turns their attention to the beleaguered Oregon Ducks.

The University of Michigan can breathe a sigh of relief for the time being as the media's focus shifts.

Michigan, of course, has a game to play on Saturday against the Broncos from Western Michigan. Emotions will be riding high for the Wolverines as they try to put the investigation happening on their campus behind them.

Coach Rich Rodriguez's bad week can end with a bright spot should Michigan go out there and get a win. Let's hope they keep it clean though.

Let's hope beyond hope that Michigan keeps their emotions in check on the football field Saturday, win or lose. The only kind of media attention Michigan wants these days is positive attention after a win.

So don't give them a reason to do otherwise.

Oregon has just provided a lesson of what not to do after a frustrating game. Michigan would be wise not to follow suit.

University Of Michigan, NCAA Are Taking Rodriguez Allegations Seriously

Keith Shelton — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 18:12:34 -0400

Being an outspoken critic of Rich Rodriguez, as I am coming to find, is not a very desirable position. It's a dirty job, but someone's gotta do it.

I'm glad to see the University of Michigan has the same mindset.

The school could have taken a number of routes after practice-gate, as it is now referred to, exploded into the sports world.

The athletic department could have ignored it completely and waited for possible NCAA involvement. They could have done an internal investigation, or they could have cleaned house.

Of course, Michigan knew they would have a large contingent of critics if they went in-house with this, so they did the same thing they did during the infamous basketball scandal of the '90s.

They hired an outside firm.

It wasn't just any firm either. Michigan hired Lightfoot, Franklin, and White. What is significant about this, is that Gene Marsh is employed by the Birmingham, Alabama law firm.

Gene Marsh served nine years on the NCAA's infractions committee before joining the firm of Lightfoot, Franklin, and White in 2008. There may be no better person to hire for such an investigation in all the land, save for the NCAA investigating themselves.

This speaks volumes to how seriously the University of Michigan is taking the allegations against Rich Rodriguez.

If there is something to be found, Gene Marsh will find it. Count on it.

Michigan is leaving nothing to error, and no room for doubt. Bill Martin and Rich Rodriguez maintain innocence and they want to assure their vindication. Either that or assure damnation.

Still, even with Michigan's tenacity towards uncovering the truth, the NCAA has now decided to get involved with the investigations. The NCAA will work alongside Gene Marsh in the full investigation of the football program.

One way or another, justice will prevail through these investigations. Someone is guilty here. Someone is lying.

Rich Rodriguez could be lying. This is what I am inclined to believe. I have since, backed off my stance to immediately fire the man, pending the results of this investigation, but I still believe he probably violated NCAA rules, whether knowingly or not.

It could very well be that Rodriguez genuinely believes he did nothing wrong, but nonetheless, if the allegations are true, he will be at fault.

It's been a bad week for the Michigan head coach and it keeps getting worse. Annarbor.com recently reported that one of Rich Rodrigez's partners in a Virginia condeminium project, was a banned Clemson booster who is now facing five felony charges.

If the investigation finds Rodriguez at fault, he will lose his job, plain and simple.

Bill Martin's fate should be linked with Rodriguez. Rodriguez's hiring was a hasty move by Martin after the Les Miles negotiations fell through. It is widely speculated that Martin wasn't able to go through the entire process of hiring a coach, as he would have liked to. For that reason, Rodriguez's fate, should be Martin's fate.

If Rodriguez is found at fault, Martin should respectfully resign as athletic director.

Michael Rosenberg and Mark Snyder could be lying as well. They are the Detroit Free Press journalists behind this story. They say they have solid verifiable statements that NCAA rules were violated at the University of Michigan.

Given Rosenberg's reputation as a respectable journalist, I am inclined to believe that he did not fabricate this story.

Rosenberg and Snyder's careers are on the line here. If the story was fabricated, they could be looking at charges of defamation and libel in a civil court room, and they know it.

This is precisely why I don't believe they are fabricating this.

Finally, the student-athletes that came forward could be lying. This is the most interesting possibility.

There are possible motives for why the students would lie, such as being upset with a 3-9 season and not wanting to play for Rodriguez for another season. Others have pointed out that the players could simply be lazy and didn't want to put in the extra work, so they fabricated a story to get out of it.

If the students lied, they not only would have got their school and their coach in trouble, they will likely get Michael Rosenberg and Mark Snyder fired or sued. There are serious implications here.

The students themselves could likely be tried on slander charges as well.

So, someone is probably going down here. It is the NCAA and Gene Marsh's jobs to figure out who. It's not a very desirable position, but someone's gotta do it.

