Tag: Detroit Lions

Lions legendary DT Roger Brown cried when he learned of Pride of Lions honor

Member of original Fearsome Foursome with Alex Karras

DETROIT — While there may be no crying in football, Lions legendary defensive tackle Roger Brown broke down when he got word that he would be added to the Pride of the Lions, a ring of honor at Ford Field. The ceremony takes place at halftime today.

“I cried, absolutely. I have been down to Ford Field quite often through the years for the homecoming and to be out on the field and to look at all the names and never saw my mine. And I wished mine was up there and now it’s happening. Now I bet I don’t get invited back. I’m excited very much so,’’ Brown said in a pre-game press conference.

He will be honored with wide receiver Herman Moore and the late Alex Karras who was Brown’s teammate and fellow member of the original Fearsome Foursome with Darris McCord and Sam Williams.

“It’s always special to go in with the groups you played with, your teammates. Alex and I spent a lot of years together. And I learned a lot from him and likewise from me,’’ Brown said. “It’s too bad he’s not physically here, in spirit he’s all over.’’

Brown who played for the Lions from 1960 to 1966 was a five-time Pro Bowler and a two-time AP All-Pro player.

“The thing I’m waiting for now is Canton, Ohio, the National Football League Hall of Fame,” Brown said. “One of the original Fearsome Foursome should be in that Hall — Alex or me or Darris or Sam. I guarantee I’m going to stay vertical until they call me and say, ‘Come on in.’ I’lll be ready,’’ said Brown who is a spry 81.

He thinks his chances of getting into the Pro Football Hall of Fame are about 1 in 100 and thinks today’s honor by the Lions might help.

“My life would be complete then as still as I’m still on the other side of the dirt,’’ Brown said.

His biggest game perhaps was the Thanksgiving win over the undefeated Packers in 1962. In that win, Brown sacked quarterback Bart Starr seven times including a safety. But sacks weren’t official NFL stats until 1982.

He said his trademark was the head slap.

“I started what they called the head slap. And for a big 320-pound guy not too many people could run faster, I caught  a lot of halfbacks, a lot of quarterbacks, got past a lot of people,’’ Brown said.

Lions new NT Damon Harrison active; Ziggy Ansah, Theo Riddick remain out

Kickoff at 1 p.m. at Ford Field

DETROIT >> Damon “Snacks” Harrison, who was acquired in a trade with the Giants on Wednesday, is active today against the Seattle Seahawks at Ford Field.

The run-stuffing nose tackle practiced with his new team on Thursday and Friday. He said he was working night and day to learn the playbook. Coach Matt Patricia would not say on Friday if Harrison would be familiar enough with the defense to play. Apparently the veteran is a quick learner.

Lions defensive end Ziggy Ansah remains out. Ansah played in 19 snaps in the opening loss to the Jets before he injured his shoulder. He has not played a snap since then. He was limited in practice all week and listed as questionable on Friday’s injury report.

Linebacker Jarrad Davis (calf) is active after he had been listed as questionable. He had limited practice on Thursday and Friday after sitting out on Wednesday.

Wide receiver T.J. Jones is inactive with Brandon Powell possibly seeing his first action.

Running back Theo Riddick (knee) was ruled out on Friday. It will be the second straight game he missed.

Other Lions inactives: Cornerback Lenzy Pipkins, defensive end Kerry Hyder, guard Joe Dahl and offensive lineman Andrew Donnal.

The Lions and Seahawks both enter the game at 3-3. Kickoff is 1 p.m., on FOX.

Five things to watch as Lions host Seahawks; plus prediction

Both teams at 3-3 heading into match-up at Ford Field

ALLEN PARK — To have a chance to win the NFC North, the Lions have to win at home.

So far they’re 2-1 at Ford Field with impressive wins over the Patriots and Packers and an  embarrassing loss to the Jets.

Sunday’s game at Ford Field against the Seattle Seahawks isn’t a must-win but almost halfway through the season it’s time to get on the right side of the .500 mark.

The Seahawks (3-3) have won three of their last four just like the Lions (3-3). Tee up another tough one for the home team. Seattle is coming off its bye week so should be rested and ready to go.

“I think Seattle has a little bit of jump on us this week and got going early. I know coach (Pete) Carroll is going to have his group ready to go,’’ coach Matt Patricia said. “We just have to be ready to go from the start. We can’t let whatever happened last week affect us this week. We have to move on and get ready to go and just expect their best right away. They are a fast-starting aggressive team, we know that just in general so we’re going to have to be ready to go as soon as that thing kicks off. But we know that they’re energy, the competitiveness that Seattle brings, they’re going to do a great job of trying to get on top early and keep the throttle going all the way through the game.”

The Seahawks have outscored opponents 28-21 in the first quarters of their six games while the Lions have a 45-13 scoring edge in the first quarter.

Here are five things to watch:

1. No room for complacency on the Lions run game. Feed the ball to Kerryon Johnson and LeGarrette Blount. Don’t shy away. Keep pounding. Got that Jim Bob Cooter? I think he does, actually. Cooter has looked like an offensive genius since Johnson has found his groove.

2. Matthew Stafford has been playing out of his mind. In the last five games he’s thrown 11 touchdowns and one interception and finished each game with a rating of more than 100 (158.3 is perfect). He has the respect of the Carroll, the Seahawks and everyone else. “He’s a terrific player, I have great respect for him. He’s one of the great ones in the game. He’s got all the background, all of the experience, he’s thrown a million passes in unbelievable situations late in the game, two minutes, you name it, big third down guy, big red zone guy,’’ Carroll said on a conference call this week. “He’s a great player and he’s one of the classic quarterbacks in this league and has been for a long time.” The Seahawks’ passing defense is ranked third in the NFL allowing just 206.0 passing yards per game and they have nine interceptions, tied for sixth in the NFL

3. Will have to wait and see whether NT Damon “Snacks” Harrison will make his Lions’ debut. Patricia wouldn’t say either way prior to Friday’s practice. The nose tackle, acquired for the Giants, practiced with the team on Thursday and Friday. Stafford, who has played against him, said he’s not only good for stopping the run, but he’s also sneaky good in the pass game too. The defense has improved at stopping the run, but Harrison’s addition could be huge.

4. Detroit’s defense has to make Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson uncomfortable which is tough because he’s still dangerous when he gets outside the pocket. “Russell Wilson is still Russell Wilson, moves around a lot, makes a lot of plays for them. They are getting back to what they like to do is run the ball, run the ball, control the game up front and then take some shots off the run game,’’ Lions safety Glover Quin said. Wilson has thrown 13 touchdowns against just four interceptions.

5. Keep an eye on Seattle running backs Chris Carson (4.5 yards per carry) and Mike Davis (4.6 yards per carry).  The Seahawks average 127.8 rushing yards per game. “Coach ( Brian (Schottenheimer) and I went against each other for a long time when he was at the Jets and I know he likes that downhill kind of pound-it run game,’’ Patricia said. “And I think he just has two backs that he feels are big, physical guys that will be hard to tackle for 60 minutes. And I think they’re in a situation where they’re handing the ball off 30-plus times here recently in order to control the game and I think that’s what they want to do. I think that’s what he likes is just having those bigger backs that—it takes a toll. When you have those big guys, you may stop them for a yard or two early but those one or two-yard runs turn into five or six and then all of sudden it’s a 10 to 12 to 20-yard run and that’s the biggest problem with guys like that. And I think they’ve just settled into a system that fits them really well.”

PREDICTION: Lions 27, Seahawks 21