Catch Your Detroit Lions Featured Columnists' New Show This Saturday!

If you've been paying attention, your Detroit Lions Featured Columnists, Ryan Steck and I, have been dropping various hints about a certain something coming up.

Well, this is that something.

No longer content to limit our voices with the written word alone, we've moved on to a new media.

So without further ado, consider this the official announcement of Detroit Lions Talk with Ryan Steck and Dean Holden !

That's right, starting this Saturday, July 10, at 7:00 PM, Ryan and I will be co-hosting a twice-weekly radio show on Blog Talk Radio, and we want you all to tune in!

The shows will be every Saturday and Monday at 7:00 PM. Saturday's show will be an hour, and Monday's a half hour—just long enough to discuss Sunday's game before Monday Night Football.

Busy this Saturday at 7:00? No problem! We'll be archiving every show, as well as additional content on our show's new home page .

Now, I know what you might be thinking. "Does this mean you guys are leaving the Bleacher Report community, striking out on your own, and grabbing a cheap plug on the way out by trying to grab some of the native audience?"

Not at all. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth (aside from the fact that this IS a cheap plug, I can admit it). We've really envisioned the show to be a supplement to our B/R content, if anything. Our home page actually links to B/R, not the other way around.

See, we want to get you guys involved, bring the Lions community closer together. We're going to regularly have B/R writers (that means you, potentially) on as guests, feature some good (and bad) articles we read that week, read your comments, maybe read the results of some weekly polls, and generally try to create a synergy between our weekly show and our weekly B/R content.

In addition to B/R content, we have a ton of other fun segments planned, including (but not limited to) reporting the results of the two of us simulating upcoming Lions matchups by playing each other in Madden 2011, a "by the numbers" segment, where we toss out whatever crazy stats have jumped out at us, a trivia segment (again, we'd like to get the community involved in that), and potential player interviews.

The website (which, again, is here ), will be for archiving the show and talking about more personal or show-related matters, some of which may not necessarily be B/R material.

What's that? You want an example of said content?

Okay, if you insist. Here is Ryan's and my introductory Q&A, just for you to get to know us a little better.

What is your current relationship status?

RS- I’m married. Melissa Steck is my beautiful wife, and we have three children.

DH- Engaged to my beautiful fiancee Jessi, or at least I will be until next spring. Say what you want, but married life can't get here soon enough!

Favorite food?

RS- I love all kinds of food. I love Italian food (pastas, spaghetti, pizza, etc.), but I’m also a “man’s man” and sure do love my steak, and BBQ ribs! I eat a lot of sandwiches too, and I enjoy most seafood as well (especially salmon and tuna).

DH- Chunky Beef SUH-p. No, just kidding. Honestly, nothing beats a good burger. I've also been into a lot of Asian foods lately, like sushi and curry.

Favorite television show?

RS- I have a few. I watch Friends all the time, my wife and I are both into that show. But favorite all time would have to be The Shield. That was simply the best television show I have ever witnessed.

Everything about it made it a hit. The acting, the story line, the character development, the way it was shot, and the writing. Of course I also love sports show, pretty much everything on ESPN. My favorite ESPN show is without a doubt Mike and Mike in the morning.

DH- I watch How I Met Your Mother every now and again (Neil Patrick Harris is awesome... or LEGENDARY, if you will), but the TV's usually on ESPN.

My longtime favorites are Around the Horn and Pardon the Interruption. After having sports stories beat into your head all day by Sportscenter updates, those guys actually provide a fresh take. That's something special.

Favorite movie of all time?

RS- I enjoy comedies and action movies. I think The Hangover is hilarious! But in all honesty, I’m a Steven Seagal nerd. I have every single DVD he has ever made, and they are all on display in chronological order.

Yes, I’ll admit that most of them are terrible, but that’s okay because Seagal is a bad man! I also really love Forgetting Sarah Marshall .

DH- Up . Sure, it's animated, but if you don't experience a full range of emotion every single time you see it, you have no soul. Pixar is unquestionably made up of the greatest and most innovative storytellers of our generation.

What is your favorite sports movie?

RS- Man, there are so many! I loved Remember the Titans , and for a while it was my favorite football movie. Then a couple years ago The Express , a movie telling the story of the first African-American Heisman Trophy winner (Ernie Davis), was released and it instantly became a new favorite of mine.

