Tag: Kyle Vanden Bosch

Chris Houston, Kevin Smith, Nick Fairley back in action for Lions

Allen Park — Slowly but surely, the wounded are walking back on to the playing field for the Lions.

Back at practice Wednesday were cornerback Chris Houston, who missed two games with a knee injury; running back Kevin Smith, who has been battling an ankle sprain; and defensive tackle Nick Fairley, who missed last Sunday with a foot injury.

Houston and Fairley went through the individual drills, but it is unknown whether they were full participants the rest of the way. Smith, who appeared to be moving well, worked on the side with a trainer during position drills.

Still not on the practice field were safety Louis Delmas, out the last two weeks with a knee injury; defensive end Lawrence Jackson, out the last four weeks with a thigh injury; outside linebacker Justin Durant, who has a hamstring injury; cornerback Eric Wright, who injured a hamstring Sunday; and cornerback Aaron Berry, who injured his shoulder last Sunday.

Lions coach Jim Schwartz reiterated Monday that none of those players were facing season-ending injuries.

“They’re all going to get back, it’s just a question of when,” he said. “It’s still too early to tell for this week.”

Defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch took his normal Wednesday rest day.

John Niyo: Lions’ Ndamukong Suh goes on defense to protect reputation


John Niyo

Detroit Ndamukong Suh had a lot to say Monday.

But nothing said it better than this.

“If I’m not gonna protect myself,” the Lions all-Pro defensive tackle mused, “then nobody else is going to.”

That, as much as any statement — alleged or otherwise, heard or unspoken — might explain what he’s thinking these days, both on and off the field.

Because he’s being asked to wage a war on both fronts, no matter how understandably reluctant he is to admit it. When he’s not fighting opponents double teams in the trenches — and the cheap shots that inevitably come with them — he finds himself fighting, or at least being asked to fight, a perception that he’s a dirty player, fueled by postgame comments from the Falcons after a 23-16 loss at Ford Field.

Suh and teammate Cliff Avril were accused by Falcons players of taunting and trash-talking on the field when Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan went down what initially looked to be a serious leg injury in the game. (Ryan did return to the game the next series.)

Receiver Roddy White told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution he “lost a whole lot of respect for” both players for “the (expletive) they were doing when Matt got hurt.”

The newspaper quoted White as saying Avril “was kicking (Ryan’s) feet saying, ‘Get him off the field.'”

Falcons center Todd McClure said Suh was saying, “‘Get the cart’ and several other things that I can’t repeat.”

Avril disputed those comments via Twitter on Sunday night, while Suh, who normally doesn’t address the media until Wednesday each week, angrily addressed them Monday.

“They’re gonna say what they want to say,” Suh said, adding “it’s he-said, she-said” as he quickly dismissed the suggestion — one that apparently was lost in translation by the initial report — that Avril actually kicked Ryan while he was down.

The video clearly shows he didn’t. (Avril and Suh are barely in the picture before and after Ryan goes down in a heap.)

And besides, as Suh points out, “I know for a fact, if Cliff — or anybody, for that matter — kicked an opposing quarterback, I’m sure there would’ve been a riot.”

“If that would’ve happened to Matt Stafford and he was on the ground and somebody kicked him,” Suh said, “I guarantee you all hell would’ve broke loose.”

Instead, we’re left with this, whatever the heck it is.

He said, he said

The Lions lost. The Falcons won. Atlanta players accused Detroit of ugly behavior, prompting the Lions to fire back with similar accusations. And we in the media become a ping-pong ball of sorts.

He said, she said? It’s more like, “Did you hear what they said about what you said?” (While conveniently ignoring the fact the hidden soundtrack of an NFL game would make Howard Stern cringe.)

“There was no comments — at all,” Lions linebacker Stephen Tulloch said. “I was there when he went down. … We waved for the trainers to come get Matt. We never once made a threat like that to him at all.

“It’s absurd that they would even mention that.”

White, though, wasn’t backing down Monday as he clarified his remarks in an interview with the NFL Network.

“We didn’t say (Avril) kicked Matt,” White said. “We said one of the guys — I don’t know if it was 92 (Avril) or 93 (Kyle Vanden Bosch), one of the defensive ends — came over and he was making kicking gestures, like, ‘Get him out of here.’ And I know Suh said what he said. He was like, ‘Go get the cart for him. Get him out of here.’ He knows he said that.”

