http://affiliate.kickapps.com/service/searchEverything.kickAction?as=42930&mediaType=blog&sortType=recent All new blogs on Drew Stanton Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:45:33 GMT Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:45:33 GMT community@drewstanton5.com (playerpress) community@drewstanton5.com (playerpress) KickApps Feed Builder 2009-11-11T23:45:33Z 67 http://affiliate.kickapps.com/service/searchEverything.kickAction?as=42930&sortType=recent 0 http://affiliate.kickapps.com/_Time-to-Execute/BLOG/1491529/42930.html November 11, 2009Any time you travel cross-country you never can know how your body is going to react the next day. And there are different philosophies as a head coach as it pertains to the best method for adapting and preparing. I think Coach Schwartz did the logical process by leaving Saturday (as usual for us), but leaving with enough time to do our walk-through in Seattle allowed us to get acclimated.I think that paid off for us and was evident with the way we came out to start on Sunday. We looked crisp and were firing on all cylinders in the first quarter, but the talent is too good in this league to feel comfortable with any lead and when you have a team down you must keep pressing onward. We unfortunately were not able to do that and the result speaks for itself.I feel somewhat uncomfortable talking about the game, as I was not out there playing, but I will try my best. I thought as an offense we executed the gameplan how we wanted and knew what to expect.  Seattle relies on the “12th man" to gain an advantage, and it is as good as any crowd in the NFL.  We took them out quick, first goal achieved.  We knew they wanted to try and be physical, second goal achieved by us to go out and punch them in the mouth (figuratively, not literally). But the biggest determining factor in the NFL is turnover ratio, and that unfortunately got away from us in the end.  I will say this in Matt's defense and leave it at this, he was going to the right places on ALL of his interceptions.  And sure it’s easy to sit back and say he needs to make throws, but from personal experience I can say things are moving fast and the littlest of things can affect your timing.  Not being able to step into your throw or a receiver comes out of his break at a different angle and you become subject to a major error. So now we move on and look forward to Minnesota coming off their bye.They should have Winfield back in the lineup this week, which changes the dynamics of that defense.  He is as good of a tackling corner as there is in the NFL so we must be aware of where he is on the field.  Not to mention their front 7 is arguably the best in football.  That being said, we have played them tough to the end every time the past three seasons I have been here. We know what we need to do to win, it’s a matter of going out and executing it on Sunday.Drew Stanton is a quarterback with the Detroit Lions. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.drewstanton.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/drewstanton.  November 11, 2009Any time you travel cross-country you never can know how your body is going to react the next day. And there are different philosophies as a head coach as it pertains to the best method for adapting and preparing. I think Coach Schwartz did the logical process by leaving Saturday (as usual for us), but leaving with enough time to do our walk-through in Seattle allowed us to get acclimated.I think that paid off for us and was evident with the way we came out to start on Sunday. We looked crisp and were firing on all cylinders in the first quarter, but the talent is too good in this league to feel comfortable with any lead and when you have a team down you must keep pressing onward. We unfortunately were not able to do that and the result speaks for itself.I feel somewhat uncomfortable talking about the game, as I was not out there playing, but I will try my best. I thought as an offense we executed the gameplan how we wanted and knew what to expect.  Seattle relies on the “12th man" to gain an advantage, and it is as good as any crowd in the NFL.  We took them out quick, first goal achieved.  We knew they wanted to try and be physical, second goal achieved by us to go out and punch them in the mouth (figuratively, not literally). But the biggest determining factor in the NFL is turnover ratio, and that unfortunately got away from us in the end.  I will say this in Matt's defense and leave it at this, he was going to the right places on ALL of his interceptions.  And sure it’s easy to sit back and say he needs to make throws, but from personal experience I can say things are moving fast and the littlest of things can affect your timing.  Not being able to step into your throw or a receiver comes out of his break at a different angle and you become subject to a major error. So now we move on and look forward to Minnesota coming off their bye.They should have Winfield back in the lineup this week, which changes the dynamics of that defense.  He is as good of a tackling corner as there is in the NFL so we must be aware of where he is on the field.  Not to mention their front 7 is arguably the best in football.  That being said, we have played them tough to the end every time the past three seasons I have been here. We know what we need to do to win, it’s a matter of going out and executing it on Sunday.Drew Stanton is a quarterback with the Detroit Lions. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.drewstanton.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/drewstanton.  Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:45:33 GMT http://affiliate.kickapps.com/_Time-to-Execute/BLOG/1491529/42930.html Drew 2009-11-11T23:45:33Z Drew Stanton November 11, 2009Any time you travel cross-country you never can know how your body is going to react the next day. And there are different philosophies as a head coach as it pertains to the best method for adapting and preparing. I think Coach Schwartz did the logical process by leaving Saturday (as usual for us), but leaving with enough time to do our walk-through in Seattle allowed us to get acclimated.I think that paid off for us and was evident with the way we came out to start on Sunday. We looked crisp and were firing on all cylinders in the first quarter, but the talent is too good in this league to feel comfortable with any lead and when you have a team down you must keep pressing onward. We unfortunately were not able to do that and the result speaks for itself.I feel somewhat uncomfortable talking about the game, as I was not out there playing, but I will try my best. I thought as an offense we executed the gameplan how we wanted and knew what to expect.  Seattle relies on the “12th man" to gain an advantage, and it is as good as any crowd in the NFL.  We took them out quick, first goal achieved.  We knew they wanted to try and be physical, second goal achieved by us to go out and punch them in the mouth (figuratively, not literally). But the biggest determining factor in the NFL is turnover ratio, and that unfortunately got away from us in the end.  I will say this in Matt's defense and leave it at this, he was going to the right places on ALL of his interceptions.  And sure it’s easy to sit back and say he needs to make throws, but from personal experience I can say things are moving fast and the littlest of things can affect your timing.  Not being able to step into your throw or a receiver comes out of his break at a different angle and you become subject to a major error. So now we move on and look forward to Minnesota coming off their bye.They should have Winfield back in the lineup this week, which changes the dynamics of that defense.  He is as good of a tackling corner as there is in the NFL so we must be aware of where he is on the field.  Not to mention their front 7 is arguably the best in football.  That being said, we have played them tough to the end every time the past three seasons I have been here. We know what we need to do to win, it’s a matter of going out and executing it on Sunday.Drew Stanton is a quarterback with the Detroit Lions. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.drewstanton.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/drewstanton.  detroit lions, drew stanton, lions vs. vikings, nfl nonadult false Time to Execute text blog detroit lions,drew stanton,lions vs. vikings,nfl 170 0 0.0 http://affiliate.kickapps.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3059937&as=42930 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/42930/photos/PHOTO_1495683_42930_3059937_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 0 1491529 3059937 Member 0 http://affiliate.kickapps.com/_Football-in-our-Blood/BLOG/1461689/42930.html November 5, 2009The bye week came at a good time for the team, but selfishly a poor time for me.  I mean that somewhat jokingly, and I must write that because sarcasm does not travel clearly in "blog" language.  If we had a game that week, I would have had my first career start due to the injuries to Daunte and Matt.  Well as we know that was not the case, so I will continue to wait for that day to come. Honestly, it was the best thing for our team to have a bye.  It is at that point in the season where guys have little knick-knack injuries, and with the bye they can heal up for the long haul.  Not to mention we have a couple days to relax and take our mind off of football, at least for a little while.For most of us, it is in our blood so we cannot go without it for too long.  I was lucky enough to get out of Michigan for the weekend, but found myself in the hotel room constantly watching games on Saturday and Sunday.  When I wasn't in the room, I had to stop and look at the TV for updates of my teams. Unfortunately, Saturday was not a good day for me.  All the teams I was rooting for LOST.  Which brings me to the topic that I will finish with... my beloved Spartans.  Who, for the past two weeks, have been screwed by the officials.  They have had two crucial calls go against them at pivotal points in the game, only to lead to their demise.  First, the game against Iowa was not a helmet-to-helmet collision.  Those calls are not supposed to go against you at home with the game on the line.  Secondly, the Minnesota call was an absolute joke.  It goes back to my belief that referees rely too heavily on instant replay to do their job.  It is a security blanket for them, so they do not to blow the whistle and risk making the wrong call. The Spartans future is bright though, throw the out their record and look to see what has actually happened.  There are one or two plays in some of their losses that had they gone the Spartans way would have changed the outcome.  I know that is not the case and that is how you are measured ultimately, by your record, but it needs to start somewhere.  They have a lot of good pieces to the puzzle in order to win a Big Ten championship, and as long as recruiting continues the way it has they will be just fine. GO STATE!!!!Drew Stanton is a quarterback with the Detroit Lions. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.drewstanton.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/drewstanton.  November 5, 2009The bye week came at a good time for the team, but selfishly a poor time for me.  I mean that somewhat jokingly, and I must write that because sarcasm does not travel clearly in "blog" language.  If we had a game that week, I would have had my first career start due to the injuries to Daunte and Matt.  Well as we know that was not the case, so I will continue to wait for that day to come. Honestly, it was the best thing for our team to have a bye.  It is at that point in the season where guys have little knick-knack injuries, and with the bye they can heal up for the long haul.  Not to mention we have a couple days to relax and take our mind off of football, at least for a little while.For most of us, it is in our blood so we cannot go without it for too long.  