Tag: dominic raiola

Lions can bolster playoff chances with win at Black Hole

Oakland, Calif. — The last time the Lions walked off the field at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, patrons showered them with shot glasses and batteries.

“That was fun,” Lions center Dominic Raiola said, chuckling. “Those are crazy fans. It gets you excited to play football.”

Neither team will need any environmental aids Sunday. The stakes are clear. The Lions (8-5) need to win to maintain control of their playoff aspirations. The Raiders (7-6) need to win to keep their playoff hopes alive, too.

“There’s no room for error, especially with all the other teams that are in the pack,” Raiola said of the playoffs chase. “Nobody is really out of it yet, so all we can do is keep on winning.”

The Lions hold the second and last wildcard spot in the NFC. Chicago (7-6), Dallas (7-6), Seattle (6-7) and Arizona (6-7) remain in the hunt.

“One at a time,” quarterback Matthew Stafford said. “As cliché as that sounds, that’s the way it has to be for us. We can’t look too far ahead. You see it on TV (playoff talk) and you hear it on the radio. Everybody knows what’s in front of us, but we have to go out there and execute it.

“This team has a great attitude right now. We understand what we have to do.”

Raiola wouldn’t mind another postgame “shower” from the fans at the Black Hole, because that would mean they won. The Lions’ last game in Oakland was a 36-21 season-opening win in 2007. It’s the only win the Lions have had on the West Coast in eight games the past 10 years.

“You hear the stories,” receiver Calvin Johnson said. “But, hey, I played (at Oakland) my first pro game and we won. We like playing on the road. We like going places and trying to shut up other teams’ fans.”

Coach Jim Schwartz said the venue — as crazy as the Black Hole can be — will be the least of the Lions’ concerns.

“We’ve had success on the road (4-2) and there’s not any difference from one place to another,” he said. “There’s a certain mentality that goes to playing on the road and you have to prepare for the crowd noise, but it’s not our first road trip — whether the fans are dressed as gladiators or anything else won’t affect us very much.”

What may impact the Lions, though, are injuries, particularly to a defense that has given up an average of 30 points the last four games.

They will play the Raiders without starting safety Louis Delmas, who did not travel with the team. He will miss his third straight game with a Grade 2 MCL tear.

Also out will be cornerback Aaron Berry (shoulder) and defensive end Lawrence Jackson (thigh).

Defensive end Willie Young (ankle), defensive tackle Nick Fairley (foot), outside linebacker Justin Durant (hamstring) and cornerback Eric Wright (hamstring) will be game-time decisions.

The defense will get a huge lift, though, from the return of two key starters — defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh (suspension) and cornerback Chris Houston (knee).

“Yeah, we got a lot more weapons (this week),” defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham said. “We are still banged up here or there, but every team is this time of the year. I think the biggest thing for our football team on defense is learning the attitude you got to have going into the final couple weeks; knowing how important each game is.

“We talked about four games to go; well now it is three games to go. They are all into it and focused, but they have been all year. It is just magnified now.”

The offense is expected to get back running back Kevin Smith (ankle), who practiced this week, albeit in a limited capacity. The question will be, how long will he last?

“I made it two quarters last time; hopefully I can go four,” he said.

This would be a good week for Johnson, the Lions’ quiet Pro Bowl receiver, to have a loud game. Defenses the last few weeks have gone to extreme measures to take him out of the mix, especially in the red zone. After scoring 11 touchdowns in the first eight games, he has one in the last five.

“He’s not a decoy at all, but if he’s taken away, then you have to go other places,” Schwartz said. “We never go in planning on using him as a decoy, but you also need to make smart decisions.

“We didn’t have any turnovers (against the Vikings), didn’t have any turnovers against New Orleans — two teams that were really trying their very best to take him out. If you press it too much, then you end up getting turnovers. Our game plan every week is to try to get him the ball, but we have to make smart decisions — smart decisions trump getting him the ball sometimes.”