I also like The Replacements , Friday Night Lights , Jerry McGuire , Talladega Nights , and Miracle .

DH- Sadly, it's probably Major League . And I hate Charlie Sheen. But that humor is timeless.

Best childhood sports memory?

RS- One year when I was really young, my father purchased Detroit Pistons season tickets. In that one season we got to see Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, and some other all-time greats play live.

DH- Meeting Luther Elliss at a charity basketball game in Traverse City. Kerwin Waldroup kept riling up the crowd and heaving half-court shots until he finally made one. Pretty sure he's in prison now, though...

What is your favorite sports team(s)?

RS- Detroit Lions, Dallas Cowboys, and the Detroit Tigers.

DH- If it wasn't the Detroit Lions, I wouldn't really belong here, now would I? Detroit Tigers are a close second, though.

Who is your favorite all time athlete(s)?

RS- Allen Iverson, Barry Sanders, and Ken Griffey Jr.

DH- Steve Yzerman. The epitome of class and team play. Came into the league as a burner, an offensive superstar. Put up huge numbers his first few seasons, then Scotty Bowman turned him into the best two-way player on skates.

Had he continued to play undisciplined, offensive hockey, he would have had a shot at every offensive record in the league. Even the Gretzky ones. Instead, he played Selke Trophy hockey, and won titles as a result.

What are your co-host's strengths?

RS- Dean is much better with words than I am. His grammar skills are far superior to mine, as is his ability to articulate his thoughts. Because he's so smart, yet so down to earth, he's able to connect with a larger target audience than anyone I know.

I’m more of the “in your face” type of personality and he is laid back, which I really respect. He also does research like nobody's business, which of course is a good quality for someone you're co-hosting a radio show with!

DH- Ryan is the most enthusiastic go-getter I've ever met. This site and the Detroit Lions Talk show are both a result of his unfathomable drive and energy.

I know a lot of words, but I don't know what the antonym for "procrastinate" is ("concrastinate," maybe?). Whatever it is, it describes Ryan to a T. He knows what he's doing, and he won't stop until he does it (usually within a few hours of us discussing it).

As a writer/analyst, I don't know that I've ever seen somebody better able to break down an individual player in terms that any fan can understand, and relate it to a game situation.

Who is your all time favorite Detroit Lion?

RS- Barry Sanders, who else? Seriously, who else? Barry in my mind is arguably the greatest NFL player ever to live, and certainly the top in Lions history.

DH- You want me to say Barry Sanders, and I'm tempted to oblige, but growing up, I always felt like Herman Moore was unfairly overshadowed. He's not the best, but he's my favorite.

Who is your favorite current Detroit Lion?

RS- Matthew Stafford. It’s close because I’m big on Calvin Johnson, but Stafford just has that “moxie” about him. I like his confidence and they way he carries himself. Having the strongest arm in the NFL doesn’t hurt, either!

DH- Skills-wise, I'm leaning towards Louis Delmas. I'm a sucker for good defensive backfield players, and Delmas has "Future Pro Bowler" written right on his forehead.

Personality-wise, it's Dominic Raiola, easily. This man absolutely HATES to lose, but he's been sticking around Detroit for a decade, anyway. THAT, my friends, is loyalty.

Favorite Detroit Lions head coach of all time?

RS- In all honesty, and I thought about this a lot, I’m going to give the nod to current head coach Jim Schwartz. I spoke about “moxie” earlier with Matthew Stafford, well Schwartz has the same persona.

He’s just a cool guy, bottom line. He’s also a very good coach, that doesn’t receive any credit because he only won two games last year. He will turn this franchise around, I truly believe that.

DH- George Wilson, because without him, "Paper Lion" wouldn't have happened. And that book changed my life. Plus he won an NFL title with the Lions, which has to count for something.

Who is the most important player currently on the Lions roster?

RS- Matthew Stafford by far. I’m a true believer that an NFL team is only as good as their starting quarterback. Yes there are exceptions, but the majority of the time it’s just fact. He’s a former No. 1 overall selection, and this team will live or die with his success.

DH- Matthew Stafford, hands down. We can dance around it all we want, but if Stafford turns out to flop, the team's in big trouble. Alternatively, if he's a superstar, he will help make up for a number of team weaknesses all on his own. That's the nature of the quarterback position, after all.

Who is truly to blame for the Lions infamous 0-16 season?

