CALVIN JOHNSON TALKS ABOUT BREAKING JERRY RICE'S RECORD

LIONS WR CALVIN JOHNSON ON...

 

How breaking the NFL record for single-season receiving yards feels with a 4-11 record: “It feels tough because we fought our way back a little bit and just couldn’t…it was just turnovers that kept us... I had a fumble. It was just turnovers. We took ourselves out of it. But at the same time man, it’s an accomplishment that took a lot of work man. You can’t take that thing away.”

 

What it was like to go to the sideline and give your father the record-setting football: “When you’re in the game you’re still in the moment. You’re still on the play that just happened so I was still focused in there. I was in my zone you know. So I went over there – I don’t think I even said anything to my dad when I gave him the ball. I just gave him a hug. When I think back on it, it was a special moment.”

 

What you were thinking as you were crossing the field and the ball was coming towards you: “The crazy thing is we ran the ball earlier, got walled off by the mike (LB Akeem Dent) and (Sean) Witherspoon and called the same route again and just bounced it around like coach told me. The biggest thing is I just like to see the ball. See the ball.”

 

If he knew as soon as you caught it: “Yeah, because the guys were telling me on the sideline I’m like four, five yards away so it was just like one reception and I’m there. So I’m like shoot, we’re going to knock this thing down.”

 

Who was telling you on the sideline: “Everybody – everybody was keeping record of it.”

 

If he his aim set on 2,000 yards: “Man, I don’t know where we stand but we got another game left so you never know what could happen. Like I said, just told the team, ‘Come back study film; we got a divisional opponent so we might as well go ahead and get our mind right.’ We’ll come in here and try to get this win this week and leave the season on a good note.”

 

How big a part of this record is QB Matthew Stafford: “It’s half his too. He’s the one delivering me the ball every week. When we both stay healthy man, we can do some special things out there.”

 

If he believed tonight would be the night he broke the record: “Never know because we’ve had plenty of 200-yard games. Like I say, when we’re on the field together, you know what’s going to happen. When we see our favorite coverage, we’re going to attack it. We saw some holes in there and my trainer, I was working with him before the game, he’s like, ‘We’re going to get this thing tonight.’ He had me feeling good before the game and we got it.”

 

The trainer: “My trainer from back home, Tom Bender.”

 

If the Falcons played you straight up more than most teams did: “They did. They did a game plan. They’re obviously a team that’s going to do what they do. They stuck to what they did and we saw that a lot this year. More than expected and we were able to take advantage of it sometimes but we weren’t able to get the record like we wanted. In the end of things, didn’t expect coming into the year to see this happen, but now that it has it’s a part of history. I’m sure it will sink in at some point.”

 

Where the ball is: “My dad got it right there. I told him not to let it go.”

 

The ball not going to Canton: “Oh no, that’s my ball. (Laughter)”

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IT WAS A GREAT DAY FOR JOHNSON AGAINST ATLANTA FALCONS

Postgame notes from the Detroit Lions 31-18 loss to the Atlanta Falcons at Ford Field, December 22, 2012.
JOHNSON’S RECORD-SETTING PERFORMANCE

With 11 receptions for 225 yards vs. the Atlanta Falcons, WR Calvin Johnson set several NFL and franchise records.

 

Single-Season Receiving Yards – NFL Record

• Johnson established a new NFL single-season record for receiving yards, now with 1,892 yards, by breaking Hall of Fame WR Jerry Rice’s 17-year old mark of 1,848 yards in 1995. The new record occurred on his 10^th reception of the game that went for 26 yards with 3:05 left in the fourth quarter.
• He is now 108 yards shy of becoming the first player in NFL history to register 2,000 receiving yards in a season.

Single-Season Receiving Yards – Lions Record

• On the second reception of the game, a 49-yard catch in the first quarter, Johnson set a new franchise record for receiving yards in a season. He broke a team record set by WR Herman Moore (1,686) in 1995.

Season Receiving Yards Milestones

• Johnson is the second player to register over 1,800 receiving yards and the fifth player to record over 1,700 yards in NFL history.Rice (1,848 in 1995) and Johnson are the only players to record 1,800 receiving yards in a season, and Johnson joins Rice, WR Isaac Bruce (1,781 in 1995), Hennigan (1,746 in 1961) and WR Marvin Harrison (1,722 in 2002) in the group of receivers to record 1,700 yards in a season.

Yards Per Game Average - Season

• With 1,892 yards in 15 games, Johnson is now averaging 126.1 yards per game. His yards per game average is currently the highest among any players in NFL History to play at least 12 games in a season. His yards per game average increased today and moved past WR Charley Hennigan (124.7 yds/g in 1961) and WR Leroy “Cray Legs” Hirsch (124.6 in 1951).

Consecutive 100-Yard Games

• By gaining over 100 yards, Johnson set an NFL record with his eighth-straight 100-yard receiving game. He broke the previous record (7) by WR Charley Hennigan (1961) and WR Michael Irvin (1995).

100-Yard Games - Season

• Johnson’s also tied an NFL record with his 11th 100-yard receiving game this season. He is currently tied with Irvin who had 11 in 1995.
• With 11 100-yard receiving games, Johnson broke the franchise record of 100-yard games in a season set by Moore (10) in 1995.

200-Yard Games

• With 225 yards vs. Atlanta, Johnson registered his fourth career 200-yard game and became the fifth player in NFL history with four career 200-yard games (WR Lance Alworth, 5; E Don Hutson, WR Charley Hennigan and WR Jerry Rice).
• His four 200-yard games are tied for the second-most in NFL history.
• Johnson’s 225 yards are the fourth-highest single-game total in Lions history and the second-highest of Johnson’s career.
• Johnson registered two 200-yard games in 2011 and in 2012, becoming the first player in NFL history to record two 200-yard games in two different seasons.

Consecutive 10+-Reception Games

• Johnson’s 11 receptions was his fourth-straight game with 10+ receptions and he became the first player in NFL history to register 10+ receptions in four-straight games.

Season Receptions Totals

• Johnson’s 11 receptions increased his season total to 117. He is the second player in team history to record 110+ receptions in a season. He surpassed WR Herman Moore (106 in 1995) and WR Brett Perriman (108 in 1995) for the second-most receptions in a season by a Lions receiver. Moore holds the all-time team record with 123 in 1995.
• With 117 receptions, Johnson is now tied with WR Torry Holt (2003) for the ninth-most single-season receptions in history.

Two-Year Dominance

• Johnson is the first player in NFL history to record over 3,400 and 3,500 receiving yards in a span of two seasons. He extended his NFL record for most receiving yards by registering 3,573 yards since the beginning of the 2011 season.

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Lions Saturday Night Half Time

More than 400 children from Metro Detroit elementary schools will participate.

Allen Park, Mich.—Ford Field will transform into a giant recess during halftime of the Detroit Lions’ game against the Atlanta Falcons, Saturday, December 22. Approximately 400 metro Detroit elementary students will be teaming up with Lions alumni to highlight Living for the City’s Play 60 partnership with Playworks Detroit.

 

“Along with our partners, Playworks Detroit, XBOX Kinect and Blue Cross Blue Shield, we have a fiduciary responsibility to help support physical activity and play,’ said Detroit Lions Team President Tom Lewand. “This halftime program is a great opportunity to share our dedication to improving the health and wellbeing of Detroit area students with our fans.”

 

At the conclusion of the first half, Playworks Detroit will lead children in traditional recess activities including hula hoops, jump ropes and a game of ‘spiders and flies,’ a style of tag that will span the entire field. Lions alumni Lamar Campbell, Damien Gregory, Ron Rice and Cory Schlesinger will join the students during the halftime event.

 

"There is nothing like seeing the joy on a child's face when they are safely playing at recess", said Jeannine Gant, Playworks Executive Director in Detroit, "Playworks is so glad the Lions see the value of play in helping children get physically active."

 

To measure the combined movement of the whole recess group, select students will be wearing MOVbands, donated by MOVABLE. MOVbands are fun and simple wrist-worn activity monitors that can be used with MOVchallenges in schools to promote increased movement and goal-setting. An estimate of the students’ total movement will be made in the third quarter of the game.

 

"Having awareness of our daily physical activity is a key component to creating a healthy and active lifestyle. We are very excited to have this opportunity to use MOVbands to show how easy and fun it can be to increase your movement," Blake Squires, Founder and CEO of MOVABLE.

 

Playworks Detroit is a nonprofit organization that supports learning through safe, inclusive play and physical activity in schools through organized games and activities. They aim to teach valuable lessons such as cooperation, conflict resolution and social skills and through their partnership with Living for the City’s Play 60 initiative, Playworks is helping local students become active and play for at least 60 minutes a day.

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FORD FIELD GOES WIFI

DETROIT — Detroit Lions fans with Verizon Wireless service will have access to free WiFi at Ford Field beginning December 22 when the Lions take on the Atlanta Falcons. Ford Field becomes the ninth WiFi enabled NFL stadium.

