The Weekend Spotlight - Week 17 Edition - 2011

#9 Matthew Stafford already looks almost as good as Aaron Rodgers or Drew Brees, at just 23 years old.

Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen, to the week 17 edition of YOUR Weekend Spotlight!  I am your host, KDawg.  This installment of your weekly WS will feature a division rivalry game between our very own Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers, on the road in Green Bay, WI, at historic Lambeau Field.  As we all witnessed last weekend, the Lions absolutely destroyed the San Diego Chargers, taking their regular season record to an amazing 10-5 and clinching a spot in the playoffs for the first time since 1999!!  The Lions will face a 14-1 Packer team, which has already locked up a first round bye, as well as home field advantage throughout the playoffs.  With just one game left of the regular season, the only thing left for the Lions is to WIN this game in Green Bay, thereby securing the 5th seed.  If they lose, and if Atlanta wins, the Lions will be the 6th seed, due to the fact that Atlanta would own the head to head tiebreaker should they and the Lions finish with the same record.  There are many reasons why I believe the Lions WILL win this game, and I will reveal some of them alongside my picks for key players (for another Lion VICTORY), and general game prediction, after the jump...

The Weekend Spotlight - Week 16 Edition - 2011

All I want for Christmas is a WIN in week 16!

Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen, to the week 16 edition of YOUR Weekend Spotlight!  I am your host, KDawg.  This installment of your weekly WS will feature THE must win game of the season, between the Detroit Lions and the San Diego Chargers, at home in Detroit, MI, at Ford Field.  I am going to greatly shorten this week's post, as Santa is coming to our house one day early (my wife has to work on Christmas Day), and there is still a lot to do in order to be ready for him!  Last week's heart attack win over the Oakland Raiders left the Lions with a regular season record of 9-5.  The Chargers are 7-7 on the season, and while they have certainly been on fire lately, finally looking like the team that many expected them to be, they have also had their low moments this year.  With just 2 games left of the regular season, not only are the Lion's are playing to keep their playoff hopes alive, but they are also playing to CLINCH a spot in the playoffs for the first time since 1999!  With one more win the Lions will do just that, and I think most people will agree that their best chance for one more win is this week, when they face the Chargers, rather than next week when they will face the Packers for the 2nd time.  I will once again reveal to you who my picks for key players are, on the Lion's offense and defense, for another Lion VICTORY!  However, as I said, I am going to keep the logic and explanations brief this time, but I will still make a final prediction at the end.  Read on, after the jump...

Behind the Numbers - Week 15 The Oakland Raiders

The Lions travel to the Black Hole to face the Raiders Sunday

The playoff hungry Lions will be squaring off against the equally hungry Raiders on Sunday in Oakland. These teams are situationally very similar, both have had long playoff absences, both started hot and have have struggled in the mid-part of the season, and both are looking to finish strong and punch their ticket to the Big Dance. (Did you say Playoffs?) Let's take a look at how these teams match up statictically as we go Behind the Numbers after the jump...............

The Weekend Spotlight - Week 15 Edition - 2011

Titus Young has been a nice addition to the Lion's arsenal.

Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen, to the week 15 edition of YOUR Weekend Spotlight!  I am your host, KDawg.  This installment of your weekly WS will feature tomorrow's MUST win game between the Detroit Lions and the Oakland Raiders, on the road in Oakland, CA, at the Oracle Arena & Oakland Alameda County Coliseum.  Last week's win over the Minnesota Vikings left the Lions with a regular season record of 8-5.  The Raiders are 7-6 on the season, and have certainly had their ups and downs.  With just 3 games left of the regular season, the Lion's are playing to keep their playoff hopes alive.  I will once again reveal to you who my picks for key players are, on the Lion's offense and defense, for another Lion VICTORY!  As usual, I will provide you with the logic behind the reasoning for my picks, including stats and a prediction at the end. 