I was lucky enough to get out of Michigan for the weekend, but found myself in the hotel room constantly watching games on Saturday and Sunday.  When I wasn't in the room, I had to stop and look at the TV for updates of my teams. Unfortunately, Saturday was not a good day for me.  All the teams I was rooting for LOST.  Which brings me to the topic that I will finish with... my beloved Spartans.  Who, for the past two weeks, have been screwed by the officials.  They have had two crucial calls go against them at pivotal points in the game, only to lead to their demise.  First, the game against Iowa was not a helmet-to-helmet collision.  Those calls are not supposed to go against you at home with the game on the line.  Secondly, the Minnesota call was an absolute joke.  It goes back to my belief that referees rely too heavily on instant replay to do their job.  It is a security blanket for them, so they do not to blow the whistle and risk making the wrong call. The Spartans future is bright though, throw the out their record and look to see what has actually happened.  There are one or two plays in some of their losses that had they gone the Spartans way would have changed the outcome.  I know that is not the case and that is how you are measured ultimately, by your record, but it needs to start somewhere.  They have a lot of good pieces to the puzzle in order to win a Big Ten championship, and as long as recruiting continues the way it has they will be just fine. GO STATE!!!!Drew Stanton is a quarterback with the Detroit Lions. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.drewstanton.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/drewstanton.  Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:39:57 GMT http://affiliate.kickapps.com/_Football-in-our-Blood/BLOG/1461689/42930.html Drew 2009-11-06T00:39:57Z Drew Stanton November 5, 2009The bye week came at a good time for the team, but selfishly a poor time for me.  I mean that somewhat jokingly, and I must write that because sarcasm does not travel clearly in "blog" language.  If we had a game that week, I would have had my first career start due to the injuries to Daunte and Matt.  Well as we know that was not the case, so I will continue to wait for that day to come. Honestly, it was the best thing for our team to have a bye.  It is at that point in the season where guys have little knick-knack injuries, and with the bye they can heal up for the long haul.  Not to mention we have a couple days to relax and take our mind off of football, at least for a little while.For most of us, it is in our blood so we cannot go without it for too long.  I was lucky enough to get out of Michigan for the weekend, but found myself in the hotel room constantly watching games on Saturday and Sunday.  When I wasn't in the room, I had to stop and look at the TV for updates of my teams. Unfortunately, Saturday was not a good day for me.  All the teams I was rooting for LOST.  Which brings me to the topic that I will finish with... my beloved Spartans.  Who, for the past two weeks, have been screwed by the officials.  They have had two crucial calls go against them at pivotal points in the game, only to lead to their demise.  First, the game against Iowa was not a helmet-to-helmet collision.  Those calls are not supposed to go against you at home with the game on the line.  Secondly, the Minnesota call was an absolute joke.  It goes back to my belief that referees rely too heavily on instant replay to do their job.  It is a security blanket for them, so they do not to blow the whistle and risk making the wrong call. The Spartans future is bright though, throw the out their record and look to see what has actually happened.  There are one or two plays in some of their losses that had they gone the Spartans way would have changed the outcome.  I know that is not the case and that is how you are measured ultimately, by your record, but it needs to start somewhere.  They have a lot of good pieces to the puzzle in order to win a Big Ten championship, and as long as recruiting continues the way it has they will be just fine. GO STATE!!!!Drew Stanton is a quarterback with the Detroit Lions. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.drewstanton.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/drewstanton.  detroit lions, drew stanton, lions vs. seahawks, nfl nonadult false Football in our Blood text blog detroit lions,drew stanton,lions vs. seahawks,nfl 117 0 0.0 http://affiliate.kickapps.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3059937&as=42930 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/42930/photos/PHOTO_1495683_42930_3059937_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 0 1461689 3059937 Member 0 http://affiliate.kickapps.com/_Good-and-Bad/BLOG/1292954/42930.html October 19, 2009Lambeau is on the short list of venues that will forever be recognizable in sports, very similar to Wrigley Field or Joe Louis Arena.  There is an indescribable feeling when you step foot on those grounds, and those who have know what I mean.  I remember my first time going there, last year, the last game of the year.  It was miserably cold, but the faithful showed up in full support of a team that was 5-10.  Needless to say it left a lasting impression on me.Enough about Lambeau Field and its greatness though, the reality is we are 1-5 heading into the bye.  The bye comes at a good time for us, as we are banged up at various positions and can utilize a week off.  The bye is always a chance to evaluate where you are as a team, and the corrections that need to be made.  So our week will consist of doing those things and then getting a head start on St. Louis.Back to Sunday, it was nice to play, but not so nice walking away without any points.  I saw Daunte pull up when he scrambled, and my immediate reaction was to get loose, because it looked like his hamstring.  In that situation, you do not have time to stop and think, just merely react and that is what I did.  I had a couple warm-up throws as Daunte handed the ball off one more time and then I went in. We did not have success my first drive, and I almost got Bryant killed in the process.  After apologizing and warming up more, all I wanted to do was go back out there and move the ball on offense. In the end, I felt like I did some good things, but throwing two interceptions is something that leaves a bad taste in my mouth.  The game definitely seems to be slowing down for me in comparison to last year.  Because in reality, that was the last time I worked with the first unit in a game situation. Looking back, I think that is attributed to a couple of things, first, just simply playing and getting more reps this year than I ever have.  Second, is my comfort level with the offense.  I wasn't at the line of scrimmage second guessing myself. Who knows how many opportunities I will get in this league, but I will always be prepared and do my best.  At the end of the day, those are the things that matter to me. I have yet to see the film, as I am about to head into the facility right now.  So I will withhold further judgment until after I see the film.Drew Stanton is a quarterback with the Detroit Lions. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.drewstanton.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/drewstanton.  October 19, 2009Lambeau is on the short list of venues that will forever be recognizable in sports, very similar to Wrigley Field or Joe Louis Arena.  There is an indescribable feeling when you step foot on those grounds, and those who have know what I mean.  I remember my first time going there, last year, the last game of the year.  It was miserably cold, but the faithful showed up in full support of a team that was 5-10.  Needless to say it left a lasting impression on me.Enough about Lambeau Field and its greatness though, the reality is we are 1-5 heading into the bye.  The bye comes at a good time for us, as we are banged up at various positions and can utilize a week off.  The bye is always a chance to evaluate where you are as a team, and the corrections that need to be made.  So our week will consist of doing those things and then getting a head start on St. Louis.Back to Sunday, it was nice to play, but not so nice walking away without any points.  I saw Daunte pull up when he scrambled, and my immediate reaction was to get loose, because it looked like his hamstring.  In that situation, you do not have time to stop and think, just merely react and that is what I did.  I had a couple warm-up throws as Daunte handed the ball off one more time and then I went in. We did not have success my first drive, and I almost got Bryant killed in the process.  After apologizing and warming up more, all I wanted to do was go back out there and move the ball on offense. In the end, I felt like I did some good things, but throwing two interceptions is something that leaves a bad taste in my mouth.  The game definitely seems to be slowing down for me in comparison to last year.  Because in reality, that was the last time I worked with the first unit in a game situation. Looking back, I think that is attributed to a couple of things, first, just simply playing and getting more reps this year than I ever have.  Second, is my comfort level with the offense.  I wasn't at the line of scrimmage second guessing myself. Who knows how many opportunities I will get in this league, but I will always be prepared and do my best.  At the end of the day, those are the things that matter to me. I have yet to see the film, as I am about to head into the facility right now.  So I will withhold further judgment until after I see the film.Drew Stanton is a quarterback with the Detroit Lions. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.drewstanton.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/drewstanton.  Mon, 19 Oct 2009 14:39:54 GMT http://affiliate.kickapps.com/_Good-and-Bad/BLOG/1292954/42930.html Drew 2009-10-19T14:39:54Z Drew Stanton October 19, 2009Lambeau is on the short list of venues that will forever be recognizable in sports, very similar to Wrigley Field or Joe Louis Arena.  There is an indescribable feeling when you step foot on those grounds, and those who have know what I mean.  I remember my first time going there, last year, the last game of the year.  It was miserably cold, but the faithful showed up in full support of a team that was 5-10.  Needless to say it left a lasting impression on me.Enough about Lambeau Field and its greatness though, the reality is we are 1-5 heading into the bye.  The bye comes at a good time for us, as we are banged up at various positions and can utilize a week off.  The bye is always a chance to evaluate where you are as a team, and the corrections that need to be made.  So our week will consist of doing those things and then getting a head start on St. Louis.Back to Sunday, it was nice to play, but not so nice walking away without any points.  I saw Daunte pull up when he scrambled, and my immediate reaction was to get loose, because it looked like his hamstring.  In that situation, you do not have time to stop and think, just merely react and that is what I did.  I had a couple warm-up throws as Daunte handed the ball off one more time and then I went in. We did not have success my first drive, and I almost got Bryant killed in the process.  After apologizing and warming up more, all I wanted to do was go back out there and move the ball on offense. In the end, I felt like I did some good things, but throwing two interceptions is something that leaves a bad taste in my mouth.  The game definitely seems to be slowing down for me in comparison to last year.  Because in reality, that was the last time I worked with the first unit in a game situation. Looking back, I think that is attributed to a couple of things, first, just simply playing and getting more reps this year than I ever have.  Second, is my comfort level with the offense.  