“We were excited to collaborate with Verizon to provide our shared customers with free WiFi at Ford Field,” said Detroit Lions Team President Tom Lewand. “It’s another opportunity to enhance our stadium experience and, along with the Detroit Lions mobile app, engage our fans like never before.”

The new high-density WiFi system, designed and built by Verizon, supplements its traditional cell sites that provide wireless coverage in and around Ford Field as well as its existing in-stadium distributed antenna system (DAS).

Verizon’s DAS, which is the standard for densely populated areas where volumes of wireless demand are high, was built into Ford Field in 2006. At the start of the 2012 football season, Verizon began redesigning and expanding its DAS to increase capacity for fans.

“Our Network team worked closely with the Detroit Lions to construct this new WiFi system that will provide our customers with even more capacity at Ford Field,” said John Granby, president, Michigan/Indiana/Kentucky Region, Verizon Wireless. “Sports fans are increasingly reliant on their wireless devices for streaming video, accessing social media and downloading their favorite team apps and other content. We built this high-tech network to offer our subscribers another reliable solution that works in tandem with our existing network.”

Approximately 10 miles of blown fiber-optic cable and 15 miles of copper cabling were used to build the new network, which is the first of its kind in any major sports arena in Michigan.

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LIONS - CARDS, HIGHTLIGHTS - LOWLIGHTS...

THE HGHLIGHTS...


WR Calvin Johnson
WR Calvin Johnson caught 10 passes for 121 yards at Arizona (9/16). With his effort against the Cardinals, Johnson reached or surpassed several individual, team and NFL milestones. On the season, he has a career-high 106 catches for 1,667 yards.

PACING THE RECORD
With 1,667 receiving yards through 14 games, Johnson has stayed on pace to break the NFL’s all-time single-season record for receiving yards set by Hall of Fame WR Jerry Rice with 1,848 yards in 1995. Johnson is now 181 yards shy of Rice’s mark and needs to average 90.5 receiving yards per game in the team’s final two games to tie Rice’s record.

Johnson trails WR Herman Moore by 20 yards for the Lions’ single-season record. Moore set the franchise record with 1,686 yards in 1995. Johnson finished the 2011 season just five yards shy of the mark when he recorded a career-best 1,681 yards.

SEVEN-STRAIGHT 100-YARD GAMES
With 121 yards at Arizona, Johnson registered his seventh-straight 100-yard receiving game and tied the NFL record for consecutive 100-yard games (7; WR Charley Hennigan in 1967 and WR Michael Irvin in 1995).

He broke the Lions franchise record for consecutive 100-yard receiving games previously set by WR Pat Studsill (6) in 1966.

Johnson garnered his 10th 100-yard receiving game this season and is now tied for the second-most during a season in NFL history (10; WR Charley Hennigan in 1961, WR Herman Moore in 1995, WR Marvin Harrison in 2002 and WR Torry Holt in 2003).

By reaching 10 100-yard games in 2012, he tied the Lions franchise record of 10 set by WR Herman Moore in 1995.

He tallied his 31st career 100-yard receiving game and 18th over the past two seasons.

SEASON TOTAL OF 1,667 YARDS
With 1,667 receiving yards in 2012, Johnson has surpassed 1,600 receiving yards this season, becoming the first receiver in NFL history with back-to-back 1,600-yard seasons.

He joins WR Marvin Harrison (1999, 2001) and WR Torry Holt (2,000 and 2003) as the only players in NFL history with two 1,600-yard receiving seasons.

Johnson is only the third player in NFL history to register 1,600 yards in the first 14 games of the season and the first to do so since WR Lance Alworth (1,602) in 1965. He has the second-most yards through 14 games behind WR Charley Hennigan (1,746 in 1961).

100 RECEPTIONS
With 10 catches today, Johnson moved his receptions output on the season to 106. He is now the third player in team history to record 100 receptions in a season. Johnson is the first to accomplish this since WR Herman Moore had 104 receptions in 1997.

Johnson’s 106 receptions are tied with Moore (106 in 1996) for the third-highest single-season total in Lions history.

It is the fifth season a player has registered 100+ receptions in team history

10 RECEPTIONS
With 10 receptions at Arizona, Johnson registered his fifth game this season with 10+ receptions and set a new franchise record for most games of 10+ receptions in a single season. He broke the team’s record previously set by WR Herman Moore, who had four in 1995.

His 10-catch outing at Arizona was the third consecutive game with 10+ receptions (13 vs. Ind 12/2; 10 at GB 12/9; 10 at Arz 12/16), tying a franchise record set by WR Brett Perriman in 1995 (10 at TB 11/12/95; 12 at Chi 11/19/95; 12 vs. Min 12/23/95).

Johnson registered his eighth career game with 10+ receptions, which trails WR Herman Moore’s career franchise record of nine.

JOHNSON’S TWO-YEAR TOTALS
Johnson now has tallied 3,348 receiving yards since the beginning of the 2011 season. He has set the NFL record for most receiving yards over a two-year span. He surpassed the previous mark of 3,347 yards by Hall of Fame WR Jerry Rice in 1994-95.

7,500 YARDS THROUGH 90 GAMES
Johnson now has tallied 3,348 receiving yards since the beginning of the 2011 season. He has set the NFL record for most receiving yards over a two-year span. He surpassed the previous mark of 3,347 yards by Hall of Fame WR Jerry Rice in 1994-95.


THE LOWLIGHTS...from Today's Presser.

LIONS HEAD COACH JIM SCHWARTZ ON...

The most disappointing aspect of the loss to Arizona: “Well, we’ve had a lot of games this year that came down to one play. You know, one critical play in the fourth quarter that you look at and say, ‘Hey, if we made that one we would have won the game.’ We can’t be naïve to think that this was one of those games. Even though we have a chance to pull within seven with six minutes to play, that really wasn’t the case in this game. There were way too many errors in this game to have a chance to win and it showed on the scoreboard.”


If the mistakes on the field have been mental errors: “We had very few mental mistakes in the game. You know, we had a couple false starts with crowd noise. I mean, we need to do a better job with those, but we had very few times where guys weren’t in the right position or stuff like that. I’m never going to get up here and say that talent’s our issue. I have confidence in our players. If we put them on the field, we have confidence in them. You know, you might not always have a full complement of players, but it’s our job as coaches to put those guys in position. Try to find the combination of guys and try to find a way to get it done. We were short a defensive lineman this week. We went to some three defensive lineman packages. We’ve always adjusted and that’s just our job as coaches, and it’s players’ jobs as players to make those adjustments.”


If the coaching staff is preparing the team well enough: “We’re all in this together and this team goes out and works hard and prepares every single week. We haven’t always gotten it done on Sundays, particularly these last six weeks. And we’re going to work hard to get that right.”


What responsibility he takes as coach: “One hundred percent. I appreciate it when a quarterback wants to take blame for it, but ultimately it’s the head coach’s responsibility. I mean, head coaches always have a record. Other than playoffs I don’t know if I’ve ever seen quarterbacks have records. Usually it’s playoffs, ‘Hey this guy is whatever in the playoffs.’ The ultimate responsibility of the team is the head coach and I need to do a better job, 4-10 isn’t good enough.”

How disturbed he is by a six-game losing streak: “Well, we’re not happy about it. It’s been a long time since we’ve won. We’ll work hard to get that right but it’s certainly not something we’re happy about.”

LB Stephen Tulloch’s comment about players on one-year deals having that on their minds on the field: “I don’t think that has anything to do with our coaching staff. Players, I mean, it’s a real dynamic as far as the business of the NFL when it comes to players. I think all our players are professional and they leave that aside when it comes to playing in the game. I don’t want to speak for Stephen but I haven’t seen any sign of that. I think we have a lot of guys that are on the last year of the deal that are having some of their best seasons.” 

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SCHWARTZ TRYING TO KEEP LIONS FROM FALLING APART

LIONS HEAD COACH JIM SCHWARTZ ON:

12/7/2012

The anonymous comments from a Lions player about DT Ndamukong Suh and how troublesome it is that it’s come from within: “I don’t even know if it’s coming from within. I think that before when we had anonymous source criticizing and everything else, we took the approach of we’re not going to comment on that and I think I’ll take the same approach here. When we start responding to reports or anonymous sources it just further cheapens this whole thing. We go on the record for what we believe and how we react and stuff like that and just end it there.”

Talking to the team leaders to figure out if there is fracturing going on in the locker room: “I think any time that you lose, particularly four games that we’ve lost that have been literally one play, it can be… it is very disappointing. It would be very frustrating for a team. But like you said it’s up to the leaders of the team to stay together. You need to be able to keep that in context. A lot of times from a player’s standpoint, particularly some of the ways that we lost, it wasn’t one play in the game. It was maybe six plays, and if we make one of those six we have a very good opportunity to win. That’s hard on players because you go and lose the game, and they all feel as though they were the one that made the play that could’ve lost the game. Sometimes it’s easier to get beat 42 to nothing. Player drops a touchdown pass or has a penalty, looks at it and says, ‘Jeez it didn’t really cost us the game.’