The "experts" are saying that the Lions and Raiders field a very similar team defensively, but personally I think these "experts" need their heads examined.  One Yahoo Sports writer lists Mike Mitchell, Stanford Routt, Denarius Moore, Richard Seymour, and Ndamukong Suh, as well as the fact that the Coliseum is sold out for the game, as reasons why they believe the Raiders will win this game.  The Raiders are far from the best team the Lions have BEATEN this season, as can be referenced in their shutout loss to the Chiefs and recent loss to the Tebow led Denver Broncos.  As such, I believe VICTORY will be ours, and I will tell you why and how as the WS W15E begins...after the jump.

The Weekend Spotlight - Week 14 Edition - 2011 - Follow Up Post

In one of my favorite plays from the game, #87 Brandon Pettigrew hurdles the defender.

Welcome back once again ladies and gentlemen, to another Weekend Spotlight Follow Up Post.  I am your host, KDawg.  As we are all well aware, the Lions got the win last Sunday against the Vikings.  A win is a win, but I'd be lying if I didn't say that the Lions got lucky this time.  When it finally looked like Detroit would blow out an opponent that they SHOULD blow out, taking a 31-14 lead into the half, they crumbled in the second half and WOULD have lost the game if the referees had noticed the facemask by DeAndre Levy on the last play of the game.  Minnesota was on the Detroit 1 yard line, and simply had to punch it into the end zone and they would have been victorious.  I give credit to Levy, who busted through the line and got in Joe Webb's face, forcing a fumble in the process and stopping the Vikings from getting the game winning TD.  That said, he also grabbed ahold of Webb's facemask in the process.  The referees did not see it, no flag was thrown, and the Lions recovered the fumble to end the game.  We, as Lion's fans, have seen this sort of thing happen before, but usually it goes the other way.  As such, it's nice to be on the positive side of the regular bungling of the NFL referees for once.  The Lions are now 8-5 on the season, and the win over Minnesota kept our playoff hopes alive.


Read more after the jump...

The Weekend Spotlight - Week 14 Edition - 2011

Even though the Lions lost to the Saints, rookie DT Nick Fairley played very well.  Here he celebrates his 1st NFL sack.

Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen, to the week 14 edition of YOUR Weekend Spotlight!  I am your host, KDawg.  This installment of your weekly WS will feature tomorrow's inter-division rivalry matchup between OUR Detroit Lions, and the lowly Minnesota Vikings, at home in Detroit, MI, at Ford Field.  Last week's loss to the New Orleans Saints has left the Lions with a record of 7-5.  The Vikings are 2-10 on the season, and have very little to speak of in a positive manner.  I misspoke myself last week, by stating that there was just 4 games left of the regular season when in fact there was 5.  NOW there are just 4 games left in the regular season, and this is a MUST win game for the Lions.   I will once again reveal to you who my picks for key players are, on the Lion's offense and defense, for another Lion VICTORY!  As usual, I will provide you with the logic behind the reasoning for my picks, including stats and a prediction at the end.  The Vikings are definitely NOT the best team we have faced, plus we have already handed them one of their 10 losses on the season.  As such, I believe VICTORY will be ours, and I will tell you why and how as the WS W14E begins...after the jump.

Behind the Numbers - Week 14 The Minnesota Vikings

The Lions play the Vikings this week at home.

   This week the Lions get a break from their string of tough opponents when they face the 2 - 10 Minnesota Vikings this week at Ford Field. Or do they get a break? We'll find out what the Lions will truly be facing when we take a look Behind the Numbers after the jump.......

State of the Franchise - an Editorial

   Last night's performance versus the Saints in New Orleans may be a turning point in the future of the Lions, but perhaps not in the way you might be thinking of currently. After a ridiculous display of a complete lack of discipline that would make the Raiders cringe, the Lions are headed for a reckoning, one way or another. From Jim Schwartz's seemingly complete lack of control of his players on the field, to the latest behavior of Ndamukong Suh off the field, the Lions are making the news lately for all the wrong reasons.

