From Detnews.com

Kentucky defensive end Jeremy Jarmon. a player who drew serious interest from the Lions, went to theWashington Redskins in the third round. Shortly after, Redskins vice president of operations said he got a text message from Lions general manager Martin Mayhew saying the Lions, who held the first pick in Thursday’s silent auction-style draft order, were hoping to grab Jarmon with a fourth-round selection.

By using a supplemental draft pick Thursday, the Redskins, who sent four coaches and scouts to Jarmon’s pro-day workout last week, forfeited their third-round selection in the 2010 NFL draft next spring. The Lions probably weren’t prepared go that far for Jarmon, a 6-foot-3, 280-pounder who was ruled ineligible for his senior season in 2009 by the NCAA after testing postive for a banned substance.

WOWZER-SKATES

The Redskins give up a 3rd Rounder!? They obviously fell in love. That’s a lot to give for a supplemental. As noted in the article, Mayhew informally stated that he was willing to give up as much as a 4th rounder to get him, which is what he was expected to be worth had he been eligible.

I wouldn’t have put up much of a stink in terms of giving up a 4th because, like I’ve said a million times, I want to win NOW. Not later. NOW. A Decent DE now is better than one later. But let’s not spend our picks like drunken sailors on shore leave. We’ll leave that to the Cowboys and now the Redskins.

Prudent move Mr. Mayhew, in this fans opinion it was the right move.

Often as a General Manager, your career is defined by the moves you *don’t* make.

From ESPN.com

Kentucky defensive end Jeremy Jarmon, ruled ineligible by the NCAA for testing positive for a banned substance, confirmed Monday morning that he will enter the NFL’s supplemental draft on July 16.

Jarmon will have a pro day in Lexington on July 9. Kentucky now has no defensive ends on its roster who have made a college tackle.

Jarmon has told NFL teams what he tested positive for, though he declines to disclose it publicly.

“I told the NFL teams that have called that I don’t even have a speeding ticket,” Jarmon said. “If they take me they’re not going to have any off-the-field problems.”

Jarmon, who was driving to a training facility, will fly to Philadelphia on Tuesday for a meeting and a physical with the Eagles on Wednesday.

NFL teams will bid via e-mail and the team that is willing to sacrifice the highest pick in next year’s draft will get Jarmon.

Jarmon has selected Jimmy Sexton as his agent.

With our talent pool running a little shallow, this isn’t really a bad option all things considered. I read that had this kid been in the draft, he would have went around the 4th or so.

That said, it all depends on who is willing to pay what. If Philly will only give up a 6th rounder, is it worth giving up our 5th? I’m up for it. Who knows, maybe we can get him for a 6th.

If you’re getting a 4th round quality DE for a 5th/6th round price, I say that’s value. And this year is more likely than not going to be another black eye’d building year, so get a DE and put him in a jersey and let him get it it dirty on the field. None of this “later” crap. Start gobbling up players NOW to get them into our system so in 2 years we can put up some “W”s

Like Al Davis Said before he went bat crazy bonkers insane: Just WIN BABY!

Let’s face it, Drew Stanton is a refugee from another regime right now. He was a Mike Martz project who was hurt and lost his field commander one year in. Only on the lions could a young guy like Stanton be under the auspices of his third offensive coordinator in his third year. That said, Stanton is a young athlete that deserves a shot at the starting position. And that’s simply not going to be here. We have a lot of money and the Mayhew legacy tied up into Matt Stafford.

Sorry Drew, there just isn’t a place for you here.

I think there is rich opportunity our there for Drew, he’s shown us some promise and this league is QB hungry.

Can anyone else join me in not knowing how to feel?

I don’t know. I’m lost here.

Back in 1989, the Michael Jackson ‘Bad’ tour was the first concert I’d ever been to (aside from sesame street or the circus, you get the picture) and we were in the upper bowl of the Palace of Auburn Hills. It was a brand new venue at that point; The concert was HUuuuuuuge. Tickets were nearly impossible to get. Michael rocked. The band rocked. The music was amazing.

A year or two later was the beginning of the end. I, like nearly everyone else, didn’t believe the first accuser. The 2nd? I don’t know. I saw that Bashir interview before the 2nd accuser was edited out. It was… disturbing. Whatever was going on did not seem appropriate in the slightest.