“So it’s always – anytime you lose it’s difficult in sports in general. Professional sports, college sports, anything else it’s always a difficult situation. But I think in this case it’s even a little tougher because of the way that we’ve lost those games and from a coaching standpoint, from a player standpoint, everybody feels responsible and everybody’s anxious to do better.”

How he addressed that with the team today if at all: “Well, I mean I have addressed it, but I’m not going to go into things like that. I’ve never gone to you guys with what’s said behind closed doors because there’s a reason that we say them behind closed doors. I think that’s one of the things that’s gotten astray in this whole thing. Some things are best left in meeting rooms and locker rooms and things like that. As we continue to peel the curtain back more and more and try to make this all into a soap opera. There’s less and less of it that stays where it should. Things that I say to the team I’d like to keep between me and the team.”

How you prevent the flood gates from opening after losing four straight: “We’re not worried about that. We’re worried about the Green Bay Packers, and if we’re worried about anything else we’re not going to play very well on Sunday. We need to keep our concentration on the Green Bay Packers. They have nothing to do with the other stuff that’s happened even though they were one of the games. Go out and practice and stay focused on the next opponent. That’s what we need to do.”

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TERRY HESSBROOK OF ITHACA HIGH SCHOOL NAMED 2012 DETROIT LIONS HIGH SCHOOL COACH OF THE YEAR

Michigan National Guard on Board as Presenting Sponsor of High School Coach of the Week/Year Program

Detroit, MI—The Detroit Lions have named Terry Hessbrook of Ithaca High School the 2012 High School Coach of the Year, presented by the Michigan National Guard.

On November 23, Hessbrook led his Yellowjackets to a 37-27 victory over Constantine in the Division 6 Michigan High School Football State Championship at Ford Field. With this victory, Ithaca has won three straight state championships in Division 6 and has become the 1st football program in state history to win a state championship in 3 seasons with an undefeated record. Ithaca has 42 straight victories and currently has the 4th longest winning streak in state history.

Now in his 17th season at Ithaca (9th as head coach), Hessbrook has a record of 87-17 at Ithaca. Hessbrook spent 5 years as head coach at Montabella before going back to coach at his alma mater. Hessbrook was named a Detroit Lions High School Coach of the Week in 2010.

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Calvin Johnson's BIG Day!

Following the Detroit Lions' 33-35 loss to the Indianapolis Colts at Ford Field, December 2, 2012.

Johnson Ties NFL Record
WR Calvin Johnson caught 13 passes for 171 yards and 1 touchdown today vs. Indianapolis. He now has five-straight games with 125+ receiving yards which ties an NFL record set by Lions WR Pat Studstill in 1966. (Courtesy of Elias Sports Bureau)

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Johnson’s current streak of four games with 140+ yards ties the longest streak in NFL history by Lions E Cloyce Box spanning the 1952-53 seasons. He is the only player with four-straight games with 140+ yards in the same season.

Career-High in Receptions
Johnson’s 13 catches set a new career high and are the second-most receptions in a game in Lions history. He was one shy of the team record of 14 set by WR Herman Moore vs. Chicago December 4, 1995.

He also set a career high with 8 receptions in the first half of today’s game. His previous best was 6 accomplished twice (at Chicago 11/2/08 and at Jacksonville 11/4/12).

Johnson’s 100-Yard Streaks
With 171 yards today, it marks the first time in Johnson’s career that he has recorded five-straight 100-yard games.

Johnson’s fifth-straight 100-yard game is the first for the Lions since WR Pat Studstill recorded six in a row in 1966.

With 171 receiving yards today, Johnson registered his 29th career 100-yard receiving game. Johnson is second only to WR Herman Moore (34) for the most in team history.

It is also Johnson’s eighth 100-yard game this season and ties a career high for the most 100-yard games in a season. Johnson registered 100 receiving yards eight times in 2008. WR Herman Moore holds the franchise record with 10 100-yard receiving games in 1995.

Already the only player in team history who has recorded seven 100-yard receiving games in two different seasons, Johnson is now the first player in team history to record eight 100-yard games in two different seasons.

Johnson Surpasses 1,400 yards
Johnson’s 171 yards increased his season total through 12 games to 1,428 receiving yards. He has now reached the 1,300-yard and 1,400-yard marks for the second consecutive season.

He now has three career 1,300-yard seasons. Johnson is the only player in team history with at least two seasons garnering 1,300 receiving yards and now has three (1,331 in 2008 ,1,681 in 2011, 1428 in 2012).

Johnson’s Stretch Run
With 1,428 yards in 12 games (119.0 avg), he now has the most yards through 12 games since WR Lance Alworth has 1,428 in 1965. He is tied for the third-most receiving yards through 12 games in NFL history. While tied with Alworth, he is behind WR Charlie Hennigan with 1,541 in 1961 and WR Crazy Legs Hirsch with 1,495 in 1951 for the most receiving yards through 12 games. (Courtesy of Elias Sports Bureau)

Johnson’s 119.0 yards per game average through 12 games is on pace to break both the Lions all-time single season record for receiving yards (WR Herman Moore, 1,686 in 1995) and the NFL record for receiving yards in a season (WR Jerry Rice, 1848 in 1995). At 119.0 yards per game, he would finish the season at 1,904 yards.

Johnson trails the record by 420 yards and needs to average 105.0 yards per game to reach Rice’s record.

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ALTO REED TO PERFORM NATIONAL ANTHEM AT LIONS’ THANKSGIVING GAME

Legendary sax man from Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band also set to headline Rock for Jobs concert at The Fillmore Detroit

DETROIT — The Detroit Lions announced today that current and founding member of Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band sax man Alto Reed will be performing the national anthem prior to the Lions’ 73rd Thanksgiving Day Classic November 22 vs. the Houston Texans.

Reed, who will be featured at Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit’s Rock for Jobs concert, is a native Detroiter and legendary sax man. His most recognizable performances include the soulful introduction to "Turn the Page" and the saxophone solo in "Old Time Rock and Roll". Reed has also performed with Foghat, Grand Funk Railroad, Dan Aykroyd, Jim Belushi, The Blues Brothers and The Ventures among others.

On Friday, November 23, Alto Reed’s AllStars with special guests rock n’ roll icon Mitch Ryder and former Grand Funk Railroad frontman Mark Farner, will perform at The Fillmore Detroit for the Rock for Jobs concert. Proceeds will support Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit programs that help unemployed Metro Detroiters earn jobs.

Tickets start at $10 and are available through Live Nation at www.livenation.com. Gold Main Floor Reserved premium seating is available. The Fillmore Detroit is located at 2115 Woodward Avenue, next to The Fox in the heart of the theatre district. Doors open at 6 PM with the concert beginning at 7 PM.

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DETROIT LIONS VS GREEN BAY PACKERS POST GAME WRAP UP

POSTGAME NOTES

Johnson’s 100-yard Effort
WR Calvin Johnson caught 5 passes for 143 yards and one touchdown in today’s game vs. Green Bay. With 143 receiving yards, Johnson registered his 27th career 100-yard receiving game. Johnson is second only to WR Herman Moore (34) for the most in team history. He also registered 100 yards for the sixth time this season.

Johnson now has three-consecutive 100-yard games for the third time in his career. In the past three games, he has registered 129 yards (at Jax 11/4), 207 yards (at Min 11/11) and 143 yards (vs. GB 11/18) and has averaged 159.6 yards per game.

Johnson Surpasses 1,000 Yards
On Johnson’s 53-yard reception in the first quarter, he surpassed 1,000 receiving yards for the season. He now has reached 1,000 receiving yards for the fourth time in his career and for the third season in a row (2010-2012). Johnson also registered 1,000 receiving yards in 2008 (1,331), 2010 (1,120) and 2011 (1,681).

Through 10 games, he has accumulated 1,117 yards, averaging 111.7 yards per game. That average puts him on pace to record 1,787 yards in 16 games.

By reaching 1,000 yards this season, Johnson joins WR Herman Moore and WR Johnnie Morton as the only players in Lions history to reach 1,000 receiving yards in four seasons. Moore (1994-97) and Morton (1997-99, 2001) each did it four times during their careers with the Lions.

Johnson also joined Moore (1994-97) and Morton (1997-99) to register 1,000 receiving yards in three-straight seasons.

2,100 Career Points
K Jason Hanson connected on field goals of 30 and 27 yards, along two extra points, to score eight points against Green Bay. With eight points today, Hanson reached 2,100 career points and became the third player (K Morten Andersen and K Gary Anderson) in NFL history to score 2,100 career points. In 321 career games, Hanson has scored exactly 2,100 points.

Hanson also became the first player in NFL history to score 2,100 career points with one team.