Lions lose game in which the Saints were the opponent 31-17

Words don't begin to describe the things that occured in this game, but we'll start with 11 penalties.

Should I first discuss Burleson's 3, yes 3, offensive pass interference penalties?

Or maybe our return man "getting tough" and drawing an unsportsmanlike conduct?

Nah, how about Pettigrew deciding to push a referee?

Nope, have to start with Titus Young throwing a punch in front of a referee.

Any questions? I'm sure Kale and I will get into the rehash later, but right now I'm too damn disgusted.

As of right now, the Detroit Lions are the dumbest football team in America.

The Weekend Spotlight - Week 13 Edition - 2011

#9 Matthew Stafford enters the building on Thanksgiving versus the Packers.

Welcome back ladies and gentlemen, to the week 13 edition of your Weekend Spotlight!  I am your host, KDawg.  This installment of your weekly WS will feature tonight's prime time matchup between our Detroit Lions and the New Orleans Saints, on the road, in New Orleans, LA, at the Mercedes-Benz Louisiana Superdome.  The Lions are now 7-4 on the season, after losing on Thanksgiving Day to the undefeated Green Bay Packers.  The Saints are 8-3 on the season, and as usual they are a force to be reckoned with offensively.  With just 4 games left in the regular season,  I will once again reveal to you who my picks for key players are, on the Lion's offense and defense, for another Lion VICTORY!  As usual, I will provide you with the logic behind the reasoning for my picks, including stats and a prediction at the end.  The Saints are definitely the best overall passing team we have faced, but I still believe VICTORY can be ours, and I will tell you why and how as the WS W13E begins...after the jump.

Behind the numbers - Week 13 the New Orleans Saints

The Lions play the Saints tonight in the Big Sleazy.

The Lions face a tough matchup tonight versus one of the toughest opponents the NFC has to offer, but if they hope to make the playoffs, they have to prove they can play with the big boys. Let's take a look at how the Lions stack up against the Saints, by the numbers, after the jump.....

The Weekend Spotlight - Week 12 Edition, 2011 - Follow Up Post

#30 Kevin Smith continued to be impressive against Green Bay.

Welcome back once again ladies and gentlemen, to another Weekend Spotlight Follow Up Post.  I am your host, KDawg.  Thanksgiving Day was not one that saw the Lions defeat their division rival Green Bay Packers, and that was just the beginning of things that I am NOT thankful for!  If you watched the game, you are well aware that the Lions lost the game 27-15.  The game was VERY close in the first half, and it took the Packers almost the entire first half to score.  Even then, that score was set up by yet another Matthew Stafford interception, giving the Packers the ball at the Detroit 13 yard line.  In Stafford's defense, the ball was tipped by Ryan Pickett and Clay Matthews just happened to be in the right place at the right time, intercepting the deflected pass and returning it 7 yards from the Detroit 20 to the Detroit 13.  On the very next play, Brandon McDonald was called for pass interference in the end zone, which gave GB a 1st and goal from the Detroit 1 yard line.  2 plays later, after John Kuhn was stuffed for a 2 yard loss, Aaron Rodgers found Greg Jennings in the endzone for a 3 yard TD pass, making the score 7-0 Green Bay with 4:54 left in the half.  The Lions would drive from their own 21, all the way to the Green Bay 29 where Jason Hanson MISSED a 47 yard FG wide left.  The Packers would go 3 and out on their next series, and the Lions would throw 2 short passes to end the first half on a conservative note, down 0-7.

Read more, after the jump:

The Weekend Spotlight - Week 12 Edition, 2011

The Lion's Captains walk onto the field vs the Carolina Panthers last Sunday.

