After giving up the first 10 points of the game and trailing 17-9 late in the third quarter, a sixth season-opening victory in the past seven seasons seemed out of reach for the Detroit Lions especially against the favored Arizona Cardinals. Behind the NFL’s highest paid player, quarterback Matthew Stafford, the Lions rallied to score 26 straight points as Stafford threw three of his four touchdown passes in the game’s final 18 minutes. Two of those touchdowns went to rookie Kenny Golladay as Detroit won 35-23. It was an eerie start for head coach Jim Caldwell’s Lions as they spotted the Cardinals 10 first quarter points. Stafford, who signed a five-year $135 million contract just prior to the beginning of the 2017 season, got off to a bad start. His first pass attempt was intercepted by Arizona’s Justin Bethel who promptly returned the pick 82 yards for a touchdown. The Lions kept it close though with a defense that applied pressure to Arizona quarterback Carson Palmer all game long. Detroit sacked Palmer just once but continuous pressure forced Palmer into three interceptions. When Lions kicker Matt Prater nailed a 58-yard field goal at the end of the first half, Detroit trailed just 10-9. Just as they did last season – the Lions set an NFL record by winning eight games in which they trailed in the fourth quarter – Detroit put together a late-game comeback. Stafford would finish 29-for-41 for 292 yards and the four touchdowns. Golden Tate was on the receiving end of 10 of those passes for 107 yards. Golladay, a third-round draft pick out of Northern Illinois, caught four passes for 69 yards and the two scores. The Detroit Lions defense did a number on Arizona running back David Johnson, who led the NFL with 2,118 yards from scrimmage last year. Johnson had just 23 yards rushing. He caught six passes for 68 yards but was limited in what he could do after suffering a wrist injury. Detroit punter Kasey Redfern was also injured suffering a knee injury when he bobbled a snap in his own end zone and attempted to run it out. The Lions will face the New York Giants (0-1) next week on Monday Night Football.
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Robert Porcher Honored Former Detroit Lions defensive end Robert Porcher was honored on Saturday night, February 25th, with induction into the Black College Football Hall of Fame. Porcher was one of six inductees in the 2017 class. Those six were part of 25 finalists who had been determined earlier by the BCF HOF Selection Committee. Along with Porcher, other inductees were Parnell Dickinson, Harold Jackson, Gary Johnson, Isiah Robertson and Coach Billy Joe. Inductees were players who played their college ball at historically black colleges and universities. All five of the players were named college All-Americans and three of them (including Porcher) were first-round NFL draft picks. The induction ceremony took place at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Georgia. College Years After just a year of high school football, Porcher headed to Tennessee State where he ended up playing just one season after a redshirt year. Coaching changes prompted Porcher to move to South Carolina State, where after a stellar college career picked up honors such as being named the NCAA Division I-AA Defensive Player of the year as well as being named an All-American. Porcher was snatched up by the Detroit Lions with the 26th pick in the first round of the 1992 NFL Draft, making him the highest drafted South Carolina State player in their history. In fact, to this day he is the only player taken in round one. The school has had three players taken in round two, but only Porcher made the first round. 12 Year NFL Career In his twelve-year NFL career, all with the Lions, Porcher went on to be named All-Pro three-times (1997, 1999, and 2001) and was named to the Pro Bowl in each of those years as well. He ranks as the Lions all-time leader in quarterback sacks with a career total of 95.5 with his highest single-season total of 15.0 coming in the 1999 season. But it’s off the field where Porcher may be remembered the best. Active in the Detroit area community, he has a foundation for cancer research that raises thousands of dollars for the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center. Because of Robert’s community involvement, the Lions named their award for off-the-field community involvement the “Robert Porcher Man of the Year” award. The award is given annually to the current player who does the most to assist in the Detroit area community. Porcher feels extremely honored to be inducted into the Black College Football Hall of Fame. “This is so exciting and I am so humbled," Porcher said. "This means a lot to me. I’m honored to be in this Hall with guys like Coach Jeffries, Deacon Jones, Claude Humphrey and Ed (Too Tall) Jones — guys that I