He ranks third all-time in career scoring with 2,100 points and third all-time in career field goals with 483. He trails K Morten Andersen (2,544; 565) and Gary Anderson (2,434; 538) in both categories.

Career Passing Yards
QB Matthew Stafford threw for 266 yards vs. Green Bay and increased his career total to 10,828. Stafford moved into fifth place on the Lions all-time career passing list, surpassing QB Eric Hipple (10,711).

Stafford now trails QB Gary Danielson (11,885) for fourth place on the Lions all-time career passing list.

Rush End
DE Cliff Avril registered one sack (5-yard loss) and two tackles in the game. Avril now leads the team tis season with 5.5 sacks. Since the beginning of the 2011 season, Avril has 16.5 sacks, including a career high 11.0 in 2011.

Avril, who now has 35.5 career sacks, became the fifth Lions defensive player since 1982 to record 35 career sacks.

Lions Longevity
By starting in today’s game, T Jeff Backus and C Dominic Raiola both moved up on the Lions all-time career games played list.

Today’s game marks the 186th career game for T Jeff Backus. He passes Hall of Fame CB Dick LeBeau (185) for fourth place on the franchise’s all-time career games played list.

Raiola has now passed FB Cory Schlesinger (181) for sixth place on the Lions career games played list. To date, Raiola has played in 181 of a possible 185 games during his 12-year career. The only games he missed occurred during stretch of four games during the 2008 season.

Backus and Raiola each have now played more games in Lions history than any other offensive linemen. They have started 166 games together. which is the most by any offensive linemen teammates since the 1970 merger.

Hanson (321), Backus (186) and Raiola (182) now rank in the Top-6 on the franchise’s career games played list.

Mainstay At Left Tackle
By starting in today’s game, T Jeff Backus extended his franchise record of consecutive starts to 186 (187 including postseason). In 2011, he surpassed Lions Hall of Fame CB Dick LeBeau (171) for the most consecutive starts in team history.

Only Backus (active) and QB Peyton Manning (208) have started the first 180 games of their respective careers since 1970 (Courtesy Elias Sports Bureau).

Backus has started every game since he was drafted in 2001(first round). Backus currently holds the mark for the most consecutive starts among active (offensive and defensive) linemen, and he is currently third among all active players with 186 straight starts.

Fairley’s Big Day
Second-year DT Nick Fairley recorded 7 tackles and 2 sacks, both are career highs. It was Fairley’s first career multi-sack game, and it gives him 4.5 sacks on the season.

He also registered his first career forced fumble on the Packers opening drive in the third quarter to halt Green Bay’s drive at the Packers 17-yard line.

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KID ROCK TO ROCK LIONS TURKEY DAY HALFTIME SHOW!

DETROIT LIONS/UNITED WAY THANKSGIVING DAY HALFTIME SHOW TO FEATURE SON OF DETROIT KID ROCK


Detroit, MI – The Detroit Lions and United Way announced today that Michigan native, singer and songwriter, Kid Rock, will perform during halftime of the Lions’ 73rd Thanksgiving Day Classic November 22 vs. the Houston Texans.

This special halftime event will feature a live performance of Kid Rock’s new song, “Detroit, Michigan,” afeature track from his new album “Rebel Soul,” which will be released November 19. The song pays homage to several of Detroit’s music greats, including Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Bob Seger and Eminem in addition to icons like Henry Ford and Rosa Parks.

The 2012 United Way Thanksgiving Halftime Show, highlighted by Kid Rock’s performance, will celebrate the 125th anniversary of United Way by thanking the millions of donors, advocates and volunteers who, over the years, have helped to advance the common good—creating opportunities for a better life for all by focusing on the key building blocks of education, income and health.

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LIONS' HEAD COACH SCHWARTZ ON CALVIN JOHNSON'S KNEE

The Detroit Lions coaches met today and reviewed film from Sunday’s 31-14 win over the Jaguars. The players are off Tuesday and will return to the practice field Wednesday.

The Detroit Lions conclude a four-of-five game stretch on the road this Sunday as they take on the Minnesota Vikings with kickoff set for 1 p.m. at Mall of America Field. The Lions are coming off their second straight win with a 31-14 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 9, while the Vikings will look to avenge a 30-20 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

LIONS HEAD COACH JIM SCHWARTZ:
On WR Calvin Johnson’s knee: “He’s no worse for wear. He toughed it out in the game and made a big contribution in the game obviously.”

On how concerned he is about Johnson: “Yeah, I mean I think that it’s life in the NFL. There’s going to be a lot of (that). I mean we’re in the middle of an NFL season, everybody’s going to be dealing with something like that. But the things that he’s had, eventually will be put to bed. The only thing is you can’t anticipate what else is coming up. I think every player is going to have to deal with injuries over the course of the season. Calvin’s no different than any of these other guys.”

On if Johnson was on a pitch count: “No. We tried to get him out on some, you know, if he ran deep on one play we sort of pulled him out on another. Most of that last drive he wasn’t in there. We were just running the ball just about every down and then also late in the game took him off the hands team just to try to limit. It was three scores but 50 seconds left or something like that there’s no sense of exposing him to another hit if at all preventable.”

On how much confidence does the offensive game give them: “We’ve done some good things. Our third downs have been very good the last couple games. Our red zone has been very good. I think we’re 4-4 in the red zone. Those are important things for us on offense when we’re scoring touchdowns, when we’re keeping drives alive on third down, when we’re making long drives. We did it last week. We did it the week before that. It hasn’t just been single plays. It hasn’t been big plays. We’ve sort of adjusted to the ways teams have played us. We’ve been able to keep drives alive.

On if he starts looking at standings and playoff picture at this point in the season: “We’re middle of the season when it comes to stuff like that. I mean, we need to go out and concentrate on this next game. That’s the only thing that we can control right now. I think when you get late in the season, the final quarter of the season, maybe you start paying attention a little bit more. But even then the most important thing is the way you play. You can’t control anything else. You know, if you play well, then that’s all you can do. Work hard and come out with a win. This is another game for us, a NFC game. You know, it’s a very, very important game for us. It starts the second half of the year.”

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LIONS VS. SEAHAWKS HIGHLIGHTS

LEADING THE COMEBACK
QB Matthew Stafford connected with WR Titus Young on a 1-yard touchdown pass on 3rd-and-1 with 20 seconds left to play that resulted in the game-winning touchdown pass against Seattle. It gave the Lions a 28-24 victory over the Seahawks. The pass was Stafford’s fourth career game-winning touchdown pass, and second this season, in the game’s final minute.

He is the only quarterback in the NFL since the 1970 merger to throw four-game winning touchdown passes with less than one minute to play in his first 36 career starts (courtesy Elias Sports Bureau).

Stafford holds the franchise record with four game-winning touchdown passes in the final minute of the game. His game-winning TD pass vs. St. Louis (9/9) earlier this year broke Hall of Fame QB Bobby Layne’s previous team record of two.

Overall, Stafford now has nine career fourth-quarter or overtime game-winning drives (36 career starts), including three this season. Since the beginning of 2011, he has led the team to comeback wins seven times in the fourth quarter or overtime.

THREE-AND-ONE
In yesterday's 28-24 win over the Seahawks, Stafford connected on three touchdown passes, including the game-winner with 20 seconds left to play, and also rushed for a fourth quarter 1-yard touchdown run. It was the seventh time since 1960 that a Lions quarterback threw at least three touchdown passes and rushed for at least one touchdown. The last to accomplish this feat was QB Scott Mitchell (3 passing TDs; 1 rushing TD) vs. Atlanta October 6, 1996.

Stafford joins Mitchell (twice), Eric Hipple, Bill Munson and Milt Plum (twice) as the only Lions players to register 3+ passing touchdowns and 1+ rushing touchdowns in a game since 1960.

300-YARD GAMES
Stafford threw for 352 yards in today’s win, his 13th career 300-yard game. He has thrown for 300 yards in 13 of his 36 career starts. The Lions are now 9-4 when he throws for 300 yards. Stafford now has four 300-yard games in 2012.

His 352-yard outing yesterday was his eighth career game passing for 350 yards.

THREE PASSING TOUCHDOWNS
With three touchdown passes yesterday, Stafford joined Hall of Fame QB Bobby Layne as the only passers in Lions history to throw 3+ touchdowns in 10 career games. Stafford now has 10 career games with 3+ touchdown passes and Layne holds the franchise record with 12.

COMPLETING THE TASK
Stafford completed 34-of-49 pass attempts Sunday (69.4 pct). His 34 completions are the second-highest single-game tally of his career and the most in a win.

The game was the ninth time in his career that he has completed 30 passes in a game.

His 34 pass completions tie for the third-highest single-game tally in Lions history.

100-PASSER RATING
With a passer rating of 101.7 in today’s game, Stafford registered a 100+ passer rating for the 13th time in his career (36 starts). The Lions are now 11-2 when he records a passer rating of 100+ in a game.

