Pride Of Detroit

VIDEO: Behind The Scenes With Calvin Johnson After Winning Madden Cover Vote

2012-05-17T03:31:19Z

When Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson was revealed as the winner of the Madden 13 cover vote last month, he didn't have much time to celebrate. In fact, he was quickly put to work by EA Sports. Immediately after winning the cover vote, Johnson changed into his Lions uniform and took part in a photo shoot in Times Square in order to get pictures ready for the final version of the cover, which was revealed last week.

The photo shoot was only the beginning of a busy few days for Johnson. In the following days, he made several media appearances to help promote Madden, which is a big part of being on the cover. As you all know, he stopped by the NFL Draft, as well as David Letterman's show. He also took part in an autograph signing and a Q&A. All of this was captured in a behind-the-scenes video produced by EA Sports to show what exactly Megatron was up to after being named the cover athlete for Madden 13. Check it out:

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Lions Don't Sign Christian Bollmann After Workout

2012-05-17T03:19:13Z

As mentioned on Tuesday, the Detroit Lions brought in German wide receiver Christian Bollmann this week for a workout. The Lions discovered Bollmann, who plays in a football league in Germany, through Phil Hickey, who coaches Bollmann and emailed Martin Mayhew about him last week. Hickey and Mayhew apparently worked together in the XFL (yes, Mayhew once worked in the XFL).

The workout took place on Wednesday, and it didn't result in a contract for Bollmann, at least not for now. Here's more from Dave Birkett:

Bollmann, a 6-foot-5, 220-pound 23-year-old considered one of the top receivers in European football, had a good workout but ran a slower than expected 40-yard dash time, his German Football League coach Phil Hickey said.

If the Lions are in need of another receiver for training camp, I'm sure Bollmann will at the very least be kept in mind. For now, though, he appears to be headed back to Germany to continue playing football across the pond.

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Lions Reportedly Tried To Claim Kevin Murphy Off Waivers

2012-05-16T20:27:08Z

When the Detroit Lions were rebuilding their roster in 2009 and 2010, a big part of how they added talent was through claiming players off waivers after they were released by other teams. Because the Lions were typically at the bottom of the NFL standings, they were near the top of the waiver priority list and were able to claim players they wanted off waivers without anybody really getting in the way.

Nowadays, the Lions luckily aren't in rebuilding mode, but they still look for guys on waivers who can come in during training camp and compete. One of the byproducts of actually winning is having a lower waiver priority, though. Twice this offseason they have tried to claim players off waivers only to have them be awarded to a team with a higher waiver priority. Last month, they reportedly tried to claim kicker Kai Forbath, and more recently, they tried to claim offensive tackle Kevin Murphy.

Awarded to the Vikings off waivers from the 49ers, tackle Kevin Murphy was also the subject of waiver claims from the Texans and Lions
— Aaron Wilson (@RavensInsider) May 16, 2012

Murphy is an undrafted free agent from Harvard. He actually visited the Lions in the lead-up to the draft, and after going undrafted, he signed with the San Francisco 49ers. He was released earlier this week, and now he is headed to Minnesota after being awarded to the Vikings.

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Where The Detroit Lions 90-Man Roster Stands

2012-05-16T12:01:04Z

With Jerome Harrison being placed on the reserve/non-football injury list and the Detroit Lions signing Wallace Miles and Sam Proctor, their roster is now completely full. 90 players aren't actually under contract (I'll explain why in a second), but as of right now, all 90 spots on the Lions' roster are accounted for.

Currently, 88 players on the roster are actually under contract. The two who aren't are Cliff Avril and Riley Reiff. Avril has been franchised, but he has not yet signed the tender. He and the Lions have until the middle of July to work out a long-term deal. If nothing can be agreed to, then Avril will be forced to sign the one-year tender if he wants to play in 2012. Regardless of what happens, he counts for a roster spot right now because he has been franchised. Reiff also counts for a roster spot since he is a draft pick. The fact that he has not yet signed with the Lions doesn't matter under the new roster rules that went into effect this year.

After the jump you can check out a position-by-position rundown of the entire 90-man roster.