Suh was asked about what he said or didn’t say Monday, and he responded, “I’m not even near their quarterback, so how am I going to trash-talk somebody that has a medical staff that’s all around him?”

But he didn’t stop there, as Suh pointed out it wasn’t the Lions who made contact with Ryan on the play. It was his own lineman, Will Svitek, who stepped on Ryan’s ankle while trying to block the Lions defensive end Lawrence Jackson.

“If you look at it, to me, it’s karma,” Suh said, noting the Falcons own well-cultivated reputation for dirty play on the offensive line. “For all the bad stuff they’ve done in the past, their offensive lineman hurt their own quarterback. So I’ll leave it at that.”

White responded, “We’re not gonna go back and forth about ‘he-said, she-said,'” before doing just that, adding, “And then he’s gonna say it’s karma for what we’ve done in the past? And then their quarterback (Matthew Stafford) gets hurt on the last play of the game.”

Reputation is sticking

Back to you, Mr. Suh, who was asked if he was hurt personally by the accusations.

“Do I need Rodney White’s respect?” Suh said, before answering himself. “No. I’ll leave it at that.”

At that point, he walked away, flanked by a Lions spokesman.

Now, I have no idea whether Suh purposely mispronounced White’s name or not as a parting gesture — I don’t think he did — or whether Suh knows where the Pistons former first-round pick is now. (Last I heard, he was hooping it up in South Korea.)

But as Suh himself rather bluntly reminded us Monday, we really don’t know him at all.

“Nobody’s gonna be able to really understand who I am, except for very few,” Suh said.

He went on to explain that’s because some people “won’t take the time” to, as he put it, “see the type of person I am.” Then, in the next breath, he admitted that’s because “they can’t get close enough to me. I won’t let people get close to me.”

So Suh me, but I don’t know how we’re going to solve that riddle if that’s the way he’s going to play this game.

Still, what I do know about Suh is that he’s smart, he’s focused, he’s determined and he’s potentially as dominant a player as we’ve ever seen at his position. And while it’d be foolish to think this talk will change his game — “Have you seen me stop playing? Not at all. It’s not gonna affect me,” he said — it’d be a shame if that talent got overshadowed by talk of dirty play, much as it has been with Pittsburgh’s James Harrison.

Talk is cheap. But reputations are invaluable.

john.niyo@detnews.com

twitter.com/JohnNiyo

Calvin Johnson, Louis Delmas, three others return to Lions practice


Chris McCosky/ The Detroit News

Allen Park— Five of the six Lions starters who missed practice on Wednesday returned Thursday.

Tight end Brandon Pettigrew is the only one still sidelined. He is nursing a sore shoulder, which coach Jim Schwartz characterized as “in-season bumps and bruises.” At this point, he is expected to play Sunday in Minnesota.

Receiver Calvin Johnson (ankle), linebacker DeAndre Levy (knee), safety Louis Delmas (hip) and defensive ends Cliff Avril (knee) and Kyle Vanden Bosch (rest) were back on the practice field.

Still not practicing are receiver Rashied Davis (hamstring), offensive tackle Jason Fox (foot) and defensive tackle Nick Fairley (foot).

Receiver Maurice Stovall is still limited by a hand injury. He is still not working in on the special-teams drills, so there is a good chance he will be inactive again on Sunday.

Right tackle Gosder Cherilus was, for the second straight day, taking reps with the first team offense.

Bob Wojnowski: Lions say there’s no way they will take Chiefs lightly


Bob Wojnowski

Allen Park — Of all the steps the Lions have taken, this might be the most telling: Good enough isn’t necessarily good enough, not when better is possible.

That’s what they’re saying and that’s what we’re seeing, so far. The Lions are 1-0 after their 27-20 victory at Tampa Bay, but still moderately annoyed they let the Buccaneers hang around. Now they’re getting ready for a sold-out home opener against the 0-1 Chiefs, who were thoroughly awful in a 41-7 loss to the Bills.

The Lions’ evolution continues, and this week’s shocking revelation is, we actually have to ask if they might take an opponent lightly. Of course, they can’t. This is still the NFL, and the Chiefs still are close to the 10-6 team that made the playoffs last year. The Lions adamantly confirmed Wednesday it’d be ridiculous to overlook the Chiefs.