Welcome back ladies and gentlemen, to the week 12 edition of your Weekend Spotlight!  I am your host, KDawg.  This installment of your weekly WS will feature the one and only Detroit Lions, versus the Green Bay Packers, at home in Detroit, MI, at Ford Field, on TURKEY DAY!  The Lions are now 7-3 on the season, and they are about to face arguably the toughest matchup on their entire schedule.  As we all know, the Green Bay Packers are on fire, with an undefeated 10-0 record.  With just 6 games left in the regular season, I will once again reveal to you who my picks for key players are, on the Lion's offense and defense, for another Lion VICTORY!  As usual, I will provide you with the logic behind the reasoning for my picks, including stats and a prediction at the end.  The Packers are definitely the best overall team we have faced, but I still believe VICTORY can be ours, and I will tell you why and how as the WS W12E begins...after the jump.

No Weekend Spotlight this week

Hello everyone.  I am just posting to let you all know that I will not be writing my usual weekly post this week.  I am headed up north to be with my family, for an early Thanksgiving, and will be unable to write the post.  I will resume the WS next week.  Have a good weekend, and enjoy the game!  

Key Players - Kevin Smith (offense) and Cliff Avril (defense).

Lions win 42-10.

The Weekend Spotlight - Week 10 Edition - Follow Up Post

Cliff Avril forces a fumble on Jay Cutler, during an ugly game for the Lions.

Welcome back ladies and gentlemen, to the Weekend Spotlight, week 10 edition, follow up post.  As we all know, the Lions laid the proverbial egg in this one.  As such, it is with displeasure that I write this follow up post.  The Lions lost their 3rd game of the season, by the score of 37-13, as the Bears were able to create 6 turnovers and capitalize on every single one.  The Bear's offense was not even close to spectacular, and the Lion's defense was rather outstanding given the circumstances, but the Lion's offense just could not get on track.  There were a number of different issues that many fans (including myself) have discussed ad nauseum, including "the gloves", as to what happened and why the Lions lost to a team that they handled rather easily in the first matchup earlier in the season.  I'll talk about that a little bit, and then I will get down to recapping the short predictions that I made, prior to this game.  Of course, this is going to happen...after the jump...

The Weekend Spotlight - Week 10, 2011

Junior Dos Santos KOs UFC Heavyweight Champ Cain Velaquez earlier this evening.
I know, wrong sport right?  Well the Lions vs Bears game this week is also a big heavyweight matchup, which could end in a similar, but also different, fashion.

Welcome back ladies and gentlemen, to the week 10 addition of the Weekend Spotlight!  I am your host KDawg.  This installment of your weekly WS will feature your Detroit Lions versus the Chicago Bears, on the road in Chicago, IL, at Soldier Field.  I know this is late again, but I figure as long as I have it up before game time then it shouldn't hurt anything.  It has been a hectic week for me, and there has been so much going on that I just could not find time to write up a post.  That said, I am REALLY going to shorten the WS this week so that I can get some sleep!  I'm going to make it quick and to the point, and you will see that after the jump...

Inside the Numbers - Week 10

Fresh off the bye, the Lions are once again on the road this week; traveling to Chicago to take on the Bears. Let's get to it...

Bears on offense:

Passing yards: 1,767 (220.9 ypg)
Rushing yards: 967 (120.9 ypg)
Total yards: 2,734 (341.8 ypg)

vs Lions on defense:

Passing yards allowed: 1,549 (193.6 ypg)
Rushing yards allowed: 1,101 (137.6 ypg)
Total yards allowed: 2,650 (331.25 ypg)

Lions on offense:

Passing yards: 2,085 (260.6 ypg)
Rushing yards: 762 (95.2 ypg)
Total yards: 2,847 (355.9 ypg)

vs Bears on defense:

Passing yards allowed: 2,114 (264.2 ypg)
Rushing yards allowed: 880 (110 ypg)
Total yards allowed: 2,994 (374.3 ypg)

Bottom line: this game will be much more difficult to pull out than the Monday night game in week 5. The Bears' defense is playing much better and Jay Cutler has looked very good the past few weeks. While a loss wouldn't be as devastating as a loss last week to Denver, a win would be huge and almost put the Lions in the drivers seat for a playoff spot.