Let’s think about Michael for a moment. Growing up, he didn’t have a chance in hell at being normal. He wasn’t ‘normal’, he was extraordinarily talented; gifted. And rich. And Famous. The guy could never put his feet on the ground. Never set his compass right. When you have all this fame and wealth and simply don’t know the meaning of the word ‘no’, there are no boundaries and boundaries are what help us develop character and strength.

Let’s not rule drugs out of the equation either. He was clearly messed up on something during the length of the bashir interview. Drugs are what killed him. His heart couldn’t take the strain mixed with the uppers and the downers and the siders and the winders. Dr. Drew Pinsky, Addiction Medicine Specialist, has noted that many celebrities that go so overboard with plastic surgeries find it incredibly easy to get massive quantities of potent narcotic prescriptions. Who’s going to turn them down? The need becomes legitimized. Pressure. Insecurity. We all deal with it, but not on the level of a Michael Jackson. How do you even get up out of bed once you get the news that Thriller is the best selling album of all time and now you’ve got to follow it up.

Any pro football player will tell you how hard it is to repeat a championship. The minute you’re on top, everyone is gunning for you. There’s a big red circle on that calendar by those other teams, they want a shot at the guys on top.

That’s the other thing too… Success generates MONEY. And at that time, Michael had a LOT of it. The Jackals come out. They want to get what you got without having to work for it. People are capable of super ultra scummy stuff when there are huge dollar amounts involved. You don’t think parents sent their kids there hoping to get some dirt? Hoping to get something?

Michael did a lot for charity. Millions and Millions of dollars for children’s cancer research and treatment and make a wish. Don’t take that away from him either.

Listening to everyone else’s opinions on Michael, I’ve noticed no one takes the middle ground. It’s either love or hate. I feel like the only person here in the middle.

I want to wrap my head around what a tortured genius Michael was. Off The Wall, Thriller and Bad where absolutely brilliant efforts. His best work was definately behind him though… Who actually owns a copy of “Blood On The Dance Floor”?!?

In the end, 50 is a very short time. Much too soon to pass away. It was not enough time for him. He ran out of time before he could wake up and make things right.

It’s not a waste though. I grew up loving Michael’s music and so did a lot of other people. That’s definately worth something!

Goodbye Michael Jackson. Sha-mon-a!

there was also a female victim with him; she lost her life as well.

This is unexpected and TERRIBLE news; we’ll follow this story through the rest of the week I’m sure as details unfold.

The thing that makes this Country so great is that we can openly talk about how to make it better.

Check it out at TitanSized.com

Great DetNews Article By Terry Foster

Schwartz didn’t end minicamp this week with a morning practice session. He continued it by taking rookies Matthew Stafford, Louis Delmas and Brandon Pettigrew inside the Dearborn Truck Assembly Plant, where they sat for two hours and signed autographs, took photos and passed out Lions gear to surprised workers. He wanted this to be part of his players’ education on the NFL and the city of Detroit…

Stafford signed the richest rookie contract in NFL history. Delmas and Pettigrew have not signed contracts, but it is safe to say they will make more than any of the 500 people who carted off Lions hats, coffee mugs, photos and autographs.

“We wanted them to know who they were playing for,” Schwartz said. “We wanted them to meet the people who were paying their paychecks.”

Rob Webber, plant manager for the Dearborn Truck Assembly plant, said workers were surprised by the visit and that it boosted morale.

“I am sure it did,” he said. “They were very excited about that. But I think it did as much for the players, too. They seemed excited about meeting everybody also.”

Schwartz recognizes professional athletes often get lost in their own world.

Jim Schwartz gets it. He understands this town. We don’t know what his record is yet, we don’t know how all of this is going to play out on the field, but this guy is making me feel good about the hire.

As mini-camps come to a close for the week, Schwartz wants the rookies to understand where they are. To understand the beating heart of this city. Detroiters are tough, resilient people. Yeah, it’s hard right now, but Metro Detroit will persevere.

Yes it’s good PR. Yes the team is owned by the family of an american car manufacturing company. Yes it doesn’t really fix anything, but for those workers, the *people*, the blue collar work force that this city was built upon it made their day. That’s a pretty cool story to tell for years to come and there are going to be some very happy children that got a signed Lions hat this week. They love this sport. WE love this sport. That’s why we read about it and talk about it and watch it and play it on the xbox. Coach Schwartz did a good thing and brought the players to the people. I also think that this is a great step in establishing some roots. The most beloved coaches and athletes are out there in the community.