RS- Matt Millen and Rod Marinelli. Millen was the worst GM in the history of sports. He’s the guy who hired Marinelli as the head coach, when at the time the man had never been a head coach on any level of the sport, ever! Not even high school!

And Marinelli thought it was a good idea to sign every former Tampa Bay player available, even though they were five years past their prime.

He also decided to make his son-in-law, Joe Barry, his defensive coordinator, a good ten years before he was ready for the job. Barry was one of the worst defensive coordinators in recent memory.

DH- I can't blame Rod Marinelli. Not entirely. Because while 0-16 happened on his watch, so did 7-9 with a 6-2 start, the best season the Lions had in the last decade.

The answer was going to be Joey Harrington, who flopped spectacularly and put the Lions into a quarterback scramble that ultimately culminated in 2008's "quarterback by committee" system.

But who am I kidding? Of course it's Matt Millen. It can be no other.

At the end of his career, how good will Ndamukong Suh be?

RS- Hall of Fame player, I hope! Look, Suh has every intangible you need to not only be successful, but great in this league. He’s smart, strong, big, aggressive, coachable, motivated, and a hard worker. The Lions need him to become a superstar.

DH- I don't know, because college DTs are among the most difficult players to project in the pros. He also has some injury issues that could keep him from playing deep into his 30's (especially for a man of his size and position).

But if we go, right now, by size, strength, quickness, intelligence, ability, and attitude, he has the chance to accomplish in 10 years what some Hall of Famers did in 15.

In three years, will Matthew Stafford be one of the top 10 quarterbacks in the NFL?

RS- Yes, but in part because I think you’ll see Tom Brady and Peyton Manning start to fade away. Like Suh, Stafford also has every intangible you need to be great.

He’s got a cannon in place of his right arm, he’s smart, fearless, confident, tough, and a born leader. I truly think he will blossom into an elite NFL quarterback.

DH- "Top 10" is setting the bar a bit low. Point: Stafford was a top overall pick, and David Garrard made the Pro Bowl last year. If the Lions continue to build around Stafford as they have been, he'll be a Pro Bowl QB perhaps before three years' time.

How good can Calvin Johnson really be?

RS- Jerry Rice good, yeah you read that right! Calvin is a unique breed of Randy Moss’s speed and catching ability, mixed with Terrell Owens’s strength, physique, physicality, and run-after-the-catch ability.

You’re about to see how good this guy can be, get ready!

DH- Provided his health doesn't continue to slow him down, he can break records. He's a Hall of Fame-worthy talent, if stays healthy long enough to become a Hall-worthy player.

What NFL running back does Jahvid Best most resemble?

RS- While most people say Reggie Bush or Darren Sproles, I’m going to go with Chris Johnson. He’s got the rare speed that Johnson possesses, and the even rarer ability to position himself in a way where defenders can’t get a clean, square shot on him.

DH- Not one in particular, but I see him as a sort of mixture between Steven Jackson and Darren Sproles. Definitely one of the rushing/receiving threat types.

With the Lions thin at WR, don't be surprised to see him in a package lining up in the slot every now and then. I predict that he'll end his rookie season with more receiving yards than rushing yards.

Who is the Lions biggest offseason addition?

RS- Kyle Vanden Bosch. I think bringing in KVB will be huge for the Lions in the short-term. He’s a leader and fierce competitor, and his work ethic may be the best in the NFL.

His workout intensity has already rubbed off on Ndamukong Suh, and I think he’s definitely got one or two very productive seasons left in him.

DH- Corey Williams. He will be the reason Ndamukong Suh isn't consistently double-teamed and frozen out. He should also play a "mentorship" role. If Suh develops properly into the beast he can be, you can assume Williams deserves a lot of the credit.

Historic Lions player you wish you could have seen play?

RS- Bobby Layne. When I was a boy, my dad would tell me stories of Layne going out Saturday night, going to jail, then getting picked up by the head coach Sunday morning before the game. I always thought that was funny.

DH- Alex Karras. It's hard to imagine a defensive tackle being as dominant as legend holds, but he played in an age when a lot more stuff was legal, on both sides of the ball (crackback block, anybody?). It would be lots of fun to compare his play then to the game now.

Want more info on the show? Listen in Saturday, July 10, and we'll try to cover the basics for you.

In the meantime, answer the poll to let us know whether you'll be there when Ryan and I take to the Internet airwaves.