Contain Forte and put consistent pressure on Cutler and it's another big "W". Prediction: Lions 27, Bears 24.

The Weekend Spotlight - Week 8 Edition, 2011 - Follow Up Post

Titus Young celebrates with a Mile High leap, after his first career TD catch against the Broncos!

Welcome back ladies and gentlemen, to another Weekend Spotlight follow up post!  As I am sure you are well aware, the Lions absolutely dismantled the Denver Broncos last Sunday, winning the game by the score of 45-10 and taking their record to 6-2 going into their bye week!  It was very refreshing and stimulating to see the Lions get back on track last week, and what better way to do it than in blowout fashion?  The Lions got after Tim Tebow all day long, and Tebow did what everyone thought he would do (except maybe Bronco fans).  He choked, and made mistake after mistake, and the Lions capitalized with explosive offense and big numbers throughout!  I was very happy with the performance of the Lions against Denver, and this follow up post will recap my pre-game predictions for the game.  I'll get right to the point, after the jump:

The Weekend Spotlight - Week 8 Edition, 2011

#28 Maurice Morris will be the #1 RB for the Lions again this week.

Welcome back ladies and gentlemen, to the week 8 edition of the Weekend Spotlight!  I am your host, KDawg.  This installment of your weekly WS will feature your Detroit Lions versus the Denver Broncos, on the road in Denver, CO, at Mile High Stadium.  Coming off of their second loss in a row, the Lions are now 5-2 on the season.  There is a lot of hope among the fanbase that this will be the week that we see the Lions get back on track.  I am personally going to remain cautiously optimistic, as there are a number of ways that Detroit could bungle it up and lose this game.  That said, I am still excited about this team and their potential to be a playoff team this year.  As I've said before, you can't win them all.  The last two weeks have been rather disappointing for all of us, yet there is still hope that our young QB will break out of his recent funk and that the offense will come back to life.  This is the last game for the Lions before their bye week, so it would be very good if they could get a win and carry that momentum with them into the break.  With 7 weeks of the season under our belts, I will once again reveal to you who I believe the key players will be, on the Lion's offense and defense, for another Lion VICTORY!  As usual, I will provide you with the logic behind the reasoning for my picks, including stats and a prediction at the end.  The Broncos are definitely not the best team we have faced, let alone beaten, and I such I certainly believe VICTORY can be ours, and I will tell you why and how as the WS W8E begins...after the jump.

Inside the Numbers Week 8

This week the Lions head to Denver to take on Tim Tebow and the Broncos. Let's go inside the numbers...

Denver on Offense:

Passing yards: 1,140 (190 ypg)
Rushing yards: 686 (114.3 ypg)
Total yards: 1826 (304.3 ypg)

vs Lions on Defense

Passing yards allowed: 1,432 (204.6 ypg)
Rushing yards allowed: 906 (129.4 ypg)
Total yards allowed: 2338 (334 ypg)

Lions on Offense:

Passing yards: 1,822 (260.3 ypg)
Rushing yards: 649 (92.7 ypg)
Total yards: 2,471 (353 ypg)

vs Denver on Defense:

Passing yards allowed: 1,485 (247.5 ypg)
Rushing yards allowed: 711 (118.5 ypg)
Total yards allowed: 2,196 (366 ypg)

Ever the optimist, as long as Stafford is back to form I believe this should be another one in the "W" column. The Schwartz won't call it a must win, but I will. A third straight loss would seriously diminish the luster of a 5-0 start. A clutch 100 yard game on the ground from Maurice Morris and this game is in the bag, if it's a major struggle on the ground it will be much closer.

Prediction: Lions 27, Tebows(Broncos) 17

The Weekend Spotlight - Week 7 Edition, 2011 - Follow Up Post

Alphonso Smith, back in action, makes a good tackle on Eric Weems.