QB Matthew Stafford
QB Shaun Hill
QB Kellen Moore

RB Jahvid Best
RB Mikel Leshoure
RB Kevin Smith
RB Joique Bell
RB Keiland Williams
RB Stefan Logan
RB Stephfon Green

FB James Bryant

WR Calvin Johnson
WR Nate Burleson
WR Titus Young
WR Ryan Broyles
WR Nate Hughes
WR Marcus Harris
WR Lance Long
WR Terrence Toliver
WR Patrick Edwards
WR Troy Burrell
WR Jared Karstetter
WR Wallace Miles

TE Brandon Pettigrew
TE Tony Scheffler
TE Will Heller
TE Nathan Overbay
TE Alex Gottlieb
TE Austin Wells

OT Jeff Backus
OT Riley Reiff
OT Gosder Cherilus
OT Jason Fox
OT Corey Hilliard
OT Johnny Culbreath
OT Quinn Barham

OG Rob Sims
OG Stephen Peterman
OG Jacques McClendon
OG J.C. Oram
OG Pat Boyle
OG Rodney Austin

C Dominic Raiola
C Dylan Gandy
C Dan Gerberry

DE Cliff Avril
DE Kyle Vanden Bosch
DE Lawrence Jackson
DE Willie Young
DE Ronnell Lewis
DE Everette Brown
DE Ugo Chinasa
DE Edmon McClam

DT Ndamukong Suh
DT Corey Williams
DT Nick Fairley
DT Sammie Hill
DT Andre Fluellen
DT Michael Cosgrove

LB Stephen Tulloch
LB DeAndre Levy
LB Justin Durant
LB Doug Hogue
LB Ashlee Palmer
LB Travis Lewis
LB Tahir Whitehead
LB Slade Norris
LB Ronnie Sneed
LB Carmen Messina

CB Chris Houston
CB Aaron Berry
CB Jacob Lacey
CB Alphonso Smith
CB Chris Greenwood
CB Bill Bentley
CB Jonte Green
CB Don Carey
CB Ross Weaver

S Louis Delmas
S Amari Spievey
S John Wendling
S Erik Coleman
S Ricardo Silva
S Alonzo Lawrence
S Sam Proctor

K Jason Hanson
K Derek Dimke

P Ryan Donahue
P Ben Graham

LS Don Muhlbach

Note: While the Lions officially list Stefan Logan as a wide receiver, I consider him a running back given that he had a total of 24 carries and only one catch in his first two seasons as a Lion. (On NFL.com, Logan is listed as a running back, by the way.)

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Jared Karstetter Scouting Report

2012-05-16T01:33:06Z

WR Jared Karstetter (Washington State) - Undrafted Free Agent

The Detroit Lions have put a pretty big emphasis on adding players this offseason to compete for the fifth spot at wide receiver. In addition to drafting Ryan Broyles and signing Lance Long, the Lions also signed four undrafted free agents who play wide receiver. One of them is Washington State's Jared Karstetter, who got a deal done the day the draft came to a close.

Experts' Opinions

National Football Post:

A savvy, well-built receiver. Isn't real explosive off the line even from his low, track like stance, but does do a nice job stemming his route and not advertising his breaks early. Isn't a threat to quickly get on top of defenders and run by anyone vertically. However, he does a nice job getting into the body of the corner, giving himself additional grass along the sideline and adjusting to the football on the fade. Possesses impressive awareness, quickly snapping his head around and using his coordination to make a play on the throw. Is also a "plus" vertical route runner as he sets up his routes well and is clean out of his breaks. Routinely is able to use his subtle head fakes to get defenders off balance and work his body between the ball and defender on the post/slant. Doesn't generate much burst out of his breaks and isn't ever going to separate routinely at the next level. However, he has the hands to consistently pluck off his frame and secure the catch.

SI.com:

Positives: Well-sized possession receiver who is best in underneath coverage. Effectively uses his hands to get off jams, consistently finds the open space in the defense or comes back to the ball out of breaks. Nicely adjusts and extends to make the reception away from his frame. Consistent hand catcher. Battles hard to make the reception. Gives effort blocking.

Negatives: One-speed receiver who gets minimal separation off the line of scrimmage or down the field. Minimal quickness in his game.

