NFL Draft editor
@TheAthletic
. Emergency QB on the Lions’ beat. If you take everything I've accomplished and condense it into one day, it looks decent.
I am so incredibly sorry. I know there are no words. The families and community of Oxford are in need of every prayer that we can possibly offer them. Lifting you all up before the one who conquered death.
– Jim Harbaugh, Michigan Head Football Coach
#OxfordStrong
Dan Campbell gives the game ball to the Oxford community, then reads off the names of the students and teacher who were shot during the tragedy this week.
Reynolds catches that first one and the Lions are probably in the Super Bowl. It's a pretty thin line between brilliance and insanity, and Campbell's entire approach has been built on being OK with landing on either side because he believes in his guys.
Matthew Stafford was asked why it was important for him to play.
"I’m the quarterback of the Detroit Lions, and it was Sunday, and I got a bunch of teammates out there that work their ass off. ... If I’m good enough to play, healthy enough to play, my ass is gonna be out there."
Levi Onwuzurike, with an all-timer of a quote: "I like fucking people up. I like to get off the line and just put my helmet or my hands on an offensive lineman and fuck up an offensive scheme, pretty much. I like pushing 'em back 2, 3 yards and just making 'em feel like shit."
Lions have lost three straight, Wings have lost five straight, Michigan’s out of the Big Ten race, Quandre’s gone, Blake’s hurt, Joshua Langford’s hurt, Franz Wagner’s hurt and the World Series is all former Tigers, but pretty good sports week around here otherwise.
Stafford on the support from Lions fans: "It was amazing. There's no reason for them to cheer for me anymore, and the fact that they did was just a true testament to who they are as people and who they are as fans."
I don’t know which Detroit team will be good first, but fans are going to LOSE THEIR DAMN MINDS over that team. Entire state is just begging for one competitive season.
T.J. Hockenson had 84 yards receiving Sunday. He needs 164 yards over the Lions' final four games to set the franchise's single-season receiving record for a tight end.
Don’t think Kerryon Johnson loved his first taste of Michigan winter, after the Lions practiced outside today. Sounded like he was trying to list himself on the injury report with “frozen ass.”
This is kinda hard to believe, but the referee (Scott Novak) and back judge (Terrence Miles) from yesterday’s Ravens-Lions game also were part of the officiating crews for the Lions-Packers Hail Mary game in 2015 *and* the Lions-Falcons 10-second runoff game in 2017.
Kyle Shanahan is asked if Jimmy Garoppolo will be on the roster Sunday. Punts the response by saying he can't guarantee any of us will be alive Sunday. Alrighty.
Jim Caldwell is a phenomenal person. A good coach. I get why his ex-players go to bat for him.
The Lions also were 25-23 in his last 48 games. They beat two teams that finished with winning records in 2016-17 combined.
It was OK to want more. This doesn’t have to be about that.
The
#Lions
are signing safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson to a one-year, $8 million deal with $6.5M fully guaranteed signing, per sources.
His agent, Kevin Conner of
@UniSportsMgmt
, confirmed the deal, which reunites Gardner-Johnson, Dan Campbell and Aaron Glenn.
Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house
Not a creature was stirring not even a mouse
The sun has gone down and the moon has come up
And long ago somebody left with the cup
But he’s striving and driving and hugging the turns and thinking of someone for whom he s
Since the Bengals eliminated the Lions from the playoffs on Christmas Eve 2017, Detroit’s big four (Lions, Tigers, Wings, Pistons) have a combined winning percentage of .358.
Together, they are 213 games under .500 during that stretch.
Aqib Talib: "If you could find a way to add (Jameson Williams) on the outside and let Amon-Ra St. Brown work inside, with Hockenson, with Swift, with this O-line, with the way Jared Goff has been playing lately, this could be a dangerous offense. This could be a dangerous team."
Per league source, the Lions had seven or eight teams in the bidding, all with first-round picks on the table. They viewed the Rams' offer as far and away the best one.
Jamaal Williams said he was disappointed the Packers let him walk. "I was just all-in for Green Bay. ... I wanted to stay there."
But: "I already think of myself as my own main character in my own anime show. ... And I’m hitting another chapter. The chapter of the Lions, baby."
Lions asked Jamaal to help them fix a shattered culture. He did that, beyond any expectation, then tossed in 1,000 yards and 17 TDs as a bonus. If this stays on the right track, he’ll have been a *huge* reason why.
But you also don’t want your GM making decisions with his heart.
As a player, David Montgomery is a two-years younger version of Jamaal Williams -- who was an outstanding signing by Brad Holmes ... two years ago. Tough to lose the leadership, but that's biz.
Also: Still don't think this takes RB off the table for Detroit in the draft.
Calvin Johnson on his relationship with the Lions: “I know that myself and Sheila Hamp, we’ve had some great conversations recently. ... I think we’re moving in the right direction.”
Mike Daniels asked why he picked Detroit. “Coach Patricia, straight up. He’s just a genius, he really is. He understands the game of football, he knows what it takes. To be able to play for a coach like that, it means everything.”
Lions have the ball with two minutes left, tie game, their quarterback is hurt, they can't complete a pass, it's raining, we got no food, we got no job, our pets' heads are falling off
Tom Kennedy said the Lions got their second trick play Sunday -- the reverse flea-flicker TD to Brock Wright -- from David Blough, who ran it multiple times at Purdue.
The play call:
Marvin Jones on that incompletion the Lions challenged: "I knew I had it. Obviously, when I caught the ball, my feet were down. ... Both my feet were down when the ball was in my hands. I don't know if I can say too much without getting in trouble."
It didn't count because of a holding penalty, but I feel like we need to appreciate this Matthew Stafford throw for another moment.
This is 60 yards in the air, falling away, over two defenders, dropped in the bucket. Great catch by Marvin Hall, too.