Welcome back to another Weekend Spotlight follow up post.  Sadly, I have nothing good to report.  I was in attendance for the Lions vs Falcons game last Sunday, and while I had a good time with my friends before and during the game, the Lions lost and put a damper on it all.  To top it all off, the result of the game made me look rather foolish in my weekly predictions, once again.  Because of the fact that I lack the motivation to state anything exciting or clever here, I am just going to get right down to the business of recapping my weekly post, after the jump...

The Weekend Spotlight - Week 7 Edition

#93 Kyle Vanden Bosch performs a strip sack on Alex Smith last Sunday.

Welcome back ladies and gentlemen, to the week 7 edition of the Weekend Spotlight!  I am your host, KDawg.  I want to apologize, again, to my readers for a lack of content this week on the blog.  My co-administrator/author, TCLion, has departed for a 6 week tour of duty (non military) in Australia, and I have been quite under the weather for the last 4 days.  I will admit, I was procrastinating on my follow up post at first, knowing full well that I was wrong in a number of areas, but I did have intentions of writing the post anyway.  However, I fell ill and just could not find the energy to do it.  So here I am, on Friday night, writing my weekly post that was supposed to be posted yesterday.  As you are all certainly aware, the Lions suffered their first loss of the season last weekend, against the San Francisco 49ers.  A ton of drama has occurred since then, and as such there is a lot more subject matter to write about than I can possibly cover in this post.  Nevertheless I will touch briefly on what I predicted last week, before I launch into this weeks predictions, and I will rely on the idea that most of you (if not all) will already have read about the other major news pertaining to the Lions over the course of the week.

First of all, I want to congratulate Dr. Doom...I mean TCLion...on the relative accuracy of his foreboding predictions before the last game.  He stated that the 49ers would win.  They did.  He stated that Gore would rip off a few runs with 1 TD.  He did (141 yards on 15 carries, including a 47 yarder, a 55 yarder, and 1 rushing TD).  He stated that the 49ers would do just enough to win, nothing spectacular, and that in the end the Lions would beat themselves.  These statements were; true, mostly true if you don't count Gore's 2 big runs, and VERY true.  He went further and said there would be more penalties, another first half hole, and this time the clock would run out on the Lions before a comeback for the win could happen.  More penalties?  How about 15 for 120 yards.  Another first half hole?  Check...the Lions were down 10-12 at the half.  And lastly, the Lions could not manage to come back and win this time.  Right again.  In fact, the only statements TCLion made that were not nearly 100% accurate were; 1) Alex Smith will throw for 220 yards and 2 TDs, one to Davis and one to Morgan, and 2) They (SF) will win by a score of 27-24.  Alex Smith threw for just 125 yards and 1 TD, and that TD was to Delanie Walker.  San Francisco won by a score of 25-19.  Overall though, TCLion was damn near spot on...much to my chagrin.

In fact, I was adamant about the very idea that ANYONE would dare predict the 49ers to beat the Lions last week.  In a sense, I was justifiably angry and my stubborn unwillingness to yield to any argument contrary to my logic was also justified.  The 49ers did not beat the Lions.  The Lions beat the Lions.  Right?  Well, my key player picks, for a Lion victory, were seemingly off the mark as well.  But Calvin Johnson and Bobby Carpenter's performances WERE key...but they were key to the Lion's LOSS instead of the key to victory.  Had they done as expected then I believe I would have been right, but alas the 49ers bracketed Megatron in all day long, not allowing him to score, even though he had 7 catches for 113 yards, and Bobby Carpenter made the wrong read near the end of the game, which allowed the game winning TD pass to Delanie Walker.  Had he made the play there, by either breaking up the pass or at least stopping Walker short of the goal line, then undoubtedly the Lions WOULD have won.  Alright...so the 49ers won the game.  I'll eat my plate of crow now, and move on.