I wasn't at the line of scrimmage second guessing myself. Who knows how many opportunities I will get in this league, but I will always be prepared and do my best.  At the end of the day, those are the things that matter to me. I have yet to see the film, as I am about to head into the facility right now.  So I will withhold further judgment until after I see the film.Drew Stanton is a quarterback with the Detroit Lions. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.drewstanton.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/drewstanton.  detroit lions, drew stanton, lions bye, lions vs. packers, nfl nonadult false Good and Bad text blog detroit lions,drew stanton,lions bye,lions vs. packers,nfl 222 0 0.0 http://affiliate.kickapps.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3059937&as=42930 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/42930/photos/PHOTO_1495683_42930_3059937_ap_160X120.jpg false 4 0 1292954 3059937 Member 0 http://affiliate.kickapps.com/_Staying-Ready/BLOG/1092479/42930.html October 13, 2009 Last week was the most action I have seen in a long time during the week of preparation.  I felt like if called upon, I could have gone in and had success.  Part of my responsibility to this team, whether I am second or third string, is to be ready if called upon.  That takes a lot of focus and professionalism to prepare as a starter, when in all likelihood you will not get in.  But I look forward to the time my number is called and I get a chance to go in and help the team in a victory. That is what keeps me motivated every week. Another part of my job description is to run the other team’s offense and try to emulate the other quarterback.  This past week was obviously Ben Roethlisberger, which meant I had to move around a lot and try to create throws downfield.  He is known for holding the ball and making big plays to his explosive wide receivers.  Doing all that work and not having any swelling in my knee assured me that I was now 100%.  I am very happy to know that my knee has the strength in it to endure any playing time I might get this year.  Unfortunately, that was not the case for Matthew, although he seems like he will be good to go this week.   It seems there is never a dull week in the life of a Detroit Lions football player, and we have yet another couple interesting storylines as we head to Green Bay for a divisional game.  I am very happy with the fact that we are not playing there the last game of the year and I will actually be able to feel my fingers this year.  Also, we brought back one of the best teammates I have ever had and quite possibly the most underrated wide receiver I have ever met, my boy John Standeford.  And yes, I am very bias and I know it.   One final thought...GO STATE!!!!!  I am so glad that we beat Michigan again this year, but know that beating Illinois meant more.  Historically, there might have been a trap the Spartans would have fallen into after a huge win, but Dantonio and company did not allow it to happen.  That makes me very proud of the direction the program is headed. Drew Stanton is a quarterback with the Detroit Lions. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.drewstanton.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/drewstanton.  October 13, 2009 Last week was the most action I have seen in a long time during the week of preparation.  I felt like if called upon, I could have gone in and had success.  Part of my responsibility to this team, whether I am second or third string, is to be ready if called upon.  That takes a lot of focus and professionalism to prepare as a starter, when in all likelihood you will not get in.  But I look forward to the time my number is called and I get a chance to go in and help the team in a victory. That is what keeps me motivated every week. Another part of my job description is to run the other team’s offense and try to emulate the other quarterback.  This past week was obviously Ben Roethlisberger, which meant I had to move around a lot and try to create throws downfield.  He is known for holding the ball and making big plays to his explosive wide receivers.  Doing all that work and not having any swelling in my knee assured me that I was now 100%.  I am very happy to know that my knee has the strength in it to endure any playing time I might get this year.  Unfortunately, that was not the case for Matthew, although he seems like he will be good to go this week.   It seems there is never a dull week in the life of a Detroit Lions football player, and we have yet another couple interesting storylines as we head to Green Bay for a divisional game.  I am very happy with the fact that we are not playing there the last game of the year and I will actually be able to feel my fingers this year.  Also, we brought back one of the best teammates I have ever had and quite possibly the most underrated wide receiver I have ever met, my boy John Standeford.  And yes, I am very bias and I know it.   One final thought...GO STATE!!!!!  I am so glad that we beat Michigan again this year, but know that beating Illinois meant more.  Historically, there might have been a trap the Spartans would have fallen into after a huge win, but Dantonio and company did not allow it to happen.  That makes me very proud of the direction the program is headed. Drew Stanton is a quarterback with the Detroit Lions. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.drewstanton.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/drewstanton.  Tue, 13 Oct 2009 18:29:12 GMT http://affiliate.kickapps.com/_Staying-Ready/BLOG/1092479/42930.html Drew 2009-10-13T18:29:12Z Drew Stanton October 13, 2009 Last week was the most action I have seen in a long time during the week of preparation.  I felt like if called upon, I could have gone in and had success.  Part of my responsibility to this team, whether I am second or third string, is to be ready if called upon.  That takes a lot of focus and professionalism to prepare as a starter, when in all likelihood you will not get in.  But I look forward to the time my number is called and I get a chance to go in and help the team in a victory. That is what keeps me motivated every week. Another part of my job description is to run the other team’s offense and try to emulate the other quarterback.  This past week was obviously Ben Roethlisberger, which meant I had to move around a lot and try to create throws downfield.  He is known for holding the ball and making big plays to his explosive wide receivers.  Doing all that work and not having any swelling in my knee assured me that I was now 100%.  I am very happy to know that my knee has the strength in it to endure any playing time I might get this year.  Unfortunately, that was not the case for Matthew, although he seems like he will be good to go this week.   It seems there is never a dull week in the life of a Detroit Lions football player, and we have yet another couple interesting storylines as we head to Green Bay for a divisional game.  I am very happy with the fact that we are not playing there the last game of the year and I will actually be able to feel my fingers this year.  Also, we brought back one of the best teammates I have ever had and quite possibly the most underrated wide receiver I have ever met, my boy John Standeford.  And yes, I am very bias and I know it.   One final thought...GO STATE!!!!!  I am so glad that we beat Michigan again this year, but know that beating Illinois meant more.  Historically, there might have been a trap the Spartans would have fallen into after a huge win, but Dantonio and company did not allow it to happen.  That makes me very proud of the direction the program is headed. Drew Stanton is a quarterback with the Detroit Lions. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.drewstanton.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/drewstanton.  detroit lions, drew stanton, lions vs. packers, nfl nonadult false Staying Ready text blog detroit lions,drew stanton,lions vs. packers,nfl 164 0 0.0 http://affiliate.kickapps.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3059937&as=42930 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/42930/photos/PHOTO_1495683_42930_3059937_ap_160X120.jpg false 1 0 1092479 3059937 Member 0 http://affiliate.kickapps.com/_Leaving-the-Burden/BLOG/868140/42930.html  September 29, 2009 Sure, winning in the preseason feels good, especially the way we were able to this year, but I would trade all of those wins for the feeling I had getting into my car Sunday afternoon.  It was great leaving the burden of the 0-19 record we had accumulated over the past three seasons right on the field after the game.  And though I had not played in a lot of those games, it did weigh on my mind. I remember when I first arrived in Detroit, Rod Marinelli talked about how hard it was to win a single game in the NFL and how you needed to claw and fight for every one.  Last year, it almost felt like everyone thought it was just going to happen.  That eventually we would just somehow win a game and the streak would be over.  Well, history tells us that was not the case, and though our team is completely different than it was last year, the new players inherited the problems of the past.  Instead of accepting that, the Detroit Lions of 2009 went out and changed it.  Sure, we started out 0-2, but we have improved and limited our mistakes as the weeks go on, and that is encouraging.  Ford Field was as loud as I have heard it ever, and that was without a sellout crowd.  Home field advantage truly exists in this league and we were able to feed off the crowd throughout the entire game. On a personal note, my knee felt good throughout the entire week.  It responded well to the stress I put on it and never swelled up on me.  Wednesday felt like I had been away from the game for a long time, but I was just excited to be out practicing with the team again.  I look forward to contributing to this team winning football games in any way, shape or form.  At this point, my knee is 100% and it has only been a month out of surgery, which is very encouraging. Drew Stanton is a quarterback with the Detroit Lions. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.drewstanton.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/drewstanton.   September 29, 2009 Sure, winning in the preseason feels good, especially the way we were able to this year, but I would trade all of those wins for the feeling I had getting into my car Sunday afternoon.  It was great leaving the burden of the 0-19 record we had accumulated over the past three seasons right on the field after the game.  And though I had not played in a lot of those games, it did weigh on my mind. I remember when I first arrived in Detroit, Rod Marinelli talked about how hard it was to win a single game in the NFL and how you needed to claw and fight for every one.  Last year, it almost felt like everyone thought it was just going to happen.  That eventually we would just somehow win a game and the streak would be over.  Well, history tells us that was not the case, and though our team is completely different than it was last year, the new players inherited the problems of the past.  Instead of accepting that, the Detroit Lions of 2009 went out and changed it.  Sure, we started out 0-2, but we have improved and limited our mistakes as the weeks go on, and that is encouraging.  Ford Field was as loud as I have heard it ever, and that was without a sellout crowd.  Home field advantage truly exists in this league and we were able to feed off the crowd throughout the entire game. On a personal note, my knee felt good throughout the entire week.  It responded well to the stress I put on it and never swelled up on me.  Wednesday felt like I had been away from the game for a long time, but I was just excited to be out practicing with the team again.  I look forward to contributing to this team winning football games in any way, shape or form.  