To get Johnson the ball downfield, the offensive line is going to have to give Stafford a few extra seconds. There were several plays against the Vikings where Johnson got open but Stafford didn’t have time to wait for the route to develop.

“It’s all about being a great offense,” Stafford said. “He’s a great player and when we have one-on-one shots, we’re going to take them. But teams aren’t giving us those very often. We had some plays called last week to get him the ball downfield but for one reason or another it didn’t work out.

“But the great thing about Calvin is, he only wants to do one thing and that’s win games. That’s what you love about the guy.”

Said Johnson, “Man, as long as we’re winning, that’s going to keep everybody happy. That’s what everybody wants.”

So the Lions continue their own version of March Madness; it’s survive and advance time. If they win out, they end their 11-year playoff drought.

“We are excited about the possibilities,” defensive end Cliff Avril said. “But we are even more excited to be playing games that matter in December. We need to keep winning to have a chance to make something special happen. I think we are up for the task.”

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Lions at Raiders

Kickoff: 4:05 p.m. Sunday, Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, Calif.
TV/radio: Fox/97.1
Records: Detroit 8-5, Oakland 7-6
Series: Oakland leads 6-4 (Detroit 36-21, Sept. 9, 2007)
Line: Lions by 1

Matthew Stafford proves he can stay healthy, is on pace for Lions’ records


Vikings at Lions | 1 p.m. Sunday, Fox

Chris McCosky/ The Detroit News

Allen Park— Start with a subplot.

Who had Matthew Stafford getting to Game 13 without missing a start? Outside of the coaching staff and Stafford himself, probably not too many.

Stafford, who started just 13 games in his first two seasons combined, will make his 13th straight start against the Vikings on Sunday.

“I never had any concerns of myself,” Stafford said Wednesday when asked if he felt he’d beaten the “fragile” tag. “You guys can answer that question. I am just where I expected to be — healthy and ready to go this week.”

He’s fought through an ankle injury and a fractured index finger on his throwing hand. He’s also fought through a few erratic weeks. Through it all, he’s on a pace to record the most productive season any Lions quarterback has ever had.

“We’ve never doubted his toughness or his durability or anything like that in here,” center Dominic Raiola said. “That’s never been an issue with us. We have complete faith in his ability to lead this offense and get it where we want to go.”

Stafford has thrown for 3,527 yards this season. That’s 811 yards shy of Scott Mitchell’s 1995 team record of 4,338. He needs to average just 203 yards over the last four games to eclipse the record.

He is five touchdown passes shy of Mitchell’s single-season mark of 32. He’s also in range of breaking Jon Kitna’s single-season completion percentage mark of 63.3. Stafford has completed 63 percent through 12 games.

“I don’t think about that stuff,” Stafford said. “All that matters is winning games.”

Playing for something

Which brings us around to the main plot for Sunday — can the Lions shake off all the injuries, fines, suspensions and negativity they’ve dealt with the past couple of weeks and get back to winning games?

“I think the problem for our team, if there is one, is we don’t think we are 7-5,” defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham said. “I think if we start thinking that way, we are going to play that way.”

At the start of the week, Cunningham wrote two large numbers on the board inside the defensive meeting room — a seven and a five.

“I said it was about time we start acting like that team,” Cunningham said. “You lose some and you win some in the NFL, but the final result is to get to the playoffs. People need to start focusing on that in our room.

“We’re not some pushover team. We will play anybody at any time. I am not going to make excuses about injuries, but let’s line up our 11 starters against theirs and see what happens. We will get that chance again down the road and I can’t wait.”

For this week, though, Cunningham’s defense will line up without as many as six key players. All-Pro defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh is serving the second of his two-game suspension. His replacement, rookie Nick Fairley, isn’t likely to play because of a foot injury.

Defensive end Lawrence Jackson (thigh) already has been ruled out.

In the secondary, starting cornerback Chris Houston and starting safety Louis Delmas are expected to miss their second straight games with knee injuries.

Outside linebacker Justin Durant (hamstring) didn’t practice Thursday or Friday and he’s questionable.