In Response to the University of Michigan Fanbase

Keith Shelton — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 11:05:58 -0400

On August 30, I posted a controversial article calling for the firing of Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez. The article, as I expected sparked some good conversation. However, I have never received so many personal attacks to my character or my ability as a writer. This is extremely uncalled for. Here is my response to those people.

I have to say, I'm genuinely shocked. I have always welcomed criticism on Bleacher Report and I think those who have followed my writing will find that I'm always up for an argument.

I'm happy to defend my point while taking opposing viewpoints into consideration, however when my personal character and writing ability is attacked, I feel that goes beyond the intended discussion intended for this website.

I have never received so much hate on anything I've written for this website. It could be that I underestimated the near zealous following of a portion of the Michigan fanbase.

Know however, that I have been a fan of Michigan since birth. My father attended the university and I grew up on Saturday's watching the games, with the occasional visit to Michigan stadium.

Michigan football remains one of my favorite things about the fall. They are my favorite team in all the land. Understand though, I am loyal to the school, not the coach.

Here are some of the comments I have received, names withheld.

"I dont think you you are the NCAA.so I dont think you deserve a opinion about the prestigious Michigan football program"

"What a joke you are for even posting this, Your not a Michigan fan your a little B*%$#h"

"This article stinks of a new writer on the block trying to jump on a baseless bandwagon based on the opportunity to say "I was the 1st to say this" and then follow it up with lots of "I told you so's". If the Bleacher Report has an interest in preserving its own integrity (does it have any?), then it should probably recommend that you take a hike."

"Interesting that a writer who is demanding that a high profile coach loose his job based on a handful of anonymous accusations, while writing an article that twists and distorts facts and history in order to make his case has the audacity to use the word "integrity"

"You are a total and complete idiot to suggest that Michigan automatically fire Rich Rodriguez...

...your suggestion that Feagin "blew up a dorm room" is unfounded and grounds for defamation."

"Actually, ****** may have a point on the defamation. Defamation is a statement that is false that injures the plaintiff's reputation. When the statement is regarding a private person, even negligently reported information is still defamation. Thus, if you learned this from random posts on google, and it turns out to be false, you are still liable."

"The internet... Where any fool can write a column."

I don't mind one bit if you disagree about what I have to say, but saying I've committed defamation and libel, and attacking my character? These are pretty serious things to allege on me.

It seems some people need a lesson on what defamation is. Defamation and libel are never opinion related. You'll notice that my article is headed as an opinion piece.

Defamation and Libel are false statements presented as fact with malicious intent. Nothing in any article I have ever written has ever fallen under these acts of irresponsible journalism.

Saying I have no room to form an opinion on the matter? Last time I checked, this is still America. You have your right to bash me and say ridiculous things in the defense of Rich Rodriguez, just as I have my right to suggest that Rich Rodriguez be fired.

I have never attacked anyone's character on this website, I would only ask that others show the same respect. If you disagree with me, offer intelligent constructive criticism, I welcome it.

Flawed Tigers Might Just Surprise in The Postseason

Keith Shelton — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 10:37:06 -0400

If you took this Tigers team and placed them within any other division in baseball, they would be relegated to longshot status for the postseason.

Lucky for them, they play in the stunningly mediocre AL Central, where the flawed reign supreme.

Make no mistake about it, the Detroit Tigers have their share of vulnerability. Most of that centers around their anemic offense.

Miguel Cabrera is the only player on the team that is hitting over .300. He also leads the team in home runs and RBI. One might say, he is carrying this Tigers offense. If Cabrera keeps up his pace and the Tigers win the division, he will certainly garner MVP attention.

However, beyond Cabrera, there isn't a whole lot to get excited about when a Tiger is at the plate.

Gerald Laird is batting a piddly .225, which coincidentally, is also his body weight. Adam Everett? .241. Even the normally fearsome Magglio Ordonez is suffering a massive drop in production this season. Brandon Inge has plummeted due to a knee injury that he has played through, after a solid first half

However, at least in the case of Laird, he makes up for his lack of offense with his superior skills at his position. Laird has thrown out 30 batters this season, which is good for best in the majors. It's a quiet statistic, but an important one.

Although he'll deny it, many speculate that Laird is also partially responsible for the resurgence of Justin Verlander, the spectacular season from Edwin Jackson, and the rapid development of Rick Porcello.

On paper, these Tigers don't compare to the power lineups of their AL counterparts in New York, Boston, and L.A., but they do have a possible competitive advantage in their pitching rotation.

Justin Verlander is certainly a valid ace pitcher. He leads the AL in strikeouts and wins, and is seventh in ERA. His work will earn him Cy Young attention to be sure.