At this point, my knee is 100% and it has only been a month out of surgery, which is very encouraging. Drew Stanton is a quarterback with the Detroit Lions. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.drewstanton.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/drewstanton.  Tue, 29 Sep 2009 19:59:43 GMT http://affiliate.kickapps.com/_Leaving-the-Burden/BLOG/868140/42930.html Drew 2009-09-29T19:59:43Z Drew Stanton  September 29, 2009 Sure, winning in the preseason feels good, especially the way we were able to this year, but I would trade all of those wins for the feeling I had getting into my car Sunday afternoon.  It was great leaving the burden of the 0-19 record we had accumulated over the past three seasons right on the field after the game.  And though I had not played in a lot of those games, it did weigh on my mind. I remember when I first arrived in Detroit, Rod Marinelli talked about how hard it was to win a single game in the NFL and how you needed to claw and fight for every one.  Last year, it almost felt like everyone thought it was just going to happen.  That eventually we would just somehow win a game and the streak would be over.  Well, history tells us that was not the case, and though our team is completely different than it was last year, the new players inherited the problems of the past.  Instead of accepting that, the Detroit Lions of 2009 went out and changed it.  Sure, we started out 0-2, but we have improved and limited our mistakes as the weeks go on, and that is encouraging.  Ford Field was as loud as I have heard it ever, and that was without a sellout crowd.  Home field advantage truly exists in this league and we were able to feed off the crowd throughout the entire game. On a personal note, my knee felt good throughout the entire week.  It responded well to the stress I put on it and never swelled up on me.  Wednesday felt like I had been away from the game for a long time, but I was just excited to be out practicing with the team again.  I look forward to contributing to this team winning football games in any way, shape or form.  At this point, my knee is 100% and it has only been a month out of surgery, which is very encouraging. Drew Stanton is a quarterback with the Detroit Lions. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.drewstanton.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/drewstanton.  detroit lions, drew stanton, lions first win, nfl nonadult false Leaving the Burden text blog detroit lions,drew stanton,lions first win,nfl 394 0 0.0 http://affiliate.kickapps.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3059937&as=42930 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/42930/photos/PHOTO_1495683_42930_3059937_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 0 868140 3059937 Member 0 http://affiliate.kickapps.com/_My-Surgery/BLOG/793492/42930.html September 22, 2009 I'm sorry for not having an entry in a while, I tried to do a video blog when I was down in Birmingham, post-surgery.  Unfortunately, I could not figure out how to send it off to the website and delayed it too much to put up.  If you all would like to see it, I could try to see if I still have it and re-post it, just let me know.  Anyway, it will be three weeks tomorrow that Kristin and I were in Birmingham, AL for my surgery. The recovery has been speedy and can be attributed to a couple of key factors, or really people.  First, having the best sports surgeon in the world you expect greatness, and that is exactly what I got.  It is no wonder why athletes fly in from all over the United States to get worked on by Dr. Andrews.  Secondly, having a loving wife take care of my ice machine, wraps and anything else that needed attending helped significantly.  I know at times she did not want to change my ice at 2 a.m., but it went a long way in the end.  Lastly, our training staff with the Lions has helped push me in rehab without having any negative effects afterwards.    So with all that being said, and the clearance from Dr. Anderson (our team doctor), I have been allowed to return to the practice field on a limited basis.  Anytime you are away from the field it feels like an eternity, but it makes you appreciate it even more when you get to go back out there.  My plan is to go back out and focus on the basics, but most importantly be smart about it.  I'm going to try to do the simple things first and see how my knee responds.  After that, it is all based on swelling, which is why I have been working so hard to regain the little amount of strength I lost in it.  I feel good about it and will continue to rehab for a while longer.  Getting to the facility early has not been fun, but getting my knee healthy as fast as possible is what motivates me at 5:30 to get up.   So tomorrow morning when you roll over and check the clock at 5:45, think of me driving to work and sleep a little longer for me... Drew Stanton is a quarterback with the Detroit Lions. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.drewstanton.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/drewstanton.  September 22, 2009 I'm sorry for not having an entry in a while, I tried to do a video blog when I was down in Birmingham, post-surgery.  Unfortunately, I could not figure out how to send it off to the website and delayed it too much to put up.  If you all would like to see it, I could try to see if I still have it and re-post it, just let me know.  Anyway, it will be three weeks tomorrow that Kristin and I were in Birmingham, AL for my surgery. The recovery has been speedy and can be attributed to a couple of key factors, or really people.  First, having the best sports surgeon in the world you expect greatness, and that is exactly what I got.  It is no wonder why athletes fly in from all over the United States to get worked on by Dr. Andrews.  Secondly, having a loving wife take care of my ice machine, wraps and anything else that needed attending helped significantly.  I know at times she did not want to change my ice at 2 a.m., but it went a long way in the end.  Lastly, our training staff with the Lions has helped push me in rehab without having any negative effects afterwards.    So with all that being said, and the clearance from Dr. Anderson (our team doctor), I have been allowed to return to the practice field on a limited basis.  Anytime you are away from the field it feels like an eternity, but it makes you appreciate it even more when you get to go back out there.  My plan is to go back out and focus on the basics, but most importantly be smart about it.  I'm going to try to do the simple things first and see how my knee responds.  After that, it is all based on swelling, which is why I have been working so hard to regain the little amount of strength I lost in it.  I feel good about it and will continue to rehab for a while longer.  Getting to the facility early has not been fun, but getting my knee healthy as fast as possible is what motivates me at 5:30 to get up.   So tomorrow morning when you roll over and check the clock at 5:45, think of me driving to work and sleep a little longer for me... Drew Stanton is a quarterback with the Detroit Lions. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.drewstanton.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/drewstanton.  Tue, 22 Sep 2009 13:51:53 GMT http://affiliate.kickapps.com/_My-Surgery/BLOG/793492/42930.html Drew 2009-09-22T13:51:53Z Drew Stanton September 22, 2009 I'm sorry for not having an entry in a while, I tried to do a video blog when I was down in Birmingham, post-surgery.  Unfortunately, I could not figure out how to send it off to the website and delayed it too much to put up.  If you all would like to see it, I could try to see if I still have it and re-post it, just let me know.  Anyway, it will be three weeks tomorrow that Kristin and I were in Birmingham, AL for my surgery. The recovery has been speedy and can be attributed to a couple of key factors, or really people.  First, having the best sports surgeon in the world you expect greatness, and that is exactly what I got.  It is no wonder why athletes fly in from all over the United States to get worked on by Dr. Andrews.  Secondly, having a loving wife take care of my ice machine, wraps and anything else that needed attending helped significantly.  I know at times she did not want to change my ice at 2 a.m., but it went a long way in the end.  Lastly, our training staff with the Lions has helped push me in rehab without having any negative effects afterwards.    So with all that being said, and the clearance from Dr. Anderson (our team doctor), I have been allowed to return to the practice field on a limited basis.  Anytime you are away from the field it feels like an eternity, but it makes you appreciate it even more when you get to go back out there.  My plan is to go back out and focus on the basics, but most importantly be smart about it.  I'm going to try to do the simple things first and see how my knee responds.  After that, it is all based on swelling, which is why I have been working so hard to regain the little amount of strength I lost in it.  I feel good about it and will continue to rehab for a while longer.  Getting to the facility early has not been fun, but getting my knee healthy as fast as possible is what motivates me at 5:30 to get up.   So tomorrow morning when you roll over and check the clock at 5:45, think of me driving to work and sleep a little longer for me... Drew Stanton is a quarterback with the Detroit Lions. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.drewstanton.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/drewstanton.  detroit lions, drew stanton, knee surgery, nfl nonadult false My Surgery text blog detroit lions,drew stanton,knee surgery,nfl 294 0 0.0 http://affiliate.kickapps.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3059937&as=42930 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/42930/photos/PHOTO_1495683_42930_3059937_ap_160X120.jpg false 1 0 793492 3059937 Member 0 http://affiliate.kickapps.com/_Detroit-needs-some-LO/BLOG/778238/42930.html The Lions first mistake was taking Stafford with the number one pick. All that money for a QB who was maybe the 3rd of 4th best coming out of college. Matt should be thanking Tebow, Bradford, and McCoy for his paycheck. i understand the pressure to win in the NFL but with a veteran in Dante and the up and coming Drew E. Stanton the Lions could have spent less and picked up a key player on defense. I was told at a young age by Gaylord Stanton that "defense wins games, offense only determines by how many." What better way to win a city back by giving the hometown kid the ball. Althogh I like to think of Drew as a Laker, his legacy will be in Michigan. All I'm sayin is put a little L.O. on the field and see what happens, seriously! The Lions first mistake was taking Stafford with the number one pick. All that money for a QB who was maybe the 3rd of 4th best coming out of college. Matt should be thanking Tebow, Bradford, and McCoy for his paycheck. i understand the pressure to win in the NFL but with a veteran in Dante and the up and coming Drew E. Stanton the Lions could have spent less and picked up a key player on defense. I was told at a young age by Gaylord Stanton that "defense wins games, offense only determines by how many." What better way to win a city back by giving the hometown kid the ball. Althogh I like to think of Drew as a Laker, his legacy will be in Michigan. All I'm sayin is put a little L.O. on the field and see what happens, seriously! Tue, 22 Sep 2009 04:23:43 GMT http://affiliate.kickapps.com/_Detroit-needs-some-LO/BLOG/778238/42930.html macattack503 2009-09-22T04:23:43Z Drew Stanton The Lions first mistake was taking Stafford with the number one pick. All that money for a QB who was maybe the 3rd of 4th best coming out of college. Matt should be thanking Tebow, Bradford, and McCoy for his paycheck. i understand the pressure to win in the NFL but with a veteran in Dante and the up and coming Drew E. Stanton the Lions could have spent less and picked up a key player on defense. I was told at a young age by Gaylord Stanton that "defense wins games, offense only determines by how many." What better way to win a city back by giving the hometown kid the ball. Althogh I like to think of Drew as a Laker, his legacy will be in Michigan. All I'm sayin is put a little L.O. on the field and see what happens, seriously! nonadult false Detroit needs some L.O. text blog 18 1 5.0 http://affiliate.kickapps.