Slowly, it’s getting safer to trust the Lions. I mean, since starting 2-10 last season, the Lions have won five consecutive real games (nine straight if you count the exhibitions!). Frankly, they should be annoyed they didn’t beat the Buccaneers worse. But it’s encouraging to know the heart of the team, that menacing defensive line, could shut down Tampa Bay’s run game and harass quarterback Josh Freeman and not be overly pleased.

“I think we only got one sack, and that’s unacceptable,” defensive tackle Corey Williams said. “We didn’t get him on the ground nearly as many times as we’d planned. That ain’t like us. This week, we got another challenge to stop the run, but hopefully, we get the quarterback down.”

I consider this progress, because listening to the Lions defensive linemen, they aren’t kidding about their intentions. The Lions actually sacked Freeman twice, but Kyle Vanden Bosch was the only lineman to get one. The other was by new linebacker Stephen Tulloch, an excellent addition.

Ndamukong Suh just missed. Cliff Avril just missed. Coach Jim Schwartz had no major complaints about the line because Freeman often was on the run and the Buccaneers rushed for only 56 yards. That’s a good sign, with the Chiefs bringing what was the NFL’s No. 1 rushing attack last season, led by Jamaal Charles.

Quarterback Matt Cassel doesn’t mind letting Charles and Thomas Jones do the work. But if you think the Lions are content with tidy low-sack success, you don’t fully understand their mentality.

“Is it enough? Not enough, but we’ll definitely take the win,” Suh said. “I think we affected the quarterback, we hit him, we were in his face. But ultimately, we want to get the quarterback down. Are we happy we still were effective? Yes. Are we satisfied? No.”

Line strives for more

Opponents will try all sorts of ways to slow the pass rush. One tactic seems simple to me: If you run the ball, you don’t have to throw it as much. The Chiefs can run the ball, and stopping that will be the main concern for the Lions.

The Lions deep defensive-line rotation — eight guys filling four spots — spawns great competition. Avril admits there’s a fierce debate to see who leads the team in sacks, and that’s fine with Schwartz, as long as everyone recognizes there are other ways to dominate.

“In the world of fantasy football, it’s no longer, did you win?” Schwartz said. “It’s, are your stats good enough? We played very well up front. As long as we’re effective, numbers really don’t matter. We can play better, but let’s not judge it strictly by sack numbers.”

Told that Suh wasn’t ecstatic with his one-tackle, no-sack performance, the coach shrugged.

“Like the rest of us, he has very high standards for himself,” Schwartz said. “He knows how hard sacks are to get. In this league, they don’t just give them to you for free.”

Maintaining success

In this league, if you hit the quarterback, you get paid. Suh was the NFL defensive rookie of the year last season and led the Lions with 10 sacks. Avril had 8.5 and Lawrence Jackson six.

The Lions are intent on creating havoc, even without their top pick, injured tackle Nick Fairley. Still, sustaining success isn’t easy, especially with this winning thing all new to the Lions. They’re 8-point favorites Sunday, and near as anyone can tell, it’s their biggest spread since they were nine-point favorites in the 2000 finale against the Bears, a crushing 23-20 loss.

“To me, it’s not new,” said Suh, who won at Nebraska. “I expect every year to play in big games and play for big prizes, like the Super Bowl. I feel the mind-set is very reciprocal around this locker room. (The Chiefs) are gonna come in hungry.

“I don’t think you need to tell somebody not to take a team lightly. Anybody can win in this league.”

The Lions defied that notion for a long time. On the rare occasions they were just good enough to win, hey, it was good enough. Not now, not when they’re rising from sad sack to sack-happy, not when being really good actually is realistic.

bob.wojnowski@detnews.com

twitter.com/bobwojnowski

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.

Lions might gamble on strong defensive end class


Chris McCosky / The Detroit News

Fifth in a series of previews for the NFL draft.

Allen Park— Why in the world would the Lions draft a defensive end with the 13th overall in next week’s draft?

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The defensive line, as a unit, was without question the strength of the defense last season and everybody is coming back. The ends are especially well-stocked with starters Kyle Vanden Bosch and Cliff Avril, productive reserves Turk McBride and Lawrence Jackson, plus developing second-year end Willie Young.

No way the Lions use their first on a defensive lineman, right? Wrong.