“Ain’t nothing to it,” veteran defensive tackle Corey Williams said. “We have guys who will step up if other guys can’t play. Gun’s right, man. We have to realize that we do have something to play for. We’re not just trying to finish off these final games. We’ve got a reason. It’s been 11 years since this team has been in the playoffs.

“We had a good week (of practice); crisp and sharp. We just need to get that winning taste back in our mouths.”

Discipline wanted

The Lions started 5-0. They have gone 2-5 since. Yet, they still control their wild-card destiny. If they can win three of the last four, they stand a good chance of getting in. The question is, can they reclaim that “winning taste” they had earlier in the season. Or are they beyond reclamation.

“I don’t know about reclamation,” said defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch. “We still have everything in front of us — all our goals that we set out for ourselves. Essentially, our playoffs start this week. We are neck and neck with a bunch of teams, so this is a must-win if we want to keep our playoff hopes alive.”

You have to wonder, though, if they are capable of staying out of their own way. The foolishness has gone on all season.

Going back to post-whistle fouls against Gosder Cherilus and Stephen Peterman in Week 1, to coach Jim Schwartz’s on-field woofing with Cowboys’ receiver Dez Bryant to his postgame verbal shot at Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, to his handshake dustup with 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh, to a tunnel scuffle before the game against Atlanta, to the team’s open mocking of Denver quarterback Tim Tebow, to Suh’s stomp on Thanksgiving Day, to the three post-whistle fouls last Sunday in New Orleans — it’s been one thing after another.

Officials may or may not be watching with a more wary eye, but opponents will certainly be looking to push their buttons and trigger the temper.

“Officials officiate what they see,” Schwartz said. “But as far as other teams pushing the issue, that’s a reality in the NFL and that’s something the last two weeks we haven’t done a good job responding to.”

Schwartz has spoken privately to the team captains and the captains have carried his message to the players. Whether the message has sunk in, the jury is still out.

“I don’t know that it’s a reflection of the leadership or the coaching,” Vanden Bosch said. “I think the mistakes are on the individual. Guys need to understand that you can’t do things because you feel you’ve been wronged (on the field) and go after guys. You have to understand that has an effect on what we’re doing as a team.

“We are an aggressive team and we have a history of not backing down. We need to understand that’s what we are — a physical, aggressive team. But we need to handle that between the whistles.”

As Schwartz said repeatedly this week — it’s down to a four-game season and the margin for error, for selfishness, for any on-field indiscretion is nil.

“We understand we can’t continue to beat ourselves anymore,” Vanden Bosch said. “We’re a good team, we just need to be a little more disciplined. If we play the way we’re capable of playing, and play smart, everything should work out for us.”

Vikings at Lions

Kickoff: 1 p.m. Sunday, Ford Field, Detroit

TV/radio: Fox/97.1

Records: Minnesota 2-10, Detroit 7-5

Line: Lions by 91/2

Series: Minnesota leads 66-32-2 (Detroit 26-23, OT, Sept. 25, 2010)

Did you know? Of their four remaining games, the Lions play two teams with winning records (Raiders and Packers).

chris.mccosky@detnews.com

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Matthew Stafford, Lions are back; team goes to work on free agents


Chris McCosky/ The Detroit News

Allen Park — Quarterback Matthew Stafford, defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch and linebacker Ashlee Palmer were among the first Lions players to arrive at the practice facility Tuesday.

Players are allowed in to workout at the facility Tuesday and Wednesday. Training camp will open Thursday with the first official practice set for Friday.

“It’s great to be back,” Stafford said. “It’s nice see all the coaches, the team personnel and the other players again. I can’t wait to get started.”

Stafford said he poked his head upstairs, but with the mad free-agency scramble on, neither coach Jim Schwartz nor general manager Martin Mayhew had much time to chat.

“It’s going to be a pretty wild, crazy week,” Stafford said. “But I’m excited about the year. I feel like we are in a good position. We’ve got a lot of guys coming back who understand the system. Obviously, we have a lot of young guys to catch-up and get going, but other than that, we feel pretty good about where we are.”