MEGATRON MOVES UP
With 46 receiving yards today vs. Seattle, WR Calvin Johnson passed WR Johnnie Morton (6,499, 1994-2001) for the second-most receiving yards in Lions history. Johnson now has 6,510 career receiving yards in 83 career games. WR Herman Moore owns the all-time franchise record with 9,174 (1991-2001).

YOUNG’S BIG DAY
WR Titus Young caught a game-winning touchdown pass with 20 seconds left to help the Lions claim a 28-24 win over Seattle. The 1-yard touchdown reception was his second of the game (also has 46-yard TD catch). It was the second time in his two-year career he has caught two touchdown passes in a game.

Young caught a 46-yard touchdown pass from Stafford to close the Lions deficit to 17-14 with 8:49 left in the second quarter. The 46-yard tied Young’s longest reception of the season and the third longest of his career.

Young finished with nine catches for 100 yards, both career single-game highs.

THIRD-DOWN EFFICIENCY
The Lions completed 12-of-16 third down attempts in Sunday's game for an efficiency rate of 75-percent. It was the Lions highest third-down completion rate in games with 10+ attempts since the Lions converted 10-of-12 third downs (83.3 pct) November 28, 1996 vs. Kansas City.

The 12 third-down conversions are the most by the Lions in a game since at least 1991.

BROYLES BRINGS IT IN
Rookie WR Ryan Broyles scored his second career touchdown with a 6-yard reception at the end of the first quarter. It capped off a Lions 9-play, 82-yard drive.

He has now caught touchdown passes in consecutive games.

Broyles finished the game with 3 catches for 37 yards.

HANSON’S CAREER PATs
K Jason Hanson connected on four PATs in yesterday's 28-24 victory over the Seattle Seahawks, and he moved up two spots on the NFL’s all-time career PAT list. With his four today, Hanson now has 642 career extra points. He passed both K Norm Johnson (638) and Hall of Fame T/K Lou Groza (641) and is now fifth all-time in NFL history.

SILVA’S FIRST PICK AND RECOVERY
With the Lions trailing 17-14 in the third quarter, S Ricardo Silva came up with a huge play as he stopped Seattle’s offensive drive when he recorded his first career interception off a Seahawks deep pass. He picked the pass off at the Lions 18-yard line and returned it 26 yards to the Lions 44-yard line.

The interception led to the Lions early fourth quarter touchdown that gave the Lions a 21-17 lead with 11:35 to play.

He also recovered the fumble on the game’s final play, giving him two total takeways in the game. It was Silva’s first career fumble recovery.

Silva finished the game with four tackles (three solo).

NEGATIVE PLAYS ON DEFENSE
The Detroit Lions continue to force negative plays on the opponent’s offense, despite registering zero sacks in the game. The Lions registered seven total tackles for loss that included six on rushing plays and one on a pass play. DT Ndamukong Suh and DT Corey Williams led the team with two tackles for loss each.

As a team, the Lions defense recorded six tackles for loss on rushing plays for a total loss of 13 yards.

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Lions Head Coach Jim Schwartz Talks MNF Game

DETROIT LIONS DAILY UPDATE FOR TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2012


The Detroit Lions return home to Ford Field Sunday in Week 8 as they battle the Seattle Seahawks with kickoff set for 1 pm ET. Both teams will be looking to avenge narrow defeats in Week 7 as the Lions are coming off a 13-7 loss at Chicago on Monday Night Football, while the Seahawks fell to San Francisco 13-6 in aThursday night matchup.

LIONS HEAD COACH JIM SCHWARTZ:
On the offensive struggles: “I think the No. 1 thing that we failed to do on offense was fail to score and that was directly related to turnovers, particularly turnovers in the red zone. We had three non-scores in the red zone. If you face a tough opponent on the road, that’s not a very good recipe to score. That game could look a lot different if we capitalize on those plays. I mean, the interception late, that’s a fourth down play where it’s not a bad decision as much as it is almost to have to try to make a play there. You can’t throw an incompletion there, you’ve got to try to at least do something. But the two fumbles were critical breakdowns and you can’t afford to do that.”

On the change at receiver without WR Nate Burleson: “Well, Broyles plays in the slot, Tony Scheffler plays in the slot. Titus Young moves up and all those guys get more opportunities. I think one of the encouraging thing about our loss last night was to see guys like Titus Young and Ryan Broyles step up and make plays. Titus has been working hard to get there this year and I think that was a big step for him and Broyles has been doing the same. I think both of those guys stepped up and made some plays and I think those guys can help fill in the loss of Nate Burleson. We’ll be able to replace Nate as a player, but Nate brings more than just his physical abilities to the field. Nate’s a very good leader, a very good guy in the locker room. He’ll still be around but we need also to pick that up on the practice field and in the locker room.”

On where WR Ryan Broyles is physically: “I think after the bye week we never really even consider him an injured guy anymore. We haven’t limited his practice time. He very rarely even wears a sleeve out on his knee at practice. We just view him as one of the other guys. He had to work through training camp, just like all our ACL guys, when Pettigrew had his and the other guys have had there’s, we’ve had to sort of get them through training camp. But after we got to the season, particularly when we got that four, five days rest during the bye week, I think that was very beneficial for him.”

On the fumbles by RB Joique Bell and RB Mikel Leshoure: “You never want to tell a guy don’t fight for yardage, but yeah you have to be ball secure. Same thing with Joique. Joique was second and goal I think it was. It was second and goal from the 1 after the incompletion. That’s not fourth and goal. You know, I think that there is a fine line there and you certainly don’t want to slow guys down from being aggressive in a play, particularly in the red zone, ball security ball security is more important than that extra half-yard.”

On having success in an up-tempo offense and implementing that earlier in games going forward: “Well we went to no-huddle a lot earlier in the game. Again, failed to capitalize on the opportunities we had to move the ball. I certainly don’t want to make it seem like we were playing on air. Chicago Bears had a very good defense, played very well last night, so they made it very difficult on us. We could still move the ball. It’s a little bit harder to, but once we do we have to capitalize on the scoring opportunities. Up-tempo, huddle, whatever it was, those didn’t have a lot…we had more physical errors than we had tempo problems.”

On Stafford looking like he has regressed: “I wouldn’t say he’s regressed. I think as an offense we’re working through some things right now. We’re not clicking on all cylinders but we can. We have the firepower to do it and Matt’s certainly capable.”


On addressing different reasons for why the game was lost: “You know, I think you look at things and you say, “Ok, what are the reasons we didn’t come up with a victory and I think that the times we haven’t won this year you can point to very specific reasons. I think if you’re at a loss, if you can’t understand or can’t explain what’s happened and if you don’t have confidence in the guys’ abilities to be able to put stuff like that behind them, then maybe you feel a different way. But we have confidence in our players. We have confidence that, you know, over the course of 16 games that they’ll make those plays. Biggest thing is we have a home game this week against Seattle and we need to get that win. You know, I think we certainly have the capability of doing it as long as we learn from mistakes that we’ve made and we can put them behind us. You know, how many times you see Calvin Johnson drop a pass on the first series of the game? You know, I mean, that was a big one too. You know, he’s got a great chance there to make a play and get free. We’ve all seen him break a tackle and run past the safety. You know, it’s not just the other guys. I mean, there’s a lot of other places. We missed a couple sacks. We had a chance to get Cutler down and Cutler’s a very mobile quarterback. But all of us can play a little better and we can coach better and we can get out of it.”


On if the slow starts to games are of concern: “Well, it’s always a concern. You want to start fast. We certainly don’t plan on going three and out on the opening drive or giving up a touchdown on the opening drive. But we’ve also made some adjustments in the game, you know, put ourselves in scoring position. Also found a way to get some stops. I mean, we came out in the second half, had a real good three and out, forced them to punt. Big momentum change with the fumbled fair catch and they were able to get a field goal off of that. We were able to hold on defense, but they still got a field goal out of it.”

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WEEK 7 - LIONS BEARS INJURY REPORTS

The Detroit Lions return to prime time and NFC North action in Week 7 as they travel to Chicago to face the rival Bears on ESPN’s Monday Night Footballwith kickoff set for 8:30 p.m. ET. This will be the sixth all-time meeting on Monday Night Football between the two teams and the first time the game will be played in Chicago.

The Lions are coming off a resilient, come-from-behind overtime 26-23 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 6, while the Bears will play in their first game following their Bye Week

INURY REPORT

The following players have been listed on the Detroit Lions’ Injury Report today: CB Jacob Lacey (concussion) and DT Corey Williams (knee) did not practice; DE Cliff Avril (back), CB Bill Bentley (shoulder), TE Brandon Pettigrew (knee), LB Stephen Tulloch (knee) and WR Titus Young (knee) were limited in practice; S Louis Delmas (knee) and DE Ronnell Lewis (eye) had full participation in practice. Williams was downgraded from limited to no practice and Delmas was upgraded from limited to full practice. Lacey is out; Bentley is doubtful; Williams is questionable; Avril, Delmas, Lewis, Pettigrew, Tulloch and Young are probable.