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=12875864&as=42930 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/42930/icons/defaultMember_42930_portrait160X120.jpg?t=1253592533885 false 0 0 778238 12875864 Member 0 http://affiliate.kickapps.com/_A-Win-is-a-Win/BLOG/527469/42930.html August 20, 2009 There are people who try to devalue the importance of winning in the pre-season, who say "it doesn't really count."  I know people look at what happened to us last year in Detroit and try to use that for reasoning.   My viewpoint is simple: Any game worth playing is worth winning.   We took a successful step in the right direction with our win last week for a few reasons.  Any Detroit fan has become aware of how situation-orientated our practices are here in Detroit, so it comes as no surprise how we responded at certain points throughout the game.  Prime examples are the on-side kick which we successfully excuted, then our defense stopping Atlanta's four-minute offense.  Last, it was the offense's turn to utilize what we have done in practice multiple times.   In reality, that was an easier situation than we are used to with Coach Schwartz.  In order to win in the NFL you have to be sound in all three aspects, offense, defense and special teams.  And as I stated above, all three contributed in necessary situations for us to come out victorious.  That is more encouraging than anything else, and a real reason for optimism.   Now, this week, we must go out and duplicate some things and improve in other areas.   Personally, it was great to get back out on the field and play in a live game.  For a quarterback, contact is something that you are not used to in practice, but must be prepared for during a game.  I felt like I was able to go out and successfully move the ball on offense, which is my job in a nutshell.  Sometimes it required me to use my legs, other times my arm.  My mindset has been and always will be to do whatever it takes to win.  Plus, having playmakers around me along with a Pro Bowl offensive lineman helps too, even if he is a Michigan Man.  Distributing the ball to the right place is what I need to do, and I felt like I did that for the most part Saturday.   Obviously, it was not perfect, but someday it will be, and that’s why I continue to work as hard as I do every single day. Drew Stanton is a quarterback with the Detroit Lions. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.drewstanton.com. Follow him on Twitter @drewstanton.  August 20, 2009 There are people who try to devalue the importance of winning in the pre-season, who say "it doesn't really count."  I know people look at what happened to us last year in Detroit and try to use that for reasoning.   My viewpoint is simple: Any game worth playing is worth winning.   We took a successful step in the right direction with our win last week for a few reasons.  Any Detroit fan has become aware of how situation-orientated our practices are here in Detroit, so it comes as no surprise how we responded at certain points throughout the game.  Prime examples are the on-side kick which we successfully excuted, then our defense stopping Atlanta's four-minute offense.  Last, it was the offense's turn to utilize what we have done in practice multiple times.   In reality, that was an easier situation than we are used to with Coach Schwartz.  In order to win in the NFL you have to be sound in all three aspects, offense, defense and special teams.  And as I stated above, all three contributed in necessary situations for us to come out victorious.  That is more encouraging than anything else, and a real reason for optimism.   Now, this week, we must go out and duplicate some things and improve in other areas.   Personally, it was great to get back out on the field and play in a live game.  For a quarterback, contact is something that you are not used to in practice, but must be prepared for during a game.  I felt like I was able to go out and successfully move the ball on offense, which is my job in a nutshell.  Sometimes it required me to use my legs, other times my arm.  My mindset has been and always will be to do whatever it takes to win.  Plus, having playmakers around me along with a Pro Bowl offensive lineman helps too, even if he is a Michigan Man.  Distributing the ball to the right place is what I need to do, and I felt like I did that for the most part Saturday.   Obviously, it was not perfect, but someday it will be, and that’s why I continue to work as hard as I do every single day. Drew Stanton is a quarterback with the Detroit Lions. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.drewstanton.com. Follow him on Twitter @drewstanton.  Thu, 20 Aug 2009 22:57:34 GMT http://affiliate.kickapps.com/_A-Win-is-a-Win/BLOG/527469/42930.html Drew 2009-08-20T22:57:34Z Drew Stanton August 20, 2009 There are people who try to devalue the importance of winning in the pre-season, who say "it doesn't really count."  I know people look at what happened to us last year in Detroit and try to use that for reasoning.   My viewpoint is simple: Any game worth playing is worth winning.   We took a successful step in the right direction with our win last week for a few reasons.  Any Detroit fan has become aware of how situation-orientated our practices are here in Detroit, so it comes as no surprise how we responded at certain points throughout the game.  Prime examples are the on-side kick which we successfully excuted, then our defense stopping Atlanta's four-minute offense.  Last, it was the offense's turn to utilize what we have done in practice multiple times.   In reality, that was an easier situation than we are used to with Coach Schwartz.  In order to win in the NFL you have to be sound in all three aspects, offense, defense and special teams.  And as I stated above, all three contributed in necessary situations for us to come out victorious.  That is more encouraging than anything else, and a real reason for optimism.   Now, this week, we must go out and duplicate some things and improve in other areas.   Personally, it was great to get back out on the field and play in a live game.  For a quarterback, contact is something that you are not used to in practice, but must be prepared for during a game.  I felt like I was able to go out and successfully move the ball on offense, which is my job in a nutshell.  Sometimes it required me to use my legs, other times my arm.  My mindset has been and always will be to do whatever it takes to win.  Plus, having playmakers around me along with a Pro Bowl offensive lineman helps too, even if he is a Michigan Man.  Distributing the ball to the right place is what I need to do, and I felt like I did that for the most part Saturday.   Obviously, it was not perfect, but someday it will be, and that’s why I continue to work as hard as I do every single day. Drew Stanton is a quarterback with the Detroit Lions. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.drewstanton.com. Follow him on Twitter @drewstanton.  detroit lions, drew stanton, nfl, preseason win nonadult false A Win is a Win text blog detroit lions,drew stanton,nfl,preseason win 439 2 5.0 http://affiliate.kickapps.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3059937&as=42930 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/42930/photos/PHOTO_1495683_42930_3059937_ap_160X120.jpg false 6 0 527469 3059937 Member 0 http://affiliate.kickapps.com/_Football-is-Fun-Again/BLOG/504608/42930.html August 10, 2009 At this point I find myself getting into the groove of camp.  The schedule has become memorized, as the muscle soreness has began to subside.  I have once again become accustomed to early mornings that end with late nights, which is nothing different from any other August; but this year I would not have it any other way.   This year is my year to prove myself, and I take that approach every day I step foot on the practice field.  I go out with the mindset of completing every pass and learning every single day.  There are times I might not be the one taking the actual repetition, but I am getting that rep mentally.  Playing this position is all about having answers, and if I don't have the answer, I am going to find someone who does.   And perhaps the best part about this season is I actually have multiple people I feel comfortable going to for those answers.  Going to work my first two years is something I did not necessarily look forward to, as I have stated before, but now I cannot wait for the next practice to arrive.  It might have to do with the fact that I am actually getting reps this year and can feel myself improving, which adds to my excitement.  Or simply because football is once again fun.   At this level it is truly a chess match, and I feel as if we have all the tools on our team to win every match we are in.  Now, do not misconstrue that with me saying we are going 16-0, because as I have said before I do not make predictions like that.  But I honestly believe we have many more pieces around here than in my two years past, so the reason for optimism is there and real.  It all starts with Coach Schwartz, who has learned from some of the best, and it is very apparent in his preparation.  It never seems as if the day is dragging on too long or I am going to fall a sleep in a meaningless meeting.  He values our time, which is tremendous, and gets us off our feet when needed.   I cannot wait for Saturday to arrive and to play against another opponent besides our own defense.  Look for more comments to come shortly following the game, and as always, thanks for reading. Drew Stanton is a quarterback with the Detroit Lions. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.drewstanton.com. Follow him on Twitter @drewstanton. August 10, 2009 At this point I find myself getting into the groove of camp.  The schedule has become memorized, as the muscle soreness has began to subside.  I have once again become accustomed to early mornings that end with late nights, which is nothing different from any other August; but this year I would not have it any other way.   This year is my year to prove myself, and I take that approach every day I step foot on the practice field.  I go out with the mindset of completing every pass and learning every single day.  There are times I might not be the one taking the actual repetition, but I am getting that rep mentally.  Playing this position is all about having answers, and if I don't have the answer, I am going to find someone who does.   And perhaps the best part about this season is I actually have multiple people I feel comfortable going to for those answers.  Going to work my first two years is something I did not necessarily look forward to, as I have stated before, but now I cannot wait for the next practice to arrive.  It might have to do with the fact that I am actually getting reps this year and can feel myself improving, which adds to my excitement.  Or simply because football is once again fun.   At this level it is truly a chess match, and I feel as if we have all the tools on our team to win every match we are in.  Now, do not misconstrue that with me saying we are going 16-0, because as I have said before I do not make predictions like that.  But I honestly believe we have many more pieces around here than in my two years past, so the reason for optimism is there and real.  It all starts with Coach Schwartz, who has learned from some of the best, and it is very apparent in his preparation.  