Among the other Lions at the facility Tuesday were defensive end Cliff Avril, running back Jahvid Best, kicker Dave Rayner and offensive linemen Jeff Backus, Dominic Raiola and Stephen Peterman.

“The players have been ready,” Vanden Bosch said. “The thing we emphasized to all players (during the lockout) was to stay ready. We have a short amount of time, a small window, to come together quickly. We need to get the new guys up to speed. We need to get the guys who were here last year back up to speed and we need to form as a team. That’s quite a challenge in such a short amount of time.”

Mayhew was busy signing undrafted free agents to fill out the 90-man training camp roster.

Among those he has or is expected to sign:

* Receiver-returner Jared Jenkins, Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

* Tight end-fullback Preston Dial, Alabama.

* Linebacker Dejuan Fulghum, Texas Southern.

* Linebacker Quentin Davie, Northwestern.

* Receiver Keith Smith, Purdue.

* Linebacker Cobrani Mixon, Kent State.

* Punter Ryan Donahue, Iowa.

* Safety Ricardo Silva, Hampton.

* Receiver Marcus Harris, Murray State.

Lynn Henning: Rest easy Lions fans, this front office has shown draft smarts


Lynn Henning

Allen Park— You can appreciate this about the Lions in the hours before this year’s NFL Draft begins.

No longer is it a simple, or melancholy, exercise studying their first-round options.

The new crew gets it. They have gotten it since Martin Mayhew, Shack Harris and Jim Schwartz began fusing minds and analyses in grabbing college players who would help make the Lions a flesh-and-blood NFL team.

Some folks are waiting before voting. They want to see more later-round success. That’s fair. But if you can pick with smarts in the early rounds, you’ll pick, over the long haul, deftly in the latter rounds.

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It’s what happens early that most matters for any team, particularly one with the Marshall Plan-like reconstruction program the Lions have faced.

Matthew Stafford was the correct pick in 2009, as was their second first-rounder that year, Brandon Pettigrew. Ndamukong Suh was the right guy a year ago, and so, probably, was their decision to trade up and grab Jahvid Best.

Meanwhile, the Lions were at least competent with some later-hour picks in each draft — Louis Delmas, DeAndre Levy in 2009; Amari Spievey last year — just as they were shrewd in signing free agents the past two springs.

Common sense and good judgment

This newfangled NFL competency in the Lions’ chambers makes for a particularly gripping guessing game ahead of Thursday night’s first round.

There are now two spheres of thought in Allen Park, which is two more spheres than most of the Lions’ previous front-office regimes demonstrated over 40-plus years.

On one hand, they probably won’t miss if they go for the safe, healthy, talented guy who meets their specifications. There are lots of those available, whether it’s Prince Amukamara, who might help heal a generations-old wound in the Lions secondary, or Anthony Costanzo, the Boston College offensive tackle who could help gird a thin offensive line that won’t have Jeff Backus and Dominic Raiola forever.

But what also happens when a front office has a modicum of savvy and confidence is that the brass isn’t afraid to make a risk-reward wager.

And there is your basis for taking a deep breath and rolling the dice on Da’Quan Bowers, the speedy defensive end from Clemson who would be the edge rusher the Lions ideally need if they intend to be anything more than a qualifier for the NFL playoffs.

“Calculated risks make sense,” Mayhew, the Lions general manager, said last week during a news conference at Lions headquarters, where the usual murkiness on draft plans was maintained to a spectacular degree.

The words “calculated risks” were thought — thought — to be a reference to Bowers, whom Mayhew acknowledged was “not in pristine physical condition,” owing to a knee problem that might require microfracture surgery.

It makes you wonder all the more what this consortium might be thinking. The Mayhew-Harris-Schwartz triumvirate (it’s nice that no one seems to care who gets the brunt of the credit on a front-office team that actually behaves like a team) has been proving why the NFL is a competent front office’s best friend.