This installment of your weekly WS will feature the impending collision between the Detroit Lions and the Atlanta Falcons, at home in Detroit, MI, at Ford Field.  The Lions are now 5-1 on the season, and even though they are coming off of the loss I am still very excited and confident that they will win this week!  Perhaps even more exciting for me is the fact that I will be attending this game in person, with my friends and brethren over at the Pride of Detroit.  It's the annual POD outing, and it is going to be a GREAT one!  With 6 weeks of the regular season already behind us, I will once again reveal to you who I believe the key players will be, on the Lion's offense and defense, for another Lion VICTORY!  As usual, I will provide you with the logic for the reasoning behind my picks, including stats, and I will give you my prediction for the game at the end.  The Falcons are 3-3 on the season, and even though 2 of their 3 losses have come against teams that we have already beaten (Chicago and Tampa Bay), they are not a team that should be overlooked.  I am sure that the Lions are not looking past Atlanta, and I am sure they will be ready on Sunday.  I believe VICTORY will once again be ours this week, and I will tell you why and how as the WS W7E begins...after the jump.

The Weekend Spotlight - Week 6 Edition, 2011

#55 Stephen Tulloch celebrates after making a big play on Monday Night Football last week.

Welcome back ladies and gentlemen, to the week 6 edition of the Weekend Spotlight!  I am your host, KDawg.  I apologize for the late nature of this post, but life happened and I got busy.  That said, at least I will be able to provide you with up to date information related to injuries etc.  This installment of your weekly WS will preview the matchup between the Detroit Lions and the San Francisco 49ers, which will be played at home, in Detroit, MI, at Ford Field tomorrow.  Coming off of their 9th regular season win in a row, the Lions are now 5-0!  I know one thing is certain, these Lions have me very excited, and judging by the awesome display of vocal noise by the fans last Monday night, which proved to be an excellent advantage for the Lion's defense, I think most Lion's fans would agree.  With 5 weeks of the regular season already under our belts, I will once again reveal to you who I believe the key players will be, on the Lion's offense and defense, for another Lion VICTORY!  As usual, I will provide you with the logic behind the reasoning for my picks, including stats and a prediction at the end.  Unlike many people out there that are talking about how the 49ers are the team that will hand the Lions their first loss of the season, I do not believe they are any better than Dallas, or even Minnesota and Chicago.  The 49ers are a team that plays relatively mistake free football however, and as such the Lions will need to also be on their best behavior on Sunday.  That said, I believe that VICTORY can still be ours this week, and I will tell you why and how as the WS W6E begins...after the jump.

The Weekend Spotlight - Week 5 Edition, 2011 - Follow Up Post #3

Jahvid Best takes off on an 88 yard TD, enroute to a career day, against the Bears on Monday Night Football!

Welcome back to another Weekend Spotlight follow up post!  I can't help myself this time...you win some, and you lose some, but sometimes you win BIG!  The win for the Lions on Monday Night Football against the Chicago Bears, taking their record to 5-0 while also beating a division rival, is nothing short of BIG.  In fact, it is HUGE!  Not only did the Lions take it to the Bears on national TV, but they also proved undeniably that they are FOR REAL.  Nobody can question this fact now, and I get the distinct feeling that nobody want to face the RED HOT Detroit Lions!

I am still nearly speechless, 24 hours after the fact, and the game just keeps replaying over and over in my mind.  I never claimed to be any sort of football expert, a guru, or anything of the sort...just an avid Lion's fanatic who has a passion for writing about his favorite team.  However, I have to say that I hit the nail on the head on multiple key points in my weekly series post, which also makes me pretty happy.  The Lions have extended their winning streak to an NFL leading 9 regular season games in a row!  Some of you Lion fans were probably worried at halftime of the Monday night game, perhaps even justifiably so, but the overwhelming thoughts running through my mind at that point were; 1) At least it's not down 20, 2) These Lions never give up, and 3) We're going to win this game.