The following players have been listed on the Chicago Bears’ Injury Report today: WR Alshon Jeffery (hand) is out; CB Sherrick McManis (hip) was limited in practice; LB Blake Costanzo (thumb) and WR Devin Hester (quad) had full participation in practice. Bennett, Peppers and Urlacher were not listed and Costanzo and Hester were upgraded from limited to full practice. Jeffery is out; McManis is questionable; Costanzo and Hester are probable.

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STANDING ROOM TICKETS AVAILABLE FOR HOME GAME LIONS VS. GREEN BAY

1,500 tickets go on sale October 22 at Noon ET

Allen Park, Mich.— The Detroit Lions announced today that 1,500 Standing Room Only tickets for their game against the Green Bay Packers November 18 will go on sale Monday, October 22 at Noon ET.


Standing Room Only tickets will be sold on a cash-only basis and exclusively available at the Ford Field Box Office.

Tickets are $55 each with a limit of four per transaction and customer.

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Jason Hanson named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week

The Detroit Lions return to prime time and NFC North action in Week 7 as they travel to Chicago to face the rival Bears on ESPN’s Monday Night Football with kickoff set for 8:30 p.m. ET. This will be the sixth all-time meeting on Monday Night Football between the two teams and the first time the game will be played in Chicago. The Lions are coming off a resilient, come-from-behind overtime 26-23 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 6, while the Bears will play in their first game following their Bye Week.

NFC SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
K Jason Hanson was nominated as this week’s NFL Special Teams Player of the Week after his brilliant performance in the Lions’ 26-23 overtime win over the Eagles in Week 6.

Hanson connected on a 45-yard field goal in overtime that gave the Lions a 26-23 win at Philadelphia. The win was the Lions first victory at Philadelphia since a 13-11 win against the Eagles at Veterans Stadium November 16, 1986.

The game-winner was Hanson’s 19th career game-winning kick in the fourth quarter or overtime. Hanson now has nine career game-winning kicks in overtime.

On the day, Hanson made four field goals, including kicks from 46, 34, 19 and 45 yards. Along with two extra points, Hanson scored 14 of the team’s 26 points. It was his 19th career game scoring 14+ points.

Hanson’s 46-yard field goal in the first quarter gave the Lions a 3-0 lead at Philadelphia. The successful kick moved Hanson past K John Carney (2,062) for third place on the NFL’s all-time scoring list. Hanson ended the game with 2,074 career points.

With four field goals today, Hanson now has 479 career field goals. He moved past K John Carney (478) for third on the NFL’s all-time career field goals list.

With Hanson’s game-winning 45-yard field goal, along with his first of 46 yards, he now has tallied 180 career field goals of 40+ yards. He joined K Morten Andersen (187) as the only kickers in NFL history with 180 field goals of 40+ yards. On the season, Hanson now has made 10 field goals from 40+ yards.

Sunday’s game marked the 26th time in his career that he has made four field goals in game, including three this season (three in the past four games). He trails K Matt Stover (27) and K John Carney (29) for the most games of 4+ field goals in NFL history.

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Lions Set for Monday Night Football in Chicago

The Detroit Lions return to prime time and NFC North action in Week 7 as they travel to Chicago to face the rival Bears on ESPN’s Monday Night Football with kickoff set for 8:30 p.m. ET.

This will be the sixth all-time meeting on Monday Night Football between the two teams and the first time the game will be played in Chicago. The Lions are coming off a resilient, come-from-behind overtime 26-23 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 6, while the Bears will play in their first game following their Bye Week.

HANSON’S MILESTONES
K Jason Hanson scored 14 points and converted all four field-goal attempts, including the game-winner in overtime, in the Lions’ 26-23 win at Philadelphia. Hanson now has 2,074 career points and passed K John Carney (2,062) for the third-most points in NFL history. Hanson’s 2,074 points are the most ever by a player with one franchise.

Hanson has 479 career field goals and passed Carney (478) for the third-most in NFL history. Hanson’s 479 field goals are the most ever by a player with one franchise.

With Hanson’s game-winning 45-yard field goal, along with his first of 46 yards, he now has tallied 180 career field goals of 40+ yards. He joined K Morten Andersen (187) as the only kickers in NFL history with 180 field goals of 40+ yards. On the season, Hanson now has made 10 field goals from 40+ yards.

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STATEMENT FROM LIONS PRESIDENT TOM LEWAND ON THE PASSING OF ALEX KARRAS

“On behalf of the William Clay Ford Family and the entire Detroit Lions organization, we extend our deepest sympathies to Susan, the Karras Family and to all of Alex’s friends and fans across the country,” Lions President Tom Lewand said. “While his legacy reached far beyond the gridiron, we always will fondly remember Alex as one of our own and also as one of the best to ever wear the Honolulu Blue and Silver.”


Alex Karras died this morning in Los Angeles – October 10, 2012

After a heroic fight with kidney disease, heart disease, dementia and for the last two years, stomach cancer, Alex Karras, iconic football player, beloved sports commentator and popular film and TV actor, died at his home in Los Angeles early this morning, surrounded by family.

Born in Gary, Indiana, the fourth of six children, Karras began his football career at Emerson High school where he was an All-State football player for four years. In 1953, he was named to the high school All-American team. He continued on to the University of Iowa where he was All-American for four years and in 1958, was a first round draft pick of the Detroit Lions. He became known as the fiercest of the Lions famed “Fearsome Foursome.” With Detroit, Karras was All-Pro in 1960, ’61, ’63, ’64 and 1967, and named by the Hall of Fame committee to the All-Decade Team of the 1960s. Karras is a member of the Lions 75th Season All-Time Team. In 1970 he was named to the All-Time Big Ten Team as well. In 1991 he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in front of 70,000 cheering Hawkeyes.

Karras had always dreamed of being an actor and began his acting career while he was with the Detroit Lions. He gave an indelible performance in PAPER LION, which starred Alan Alda and was based on the book of the same name by George Plimpton. Karras and Plimpton remained friends for life and one of Karras’ sons is named after Plimpton. This performance led to two dozen appearances on the TONIGHT SHOW with Johnny Carson. His spontaneous wit led to working with the very verbal Howard Cossell as co-host of ABC’s popular MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL for three years – who can forget “the University of Mars”?

Lucille Ball took him under her wing and allowed him to train in small parts in many Desilu productions. Then he played an impressive range of roles, including Mongo, the horse-decking cowboy in BLAZING SADDLES, the intimidating football coach in AGAINST ALL ODDS, the “good’ol boy” sheriff in PORKY’S and the bodyguard with a secret in VICTOR/VICTORIA.

Karras earned national acclaim for his vulnerable portrayal of George Zaharias in the moving CBS telefilm, BABE, in which he starred with Susan Clark, who later became his wife. Together, Karras and Clark formed their own production company, Georgian Bay Productions, in 1979. They produced three telefilms for CBS: JIMMY B. AND ANDRE, WORD OF HONOR, and MAID IN AMERICA in which they starred together. This led to the long running television show, WEBSTER, in which they played George and Katherine Papadapolis. They co-produced 150 episodes with Paramount Studio – still seen in syndication worldwide.

He co-wrote a critically acclaimed autobiography, EVEN BIG GUYS CRY, followed by ALEX KARRAS BY ALEX KARRAS, and TUESDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL.

Alex was known to family and friends as a gentle, loving, generous man who loved gardening and preparing Greek and Italian feasts. He began a lifelong commitment to philanthropy starting with his work with the Better Boys Foundation. His love of nature and most especially of the ocean, where he spent many happy days on his fishing boat, led him to support numerous organizations committed to protecting our environment for future generations. He is survived by his wife of 37 years, Susan Clark and their daughter, Katherine; by his children, Alex, Jr., Peter, Carolyn, George and Renald from his first marriage to Joan Powell (now deceased). He is also survived by his siblings, Louis, Nan, Paul and Ted as well as five grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to one of the organizations Alex Karras ardently supported: Natural Resources Defense Council, Bioneers, Greenpeace Foundation or the Pesticide Action Network.

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Lions Hold Final Practice Before Bye Week

DETROIT LIONS DAILY UPDATE FOR WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2012


The team began its on-field preparation for its Week 6 matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles today with a practice in helmets and shorts on the indoor fields at the team’s headquarters and practice facility in Allen Park.

Today, the Lions took their annual team photo, including individual position group pictures.

This week is the team’s scheduled Bye Week and the Lions will return to practice Tuesday, October 9. The Lions will hit the road in Week 6 when they travel to Philadelphia to face the Eagles.


LIONS HEAD COACH JIM SCHWARTZ

On interceptions coming in bunches: “A lot of interceptions come from pass rush. A lot of pass rush comes from game situation; make a team one-dimensional or have a big lead. All those contribute to turnovers, to sacks, to different things like that.”