The league rewards GMs, coaches, and personnel private eyes who demonstrate common sense and good judgment, not that either quality was on display here for the better part of 40-plus years.

The Lions’ new generals had a different plan: They would show competency. And so they delivered the makings of a competitive team last year, which wasn’t much of a surprise after their first two drafts and free-agent springs (following Mayhew’s shrewd trade of Roy Williams the previous autumn).

There was nothing hollow about that 6-10 record or those seven Lions losses by the whopping sum of 27 points. The team was much improved was moving within the area code of becoming a playoff team. Suddenly, foundational talent was being drafted and free agents were no longer the quizzical or gimmicky folks who once arrived at Allen Park for a long, lamentable autumn.

Or, put another way: Charles Rogers and Mike Williams would no more be picked by the new guys than Az-Zahir Hakim or Bill Schroeder would be signed to a nattily generous free-agent deal.

Play it safe or gamble?

So, what do the Lions do Thursday night?

It gets down to which of their two personas they’re going to assume.

If they go safe and steady, it figures be for a guy like Amukamara on defense when the Nebraska cornerback has no disqualifying physical or character hang-ups.

Or, maybe it goes like this: Considering Schwartz’s obvious plan to provide Stafford with all the help a draft and free agency could provide (Pettigrew, Best, Nate Burleson, etc.), it would seem feasible that he will want to dump a bit more concrete into Detroit’s offensive line, which makes Costanzo appealing.

But what if a team has progressed to a point where some derring-do can finally enter their draft psyche?

The Lions might have gotten to that stage in 2011. Getting the potential game-changing pass rusher, even if he won’t be ready to unleash Hades on opposing quarterbacks until next season, makes the Bowers selection doable.

Jimmy Smith, the Colorado cornerback? Another possibility, if the Lions decide the so-called character issues have been explained to their satisfaction.

But if you can take anything from their first two drafts, or anything from the fog Mayhew deliberately spewed last week, it’s this:

Whether they play it safe with a guy like Costanzo, or spin the wheel with Bowers, they’re going to end up with a terrific football player.

Those projections weren’t made in earlier years. They can be now, which is simply one more way of saying the Lions have at last rejoined the National Football League.

lynn.henning@detnews.com

Lions unlikely to make significant changes in 2011


Chris McCosky / The Detroit News

Allen Park— There have been times after the season’s final game when Dominic Raiola could look around and count on his hands the number of players likely to return.

That count took a lot longer after this year’s final game.

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“I know the nucleus of this team is coming back,” he said. “We’ve walked out of here in the past not knowing what was going to happen. But I see most of these guys, coming back.”

That, as much as the season-ending four-game winning streak, is fueling optimism.

“Across the board, offense and defense, we are still looking to improve the roster,” coach Jim Schwartz said Monday. “We are still looking to improve our starting 22. But we aren’t looking at an overhaul. Even at the spots where we do have need, it’s not like it was last year with the defensive backs where we erased everybody except Louis Delmas.

“There are a lot of guys here that we will continue moving forward with, and a lot of them might not be starters.”

Every starter and main backup on offense is expected to return for 2011.

On defense, starting defensive end Cliff Avril can be a restricted free agent (pending a new collective bargaining agreement), while starting cornerback Chris Houston and defensive end Turk McBride could become restricted free agents.

The Lions, however, can tender offers to all three.

Among those who likely have played their final games in Detroit are outside linebacker Julian Peterson, cornerback Nathan Vasher (unrestricted) and safety C.C. Brown (unrestricted).

Outside linebacker Landon Johnson is also unrestricted, but the Lions may try to keep him.

“We have talked before about having to address the starting 22 before you can address your depth,” Schwartz said. “What has happened this year is, because of the injuries and other things, we have been able to address a lot of the depth issues. Now we have to start adding pieces to the starting 22.”

Offense Quarterbacks

The top two are set. Matthew Stafford , who said Monday his shoulder was nearly back to full strength, is the starter, and Shaun Hill , who led the team to three victories, is No. 2.