Edwin Jackson has been a dream come true and is currently third in the AL in ERA.

Throw Jarrod Washburn (sixth in ERA) and surprising rookie, Rick Porcello (fifth in wins) in the mix, and the Tigers have a four-man postseason rotation that can stand with the best of them.

Then there's the bullpen. Fernando Rodney is sixth in the AL with 29 saves this year, and just one blown save. Brandon Lyon, Fu-Ti-Ni, Bobby Seay, and rookie Ryan Perry have all provided great support in late innings as well.

In 2006, it was pitching that got the upstart Tigers past the murderers row lineup of the New York Yankees. Could more magic be in the works this season?

Virtually any team the Tigers face will trump them on offense, but pitching and defense wins championships, and the Tigers hold an edge in both categories.

So the expectations for the team in postseason play won't be high, but the possibilities for upsets are very good.

Enjoy the pennant race Tigers fans, and keep in mind that even if the Tigers suffer an early exit in the postseason, the future remains bright for this team.

The Tigers big three in the rotation of Justin Verlander, Edwin Jackson, and Rick Porcello are all under the age of 27.

Miguel Cabrera is just entering his prime, they have a potential solid bat in Alex Avila ready to make the leap next season, and if Magglio Ordonez comes off the books, a big bat can be added in the offseason.

Detroit is ready to make the leap to perennial playoff contenders and the 119 loss Tigers of yesteryear are becoming a distant memory. Enjoy this.

For the Sake of Preserving Integrity, Michigan Must Fire Rich Rodriguez

Keith Shelton — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 00:18:45 -0400

Some coaches just don't get it.

Some can only create negative headlines.

Some don't care about anything but winning.

Lloyd Carr was not one of those coaches. Rich Rodriguez is.

Forget for a moment the fact that Rodriguez just coached the worst Michigan team in the programs 100-plus year history. Forget that over a dozen players on the team have transferred out to other programs, trashing Rodriguez in their wake.

Despite all of that, Rodriguez's success can't be denied. He's won at every school he's coached at, and he practically invented the modern-day spread offense.

It's not just about winning though—not at a program like Michigan.

Michigan has standards, and Carr knew this. He was as clean of a coach as you could find—a real class act.

Rodriguez is quite the opposite.

The latest allegations only further the case against him.

Multiple players from the 2008 and 2009 teams have come forward, saying that Rodriguez constantly broke NCAA rules concerning practice.

The NCAA allows eight hours of practice per week for players. However, multiple players have alleged that they were required to practice two to three times as long.

The intensity of strength and conditioning coach Mike Barwais and Rich Rodriguez's workouts and practice sessions aren't exactly the norm throughout the NCAA either. This goes above and beyond what players should be expected to handle.

If, or should I say when, the NCAA investigates this, major violations could be found, resulting in probation and/or loss of scholarships.

Of course, like I said, this is only the latest black mark on the formerly clean football program at Michigan.

Last June, quarterback Justin Feagin, a Rodriguez recruit, was found to be dealing cocaine on campus, which culminated in his dorm room being set ablaze. He was immediately expelled from the program, but not before making headlines.

Finally, fans can't forget the media circus that followed him here. It wasn't exactly a quiet hire. That wasn't the image Michigan wanted then, and it's not the image it wants now.

Lots of coaches can win, but not every coach is a stand-up guy. Those are harder to find, but that must be the standard for coaching at Michigan.

This is a school that once had a proud basketball program and was devastated thanks to a dirty program. It is only now, over a decade after the fact, returning to prominence.

Should the same shroud fall over the football program, it would be 10 times as devastating. The following for Michigan football and the history of the program makes the basketball program look minuscule in comparison.

I've been nearly as big of a Rodriguez apologist as you'd find over the past year and a half since his hire, but I think I've seen enough. Michigan can risk no more damage to its program, because what comes next might be too much.

Bill Martin must fire Rodriguez and send a message that any coach that violates NCAA rules will not be a coach at Michigan. That's how Bo Schembechler operated, and thus that is the standard.

You Snooze, You Lose Games: 2009 Fantasy Sleepers and Slackers

Keith Shelton — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 13:03:02 -0400

All over America, people are participating in their league's fantasy football drafts, and chances are you know who you're taking first and probably second as well. You've been thinking about it for weeks. But what to do when you reach the 4th and 5th rounds and still don't have a quarterback or 2nd running back? I'm here to help. So I've compiled two teams here. One of sleepers and one of busts. My assessment of these players is based off of Yahoo Sports point system as that is where I play my fantasy ball.

