Lions Wrap-Up

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH
PHOTOS BY CANDICE EBLING
GREEN BAY, WI

Before the Detroit Lions 30-20 loss to the Green Bay Packers December 28, 2014 at Lambeau Field, Fox 2's Sports Director Dan Miller and I agreed during lunch about one standout defensive player.

Miller, also the Lions radio play-by-play announcer and I believe Ndamukong Suh will either get franchised, become a transition player or reach a long term contract.

Like My Mentor Tony DeMarco, I have no use for Social Media! Much of the junk written goes against how we were trained as Journalists!

In Suh's five years with the Lions, Detroit's reached the playoffs twice.

His presence on the field makes his teammates better around them.

I don't care that he's amassed $420,669 in fines during his career.

He's aggressive and old school. He'd be an impact player in any era.

Opponents may not like his tactics, but don't think for a minute that they'd love to have Suh playing for them. He causes headaches for opposing offensive coordinators, QB's, etc...

Throughout the years with previous Lions management, many never retained their core players. One defensive guy that should have retired a Lion was Chris Spielman, who played with the team from 1988-95 and played in four Pro Bowls with Detroit.

I do believe that Martin Mayhew and Coach Jim Caldwell won't make the same mistake with Suh. The salary cap will increase and they seem committed to getting the Ford Family a Super Bowl title.

During the 2014 season, Caldwell did a nice job handling the kicking situation getting it right on the third try with the addition of Matt Prater.

Neither of these guys were pleased with the lack of production from running back Reggie Bush, who could be an off-season salary cap casualty.

On March 12, 2014 Detroit signed free agent wide receiver Golden Tate away from the Seattle Seahawks giving him a 5-year $31 Million contract with $13.25 guaranteed.

How did this work out? This has "Genius" written all over it!

Tate played and started in all 16 games. He had 99 receptions for 1,331 yards and four touchdowns. He was selected to his first Pro Bowl.

Caldwell managed to win despite injuries to Calvin Johnson and Nick Fairley among others. Overcoming this showed the organization is headed in the right direction.

QB Matt Stafford didn't reach the 5,000 yard mark, however, who's complaining about his 4,257 yards, 22 TD's and 12 interceptions. He led the team to some exciting come from behind victories to get the Lions into the playoffs.

If there is any improvement from rookie Tight End Eric Ebron, Stafford will have another quality target in 2015.

Would the presence of Center Dominic Raiola at Green Bay have made a difference in the Lions leaving Wisconsin with their 24th consecutive loss? The Lions also dropped to 10-31-3 all-time at Lambeau and 24-57-4 in Wisconsin. Detroit's all-time record against Green Bay is now 67-95-7.

We'll never know but he didn't use good judgement and wasn't available. As a result, the Lions had to play the Dallas Cowboys on the road in the first round of the playoffs instead of hosting a home game that would have resulted in a higher seed.

Now the Lions aren't bringing Raiola for the 2015 season thus completing his 14-year run in Detroit.

Before the 2014 season, there were many people in the Local and National Media that felt Detroit would finish under .500 and fail to make the playoffs. They look quite stupid and I have a feeling Detroit will get more games in prime time in 2015.

I was amused by many of these so called experts that Detroit was going to get blown out in Dallas by at least 14 points. The Cowboys escaped with a 24-20 win thus making these analysts look stupid. This actually turned out to be the best game of the weekend. Fox had excellent ratings for the contest.

In Green Bay, the Lions punt team failed them as Micah Hyde had a 55-yard punt return for a touchdown and enjoyed his Lambeau Leap.

Against the Cowboys, Punter Sam Martin's 10-yard punt in the fourth quarter led to the Cowboys game winning drive that gave Dallas a 24-20 lead. Once again, a key special teams situation failed Detroit.

One thing that I'll say about the Lions is the NFL Rule Book gets re-written and often analyzed.

On November 26, 1998 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, a Thanksgiving Game Lions 19-16 win at the Pontiac Silverdome will be known as the "Botched Coin Toss" as Jason Hanson converted a 42-yard field goal in overtime.

The "Calvin Johnson Rule" was created on September 12, 2010 where the receiver must have control to complete the process in a 19-14 loss at Chicago's Soldier Field. This happened with 31 seconds left in the game.

The 2012 Thanksgiving November 22, 34-31 OT loss to the Houston Texans is infamously known for the "Mistake Challenge" where former Coach Jim Schwartz overreacted on a scoring play that prevented it from getting reviewed.

Now to the Cowboys game. The Lions made headlines but also made a few friends in an unfortunate way.

Did the Cowboys get some home cooking?

Figure it this way, the NFL admitted that it blew seven calls, including the controversial "Pass Interference That Wasn't."

Hello Competition Committee.

Do you think that Suh wants to see his Lions career end that way now that he's playing for a contender?

I doubt it and so does Miller.