Of course, the very heart of being beloved by the people in professional sports is to win. Please do that too, coach.

In the 2008 season he surely proved himself.

He caught 78 passes for 1,331 yards, and was tied for first with 12 NFL grabs.

These stats led to a season of being an elite receiver in the National Football League, he will only wish to go up.

Is it possible for him to improve on this season? Sure it is possible. Johnson did achieve these numbers with a team that went win less, had woes on the offensive line, and couldn’t stop anyone on defense.

In the off season, the Lions changed the coaching staff, hopefully bringing a new fire to the clubhouse. Besides drafting Matthew Stafford, they also selected Brandon Pettigrew, the tight end from Oklahoma St.

Pettigrew could potentially be a deep threat down the field and relieve pressure off Johnson. However, he is also going to be used as a pass-blocker as well a good portion of the games, and will give Culpepper more time to find Calvin down the field.

Full Article by Matt Miselis is HERE on BleacherReport.com

Matt makes a good point. Pettigrew really frees up the Lions in the way of short yardage passes. I hated that my team is tight end shopping in the first round, but now what is done is done and let’s hope Pettigrew can get something done here in the D.

Linehan will undoubtedly use Pettigrew to generate long yardage gains via Calvin Johnson. Kevin Smith gets his legs churning, all of a sudden we’re a threat on the ground, you best double cover Calvin to stop a huge gain and Cullpepper/Stafford dumps it off to Pettigrew for an easy 8 yards. Your CB misses one step on our man Calvin?

*Boom*

The bomb goes off.

Stafford can hit the long ball. We’ve seen him do it. He’s accurate. It’s going to come down to protection. That is my fear. If the line collapses and he’s on his feet to avoid the sack, the best you can hope for is no turnover when he’s throwing it off the wrong foot.

I’m just hoping we can remain competitive in these games. Stats get padded by junk yardage in the late minutes of an unwinnable game.

From DetNews.com

Former Lions president Matt Millen said he remains a big fan of the Detroit Lions and the Ford family, but the team will not get preferential treatment if he’s called upon to broadcast a game on the NFL Network.

Millen spoke Monday after he was named analyst for the NFL Network’s “Thursday Night Football” telecast. He will broadcast with play-by-play man Bob Papa. Their first game is Nov. 12, when Chicago plays at San Francisco.

Millen served as the Lions’ team president for eight seasons, during which the team went 31-97. He praised the organization — from the drafting of quarterback Matthew Stafford to the hiring of coach Jim Schwartz.

“I’ll handle the Lions like I do any other football team. I’ll just look at them and break them down and see where they’re at,” Millen said.

“And here’s the thing with Detroit. I love Detroit. I’m a huge fan of Martin Mayhew. I’m a huge fan of Jim Schwartz; I think that’s an excellent hire. I think Jim did a good job of putting his staff together, but there is no bigger fan anywhere of Mr. Ford than me. And I would love to see him holding the (Lombardi) trophy. That would be great for him, but, more importantly, it’d be great for the fans of Detroit because the fans of Detroit, they deserve big.”

Millen addressed losing with the Lions:

“You’re only judged on wins and losses and so my tenure was not good. It was very poor. So instead, you learn a lot from failures, and I’ve learned a ton. So I can bring that to the table. I think I can view my experience with Detroit as a positive just in terms of not winning or losing, obviously, but having gone through it and having been exposed to every level of the National Football League. Yeah, I think that’s something that can help in the telecast.”

Millen would not discuss the issue of a Lions’ contract buyout, saying it was “ongoing right now.”

That’s good to know!

I know that makes me feel great.

Ol’ Matty Matt will give you the straight bull on your team and why they suck

But will he explain WHY they suck?

Will he talk about how he couldn’t draft? Will he talk about how like 80% of the guys he drafted aren’t even playing in the league? Will he talk about what the hell he was thinking when he took the useless Mike Williams in the top ten, a guy that hadn’t even taken a snap on the field of play in over a year?!?!?

TELL ME MATT… WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING!?!!? eh?

The biggest thing that pisses me off about it all is that he’s actually pretty good on TV. When my rage quelled after seeing HIS ****ing FACE, he had some pretty good input and outshined the other broadcasters on NBC.

it’s so like/hate….