On the pass combination of QB Matthew Stafford and WR Calvin Johnson not having a touchdown together this season and how surprising that fact is:
“I think everybody’s game plan is starting with, ‘let’s try to keep them from doing that.’ That’s definitely part of the situation. It’s not to say that we can’t be effective and we can’t score on offense. We don’t have any goals on how many touchdowns Calvin and Matthew are going to connect for. What we want to do is we want to score. Whether it’s Calvin or anybody else, our goal is the get in the end zone and score. We don’t play fantasy football. When we’re trying to score we don’t care who does it.”

On Stafford’s performance so far and him being ranked 21st is dropping his confidence:
“The only rating that means anything is that we’re 1-3 right now. If he was 158.3 and we were 1-3, we’d feel the same. Again, ratings and power rankings and stats and fantasy football – it is fun for other people. Our job is to win games. We won one out of first three. We need to do better.”

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LIONS VS. VIKINGS: POSTGAME NOTES AND QUOTES

JIM SCHWARTZ:
On his level of concern after four games this season: “The first quarter of the season is done; we’re 1-3. We didn’t start off the way we wanted to. There is nothing to say that we can’t get it back and that’s our challenge right now is to dig our way out of this. We’re not going to sit here for a half-hour and tell you all the circumstances of teams that have done it and everything else. But none of that matters. Doesn’t matter if other people have done it, doesn’t matter that people have gone to the playoffs and everything else, have lost three in a row during the season or started off bad; I mean everybody has those experiences. None of those matter to this team. What matters to this team is we need to put these mistakes behind us and we need to play better. When we do we’ll win. There is a reason we’re 1-3 and it hasn’t been bad luck. We’ve made ourselves have to overcome way too much. Even going back to the opener, we won, we were -3 in turnovers. We were lucky to win that game. Last week, today, like I said, five non-defensive scores and today we weren’t able to overcome in scoring enough on offense.”


On what he makes of all the boos of the fans: “They’re voicing their same displeasures as is their right to do. We need to play better. I thought the fans were excellent today. At the end, they were loud as can be, got the ball back, nobody was leaving. I thought our fans were fantastic today. We need to play better if we don’t want to hear boos.”

HANSON MOVES UP
K Jason Hanson, scored 7 points in today’s game as he made field goals of 40 and 31 yards along with a PAT. In doing so he moved past K John Carney (2,062) for third place on the NFL’s all-time scoring list. He now trails K Gary Anderson (2,434) for second place and K Morten Andersen (2,544) for first place on the NFL career scoring list.

One of Hanson’s two field goals made was a 40-yarder in the first quarter. It was his 127th career field goal from 40-49 yards, and he now trails K Matt Stover (128) for third-most field goals from 40-49 yards in NFL history.

Hanson (475 FGs, 635 PATs) now needs four field goals to surpass K John Carney (478) for third place for most career field goals in NFL history and four PATs to pass K Norm Johnson (638) for sixth place for most career PATs.

HANSON'S FOUR-GAME STRETCH
Through the first four games of the season, Hanson has scored 44 points, connected on 12-of-13 field goals (92.3 pct), and has made 7 field goals from 40-49 yards His 44 points through the first four games are the second highest tally of his career to start the season. In 2011, he registered 45 points in the first four games of the season.

Hanson’s 44 points in the past four games are tied for the third-most over a four-game stretch during his 21-year career. Besides the 45 to begin last season, he also tallied 45-points over a four-game stretch in October-November 1993 and 44 points over four games in October-November 1999.

DEFENDING THE PASS
The Lions pass defense allowed just 100 net passing yards today against the Minnesota Vikings. It was the lowest team passing output the Lions allowed since they yielded just 56 yards at Cleveland October 23, 2005.

JOHNSON’S 4-GAME START
With 54 yards receiving today, WR Calvin Johnson increased his tally of receiving yards on the season to 423 yards. It is only the third time in team history that a Lions receiver has gained 400 yards in the month of September and the first to do so while playing just four games. WR Herman Moore did it twice in his career (507 in 1997 and 480 in 1996) with both times occurring in 5 games played during the month.

PETTIGREW AMONG LIONS TIGHT ENDS
TE Brandon Pettigrew caught 7 passes for 67 yards the Minnesota Vikings today. Now with 2,068 receiving yards, Pettigrew passed TE David Sloan (2,024) for fourth on the Lions career receiving yards list by tight ends.

SUH’S PRESSURE
DT Ndamukong Suh was credited with a half-a-sack (.5) today vs. the Vikings. He now is tied with DT Henry Thomas for seventh among Lions defensive tackles for career sacks (since 1982).

HARRIS’ DROP INS
P Nick Harris, who returned this past week as the franchise’s all-time leader in punts, net punting average and punts inside the 20, had four of his five punts downed inside the 20-yard line. It is the most by a Lions punter since Harris had 4 at Minnesota October 12, 2008. This was his eighth game with the Lions with 4+ punts inside the 20-yard line, which is the most in franchise history.

Overall, Harris now has 193 punts downed inside the 20-yard line during his career with the Lions.

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DETROIT LIONS AND SLOWS TEAM UP TO OFFER AWARD WINNING BBQ AT FORD FIELD

DETROIT, MICH. – The Detroit Lions is now offering Detroit’s award-winning barbeque, Slows Bar BQ, at Ford Field. Slows’ partnership with The Detroit Lions is exclusive; outside of Slows Bar BQ and Slows To Go in Detroit, its food is only available at Ford Field. Unlike the traditional approach to stadium concessions, Slows’ chefs will prepare the food served at Ford Field.

“It’s win-win for both the Lions and Slows, another iconic business in Detroit: Our fans can enjoy food that’s been rated among the best in the nation by The Travel Channel, Bon Appetit and others, and Slows will benefit from exposure to sold-out crowds at Ford Field,” said Tom Lewand, The Detroit Lions team president.

“As an organization, one of our goals continues to be providing great value to our premium seat holders and by offering sought-after food and beverage we’re creating an experience at Ford Field that’s unmatched. We appreciate the commitment our fans make to come down to a game and we want to make the stadium experience as rewarding as possible.”

Available exclusively on Ford Field’s Club and Suite levels, Slows will offer a variety of local microbrew beers as well as several items from its award-winning menu:

The Yardbird, a pulled, smoked Amish chicken breast sandwich drenched in mustard sauce, tossed with sautéed mushrooms and cheddar and topped with applewood bacon.

The Reason, a pork butt sandwich, smoked slow and pulled, bathed in sauce and topped with Slows’ signature coleslaw and dill pickle strips.

The MaryAnn, a chopped brisket sandwich, served wet in a tangy smokehouse sauce with dill pickles and thinly sliced onion.

The Genius, a vegetarian ‘chicken’ sandwich coated in sweet sauce and topped with Slows’ signature coleslaw and dill pickle strips.

Side options, including mac-n-cheese, pit smoked beans, and coleslaw.

“Slows is thrilled to partner with The Detroit Lions and extend our footprint beyond the two restaurants that we operate in the city,” said Brian Perrone, Executive Chef and co-owner, Slows Bar BQ and Slows To Go. “The Slows experience is rooted in quality deliciousness and that’s exactly what we’ll offer to fans at Ford Field.”

In conjunction with the recently announced Living for the City initiative, The Detroit Lions is committed to featuring locally sourced food and beverages at Ford Field and in support of Michigan-based businesses.

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DETROIT LIONS DAILY UPDATE FOR WEDNESDAY, SEPT 26, 2012

TRANSACTIONS
The Detroit Lions have signed P Nick Harris and moved P Ben Graham to the Reserve/Injured list.

NOTEBOOK
The Lions began their on-field preparation for their game against the Minnesota Vikings today with a practice in helmets and shorts on the outdoor fields at the team’s headquarters and practice facility in Allen Park.

The Detroit Lions will return home this weekend as they host the Minnesota Vikings Sunday afternoon with kickoff set for 1 p.m. ET. The Lions will be looking to bounce back after falling to the Tennessee Titans 44-41 in overtime in Week 3, while the Vikings are coming off a 24-13 win over the San Francisco 49ers.

HANSON 3-GAME TOTALS
K Jason Hanson has made 10 field goals through the first three games of the season. His 10 field goals are the most he has ever made in a three-game stretch during his 21-year career.

Hanson has made seven field goals from 40+ yards in the first three games, which is also a three-game high during his career.

HARRIS BACK AS A LION
The Lions re-signed P Nick Harris on Tuesday after placing P Ben Graham on the Reserve/Injured list. Harris returns to Detroit after a successful career with the team from 2003-10. He most recently played with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2011.

Currently, Harris holds a number of Lions punting records. His 627 career punts for 27,074 yards are the most by a Lions punter, the next closest total belonging to Jim Arnold (1986-93) with 536 punts for 22,893 yards.