idolized." Porcher continues to be involved in the Downtown Detroit area with several business interests including eateries such as the Breakfast House and Grill, Sweet Georgia Browns and Seldom Blues. “Detroit will always be home," Porcher said. "I love the city and everything that’s happening. They’re hardworking people and I’m a part of that fabric." It might've taken six full games through the 2016-2017 NFL playoffs for it to happen, but we finally got to see a highly competitive and wildly entertaining football game. It was just a bonus that two of the most renowned franchises in the the NFL happened to be playing each other in said game. When the Green Bay Packers traveled to Arlington, Texas, to take on the Dallas Cowboys, it had all the makings of a spectacular match-up. Dallas was the best team in the regular season, finishing with a 13-3 record thanks to the exploits of two rookie phenoms in running back Ezekiel Elliott and quarterback Dak Prescott. Green Bay, however, had Aaron Rodgers: the guy who might be playing the best football, at any position, in the entire league. Dallas looked largely unstoppable through the course of the regular season. Green Bay was fresh off dismantling the New York Giants, who boasted one of the better defenses of any playoff team. Rarely does a game with so much build up live up to the hype, but this game not only lived up to it, but it exceeded it. In the Packers 34-31 upset over the Cowboys, fans were treated to everything: another magnificent performance from Rodgers, tremendous performances from Prescott and Elliott, and a whole mess of drama and intrigue that lasted right up until the clock hit 0:00 to end the game. After the Cowboys kicked a field goal on the opening possession of the game, Green Bay spent most of the first half throttling the Cowboys defense the way they had done to the Giants defense just one week prior. Rodgers and the Packers scored touchdowns on their first three drives of the game, spanning 75, 90, and 80 yards. Halfway through the second quarter of the game, Green Bay was already up 21-3, thanks to Rodgers throwing the ball all over the field, and wide-receiver-turned-running-back Ty Montgomery running in two touchdowns himself. Right when the colossal AT&T Stadium seemed its quietest and right when fans and talking heads on social media essentially declared the game to be over, the Cowboys found a way to claw themselves back in the game, and show why they finished the regular season with the best overall record in the NFL. The Cowboys scored points on five of their next six possessions, and never punted the football from halfway through the second quarter onward. Dallas cut the lead to 21-13 by halftime, and even after the Packers scored a touchdown on the opening drive of the second half, increasing their lead to 28-13, the Cowboys continued to fight back, tying the game at 28 all with just over four minutes left in the fourth quarter, signifying what would be a wild end to this game. In the next four minutes, the Packers and Cowboys would trade field goals, driving the score up to 31 all, and giving the Packers the football back with 35 second left in the game. But, as the great ones are apt to do, Aaron Rodgers made another throw that will likely be discussed for years to come, threading the needle on a 36-yard pass to tight end Jared Cook, when the Packers were facing 3rd down and 20 yards to go. That catch put the Packers on the Cowboys 32-yard line, setting up Mason Crosby's game-winning 51-yard field goal. Green Bay will continue to take their wild playoff ride on the road, facing the Atlanta Falcons next week in the NFC Championship game. NFL fans will be in for a treat for this game. Fans everywhere can buy a unique, custom jersey at http://recreationandsportsworld.com/custom-nfl-football-jerseys Sunday, January 1, 2017, the Falcons won in more ways than one. The Atlanta Falcons defeated NFC South rival New Orleans Saints in a 38-32 shootout in Atlanta at the Georgia Dome in their final regular season game. They finished the regular season with 11-5 record. It didn’t start that way in the first half as the Falcons dominated the first half against their Bourbon Street rivals as they took 35-13 lead in the 1st Half. Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, aka Matty Ice, continued making his underrated case for MVP as he finished with 331 yards, 4 TDs and 0 interceptions. It’s the 4th time this season that Ryan threw 4 touchdowns in one game. He finished the season with over 4,000 yards, 37 touchdowns and only 7 interceptions, the best regular season stats of his career. All-pro wide receiver Julio Jones had 96 yards and a touchdown. The running back duo of Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman finished with a total of 140 yards and a touchdown. Freeman eclipsed his last season yardage with 1,079 yards and finished with 11 touchdowns as he did last season. Also, Coleman had a pretty solid sophomore season as he improved by finishing with 520 yards and 8 touchdowns. He is starting to make a strong case to be Atlanta’s 2nd running back. The Falcons defense forced two turnovers off of the Saints, and kept the Saints offense in check for most of the game as they forced many three-and-outs. But, despite being down big, the New Orleans Saints would not quit. They made a ferocious comeback in the 2nd half. Saints quarterback Drew Brees led a long drive that led to a Michael Thomas touchdown to cut the Falcons’ lead to 35-19, a 2-point conversation attempt by running back Mark Ingram was stopped by Atlanta’s defense. Thomas finished the season with 1,054 receiving yards, which is a new franchise record for a rookie wide receiver. He surpassed Marcus Colston, who had the rookie receiving record in 2006 with 1,038 yards. Late in the 4th Quarter, Mark Ingram scored a 1-yard touchdown to cut the lead down to 38-25 as another 2-point conversion failed. Ingram finished with 1,000-plus yards, which broke a drought for team who didn’t have running back average 1,000-plus yards in a season. Brees led a late touchdown drive to get the Saints within 38-32. But, it was too much for the Saints to overcome and their rally fell short as the Saints finished the season with a 7-9 record. This is the 3rd straight year that the Saints have missed the postseason. Drew Brees also finished with a huge accomplishment in his career. He had his 5th career 5000-plus season, which hadn’t been accomplished by any quarterback. Previous quarterbacks only had four seasons of averaging 5,000-plus yards. Meanwhile, the Falcons have clinched the 2nd seed in the NFC and a first-round bye. So, the Falcons will have a week of NFL Playoffs off. They won’t have to play until next weekend’s NFC Divisional Playoffs. They will either host the Seattle Seahawks, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers or New York Giants as they set to play their Wild Card games during Wild Card weekend, which kicks off Saturday. For a complete list of NFL teams that offer custom NFL jerseys, take a look at http://recreationandsportsworld.com/custom-nfl-football-jerseys The AFC West is the only division in the NFL featuring three teams with at least eight wins this season: the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oakland Raiders, and the Denver Broncos. As of today, it would be very surprising if both wild card teams in the AFC playoff race didn't come out of the West. But before we figure that part out, the more interesting question will be: over the next two or three Sundays, who wins the race for the AFC West division championship? Kansas City Chiefs (10-3) With their thrilling victory over the Raiders on Thursday evening, the Chiefs not only completed a season-sweep of their current top rivals in the AFC West, but also leapfrogged them for first place in the division. The increasingly stout Kansas City defense held the Raiders to only 13 points, which was their second-lowest scoring output all season; coincidentally, the lowest scoring output by Oakland was also against Kansas City Chiefs earlier this season. It's not the sexiest style of play in the world, but the Chiefs are getting just enough offense from quarterback Alex Smith throwing the football to tight end Travis Kelce and rookie wide receiver Tyreek Hill (the latter of whom has scored five touchdowns in the last three games he's played in). With two of their last three games taking place at home (where Kansas City is 5-1 this year), the Chiefs could very well have a shot at finishing the season with a 13-3 record. Oakland Raiders (10-3) On the losing side of the game Friday night, the high-flying Raiders looked far from their best against Kansas City. Oakland quarterback Derek Carr, who many believed might be a dark horse MVP candidate, was limited to only 117 passing yards against the Chiefs defense; that's the second-lowest total in NFL history by any quarterback who threw 40 attempts in such a game. Carr and the Raiders did manage to cut the 21-3 lead that Kansas City held down to 21-13, but their final fourth-quarter rally attempt fell short. Even with the loss, the Raiders are the overwhelming favorite to secure the top wild card spot in the AFC playoffs (assuming they don't win the division), as long as they don't blow one of their next two games against teams that don't have a winning record (at San Diego, then home for Indianapolis). Denver Broncos (8-5) The defending Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos started the 2016 season with a 4-0 record, but have a .500 winning percentage over their last eight games (going 2-2 over their last four games as well). Their modus operandi since before the season even started hasn't