How many Lions fans did the Green Bay Packers amass when Dez Bryant fell victim to the "Calvin Johnson Rule" as the Cowboys lost 26-21 at Lambeau Field in the Divisional Round? America's Team lost Ice Bowl II and this was talked about all over the Media and analyzed in Social Media.

No breaks for the Cowboys in Wisconsin.

Unlike other sports, 31 teams are miserable when the NFL Playoff Tournament comes down to a one-game elimination compared to a series in the NBA, NHL and MLB.

All losses are agonizing and everybody is scratching their heads, etc...

In the Lions loss to the Cowboys there were other opportunities to score touchdowns but the team had to settle for field goals. The team knows it,

But considering where the franchise was a year ago at 7-9 that saw Schwartz get fired, Detroit had to patiently wait for his successor.

Former Arizona Cardinals Coach Ken Whisenhunt and former Bears Coach Lovie Smith were high on Detroit's wish list.

Smith decided to coach the Tampa Bay Bucs and Whisenhunt the Tennessee Titans. Neither of these teams had a franchise QB in place and as a result finished with identical 2-14 records. The Bucs get the top pick in the 2015 NFL Draft while Tennessee is second.

Caldwell got recommendations from Tony Dungy and Peyton Manning and the Lions season was much, much better than Smith and Whisenhunt.

Even if the Lions had beaten Green Bay, who knows how far they would have advanced.

The loss in Green Bay was tough for Lions Offensive Coordinator Joe Lombardi, whose grandfather Vince Lombardi won championships in this venue plus has a street named after him.

But there is no sense of dwelling on what would have been because they Packers experienced a tough 28-22 OT road loss Sunday to the Seattle Seahawks, the defending Super Bowl Champions in the NFC Championship Game.

After the Packers game, Caldwell reflected on the positive by saying, "There are only 12 teams working at the end of the night, and we are one of the 12. You better be excited about that opportunity."

Stafford added, "We are a battle-tested team. We have won 11 games this year. We found ways to win a lot of them and we will continue to do that. We are a mature football team."

There is no question Detroit acquired a lot of valuable lessons in their season ending two-game losing streak.

Mayhew, Caldwell and the rest of the scouting staff are now evaluating tape from this past bowl season enabling the Lions to retool by adding additional pieces.

The Senior Bowl is Sunday in Mobile, Alabama. There were lots of interviews with players and practices to scout this week.

One thing is for certain, Caldwell changed the culture, instilled discipline to a franchise which hasn't seen at least 11 wins since the 1991 season when Detroit was 12-4.

If Suh stays because of Caldwell's calm demeanor then this will solidify that Jim may not have been the First Choice, but he was indeed the Best Choice.

The keys to success in the NFL are:

1) Have to be Good.
2) Have to be Lucky.
3) Have to be Healthy.

Seems like a simple formula but yet so complicated and difficult to conquer.

We find that out on Black Monday at the end of every season and those that do succeed in the Super Bowl have the right to cherish the accomplishment.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at www.scottsports33.com.

Saints March To History

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

MIAMI GARDENS----Going into Super Bowl XLIV, this writer did predict that the New Orleans Saints would score 31 points. The problem is he also thought the Colts would win by a 38-31 margin.

Oh well, I'm not alone because there were many others who expected Colts quarterback Peyton Manning to walk away with his second Super Bowl Championship.

But destiny is the key word as to what transpired Sunday Night at Joe Robbie Stadium.

The New Orleans Saints defeated the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 and despite the fact that there were two small market teams playing, that didn't matter as far as TV Ratings were concerned.
According to the Nielsen Ratings, this was the most watched program in US Television History as 106.5 million tuned in.

We had the hometown boy in Manning facing a city that was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Is there any doubt that the Saints have become America's adopted team? As I spent time at the Media Center talking to radio show hosts along with other national media members from around the world at Radio Row, there were plenty of these people who were hoping that the Saints would come marching out of Miami with the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

As it turns out they did. The celebration has shifted from South Beach to Bourbon St. But while this victory does bring joy to New Orleans, even when I was there two years ago, the devastation of the storm was still quite evident. That's what many of us in the media talked about at the various functions throughout the week especially throughout Sunday's game.

This was more than a football game, it was a human interest story in every way possible. That's what made it such a thrill to be a part of. There could be no better hype leading up to this game then listening to the players, coaches, media, commissioner, etc., talking about the significance about what a win would mean to New Orleans.

Despite being 13-3 and being the No. 1 seed in the NFC, the Saints were still underdogs to the No. 1 seeded Colts who were 14-2.

Last year in Tampa, the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the underdog Arizona Cardinals 27-23 but needed an eight play, 78-yard drive capped by a six yard touchdown pass from Ben Roethlisberger to Santonio Holmes to earn the win. Pittsburgh also had a Super Bowl record 100-yard interception return from James Harrison at the end of the first half.