Harris also ranks first in career net punting average (36.29), second in career gross punting average (43.18) and first in career punts inside the 20 yard line with 189. His 34 punts inside the 20-yard line in 2005 are the most by a Lions punter in a single season.

PRACTICE REPORT
The following players have been listed on the Detroit Lions’ Practice Report today: S Louis Delmas (knee), LB Travis Lewis (quad), TE Tony Scheffler (calf), QB Matthew Stafford (hamstring), DT Corey Williams (knee), and WR Titus Young (knee) did not practice; LB Justin Durant (back), DE Lawrence Jackson (calf), WR Calvin Johnson (ankle), RB Mikel Leshoure (groin) and G Rob Sims (knee) were limited in practice and T Corey Hilliard (elbow) had full participation in practice.

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DETROIT LIONS VS. ST. LOUIS RAMS: POSTGAME NOTES AND QUOTES

With today’s 27-23 win over St. Louis in the team’s home-opener, the Lions registered the franchise’s 50th home-opening win in team history. The Lions became the second franchise to record 50 wins in home-openers.

The win was also the team’s 44th victory on opening day, the fourth-most wins in NFL history on opening weekend.

HANSON’S RECORD SEASON
By playing in today’s game, K Jason Hanson has now played in 21 NFL seasons, all with the Detroit Lions. Hanson now holds the NFL record for the most seasons played with one team and for the most seasons played by any player with the team that originally drafted them.

In 2011, he set the NFL record for the most games played with one club and moved that total to 312. He is the only player to ever play 300 games with one team.

With three PATs in today’s game, Hanson moved past K John Carney (628) for seventh place on the NFL’s all-time career PATs list. Hanson now has 630 career PATs.

STAFFORD SURPASSES 8,000 CAREER YARDS IN 30 STARTS

Lions QB Matthew Stafford made his 30th career start today against the St. Louis Rams. With 172 yards in the first half, Stafford surpassed 8,000 career yards and joined Kurt Warner (8,739), Pro Football Hall of Famer Dan Marino (8,467), Tony Romo (8,044) and Aaron Rodgers (8,000) as the only quarterbacks to have at least 8,000 passing yards through 30 career starts in the Super Bowl era. Stafford became the fifth quarterback to accomplish this feat. Stafford entered the game with 7,840 passing yards through 29 starts.

Stafford registered his seventh career fourth quarter game-winning drive when trailing or tied as he led the Lions back to a 27-23 victory over the St. Louis Rams. Trailing 23-20 with 1:55 left to play and with only one time out, Stafford and the Lions went on a 9-play, 80-yard drive that lasted 1:45.


He threw for 355 yards in the win against the Rams. His 355-yard outing was the second highest tally in Lions history on opening day (QB Bobby Layne, 364 vs. Pit September 27, 1953). He also joins Layne as the only passers in team history with two 300-yard games on opening day, and Stafford is the first to do it in back-to-back seasons (305, at TB September 11, 2011).

It was Stafford’s 10th career 300-yard game, and he has thrown for 300 yards in exactly one-third of his 30 career starts.

Dating back to 2011, Stafford’s 355 yards was his fourth-straight 300-yard game.

With one touchdown in today’s game, Stafford moved past QB Joey Harrington (60, 2002-05) for fifth place on the team’s all-time passing touchdowns list.

Stafford also registered his first career reception when he caught a deflected pass and gained 3 yards on the play. His reception was the first by a Lions QB since QB Jon Kitna registered a 9-yard catch off a deflection in OT vs. Minnesota September 16, 2007.

Stafford’s 32 pass completions marked the sixth time in his career he has completed over 30 passes in a game. His 32 passes tie for the third-highest single-game tally of his career.

LIONS HEAD COACH JIM SCHWARTZ
On how he approaches Stafford when he has a stretch like he did at the beginning of the game:
“We talked a little bit after some of those drives. I think that one drive, I don’t think we had an incompletion that whole drive – it was 14 plays until the very end when we threw an interception. He’s smart enough; he knows what it is. It wasn’t like he was just having a bad day; he had a couple bad plays and they were able to make those plays. Like I said, we put that behind us. You have to be resilient. We knew there was going to be ups and downs over the course of the game; there’s going to be ups and downs over the course of the season, but you’ve got to have a demeanor that can allow you to bounce back from that and Matthew does.”


LIONS QB MATTHEW STAFFORD

On the Ram’s defense confusing him in the first half:
“No, no. The one where I was throwing on the left side to Pettigrew, that one was a good play; (the) guy undercut it. Really, the goal line fade, same kind of thing. You look at tape and those guys have been turning their backs the whole time. Thought the back shoulder would be there and the kid did a good job. Like I said, I didn’t throw great passes. Cortland Finnegan, he’s a high-price free agent and he showed why. It was a heck of a play getting all the way out to a comeback outside from the slot. It’s going to happen. Obviously you don’t want to have three – you don’t want to have three in the first five games and you don’t want to have three in the first half of the first one. But the guys, we believe in each other. I believe in all the guys in that locker room that we can get it done no matter what happens to start the game. That’s all we did. We went out there and put a little bit of a second-half together and got a win.”

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STATEMENT FROM LIONS TEAM PRESIDENT TOM LEWAND ON THE PASSING OF ART MODELL

“On behalf of the Ford Family and the entire Detroit Lions organization, we wish to extend our deepest sympathies to David, John and the entire Modell family.

“Our game is what it is today in large part due to the exemplary ownership and leadership of Art Modell.

“His work over the years with our first-ever collective bargaining agreement, numerous network TV contracts and the 1970 NFL-AFL merger helped propel the NFL to unimagined heights of popularity.

“We all are forever indebted to him.”

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DENNY HOPKINS OF LINDEN HIGH SCHOOL NAMED DETROIT LIONS FIRST COACH OF THE WEEK FOR 2012

Michigan Army National Guard on Board as Presenting Sponsor of High School Coach of the Week Program

Detroit, MI—The Detroit Lions have named Denny Hopkins of Linden High School the week one recipient of the 2012 High School Coach of the Week Program presented by the Michigan Army National Guard.

Hopkins led his Eagles to a 17-15 victory over arch-rival Fenton on August 24 to claim the Eagles first victory of the season. The victory was also Hopkins’ 100th career victory (100-43) in 14 seasons as Linden’s Head Football Coach. Prior to becoming head coach, he spent 26 years as an assistant coach at Linden. Hopkins, a member of the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame, has led Linden to the state playoffs 12 times, including the last 10 seasons in a row. This Friday, Linden will look to go 2-0 as they take on Holly at 7 p.m.

In addition to his accomplishments on the field, Coach Hopkins and the Linden High School Athletic Department are proactive in terms of promoting player health and safety within their school. Baseline cognitive evaluations are administered to all Linden High School student-athletes of contact sports at the outset of the school year. These tests are administered by Dr. Donna Benford of Silver Lake Family Practice. This baseline testing is critical in identifying and managing a concussion once an injury has happened.

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LIONS TERMINATE CONTRACT OF CB AARON BERRY

Allen Park, Mich.— Detroit Lions General Manager Martin Mayhew today announced that the team has terminated the contract of CB Aaron Berry due to personal conduct which adversely affects the club.
“We have repeatedly stressed to everyone in our organization that there will be appropriate consequences when an expected standard of behavior is not upheld,” Lions President Tom Lewand said.

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DETROIT LIONS SELECT T RILEY REIFF (23rd overall) WITH THEIR FIRST ROUND PICK OF 2012 NFL DRAFT

LIONS EXECUTIVE VP OF FOOTBALL OPERATIONS AND GENERAL MANAGER MARTIN MAYHEW OPENING STATEMENT.
“Riley Reiff – big, smart, tough guy; versatile. We think he can play four positions; Jim can talk a little bit about that. But the guy is a three-year starter in a good program. He’s a good, solid offensive lineman.

“We came into this draft thinking that we needed to try to add some young players to that group and Riley certainly fits that mold.”

LIONS HEAD COACH JIM SCHWARTZ OPENING STATEMENT.
“Last year, (when) we drafted Nick Fairley, we needed a lot of things to happen in front of us with all of the quarterbacks that went last year to push a guy like that to us. We felt very fortunate that was able to happen this year. It was a very similar situation.

“It’s not very often that the second offensive lineman off the board goes off at No. 23 overall. You’ve seen historically there (are) usually about four guys off the board by then. So we were very fortunate to be able to sit at 23 and still end up with a player that we liked.

“Riley is a left tackle; he fits the criteria for that position: athletic, former tight end, the guy was a three-time state-champ wrestler. Went to Iowa as a tight end, they moved him. He comes from a great tradition of offensive linemen at Iowa. He’s a good run-blocker and he’s a good pass-blocker.

“Even though he’s still a young player, he’ll still improve and take other steps. We’re not drafting a guy that’s a developmental player. He’s a very experienced player; he’s played at a high level in the Big Ten and we were very fortunate to be able to get him where we were.”

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