Calvin Johnson

Lions On a Two-Game Skid

by FeedCrossing on October 27, 2011

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The Detroit Lions were the talk of the league after their stellar 5-0 start, but that seemed to be the stage where they reached their peak this season. Since then, they’ve added two games in the L column, both of them dropped at home to NFC rivals no less. The two teams which put a cap on the Lion’s flawless run were the San Francisco 49ers and the Atlanta Falcons.

While it’s not quite time for panic in Motown, adjustments have to be considered. In their last two games, the Lions have been quite unimpressive both offensively and defensively. As far as the defense is concerned, well it gave up 332 rushing yards in the two losses. QB Matthew Stafford has had a pretty rough time in those two games too: he took 15 hits and he got sacked 8 times. To add insult to the injury (or injury to the insult rather), Stafford has suffered a right leg injury in the 4th quarter of the game against the Falcons. Another problem the reality of which is only now starting to sink in with the Lions is the loss of RB Jahvid Best, which has been hurting their offense too.

There’s no better indicator of the team’s gradual decline though than the point totals they have posted in their last 3 games. Apparently, they had hit their peak against the Cowboys in Week 4. They racked up 34 points then. They followed it up with a 24 point effort, followed by a 19 and a 16 point tally in their last two games. The first priority for the team now is to stop this downward trend, and their Week 8 games against the Denver Broncos will offer them the perfect opportunity to do just that. If they fail against the Broncos too, then they should indeed reach for those pocket rockets .

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Chicago’s DJ Moore Has A Plan To Slow Down Calvin Johnson

by Josh Dhani on October 10, 2011

The Chicago Bears have opted not to go the Rob Ryan route and will admit that Calvin Johnson is a damn good receiver.  Earlier this week Bears corneback Charles Tillman called Johnson the best receiver in the NFL.

That doesn’t mean that the Bears defense will concede anything to Johnson. They figure Johnson will get his catches, but he will pay the price. Nickelback DJ Moore has a plan to slow down Megatron. Just hit him.

As far as the key to defending a huge, talented wideout like Johnson, “Make sure you hit him,” nickel back D.J. Moore told CSNChicago.com. “Hit him.”

“I don’t think people should be thinking somebody is too good, have somebody come in and you give them too much credit, over-think about what you’re doing,” Moore said. “I think we’ll be fine.”

“When you’re big and fast like that, you’re going to catch balls,” Moore said. “Jump balls, he’s probably going to win those. But timing routes, you can still break on the ball like you would any other ball.”

It’s easier said than done since the Dallas Cowboys’ Terrence Newman tried to take Johnson’s head off on his two touchdown catches. Johnson better be prepared to pay the price when the ball comes his way.     

Josh has been writing since January 2009 and founded FootBasket in April 2009. He also owns the websites, Hardcourt Mayhem and Gridiron Mayhem. For a full bio, check out JoshDhani.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshDhani

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Rob Ryan Disses Calvin Johnson

by Josh Dhani on October 3, 2011

One of the marquee NFL games this Sunday will be the Detroit Lions taking on the Dallas Cowboys. The Lions are off to a 3-0 start and the talk of the NFL. This will be a big road test for the Lions as they try to extend their winning streak to eight after winning their last four last season.

The main weapon on the Lions offense is receiver Calvin Johnson. Johnson has caught two touchdown passes in each of the Lions three games, yet he isn’t mentioned as one of the elite receivers in the NFL. ESPN analyst Cris Carter left him out of his top six and Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan isn’t thinking too highly of Johnson either.

“We work against better receivers with Miles Austin and Dez Bryant,” Ryan told the Dallas Morning News. They are probably two of the premier receivers in football, but this guy is right there,” Ryan said. “He’s almost that good. He’s excellent.




“We’re going to get after him. I know he’s on some touchdown thing like that, whatever. [Lions offensive coordinator] Scott Linehan has done this before with great receivers with Randy Moss. If the guy is as good as Randy Moss I’m going to go in there and hide. Thank God he’s not, but he’s a pretty [expletive] good player.”

Well Rob I will agree with Cris Carter, but i can’t agree with you. Although Miles Austin has proven himself to be one of the better receivers in the league I would think most GMs would jettison him in favor of Johnson. For all of Bryant’s talent, he’s still immature and hasn’t proven anything in the league. Johnson still isn’t there with the likes of Andre Johnson but he’s been hampered playing for what was once a horrible football team. And Ryan is saying he’s no better than number three on Dallas’ roster. Yeah right.

Not to slight Austin or Bryant, but name me one person that would give up Johnson for Austin or Bryant. Not many and I’d question them about it. Ryan you’re gonna have your hands full tomorrow. I’m sure Johnson and the Lions will use that as some extra motivation.

Josh has been writing since January 2009 and founded FootBasket in April 2009. He also owns the websites, Hardcourt Mayhem and Gridiron Mayhem. For a full bio, check out JoshDhani.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshDhani

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Colts Defeat Eagles in Pre-Season, 23-15

by Josh Dhani on August 22, 2009

Highlights

Manning performed well last night against the hungry Philadelphia Eagles as his Indianapolis Colts trailed to victory, 23-15. Manning, a three-time MVP, threw two touchdowns that game with Curtis Painter having a impressive performance as well.

“I think everybody wanted to be in there. The entire offense felt hungry after last week,” Manning said. “Sure, there were some mistakes we can learn from, but there were some good things we can learn from.”

Manning threw for 167 yards and two touchdowns that game. Lance Ball had 19 carries on 48 yards while Reggie Wayne had two catches for 90 yards including one touchdown. It was all going good for Indy that game.

After a 13-3 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, the Colts wanted to play strong today. They did, and they made it look easy. The first drive started out on a 76-yard touchdown pass to Reggie Wayne from Manning.

“They (the starters) had a couple of real good solid drives in there, performing pretty well,” Coach Jim Caldwell said. “We were pleased with what we saw.”

The Colts are rolling, and the next stop is at Detroit against the Lions on August 29th. Let’s see what they can do against Calvin Johnson. I have a sense that this is going to be a good year for Indy.

Sources

Game Recap: PHI at IND–NFL.com

Josh has been writing since January 2009 and founded FootBasket in April 2009. He also owns the websites, Hardcourt Mayhem and Gridiron Mayhem. For a full bio, check out JoshDhani.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshDhani

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