Mresuperstar wrote:
Name: Tyler VanLadder
Position: Backup QB
Age: 24
Hometown: Grand Rapids, Michigan

Background: Former All-State QB in high school, spent two seasons riding the bench at Michigan State before transferring to NCAA Division II powerhouse Grand Valley State where he won a national championship his senior season. Last year, he went undrafted in the NFL Draft but did spend the year on the Cleveland Browns practice squad. He was cut in the offseason and now wants another chance with his hometown team he grew up rooting for. The 6'2" quarterback doesn't have the size, speed or throwing power to ever be elite, but can complete any throw (especially under pressure) to win a game if given the opportunity.

Pro Comparison: An under-developed Kirk Cousins.

Lions hold on to win 26-24 vs Falcons

The game opened on a high for the Detroit Lions, with Malcolm Rodriguez snagging an Interception on the opening drive. However from there this settled into a much less polished pre-season affair. A lot of running plays, a lot of missed cues, and a lot of rough play.

New Lions QB Lawrence IV had an appaling first appearance. He went 0-for-4 on passing attempts, capping it with an Interception of his own. After two series he was pulled, and Tyler VanLadder got a chance to show his skills. 22/36 completitions, for 231yards certainly impressed the sidelines. However no TD's, and giving away a late Interception of his own leaves a lot of room to improve.

Of course there was some scoring. New FB Stefan Radu secured the first TD of the seaon, a 1-yard pound in the 2nd Quarter. Lightning Bolt add his own 1-yard rush TD on the next Lions drive. Following a Desmond Ridder one-yard scramble, the Lions headed 14-10 at halftime.

The second half was all about Rodrigo Blankeship kicking for the Lions. He hit field goals from 49yards, 37yards, 54yards and 52yards! However two 4th Quarter touchdowns for Atlanta pulled the gap back, before failing on the 2-point conversion.

Other notable perfomers included Pierre-Emile Tourgas, the MLB taking an Interception in the 1st Quarter as well as putting up 11 Tackles in his first half appearance. Jonathan Conrad was credited with 4 pressures, and 0.5 Sacks, as the towering Defensive Tackle was hot in his one quarter game-time.



Next week the Lions travel to Indianapolis, and will surely be hoping to see much more from their expected QB1 Lawrence IV. Overall impression this week, the Lions are a young and raw team and will need time to mature and develop into regular winners.

Also notable, Ford Field definitely needs some renovations. Or a rebuild. Vote Now!

redordead wrote:
Hopefully Bradley did okay, even if he didn't make a big highlight play.

Domination For Detroit, 31-8

After last weeks horror show, Lawrence IV turned it right around. Playing the full first half, along with most other starters, Benjamin posted 152 yards at went 11-17. He looked far more secure in his throws, aided by a lot more chemistry with his supporting cast. Lenny Clarson took in 6 catches for 66 yards and seems set to be the Lions #1 WR.

Brennan Baxter Lynch was pretty invisible last week. Today he claimed two TD's on the ground, in the 1st Quarter from 2 yards out, and in the 2nd Quarter from 5 yards. He would end the day with 40yards total off 12 carries, but he'll need more offensive line support come Week 1.

In the 2nd Half, VanLadder threw a 1yard TD to Austin Pierce, and a 1yard TD to Mario Guido. Firsts for both the TE and WR. VanLadder would, however, only record 89 total yards, but an impressive completeion rate of 9 from 12. He paired well with the afformentioned Pierce, snagging 4 receptions for 26 yards, and Guido, picking up 20 yards on 3 catches.

Defensively the Lions were dominant. Or rather, the Colts were inept. Matt Ryan and Nick Foles combining for less than 110yards total. Bradley Joseph and Sean Dawkins tied the game lead for tackles, with 6 each. The whole set of defensive backs for Detroit totally shutting down the game. Third choice QB Sam Erhlinger did manage a TD pass late in the 4th Quarter to Granson, and they combined for a 2pt conversion attempt.



The final Pre-Season game will be at the Steelers. Two wins in two games is exciting, but the Detroit staff want to play down any expectations. The Colts were really really bad today, and the Falcons are hardly a front running team. But there are positive signs as the team settles down and gets more and more game time.

Lions Feast On Steelers, 34-3

Another big pre-season performance from Detroit, or signs of a crisis in Pittsburgh? Both sides struggled to get going, with Interceptions from either team in the 1st Quarter, followed by no scores.

The 2nd Quarter was barely any better. Detroit was marginally better at moving the football, allowing Blankenship to kick field goals from 42yards and 49yards to take a 6-0 lead. Chris Boswell was given a chance to close the half with a field goal from 32 yards to make it 6-3.

Finally in the 3rd we got some real offence. Benny Redhill came alive with some big cathces, setting up Bolt to convert on a 1yard rushing TD. Redhill would pace the wide recievers on the day with 86 yards on 5 catches. And Lenny Carlson was reliable, if not spectaculy, with 7 catches for 57 yards.

Lawrence Benjamin IV showed his wheels, adding his own rushing TD on a scramble from 4 yards. His 192 yards was ok, but the early INT and lack of passing TD still raises questions. Bolt tagged a second short range rush, and Cephus took down a 13yard TD from VanLadder in the dying moments of the blowout win.



3-0 in Pre-Season! It looks impressive on the face of it, but some truly dire opponents masks inconsistency. Week 1 will bring a much much tougher challenge. But between now and then the final set of cuts and roster moves will take place. This is young, has potential, and fingers crossed they can keep up this level of result.

The final 53-man roster for the Detroit Lions has been confirmed today. This came amongst a few last minute trades and free agent signings as the franchise looked hard to fill gaps in the team.

The biggest name brought in, Ndamokung Suh returns to his first team for what could be his swansong year. The defensive lineman was drafted 2nd Overall by the Lions in the 2010 Draft. He played 5-years in Detroit, before time with Miami, the Rams and a Superbowl ring earned on the Buccanneers. Suh will provide some strong mentorship to the young team, as well as give much needed depth at Defensive Tackl/End.

The Lions have also brought in Zach Gentry at Tight End, AJ Epenesa at Defensive End/Tackle, DaQuan Jones at Defensive Tackle, Andrew Van Ginkel at Outside Linebacker, and Cody Barton at Middle Linebacker. The full list of players is availabe in the first post.



Expectations for the season are not high. The Packers and Vikings should be fighting for the top spot in the division, and amongst the best in the NFC. The Bears are a bit of an unknown, so the 3rd place is our aim.

So it's predictions time! You now have a choice to make!

You can try to predict our exact record (0-17, 1-16.... 16-1, 17-). Get this spot on, your player will get a bonus double stat boost & earn one Star/Superstar/X-Factor rank (which make you develop faster, and at the higher end gain special bonus abilities!). Be within a couple of games and earn a bonus stat boost.
However, if you miss by 4/5+ games, your player will start to loose stats!

Or, you can take a swing at a more generic overall "Winning Season" or "Losing Season". Get this right and you'll get a small stat boost, and there's no punishment for getting it wrong.
But if more than half the team makes the wrong choice, then those players will be at risk of stat loss as well, via a random generator.

Drop your precitions below, as we get revved up for the start of the main season! Heck, drop down some extra role play comments and start building towards additional in-season stat boosts.