It never seems as if the day is dragging on too long or I am going to fall a sleep in a meaningless meeting.  He values our time, which is tremendous, and gets us off our feet when needed.   I cannot wait for Saturday to arrive and to play against another opponent besides our own defense.  Look for more comments to come shortly following the game, and as always, thanks for reading. Drew Stanton is a quarterback with the Detroit Lions. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.drewstanton.com. Follow him on Twitter @drewstanton. Tue, 11 Aug 2009 01:18:07 GMT http://affiliate.kickapps.com/_Football-is-Fun-Again/BLOG/504608/42930.html Drew 2009-08-11T01:18:07Z Drew Stanton August 10, 2009 At this point I find myself getting into the groove of camp.  The schedule has become memorized, as the muscle soreness has began to subside.  I have once again become accustomed to early mornings that end with late nights, which is nothing different from any other August; but this year I would not have it any other way.   This year is my year to prove myself, and I take that approach every day I step foot on the practice field.  I go out with the mindset of completing every pass and learning every single day.  There are times I might not be the one taking the actual repetition, but I am getting that rep mentally.  Playing this position is all about having answers, and if I don't have the answer, I am going to find someone who does.   And perhaps the best part about this season is I actually have multiple people I feel comfortable going to for those answers.  Going to work my first two years is something I did not necessarily look forward to, as I have stated before, but now I cannot wait for the next practice to arrive.  It might have to do with the fact that I am actually getting reps this year and can feel myself improving, which adds to my excitement.  Or simply because football is once again fun.   At this level it is truly a chess match, and I feel as if we have all the tools on our team to win every match we are in.  Now, do not misconstrue that with me saying we are going 16-0, because as I have said before I do not make predictions like that.  But I honestly believe we have many more pieces around here than in my two years past, so the reason for optimism is there and real.  It all starts with Coach Schwartz, who has learned from some of the best, and it is very apparent in his preparation.  It never seems as if the day is dragging on too long or I am going to fall a sleep in a meaningless meeting.  He values our time, which is tremendous, and gets us off our feet when needed.   I cannot wait for Saturday to arrive and to play against another opponent besides our own defense.  Look for more comments to come shortly following the game, and as always, thanks for reading. Drew Stanton is a quarterback with the Detroit Lions. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.drewstanton.com. Follow him on Twitter @drewstanton. detroit lions, drew stanton, nfl, training camp nonadult false Football is Fun Again text blog detroit lions,drew stanton,nfl,training camp 665 0 0.0 http://affiliate.kickapps.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3059937&as=42930 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/42930/photos/PHOTO_1495683_42930_3059937_ap_160X120.jpg false 4 0 504608 3059937 Member 0 http://affiliate.kickapps.com/_My-Crazy-Summer-Part-II/BLOG/472120/42930.html July 23, 2009 Picking up where I left off, our honeymoon consisted of three destinations.  First, we stopped on the island of Oahu and stayed in Honolulu for three nights.  We stayed at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, which is a great property right on the beach.  Dominic Raiola, our starting center, is from Hawaii and happened to be back home with his family.  Being locals, he and his wife showed us amazing parts of the island we would not have seen.  I even tried that stand-up paddle while I was there, and it was frickin’ hard.  Especially when the waves started coming in on top of you.    After that we jumped islands over to Maui and stayed at the Ritz in Kapalua.  That was such a gorgeous island, and a much different feel than Honolulu, but both islands were awesome in their own way.  While on Maui we took a helicopter ride over the island, went snorkeling, saw a sunset cruise, went to a luau, and went on a zip line.  Not to mention we took the road to Hana, which was an adventure all in itself.  We did so many great things there and the weather was awesome every single day.  Not to forget the stunning views right at the Ritz, it has to be one of the nicest hotels I have ever seen.  From Maui we decided to break the trip up and stop in a place I have been dying to go to for some time, Napa.  And boy did it live up to my expectations.  A winemaker by the name of Ryan Waugh planned out our entire trip.  He has two different labels of wine that I highly recommend, Waugh Cellars and Six Degrees.  So anyway, he was kind enough to help set up everything, and he knew the ins and outs of the valley.  We ended up going to 10 different wineries, all of which had different things to offer.  My wine cellar is now at full capacity, so that means one of two things.  Either start drinking or make more room. I like both options.   Though the trip was amazing, after two weeks on the road I was ready to get home to see my dogs and sleep in my own bed.  Unfortuantely, that was only for two nights.  That Wednesday we headed up to Northern Michigan to a wedding for my old teammate at MSU and long-time friend, Gordon Niebylski.  I was the best man in an amazing wedding held at Bay Harbor.  But having little time, coming up with a best man speech was not as easy as I had anticipated.  The weather report said rain all week, but it held off for the ceremony and turned out to be a great day by the end.  The reception was great, as any time you get our whole group together we tend to have fun.   Following that we went to Grand Rapids for the night and stayed with my parents before the High 5ive golf outing. The golf outing ended up going smoothly.  There were a couple hiccups along the way, but that seems to always be the case.  And with such an action-packed summer I did not have as much involvement in the set-up process.  My mother and father did a lot of work on behalf of my foundation and did a fantastic job with it.  Danielle from Cystic Fibrosis was the one tutoring us along the way, as we partner with CF to raise money.  After going through the event, we learned so much.  If you have any interest in getting involved next year or know of sponsor interest, check out www.high5ivefoundation.org. Well that about finishes my story of the past month.  Now I have become strictly focused on football for the time being.  I have been going into the facility to work out, watch film, and get ready for next week.  I look forward to the season and all of the unknowns that lie ahead.  I will share those thoughts and ideas with you guys next week, so for now have a good weekend. Drew Stanton is a quarterback with the Detroit Lions. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.drewstanton.com. Follow him on Twitter as drewstanton.  July 23, 2009 Picking up where I left off, our honeymoon consisted of three destinations.  First, we stopped on the island of Oahu and stayed in Honolulu for three nights.  We stayed at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, which is a great property right on the beach.  Dominic Raiola, our starting center, is from Hawaii and happened to be back home with his family.  Being locals, he and his wife showed us amazing parts of the island we would not have seen.  I even tried that stand-up paddle while I was there, and it was frickin’ hard.  Especially when the waves started coming in on top of you.    After that we jumped islands over to Maui and stayed at the Ritz in Kapalua.  That was such a gorgeous island, and a much different feel than Honolulu, but both islands were awesome in their own way.  While on Maui we took a helicopter ride over the island, went snorkeling, saw a sunset cruise, went to a luau, and went on a zip line.  Not to mention we took the road to Hana, which was an adventure all in itself.  We did so many great things there and the weather was awesome every single day.  Not to forget the stunning views right at the Ritz, it has to be one of the nicest hotels I have ever seen.  From Maui we decided to break the trip up and stop in a place I have been dying to go to for some time, Napa.  And boy did it live up to my expectations.  A winemaker by the name of Ryan Waugh planned out our entire trip.  He has two different labels of wine that I highly recommend, Waugh Cellars and Six Degrees.  So anyway, he was kind enough to help set up everything, and he knew the ins and outs of the valley.  We ended up going to 10 different wineries, all of which had different things to offer.  My wine cellar is now at full capacity, so that means one of two things.  Either start drinking or make more room. I like both options.   Though the trip was amazing, after two weeks on the road I was ready to get home to see my dogs and sleep in my own bed.  Unfortuantely, that was only for two nights.  That Wednesday we headed up to Northern Michigan to a wedding for my old teammate at MSU and long-time friend, Gordon Niebylski.  I was the best man in an amazing wedding held at Bay Harbor.  But having little time, coming up with a best man speech was not as easy as I had anticipated.  The weather report said rain all week, but it held off for the ceremony and turned out to be a great day by the end.  The reception was great, as any time you get our whole group together we tend to have fun.   Following that we went to Grand Rapids for the night and stayed with my parents before the High 5ive golf outing. The golf outing ended up going smoothly.  There were a couple hiccups along the way, but that seems to always be the case.  And with such an action-packed summer I did not have as much involvement in the set-up process.  My mother and father did a lot of work on behalf of my foundation and did a fantastic job with it.  Danielle from Cystic Fibrosis was the one tutoring us along the way, as we partner with CF to raise money.  After going through the event, we learned so much.  If you have any interest in getting involved next year or know of sponsor interest, check out www.high5ivefoundation.org. Well that about finishes my story of the past month.  Now I have become strictly focused on football for the time being.  I have been going into the facility to work out, watch film, and get ready for next week.  I look forward to the season and all of the unknowns that lie ahead.  I will share those thoughts and ideas with you guys next week, so for now have a good weekend. Drew Stanton is a quarterback with the Detroit Lions. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.drewstanton.com. Follow him on Twitter as drewstanton.  Thu, 23 Jul 2009 15:47:10 GMT http://affiliate.kickapps.com/_My-Crazy-Summer-Part-II/BLOG/472120/42930.html Drew 2009-07-23T15:47:10Z Drew Stanton July 23, 2009 Picking up where I left off, our honeymoon consisted of three destinations.  First, we stopped on the island of Oahu and stayed in Honolulu for three nights.  We stayed at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, which is a great property right on the beach.  Dominic Raiola, our starting center, is from Hawaii and happened to be back home with his family.  Being locals, he and his wife showed us amazing parts of the island we would not have seen.  I even tried that stand-up paddle while I was there, and it was frickin’ hard.  Especially when the waves started coming in on top of you.    After that we jumped islands over to Maui and stayed at the Ritz in Kapalua.  That was such a gorgeous island, and a much different feel than Honolulu, but both islands were awesome in their own way.  While on Maui we took a helicopter ride over the island, went snorkeling, saw a sunset cruise, went to a luau, and went on a zip line.  