Please recall, if you will, what I said in last weeks follow up post.  "They never give up, and even if we had lost the game yesterday we could have been proud of this fact.  This is one thing each and every team they face will know...THESE Detroit Lions WILL play a full 60 minutes, and if we let up they will make us pay!"  What did we see happen last night?  The Lions never gave up, they played a full 60 minutes of football, and even though the Bears dominated the time of possession they made the mistake of letting up...and the Lions made them pay!  With the way this team has played through the first 5 weeks of the regular season, I don't think anyone can say that they are ever out of a game.  I also STILL believe that these Detroit Lions can win against ANY team in the NFL at this point, not to mention the rest of the teams they will face on their schedule.  Being a life long Lion's fan, I have never felt so rewarded and so confident as I do right now.  That said, I am here once again to recap my weekly post and talk about the things that I predicted before the game.  I hereby present you with the WS W5E follow-up, which begins after the jump...

LIONS WIN ON MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL!!

This says it all for now.  More to come soon!

Pre-Game Chat with BSS

The BSS - Bazzett, Stevens, and Strom.  Cute huh?

Welcome to our new weekly segment, Pre-Game chat with BSS. This is where kdawg, Pete, and myself just kick back and have a casual chat about the coming game. No editing and anything goes.

Week 5 Injury Update

Yesterday, the Lions and Bears released their full injury reports for the week.  Here they are:

Detroit Lions Week 5 Injury Report
POS.	NAME	INJURY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	STATUS
S	Erik Coleman	Ankle	DNP	DNP	DNP	Out
WR	Rashied Davis	Foot	DNP	DNP	DNP	Out
LB	Justin Durant	Concussion	DNP	LP	FP	Probable
T	Jason Fox	Foot	DNP	LP	LP	Out
S	Amari Spievey	Hamstring	DNP	LP	LP	Questionable
CB	Aaron Berry	Groin	LP	LP	LP	Questionable
S	Louis Delmas	Abdomen	LP	LP	LP	Probable
DT	Nick Fairley	Foot	LP	LP	FP	Questionable
DE	Lawrence Jackson	Hamstring	LP	LP	LP	Questionable
WR	Calvin Johnson	Ankle	FP	FP	FP	Probable
LB	DeAndre Levy	Knee	FP	FP	FP	Probable
WR	Maurice Stovall	Hand	FP	FP	FP	Probable
CB	Eric Wright	Groin	FP	FP	FP	Probable

Chicago Bears Week 5 Injury Report
POS.	NAME	INJURY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	STATUS
WR	Earl Bennett	Chest	DNP	DNP	DNP	Out
T	Gabe Carimi	Knee	DNP	DNP	DNP	Out
S	Chris Harris	Hamstring	LP	LP	FP	Probable
TE	Matt Spaeth	Calf	LP	LP	FP	Probable
G/C	Chris Spencer	Hand	LP	LP	FP	Probable
CB	Charles Tillman	Hip	LP	LP	FP	Probable
DE	Corey Wootton	Hand	Not Listed	DNP	FP	Probable

Well, looking back at my statements regarding the earlier injury reports, it is now clear that the Lions will be without Erik Coleman, Rashied Davis, and Jason Fox.  Davis had hoped to play this week, and I also thought he would, but alas he could not practice and will not play on MNF.  The Bears will be without Earl Bennett and Gabe Carimi, as suggested earlier, however they will have the services of Corey Wootton after all.  In all honesty, the injury report is clearly in favor of the Bears this week, as Amari Spievey, Aaron Berry, Nick Fairley, and Lawrence Jackson are all listed as questionable, whereas the players on the Bear's injury report are all probable with the exception of Bennett and Carimi.  My hope is that all of the guys, not listed as out on the Lion's injury list, will play on Monday.  Spievey would seem to be the most important of the players listed as questionable, but he was also listed as questionable last week and he managed to play.  I expect more of the same this week.