really strayed: playing conservative offense that will (hopefully) score just enough points to win the game, and letting their star-studded defense suffocate opponents and force turnovers. Denver's offense produces the sixth-fewest yards per game of any team in the NFL; they're 23rd in rushing yards per game, and 24th in passing. The fact that Denver's defense is ranked fifth in the NFL right now -- and #1 in passing defense -- isn't the slightest bit surprising to anyone who watched what they defense is capable of, during the 2015-2016 postseason. What's somewhat eyebrow-raising is the fact that Denver's rush defense is the fifth-worst in the NFL. Their next two games are against teams with running backs who are both ranked among the top five in the NFL in rushing yards this year (DeMarco Murray and LeGarette Blount), so it will be very interesting to see how the Broncos defense performs in that time period. San Diego Chargers (5-8) There was a brief moment, about a month ago, where it looked like the San Diego Chargers could sneakily make a run at one of the wild card spots in the AFC. They had a 4-5 record through nine games, and were coming up on a point in their schedule where they had games against teams they had a reasonable chance of beating. Alas, they couldn't really do much from there, going 1-2 over their next three games, giving them a 5-7 record heading into the last quarter of the season. San Diego's offense, yet again, has been one of the more dynamic units in the game. Quarterback Philip Rivers is still playing as well as ever, currently sitting at sixth place in yards thrown this season (he's on pace to throw for more than 4,400 yards this year), and second-year running back Melvin Gordon currently sits in fourth place among all running backs in rushing yards. The defense isn't necessarily to blame, either, as the Chargers have gotten Pro Bowl-caliber seasons from cornerback Casey Hayward and rookie defensive end Joey Bosa. But whether it's time for a coaching change, or whether the specter of leaving San Diego after this season is over has hung over them, the Chargers won't be playing in the postseason for the third year in a row. With four weeks left in the 2016-2017 season, the question is: does anyone actually want to win the AFC South? Just a few weeks ago, the division looked like it belonged to the Houston Texans. But through the first week of December, there's a three-way logjam of teams with a 6-6 record. Who is going to emerge from this proverbial Battle Royale? Honestly, the first team to win nine games -- or even as few as eight -- might be the one who walks away with the division crown.
Houston Texans If the objective of football is to score more points than the opponent, then Houston: you have a problem. The increasingly anemic Houston Texans offense has only scored four touchdowns in their last three games (all losses). Three-quarters of the way through the season, they're the fifth-lowest scoring team in the NFL. They're averaging four points less per game than they were in 2015, when they won games in spite of the hodgepodge they had at the quarterback position. At least through year one, Brock Osweiler's four-year, $72 million contract he signed with Houston this past offseason looks like it could go down as one of the worst free agent signings in NFL history. Houston's biggest saving grace is the fact that they don't have to face an opponent with a winning record over their remaining four games. Still, with the way they've been playing recently, if they're not careful, their current backslides could take them from atop the division to out of the postseason entirely. Indianapolis Colts It hasn't been pretty for much of this season, but Indianapolis has won three of their last four games, and now sits in second place in the AFC South. The Colts are seventh in the NFL in points scored per game (25.9), and as long as they can keep quarterback Andrew Luck upright -- he's been sacked more than any quarterback in the NFL -- he gives them a chance. Luck has thrown for over 250 yards in nine of the 11 games he's played in this year, and a touchdown pass in every game he's played in this year. Wide receiver T.Y. Hilton is having a spectacular year, currently sitting in second place in the entire NFL in receiving yards (1,088). The Colts defense, however, has some serious question marks. They have the 10th fewest sacks of opposing quarterbacks, they give up the eight most points per game to opponents, and they're a bottom-five team in terms of yards allowed per game. A win against Houston this Sunday would give them a much-needed split in their two head-to-head games. They’ll hold any tiebreaker over the Tennessee Titans, since they won both games against them this year. Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans finished with the worst record in the NFL last year, butnow they're the third team in the three-way race for the AFC South title. Behind head coach Mike Mularkey's self-anointed "exotic smash mouth"-style of offense, the Titans have the third best rushing offense in the NFL. Over the last eight games, quarterback Marcus Mariota is second in the NFL with a 117.7 passer rating, thanks largely to throwing 21 touchdown passes and only three interceptions. Running back DeMarco Murray, unceremoniously discarded by the Philadelphia Eagles last season, has the second most rushing yards in the NFL right now, only behind rookie Ezekiel Elliott. With bookend tackles Taylor Lewan and Jack Conklin (both of whom were first round picks by Tennessee), the Titans have one of the best offensive lines in the NFL. Wide receiver Rishard Matthews, an unheralded free agent acquisition this past offseason, has caught seven touchdown passes in the last eight games. Tennessee's problem comes from the other side of the football; namely, their pass defense that's given up the fifth-most touchdown passes in the NFL to date, and gives up the sixth-most passing yards to opponent on average. Their secondary has been an enormous problem for them all season, but the silver-lining for Tennessee is that they won't face a team with a high-powered passing attack for the remainder of the season. Jacksonville Jaguars Finally, there's the Jacksonville Jaguars. There's not much else you can say about this team besides the fact that they went from being one of the teams with the most excitement and potential at the start of the 2016 season, to one of the most under-performing and disappointing teams this year. They're currently riding a seven-game losing streak; their last win took place midway through October. Head coach Gus Bradley's career head coaching record of 14-46 gives him the worst winning percentage of any head coach (who's coached in 50 or more games) in NFL history. Instead of taking a step forward in his development as an NFL quarterback, Blake Bortles has seemingly taken multiple (big) steps backward. The only thing left for this team is playing out the rest of the season, and awaiting the inevitable head coaching change that will take place in early January of 2017. The Detroit Lions are having a great season so far with an 8-4 record going into the 13th week. They are in first place for the NFC North division with the Minnesota Vikings trailing behind by two games. The Lions’ success has been mainly attributed to the outstanding job that Mathew Stafford, Lion’s quarterback, has been doing. With four games to go, the Lions have a good chance of clinching the NFC North division and being in the playoffs. Despite having only one playoff win in 1999 since l957, the Detroit Lions have had several outstanding players. They have also had many coaches leading the team. Famous Players of all time Barry Sanders - Running Back He is listed first on the list of the Best Detroit Lions of all time. Calvin Johnson - Wide Receiver Calvin Johnson is listed #2 on the list of the Best Detroit Lions of all time. Dick Lane - Cornerback Dick Lane is listed #3 on the list of the Best Detroit Lions of all time. Herman Moore - Wide Receiver Herman Moore is listed #4 on the list of the Best Detroit Lions of all time. Bobby Layne - Quarterback, Placekicker Bobby Layne is listed #5 on the list of the Best Detroit Lions of all time. Lem Barney - Cornerback, Return Specialist Lem Barney is listed #6 on the list of the Best Detroit Lions of all time. Billy Sims Billsy Sims is listed #7 on the list of the Best Detroit Lions of all time. Dick LeBeau Dick LeBeau is listed #8 on the list of the Best Detroit Lions of all time. Alex Karras - Defensive Tackle Alex Karas is listed #9 on the list of the Best Detroit Lions of all time. Joe Schmidt - Linebacker Joe Schmidt is list #10 on the list of the Best Detroit Lions of all time. On January 8, 2016, thе Lіоnѕ hired Bob Quinn аѕ gеnеrаl mаnаgеr. Lions rеlеаѕе Jоіquе Bеll аnd Stерhеn Tulloch. Coaches In thеіr hіѕtоrу, the Detroit Lions hаvе had 24 hеаd соасhеѕ. All-Tіmе Hеаd Coaches NAME YEARS SEASONS Hаl Grіffеn 1930 1 Potsy Clark 1931-36 7 Dutсh Clark 1937-38 2 Gus Hеndеrѕоn 1939 1 Bіll Edwаrdѕ 1941-42 1+ John Kаrсіѕ 1942 - 1 Gus Dorais 1943-47 5 Bо MсMіllіn 1948-50 3 Buddу Pаrkеr 1951-56 6 Gеоrgе Wilson 1957-64 8 Harry Gіlmеr 1965-66 2 Jое Sсhmіdt 1967-72 6 Don McCafferty 1973 1 Rісk Fоrzаnо 1974-76 2+ Tommy Hudѕреth 1976-77 1+ Monte Clаrk 1978-84 7 Dаrrуl Rоgеrѕ 1985-88 3+ Wayne Fоntеѕ 1988-96 8+ Bоbbу Ross 1997-2000 3 + Gаrу Mоеllеr 2000 - 1 Mаrtу Mоrnhіnwеg 2001-02 2 Stеvе Mariucci 2003-05 3 Dick Jauron 2005 - 1 Rod Mаrіnеllі 2006-08 3 Jim Sсhwаrtz 2009-13 5 Jim Cаldwеll 2014- present 2+ Tоtаlѕ (24 Cоасhеѕ) If you are a Detroit Lions fan, consider sporting a custom Lions jersey for gameday. |
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