Not to mention we took the road to Hana, which was an adventure all in itself.  We did so many great things there and the weather was awesome every single day.  Not to forget the stunning views right at the Ritz, it has to be one of the nicest hotels I have ever seen.  From Maui we decided to break the trip up and stop in a place I have been dying to go to for some time, Napa.  And boy did it live up to my expectations.  A winemaker by the name of Ryan Waugh planned out our entire trip.  He has two different labels of wine that I highly recommend, Waugh Cellars and Six Degrees.  So anyway, he was kind enough to help set up everything, and he knew the ins and outs of the valley.  We ended up going to 10 different wineries, all of which had different things to offer.  My wine cellar is now at full capacity, so that means one of two things.  Either start drinking or make more room. I like both options.   Though the trip was amazing, after two weeks on the road I was ready to get home to see my dogs and sleep in my own bed.  Unfortuantely, that was only for two nights.  That Wednesday we headed up to Northern Michigan to a wedding for my old teammate at MSU and long-time friend, Gordon Niebylski.  I was the best man in an amazing wedding held at Bay Harbor.  But having little time, coming up with a best man speech was not as easy as I had anticipated.  The weather report said rain all week, but it held off for the ceremony and turned out to be a great day by the end.  The reception was great, as any time you get our whole group together we tend to have fun.   Following that we went to Grand Rapids for the night and stayed with my parents before the High 5ive golf outing. The golf outing ended up going smoothly.  There were a couple hiccups along the way, but that seems to always be the case.  And with such an action-packed summer I did not have as much involvement in the set-up process.  My mother and father did a lot of work on behalf of my foundation and did a fantastic job with it.  Danielle from Cystic Fibrosis was the one tutoring us along the way, as we partner with CF to raise money.  After going through the event, we learned so much.  If you have any interest in getting involved next year or know of sponsor interest, check out www.high5ivefoundation.org. Well that about finishes my story of the past month.  Now I have become strictly focused on football for the time being.  I have been going into the facility to work out, watch film, and get ready for next week.  I look forward to the season and all of the unknowns that lie ahead.  I will share those thoughts and ideas with you guys next week, so for now have a good weekend. Drew Stanton is a quarterback with the Detroit Lions. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.drewstanton.com. Follow him on Twitter as drewstanton.  nonadult false My Crazy Summer, Part II text blog 1298 0 0.0 http://affiliate.kickapps.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3059937&as=42930 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/42930/photos/PHOTO_1495683_42930_3059937_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 0 472120 3059937 Member 0 http://affiliate.kickapps.com/_My-Crazy-Summer/BLOG/468000/42930.html July 22, 2009 The summer has come and gone for me in the blink of an eye.  I know I said the spring went fast, but this past month does not even compare.   Imagine, getting done with mini-camp on Thursday, getting married on Saturday, leaving on your honeymoon Monday, getting back two weeks later and heading up to Bay Harbor on Wednesday to be the best man in a wedding, and finishing up with your own charity golf outing in Marshall.  Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, exhausting. Now that those things are all in the rearview mirror, I have a week and a half until my life is officially over for a month.  So let me take the time to review some of the highlights with you.  First, mini-camp.  It was great to finish on a high note, though it seems like forever ago.  I think the team is coming together nicely, and everyone seems to be working their butt off.  The mixture we have at quarterback is great, and like I have said before, I love going to work.  As far as what I think the future holds, look for that blog to be coming sometime early next week, before we report for camp.  After the mini-camp, we all know what came next, my WEDDING.   The wedding turned out to be absolutely perfect.  Before I get started you can check the pictures taken by our awesome photographer at kristentaylorphotography.com, or the crazy video footage that was taken at epicmotion.com. Ryan was super cool and I would definitely recommend both companies.   So anyway, we were married on June 27th at the Birmingham United Methodist Church (the church we have attended for about a year).  I will forever remember the feeling I had as those doors opened and I saw my beautiful bride on her father’s arm.  It absolutely took my breath away, and I had to look down at our ring bearer, Jackson Wilcox, and he had a look on his face like "pull it together."  I did and when I looked up there she was right in front of me.  The ceremony ran smoothly, except a couple botched lines on my behalf.  We had the minister from the church I attended in college there to assist Dr. Harnish.  She read some words her husband had written who could not be in attendance, as they are a husband and wife team of ministers in Grand Rapids now.  Our reception was held at Meadowbrook Hall at Oakland University.  The reception was great, but seemed much like my summer as it was over in the blink of an eye. Sparty showed up, which always makes the party better, and we had shutterbooth there as well. Shutterbooth is a company that takes those pictures like you used to at carnivals, the ones that are four in row.  We have some hilarious ones, some of which are rather inappropriate.   After the reception I went immediately home and went to bed. ;)  Our honeymoon was awesome, and to not make this blog go on forever, please look for notes on the honeymoon, my time in Bay Harbor and my golf outing to be coming by week’s end.  Thanks for reading, taking an interest in my life, and of course always supporting me. Drew Stanton is a quarterback with the Detroit Lions. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.drewstanton.com. Follow him on Twitter as drewstanton.  July 22, 2009 The summer has come and gone for me in the blink of an eye.  I know I said the spring went fast, but this past month does not even compare.   Imagine, getting done with mini-camp on Thursday, getting married on Saturday, leaving on your honeymoon Monday, getting back two weeks later and heading up to Bay Harbor on Wednesday to be the best man in a wedding, and finishing up with your own charity golf outing in Marshall.  Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, exhausting. Now that those things are all in the rearview mirror, I have a week and a half until my life is officially over for a month.  So let me take the time to review some of the highlights with you.  First, mini-camp.  It was great to finish on a high note, though it seems like forever ago.  I think the team is coming together nicely, and everyone seems to be working their butt off.  The mixture we have at quarterback is great, and like I have said before, I love going to work.  As far as what I think the future holds, look for that blog to be coming sometime early next week, before we report for camp.  After the mini-camp, we all know what came next, my WEDDING.   The wedding turned out to be absolutely perfect.  Before I get started you can check the pictures taken by our awesome photographer at kristentaylorphotography.com, or the crazy video footage that was taken at epicmotion.com. Ryan was super cool and I would definitely recommend both companies.   So anyway, we were married on June 27th at the Birmingham United Methodist Church (the church we have attended for about a year).  I will forever remember the feeling I had as those doors opened and I saw my beautiful bride on her father’s arm.  It absolutely took my breath away, and I had to look down at our ring bearer, Jackson Wilcox, and he had a look on his face like "pull it together."  I did and when I looked up there she was right in front of me.  The ceremony ran smoothly, except a couple botched lines on my behalf.  We had the minister from the church I attended in college there to assist Dr. Harnish.  She read some words her husband had written who could not be in attendance, as they are a husband and wife team of ministers in Grand Rapids now.  Our reception was held at Meadowbrook Hall at Oakland University.  The reception was great, but seemed much like my summer as it was over in the blink of an eye. Sparty showed up, which always makes the party better, and we had shutterbooth there as well. Shutterbooth is a company that takes those pictures like you used to at carnivals, the ones that are four in row.  We have some hilarious ones, some of which are rather inappropriate.   After the reception I went immediately home and went to bed. ;)  Our honeymoon was awesome, and to not make this blog go on forever, please look for notes on the honeymoon, my time in Bay Harbor and my golf outing to be coming by week’s end.  Thanks for reading, taking an interest in my life, and of course always supporting me. Drew Stanton is a quarterback with the Detroit Lions. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.drewstanton.com. Follow him on Twitter as drewstanton.  Wed, 22 Jul 2009 22:06:44 GMT http://affiliate.kickapps.com/_My-Crazy-Summer/BLOG/468000/42930.html Drew 2009-07-22T22:06:44Z Drew Stanton July 22, 2009 The summer has come and gone for me in the blink of an eye.  I know I said the spring went fast, but this past month does not even compare.   Imagine, getting done with mini-camp on Thursday, getting married on Saturday, leaving on your honeymoon Monday, getting back two weeks later and heading up to Bay Harbor on Wednesday to be the best man in a wedding, and finishing up with your own charity golf outing in Marshall.  Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, exhausting. Now that those things are all in the rearview mirror, I have a week and a half until my life is officially over for a month.  So let me take the time to review some of the highlights with you.  First, mini-camp.  It was great to finish on a high note, though it seems like forever ago.  I think the team is coming together nicely, and everyone seems to be working their butt off.  The mixture we have at quarterback is great, and like I have said before, I love going to work.  As far as what I think the future holds, look for that blog to be coming sometime early next week, before we report for camp.  After the mini-camp, we all know what came next, my WEDDING.   The wedding turned out to be absolutely perfect.  Before I get started you can check the pictures taken by our awesome photographer at kristentaylorphotography.com, or the crazy video footage that was taken at epicmotion.com. Ryan was super cool and I would definitely recommend both companies.   So anyway, we were married on June 27th at the Birmingham United Methodist Church (the church we have attended for about a year).  I will forever remember the feeling I had as those doors opened and I saw my beautiful bride on her father’s arm.  It absolutely took my breath away, and I had to look down at our ring bearer, Jackson Wilcox, and he had a look on his face like "pull it together."  I did and when I looked up there she was right in front of me.  The ceremony ran smoothly, except a couple botched lines on my behalf.  We had the minister from the church I attended in college there to assist Dr. Harnish.  She read some words her husband had written who could not be in attendance, as they are a husband and wife team of ministers in Grand Rapids now.  Our reception was held at Meadowbrook Hall at Oakland University.  