Begin Slideshow

Like Dangerfield, Fernando Rodney Can't Get No Respect!

Keith Shelton — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 08:57:38 -0400

Toward the end of the Tigers' Sunday afternoon 8-7 series-clinching victory over the rival Minnesota Twins, color commentator Rod Allen turned to Mario Impemba, his partner in the booth, and asked him how many saves Rodney had racked up this year.

"Twenty-two," said Impemba. "That's good for sixth in the American League, but Tigers fans would have you thinking he's in millionth place with the way they harp on him."

Rodney is up there with David Ardsma, Jonathan Papelbon, and Bobby Jenks this year in number of saves. His ERA is better than big names such as Kerry Wood and Brian Fuentes. He has more strikeouts than them, too.

So why the hate?

F-Rod came out in the ninth inning yesterday afternoon with his team carrying an 8-6 lead. He was set to face the heart of Minnesota's lineup: Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, and Michael Cuddyer, a daunting task for any pitcher.

Minnesota, of course, was fighting for its playoff life here in August. The Twins were 4.5 games back from the Tigers. A loss would drop them to 5.5 games out of first place in the American League's Central Division with 52 games to go, but a win would put them right back in it.

Rodney got Mauer to ground out to second, Morneau grounded out at third, and then Rodney blew it. Cuddyer belted a solo-shot home run to narrow the Tigers' lead to 8-7.

Then Delmon Young grounded out on an awesome throw by Brandon Inge, and Rodney walked away with his 23rd save of the season.

What? You thought I meant he blew the game?

Tigers fans have this expectation that Rodney should be Mariano Rivera, consistently getting one-two-three innings and God help him if he struggles or allows a baserunner or two, because you can bet he'll hear about it.

Enough! Tigers fans must not look around the league very often, because if they did they would see that no closer is perfect.

Brian Fuentes has blown four saves this season. Joe Nathan, regarded as the best closer in the division, has blown three. Papelbon has also blown three. Bobby Jenks has blown four.

Even Rivera has blown a save this season. You don't hear anyone beating those guys up about it.

To date, F-Rod is 23/24 in save opportunities. That's right, he's blown just one save, and the Tigers still won that game!

Do me a favor and think back to March when it was announced that Rodney and Brandon Lyon would be splitting the closing duties.

We groaned, whined, and complained all day long about that one. Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski was an idiot and our closing tandem would be costing us more games than it would be saving, that was for sure.

Rodney started the season perfect and Lyon was awful at first. Now Lyon is a solid set-up man and Rodney is a hell of a closer.

Not just anyone can be a closing pitcher. It takes big-time guts and it takes an aura of unshakeability (and, yes, I had to make that word up). It means not blinking when the bases are loaded in a one-run game with two outs in the ninth and the opposing team's big slugger coming up to the plate.

Even if Rodney doesn't have Rivera's stuff, he has what it takes to be a good closer. Even if he scares the hell out of us some nights and makes it closer than we would like, he gets the job done.

We should appreciate this guy more. I hear Tigers fans and their ridiculous mantras. They sound like opposing fans rather than Tigers fans.

"Just wait until he starts blowing games for us! It's coming!"

I'm still waiting, and all I'm seeing is clutch.

The Detroit Lions' All-Bust Team 1999-2008

Keith Shelton — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 13:51:02 -0400

The Detroit Lions have certainly had their share of failures over the decades since 1957, especially in recent years. With that, comes a whole slew of busts. What is a bust? Usually, a bust is a player that is drafted high and performs far below expectations. However for the sake of this slideshow, I am also including big free agent acquisitions that performed below expectations as busts. The kicker and punter positions are vacant because as we know, if the Lions have done anything right, its special teams. Enjoy. Ahhh, memories.

Begin Slideshow

Why Matthew Stafford Must Ride the Detroit Lions' Bench This Season

Keith Shelton — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 10:38:59 -0400

As the media keeps churning out fluff pieces about how great Matthew Stafford is and how he is the saviour of the Detroit Lions, I continue to shake my head.

Just a couple months ago, Daunte Culpepper was entrenched as the starter of the Detroit Lions. Stafford? A mere challenger who had only a slim chance of winning the job out of training camp.

Now? The Detroit media reports it as a battle for the quarterback position like they really mean it. Stafford is emphasized as the favorite—the flashy new quarterback who should beat out Culpepper by week three at the latest and lead Detroit back from the depths of 0-16.

Why the sudden change? Today, just as three months ago, Stafford still hasn't thrown a single down in the NFL.