“Sometimes when you add a player, it might not make sense on the face of it,” general manager Martin Mayhew said before the Combine in February. “But if you see what’s on the horizon and you look down the road and around the corner, it does make sense.”

All four primary defensive ends were injured at various times last season, and Vanden Bosch will be 33 and coming off neck surgery, so you can’t have enough talent there, especially when it is the foundation of your defensive scheme.

“That has to be the strength of our team in the future and it’s a big part of our defensive philosophy,” Mayhew said. “There are a lot of intriguing guys here (in the draft), a lot of good defensive ends and a lot of versatile guys who can play outside and rush from the inside. That is definitely an area we will look to address.”

The accumulation of talented defensive ends and, more specifically, pass rushers, is becoming a league-wide trend. Former coach and ESPN analyst Jon Gruden explains why.

“There is a premium on pass rush,” he said in a teleconference last week. “You don’t want to have to blitz five, six, seven guys to get there. You want to be able to get there with four, if you can for sure, and use seven men in coverage.”

That’s especially critical for the Lions, since they have had some well-documented deficiencies in the secondary over the years.

“Defensive ends are a premium in this draft,” Gruden said. “I think this is an outstanding class of defensive end. (Da’Quan) Bowers, providing his knee is healthy, and Robert Quinn at North Carolina, Aldon Smith is special at Missouri. I think J.J. Watt is a physical guy coming off the edge, like Ryan Kerrigan at Purdue. Adrian Clayborn has some excellent tape. There are a number of good pass rushers in this draft.”

The Lions have taken close looks at Smith, Bowers and Cal’s Cameron Jordan. Mayhew talked about Bowers, who led the nation in sacks, on Thursday.

“There is some concern about Bowers’ medical condition,” Mayhew said. “Our doctors have evaluated him and we don’t share that concern.”

Bowers had knee surgery in January and there have been conflicting reports about how ready he will be next season — and beyond.

“He’s not in pristine physical condition, according to our doctors,” Mayhew said. “But we are not concerned about his health in terms of playing football in the future.”

Mayhew and coach Jim Schwartz have talked about having ends that are versatile enough to rush effectively from the inside and outside. Watt, Bowers and Smith certainly fit that bill, but there is a good chance none will be around by the time the Lions are set to pick.

Smith would be an intriguing choice. He’s only 21 and still raw. He likely wouldn’t make a huge impact next season, but Mayhew made it clear Thursday the draft is for the future.

Smith is listed at 263 pounds, but projects to play at 275 when he grows into his frame. Right now he can squat 700 pounds, so he’s explosive inside and outside.

The talent pool is deep enough that they could get a solid defensive end even in the second or third rounds.

“If you select well, the whole draft is pretty sound,” Mayhew said. “Defensive line is really deep and that’s good. We really have improved our football team by improving our defensive line, but we can still add to that group.”

By most accounts, the cream of the defensive tackle crop — Alabama’s Marcell Dareus, Auburn’s Nick Fairley and possibly Corey Liuget of Illinois — will be gone before the Lions pick.

Long time coming

Before drafting Ndamukong Suh last year, the Lions last took a defensive lineman with their first pick in the 1995 draft. The list:

2010: DT Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska (No. 2)

2009: QB Matthew Stafford, Georgia (No. 1)

2008: OT Gosder Cherilus, Boston College (No. 17)

2007: WR Calvin Johnson, Georgia Tech (No. 2)

2006: LB Ernie Sims, Florida State (No. 9)

2005: WR Mike Williams, Southern California (No. 10)

2004: WR Roy Williams, Texas (No. 7)

2003: WR Charles Rogers, Michigan State (No. 2)

2002: QB Joey Harrington, Oregon (No. 3)

2001: OT Jeff Backus, Michigan (No. 18)

2000: OT Stockar McDougle, Oklahoma (No. 20)

1999: LB Chris Claiborne, Southern California (No. 9)

1998: CB Terry Fair, Tennessee (No. 20)

1997: CB Bryant Westbrook, Texas (No. 5)

1996: LB Reggie Brown, Texas AM (No. 17)

1995: DT Luther Elliss, Utah (No. 20)

Top defensive ends J.J. Watt

6-6/292, Wisconsin

There doesn’t appear to be a weakness. He has an elite first step, quick, violent hands, great athleticism, can rush inside and on the edge and has uncanny timing on batting down passes.