There were a lot of critical plays in this contest. But the only interception Manning threw resulted in a 74-yard touchdown return by Tracy Porter that gave New Orleans the 14 point lead. But Manning did throw for 333 yards while New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees has folks in San Diego scratching their heads by letting him leave as a free agent as he threw for 288 yards and two touchdowns.

Nevertheless, this was history at its best and to be part of a crowd of 74,059 yards was a tremendous experience watching the Saints win their first ever Super Bowl Championship.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at scottsports33@aol.com and his blog can be seen at www.scottsportss3.com.

Super Bowl XLIV Preview

BY SCOTT MORGANROTH

As we prepare for Super Bowl XLIV in Miami, here are the reasons why the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints should win on February 7.

In the last three Super Bowls I've covered, each quarterback has won multiple titles and padded their Hall of Fame credentials.

In Super Bowl XXXIII here in Miami, Denver Broncos signal caller John Elway retired a two-time champion with a 34-19 win over the Atlanta Falcons, who were piloted by his old coach Dan Reeves. This gave Coach Mike Shanahan his second championship.

Super Bowl XXXIX in Jacksonville saw former Michigan Wolverines QB Tom Brady and Coach Bill Bellichick capture their third titles together with a 24-21 win over the Philadelphia Eagles.

Finally, Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger, who struggled to win Super Bowl XL in Detroit by tossing for only 123 yards passing, redeemed himself with a one touchdown and a 256 yard performance to emerge with a 27-23 triumph over the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa.

Roethlisberger's game winning six-yard touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes with 35 seconds was one of the greatest games ever, and gave him his second championship, and the Steelers recorded the franchise's sixth crown.

Here are the reasons why the Colts should win:

Indianapolis is the beneficiary of the Rooney Rule which requires teams to seriously interview a minority candidate for head coaching and executive positions. Former Coach Tony Dungy became the first African American Coach to win a Super Bowl by knocking off the Chicago Bears 29-17 in Super Bowl XLI in a battle of black coaches defeating his former assistant Lovie Smith.

Now Dungy's African American successor Jim Caldwell has a chance to win on the same Joe Robbie Stadium turf.

This is my third Super Bowl where I've seen a team reach the title game for the first time. The Falcons and Cardinals have both lost and Indianapolis is under extreme pressure to win because the Colts bypassed a historical opportunity to go 16-0 by resting their starters in season ending losses to the NY Jets & Buffalo Bills.

The AFC is 3-0 in Super Bowls that I've covered as Denver, New England and Pittsburgh have won the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

Here are the reasons why New Orleans should win:

Quarterback Drew Brees is on a mission to make the San Diego Chargers regret that they kept Philip Rivers instead of him.

If Brees leads the Saints to a victory in their first appearance in the Super Bowl, they'll join division rival Tampa Bay with victories in it's initial appearance. The Buccaneers blasted the Oakland Raiders 48-21 in Super Bowl XXXVII as Coach Jon Gruden defeated his former boss Al Davis.

New Orleans defeated the Miami Dolphins 46-34 at Joe Robbie Stadium on Oct 25, 2009. The Saints would like nothing better than to extend their celebration from South Beach to Bourbon Street giving the city its first major championship against New Orleans native Peyton Manning, the son of legendary Saints QB Archie.

New Orleans spoiled the homecoming of former Saints fan Brett Favre with a 31-28 OT win in the NFC Championship Game. New Orleans would like to continue this against Manning.

For the Saints to defeat future Hall of Famer Kurt Warner of the Cardinals who retired Friday, Favre, who could likely retire this year with his final game like Warner's being played in the Superdome, and Manning; this would be a championship well earned. Warner is 1-2 in Super Bowls and has played in three classics.

Finally, if there is a sentimental choice to root for a team, this would be it. The city of New Orleans has already said it will throw a parade whether the team wins or loses. To see the Saints win a title after the region was battered by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 would be

unbelievable!

Here is my prediction on who will win Super Bowl XLIV based on this formula.

Denver defeated Atlanta by 15 points, New England edged Philadelphia by three while Pittsburgh came from behind to defeat Arizona by four points. The total point differential for all three games is 22 and if you divide it by three games, this equals 7.3.

Therefore, in a shootout of two franchises which have won important games at Joe Robbie Stadium, Indianapolis (14-2) defeats New Orleans (13-3) by a 38-31 score in the Super Bowl everyone wanted to see in the battle of No.1 seeds.

The win allows Manning to join Elway, Brady and Roethlisberger as multiple Super Bowl winners.

Since Shanahan and Bellichick won back to back multiple titles when I attended those games, it's time for a repeat of African American titles. Caldwell would become the third African American to win a championship with last year's Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin being the second.

Scott Morganroth can be reached at Scottsports33@aol.com and his blog can be seen at www.scottsports33.com.