Sure, we hear from Stafford's old high school coach, his college running back, the Lions head coach even, that Matthew Stafford is ahead of the curve, that he has maybe the best arm they've ever seen.

I'll believe it, but so what? Ryan Leaf had a great arm too. So did Tim Couch.

This article isn't about citing past No. 1 draft pick quarterbacks who have failed though. It's about how Stafford is likely destined to fail if he starts this season, period.

Stafford will inevitably be compared to last year's rookie crop of quarterbacks, Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco, if he starts this season. That's unfair right off the bat. Ryan and Flacco were college seniors when they entered the draft. They were as close to finished products as you can get.

Matthew Stafford entered the draft as a junior. That's strike one.

You might not think it's a big deal, but senior quarterbacks have a much higher percentage of success than juniors.

Don't believe me? Here's a list of junior quarterbacks who have recently entered the NFL: JaMarcus Russell, Vince Young, Alex Smith, Ben Roethlisberger, Rex Grossman, Michael Vick, Tim Couch, Ryan Leaf.

You can look at that list and pick out Roethlisberger and Vick as the only two junior quarterbacks in the last 11 years to have really made it. Meanwhile, two of the bigger quarterback busts of the last decade are present.

Seniors have more maturity and more experience. Don't discount it.

Now, lets take a look at what Detroit has given Stafford to help him succeed.

For the last five years at least, Detroit has had one of the worst offensive lines in the NFL. There's no nice way to say it. Detroit's line was a sieve.

They didn't do much to address this in the offseason. They did bring in veteran tackle Jon Jansen, who should be some help, but this is still more or less the same line that allowed multiple injured quarterbacks last season.

Let's review: Jon Kitna, Dan Orlovsky, Drew Stanton, Daunte Culpepper, Drew Henson—all five of those quarterbacks lined up under center for Detroit last season. Four of them suffered injuries at some point.

Atlanta had one of the best ground games in the NFL last season with Michael Turner and Norwood. Baltimore perennially has one of the NFL's best defenses.

Detroit has neither.

Kevin Smith looks like a solid back, but can he be a guy who forces defenses to focus on the rushing attack and takes pressure off the quarterback? I don't know.

The defense has been revamped big time, but it's still a question mark. Some have compared Detroit's defense to that of an expansion team, taking other teams' leftovers. It's a pessimistic assessment, but not too far off from the truth.

What Detroit has given Stafford is one of the top three receivers in the game in Calvin Johnson. That shouldn't be underestimated. A great receiver can be a young quarterback's best friend.

Will it be enough though?

Then there is the pressure.

Detroit fans are notorious for their huge expectations surrounding the next quarterback of the Detroit Lions. There is that old adage that the most popular man in Detroit is the backup quarterback of the Lions.

Then, if the next quarterback fails, they will never hear the end of it, even after they leave. Just look at Joey "Blue Skies" Harrington.

Sitting your star quarterback is never a popular option, but it should dramatically increase Stafford's chances of success.

Carson Palmer sat for a year behind Jon Kitna in Cincinnati. Although injuries have derailed Palmer's career, his year on the bench helped prepare him for great success in leading Cincinnati back to the playoffs.

Philip Rivers is another quarterback who sat on the bench behind Drew Brees. Rivers' success isn't questioned now. He is a solid starting quarterback in the NFL.

Aaron Rodgers spent multiple years on the bench behind Brett Favre. He ended up being a solid starting quarterback because of it.

Brady Quinn sat on the bench for a year behind Derek Anderson. We won't know for sure how much that helped him until we see him play this season, but it can't hurt.

You might say Detroit doesn't have the luxury of having an entrenched starter who can keep Stafford on the bench. You might be right.

For the time being, if Culpepper falters or gets injured, all Detroit would have to turn to is Drew Stanton or Matthew Stafford.

Detroit isn't going to start Stanton over Stafford. That will never happen.

So if Detroit is serious about developing Stafford properly, they are going to want a veteran quarterback behind Culpepper. That probably means cutting Stanton loose.

There are quite a few options out there. This only needs to be a one-year stopgap after all.

I just hope Detroit does the right thing. There's no reason to throw Stafford to the wolves this early. That's what veterans are for. They've been in these situations; they've seen it all.

I've seen Detroit ruin too many promising quarterbacks—from Joey Harrington, to Charlie Batch, to Andre Ware.

Let's just hope they take the slow route in developing Stafford. There's going to be improvement this year either way.

Likewise, no matter who starts, this is not a playoff team. So why risk it?

Develop the young quarterback on the bench this year, give him the starting reins next year, and his chance for success improves greatly.