Da’Quan Bowers

6-4/280, Clemson

The NCAA leader in sacks and tackles for loss has all the tools, power, strength, leverage. The only question is his surgically-repaired right knee. Teams are split on how long he will last.

Robert Quinn

6-4/265, North Carolina

He is smaller than the other elite players, but he’s faster (4.65 40) and more athletic. Some scouts think he’s too one-dimensional and raw. Others think he is a budding game-changer. Didn’t play last season.

Aldon Smith

6-4/263, Missouri

Scouts love his length, strength and power, but mostly they like his versatility. He is a beast of an inside rusher and explosive off the edge. He has excellent lateral movement, as well.

Cameron Jordon

6-4/283, California

Athletic and disruptive. Has a non-stop motor on the field. His happy-go-lucky demeanor masks a fierce competitiveness. He can play from a stance in a 4-3 or standing up in a 3-4.

Top defensive tackles Nick Fairley

6-3/291, Auburn

This is a mean, dynamic pass rusher with all the tools to be a Pro Bowler. But his bust potential is just as high. Concerns about his motivation and character persist.

Marcell Dareus

6-3/319, Alabama

Probably as complete and safe a top-three pick as there is in the draft. Will draw double-teams whether he plays in an odd or even front. Great power and strength, plus he is technically sound.

Corey Liuget

6-2/298, Illinois

There is concern about his weight, but his ability to penetrate at the point of attack is a perfect fit for a 4-3 system. Some worry he’s a one-year wonder.

Muhammad Wilkerson

6-4/315, Temple

Impressive at stacking and shedding blockers and finding the ball, but he’s raw. He will need a lot of help with technique. Hasn’t had to learn how to use his hands, which he’ll have to do.

Marvin Austin

6-1/309, North Carolina

Not NFL-ready, but he’s thick, ran a 4.83 with a Combine-best 1.64 10-yard split. But he is still a bit immature. High risk-reward quotient here. Like Quinn, he didn’t play last season.

NFL draft

When: April 28-30, Radio City Music Hall, New York

TV: April 28 and 30 on ESPN (8 p.m. and noon), April 29 on ESPN2 (6 p.m.); all rounds on NFL

Format

Round 1: 8 p.m. April 28

Rounds 2-3: 6 p.m. April 29

Rounds 4-7: noon April 30

Detroit News position previews for the NFL draft

chris.mccosky@detnews.com

(313) 222-1489

Detroit Lions what they did

In 2010 Veteran cornerback Dre’ Bly returns to the team that feels like home, the Detroit Lions. Bly signed a two contract with the Deroit Lions. The Lions look like they are piecing together a strong defensive front with the signing of Kyle Vanden Bosch and Corey Williams and the drafting of Ndamukong Suh.

The 2008 Detroit Lions accomplished something no other team in NFL History had before.  They became the first team to ever record an  0-16 season thus securing their rights for the #1 pick in the draft. On September 24, 2008, the Lions fired GM Matt Millian, who was hired on in 2001 and the President and CEO.  Three months and 5 days later, with the team tanking, the franchise fired head coach Rod Marinelli who had compiled a 10-38 record in 3 seasons with the Lions.

On the 15th of January 2009, the Lions hired Tennessee Titans Defensive Coordinator Jim Schwartz as the new head coach.  The franchise also hired former St. Louis Rams head coach Scott Linehan as their Offensive Coordinator.  Together he and Schwartz have the major task of turning around a losing (in every sense of the word) franchise and getting back to the post Matt Millen days when the team finished the 2000-01 season at 9-7, missing the playoffs by just a field goal.

With the first pick in the draft, the Lions selected University of Georgia QB Matthew Stafford and signed him to a reported 6-year $78million contract with $41.7 million of it guaranteed, which is the most guaranteed any player in NFL history.  The Lions also selected Safety Louis Delmas and TE Brandon Pettigrew and Coach Schwartz is happy with the work ethic and knowledge of his newest players. “This was the first time we saw them all together. It was a preview of what we’ll see in training camp,” said Schwartz. “It’s putting little pieces together and this is the first time we saw the whole puzzle coming together,” the head coach recently posted online. 

Whatever the outcome, with two young coaches leading the team and a QB of the future in their pocket,  it will be almost impossible to overachieve  when just winning one game will post a better record than the 2008 incarnation of the team so be sure to get your tickets and cheer on the Lions to a successful season.