Stats

2008: 6 catches, 90 yards

2009: 38 catches, 540 yards, 6 TD

2010: 62 catches, 658 yards, 7 TD

2011: 60 catches, 700 yards, 6 TD

Videos

Outlook for 2012

Like the other UDFA wide receivers, Karstetter will compete for the fifth spot at the position in training camp. He will have to show he can catch the ball, but perhaps just as importantly, he will have to show he can contribute on special teams if he wants a legitimate shot at making the team.

More scouting reports: Riley Reiff, Ryan Broyles, Dwight "Bill" Bentley, Ronnell Lewis, Tahir Whitehead, Chris Greenwood, Jonte Green, Travis Lewis, Kellen Moore, Stephfon Green, Troy Burrell, Patrick Edwards

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Lions Reportedly Bring In German Receiver For Workout

2012-05-15T21:10:00Z

Working out a free agent is nothing new for the Detroit Lions. As they continue to look for talent, workouts are key to finding players and seeing if they are worth signing. Just look at wide receiver Lance Long. He was brought in for a workout in early April and ended up being signed on May 1.

Something that is a bit different than usual is the workout the Lions held on Tuesday. According to Dave Birkett, the Lions brought in Christian Bollmann, a wide receiver from Germany. Bollmann apparently plays for a team nicknamed the Lions in Germany, and now he's hoping to land a spot on the NFL's Lions following the workout.

According to an article on Bollmann from a German website, the Lions had only seen him play on video prior to setting up the workout. So how exactly did it come about? Birkett explains:

According to the Google translation of a news release from the team, Bollmann’s tryout apparently came about because of an undisclosed connection his coach, Phil Hickey, has with Lions general manager Martin Mayhew.

Hickey is the ex-director of team operations for the Los Angeles Xtreme of the UFL and was a game development manager in NFL Europe.

You never know where you might find talent, so Bollmann is certainly worth a look, especially when you consider the Lions' fifth wide receiver spot is up for grabs. It will be an interesting battle during training camp to see who emerges as the fifth wide receiver, and if the workout went well on Tuesday, perhaps Bollmann will be added into the mix.

Here's a look at some highlights of Bollmann:

UPDATE: Bollmann's workout is scheduled for Wednesday.

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Lions Place Jerome Harrison On Reserve/Non-Football Illness List

2012-05-15T20:33:03Z

This offseason, there was some confusion surrounding Jerome Harrison's inclusion on the Detroit Lions' roster. It was believed that his contract was set to expire after last season, but he remained on the roster. It turned out that had something to do with Harrison going on the reserve/non-football illness list last season after a brain tumor was discovered. As of Monday, he was still counting against the 90-man roster.

On Tuesday, the Lions cleared Harrison's roster spot by once again placing him on the reserve/non-football illness list. The move means Harrison is out for the 2012 season, and it means the Lions cleared enough room for the two signings reported on Monday to become official.

Although Harrison is out for 2012, his agent provided a positive-sounding update to Tim Twentyman. According to his agent, Harrison is recovering from the brain surgery he had and is "progressing" in his recovery. Obviously, he won't be playing football anytime soon, but it's good to hear that Harrison is making progress.

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Lions Notes: Nate Burleson Ready For Competition At Wide Receiver

2012-05-15T13:01:28Z

WXYZ has video from Matthew Stafford's visit to the Pentagon and White House.
Nate Burleson is ready to compete with the younger wide receivers on the team, which is good considering many believe the Lions drafted Ryan Broyles to be Burleson's eventual replacement. There likely won't be any changes made this season, but in 2013 and beyond, you never know.
Travis Lewis spent the first two days of last week's rookie minicamp practicing at outside linebacker. On the final day, he moved inside to play middle linebacker.
The Lions' official site has video of Jim Schwartz's comments on the final day of the minicamp.
According to Mike O'Hara, Calvin Johnson has been invited to throw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to Friday's game between the Tigers and Pirates at Comerica Park.
Bill Bentley was interviewed on Monday and asked about working out with the entire team for the first time.
R.J. Archer, who attended the minicamp as a tryout, is a quarterback, but he has also played wide receiver in the past.
There wasn't much of an increase in ticket sales on the secondary market for Lions games during and in the week after the NFL Draft. Out of all 32 teams, the Lions had the fourth-smallest jump in sales.
The USFL is set to relaunch.
One-time Lions quarterback Ty Detmer has been elected to the College Football Hall of Fame's 2012 class.

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