The Lions would love to re-sign Drew Stanton as the No. 3, but as an unrestricted free agent, he will be looking to compete for a No. 1 or No. 2 spot somewhere. Still, if no suitable opportunities come his way, he said he would have no trouble returning as the third option.

Running backs

The top two spots are set — probably. Jahvid Best (turf toe) said he will need at least eight weeks of rest to completely heal. He should be ready to resume the starting role next season.

Maurice Morris , entering his 10th season, will have the first shot to win the backup role, but the Lions are expected to bring in one and probably two other backs.

They will have to decide whether to bring back Kevin Smith , who has had health issues the last three seasons, and underachieving second-year man Aaron Brown . The guess is Smith comes back, not Brown.

FB Jerome Felton could be a restricted free agent, but the Lions are expected to bring him back.

Receivers

Calvin Johnson and Nate Burleson will be back, as will return ace and jack-of-all-trades Stefan Logan .

But the Lions will be looking to upgrade the depth.

Bryant Johnson , who has one year left on his contract ($3 million), was unproductive all season.

Derrick Williams , a former third-round pick, has been a disappointment the last two seasons.

Tight ends

Absolutely set with Brandon Pettigrew , Tony Scheffler and Will Heller signed through next season.

Line

The starters are expected back, although there is some concern about RG Stephen Peterman , who struggled at times (partly due to a lingering foot injury).

Corey Hilliard , who filled in admirably when RT Gosder Cherilus went down, can be a restricted free agent. It’s hard to imagine the Lions letting him go, but some team could swoop in and steal him.

The Lions signed veteran T Tony Ugoh late, but he wasn’t able to get on the field before rookie Jason Fox did, so it’s doubtful he’s part of the plan.

Defense Line

At end, Kyle Vanden Bosch is expected to make a full recovery from neck surgery and start. E Lawrence Jackson also will return. And it seems improbable the Lions wouldn’t re-sign Cliff Avril and Turk McBride .

It will be interesting to see what they do about rookie Willie Young . They love his athleticism, but he’s going to have to show them a lot more maturity and a stronger work ethic next season.

At tackle, starters Ndamukong Suh and Corey Williams , as well as top reserve Sammie Hill , are back. The Lions will have to make a decision on backup Andre Fluellen , who can be a restricted free agent.

Linebackers

This is one of the biggest areas of need.

DeAndre Levy will return and probably start at middle linebacker. But there he might be moved outside, depending on whom the Lions draft or acquire through trade or free agency.

Most likely there will be two new starters on the outside. The Lions aren’t bringing back Julian Peterson and his $8 million contact. And Zach Follett , the starter before suffering a serious neck injury, may not be ready.

Bobby Carpenter and Ashlee Palmer will likely return, but not as starters.

Landon Johnson is a tricky one. They loved his play, but he has a history of concussions.

The Lions also will have to make a decision on Jordon Dizon , an undersized middle linebacker who blew out his knee in the first exhibition.

Backs

The Lions probably will invest significantly to bring Chris Houston back. He showed he could be a shutdown cornerback on the left side and drafting at No. 13, they aren’t likely to get the impact player they hoped for.

The right side corner spot is wide open. Alphonso Smith probably will get the first shot to win it. Tye Hill , Aaron Berry , Brandon McDonald , Prince Miller , Jack Williams and Eric King could be in the mix.

At safety, Louis Delmas is the only sure bet.

The Lions liked the development of rookie Amari Spievey , and veteran John Wendling is a valuable special teams player.

Special teams

The Lions may have a camp battle for the kicking spot.

Jason Hanson is coming off surgery the last two seasons. Although he is the incumbent, and coach Jim Schwartz said Monday his confidence hasn’t wavered, Dave Rayner has earned at least the right to compete.

Coaching staff

All the coaches are under contract and expected back.

Offensive coordinator Scott Linehan ‘s name may come up regarding coaching vacancies, but he has said numerous times he is content with his role in Detroit.