The reception was great, but seemed much like my summer as it was over in the blink of an eye. Sparty showed up, which always makes the party better, and we had shutterbooth there as well. Shutterbooth is a company that takes those pictures like you used to at carnivals, the ones that are four in row.  We have some hilarious ones, some of which are rather inappropriate.   After the reception I went immediately home and went to bed. ;)  Our honeymoon was awesome, and to not make this blog go on forever, please look for notes on the honeymoon, my time in Bay Harbor and my golf outing to be coming by week’s end.  Thanks for reading, taking an interest in my life, and of course always supporting me. Drew Stanton is a quarterback with the Detroit Lions. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.drewstanton.com. Follow him on Twitter as drewstanton.  nonadult false My Crazy Summer text blog 815 0 0.0 http://affiliate.kickapps.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3059937&as=42930 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/42930/photos/PHOTO_1495683_42930_3059937_ap_160X120.jpg false 2 0 468000 3059937 Member 0 http://affiliate.kickapps.com/_No-Time-to-Waste/BLOG/294636/42930.html May 30, 2009 This spring has absolutely flown by.  I have not had a free weekend to just sit at home and relax yet, but I am truly looking forward to that over the next couple of weekends before the big day.  My life has been consumed with mostly football, and any free time has then gone to my wedding plans and now the charity golf outing that I will partner on with Cystic Fibrosis.   Football has been as good as I could have hoped considering the situation I find myself in.  I think it has to do with the fact that I enjoy just going to work now on a daily basis.  My first two years I could not have said that and meant it, but now I really do.  The offense is great, my coaches actually coach and teach, and I feel as if I am constantly learning.   We are on the back side of the mountain as far as the off-season program is concerned, but still have four more OTA's and a mini-camp to look forward to.  Our offense has been installed for the most part at this point, and now it is just a matter of fine tuning things and running plays from different looks.   Coach Linehan told me I would be getting plenty of reps this spring and he has definitely been a man of his word.  Before the draft I was getting one period a day with the first team and the remainder of the practice with the two's since they released my boy Drew Henson. I really hope he catches on somewhere because he was just starting to get comfortable playing football again.  That is one of the hardest things about this job, is finding good people, becoming friends, and then parting ways.   Anyway, practice has been good, like I said earlier.  I have been studying a lot trying to improve and if I make a mistake to really learn from it and not do it again.  I feel like I have done that for the most part and have really started to get a good comfort level with all the receivers.  At first, you are trying to get a feel for all the guys you are throwing to, like which comes out of the break quick or who is going to win a one-on-one for you.  Once that starts happening you get more confidence in throwing to those guys and know who is going to make a play for you when you need it.   With Matthew's arrival I was a little nervous to see if I would be treated differently by the coaches, but that is the farthest from what happened.  They have not changed one bit towards me and still are very encouraging.  That gives me hope that I still have a future here in Detroit, but like I have said before it is a crazy business.  As long as I continue to do what I have been doing, which is stay positive and worry only about things I have control over, then I know things will work out in the end.   Thanks for reading, and those who might actually care to hear about my wedding plans look for that to come shortly.  Also, if you have any interest in getting involved with my golf outing in Marshall, Michigan on July 20th, look for a blog to come very soon about that as well. Drew Stanton is a quarterback with the Detroit Lions. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.drewstanton.com. Follow him on Twitter as drewstanton.  May 30, 2009 This spring has absolutely flown by.  I have not had a free weekend to just sit at home and relax yet, but I am truly looking forward to that over the next couple of weekends before the big day.  My life has been consumed with mostly football, and any free time has then gone to my wedding plans and now the charity golf outing that I will partner on with Cystic Fibrosis.   Football has been as good as I could have hoped considering the situation I find myself in.  I think it has to do with the fact that I enjoy just going to work now on a daily basis.  My first two years I could not have said that and meant it, but now I really do.  The offense is great, my coaches actually coach and teach, and I feel as if I am constantly learning.   We are on the back side of the mountain as far as the off-season program is concerned, but still have four more OTA's and a mini-camp to look forward to.  Our offense has been installed for the most part at this point, and now it is just a matter of fine tuning things and running plays from different looks.   Coach Linehan told me I would be getting plenty of reps this spring and he has definitely been a man of his word.  Before the draft I was getting one period a day with the first team and the remainder of the practice with the two's since they released my boy Drew Henson. I really hope he catches on somewhere because he was just starting to get comfortable playing football again.  That is one of the hardest things about this job, is finding good people, becoming friends, and then parting ways.   Anyway, practice has been good, like I said earlier.  I have been studying a lot trying to improve and if I make a mistake to really learn from it and not do it again.  I feel like I have done that for the most part and have really started to get a good comfort level with all the receivers.  At first, you are trying to get a feel for all the guys you are throwing to, like which comes out of the break quick or who is going to win a one-on-one for you.  Once that starts happening you get more confidence in throwing to those guys and know who is going to make a play for you when you need it.   With Matthew's arrival I was a little nervous to see if I would be treated differently by the coaches, but that is the farthest from what happened.  They have not changed one bit towards me and still are very encouraging.  That gives me hope that I still have a future here in Detroit, but like I have said before it is a crazy business.  As long as I continue to do what I have been doing, which is stay positive and worry only about things I have control over, then I know things will work out in the end.   Thanks for reading, and those who might actually care to hear about my wedding plans look for that to come shortly.  Also, if you have any interest in getting involved with my golf outing in Marshall, Michigan on July 20th, look for a blog to come very soon about that as well. Drew Stanton is a quarterback with the Detroit Lions. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.drewstanton.com. Follow him on Twitter as drewstanton.  Sat, 30 May 2009 15:05:51 GMT http://affiliate.kickapps.com/_No-Time-to-Waste/BLOG/294636/42930.html Drew 2009-05-30T15:05:51Z Drew Stanton May 30, 2009 This spring has absolutely flown by.  I have not had a free weekend to just sit at home and relax yet, but I am truly looking forward to that over the next couple of weekends before the big day.  My life has been consumed with mostly football, and any free time has then gone to my wedding plans and now the charity golf outing that I will partner on with Cystic Fibrosis.   Football has been as good as I could have hoped considering the situation I find myself in.  I think it has to do with the fact that I enjoy just going to work now on a daily basis.  My first two years I could not have said that and meant it, but now I really do.  The offense is great, my coaches actually coach and teach, and I feel as if I am constantly learning.   We are on the back side of the mountain as far as the off-season program is concerned, but still have four more OTA's and a mini-camp to look forward to.  Our offense has been installed for the most part at this point, and now it is just a matter of fine tuning things and running plays from different looks.   Coach Linehan told me I would be getting plenty of reps this spring and he has definitely been a man of his word.  Before the draft I was getting one period a day with the first team and the remainder of the practice with the two's since they released my boy Drew Henson. I really hope he catches on somewhere because he was just starting to get comfortable playing football again.  That is one of the hardest things about this job, is finding good people, becoming friends, and then parting ways.   Anyway, practice has been good, like I said earlier.  I have been studying a lot trying to improve and if I make a mistake to really learn from it and not do it again.  I feel like I have done that for the most part and have really started to get a good comfort level with all the receivers.  At first, you are trying to get a feel for all the guys you are throwing to, like which comes out of the break quick or who is going to win a one-on-one for you.  Once that starts happening you get more confidence in throwing to those guys and know who is going to make a play for you when you need it.   With Matthew's arrival I was a little nervous to see if I would be treated differently by the coaches, but that is the farthest from what happened.  They have not changed one bit towards me and still are very encouraging.  That gives me hope that I still have a future here in Detroit, but like I have said before it is a crazy business.  As long as I continue to do what I have been doing, which is stay positive and worry only about things I have control over, then I know things will work out in the end.   Thanks for reading, and those who might actually care to hear about my wedding plans look for that to come shortly.  Also, if you have any interest in getting involved with my golf outing in Marshall, Michigan on July 20th, look for a blog to come very soon about that as well. Drew Stanton is a quarterback with the Detroit Lions. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.drewstanton.com. Follow him on Twitter as drewstanton.  cystic, detroit, fibrosis, lions, matthew, stafford nonadult false No Time to Waste text blog cystic,detroit,fibrosis,lions,matthew,stafford 1486 1 5.0 http://affiliate.kickapps.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3059937&as=42930 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/42930/photos/PHOTO_1495683_42930_3059937_ap_160X120.jpg false 3 0 294636 3059937 Member 0 http://affiliate.kickapps.com/_Follow-Me-on-Twitter/BLOG/294628/42930.html You can follow my updates during the season on Twitter. Find me as drewstanton. Drew You can follow my updates during the season on Twitter. Find me as drewstanton. Drew Sat, 30 May 2009 15:00:07 GMT http://affiliate.kickapps.com/_Follow-Me-on-Twitter/BLOG/294628/42930.html Drew 2009-05-30T15:00:07Z Drew Stanton You can follow my updates during the season on Twitter. Find me as drewstanton. Drew nonadult false Follow Me on Twitter text blog 328 0 0.0 http://affiliate.kickapps.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3059937&as=42930 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/42930/photos/PHOTO_1495683_42930_3059937_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 0 294628 3059937 Member 0 http://affiliate.kickapps.com/_Drew/BLOG/286526/42930.html Glad to hear practice is going well.  I am sure there is a place for you in the roster as QB1.  You have not had your shot yet, but you will!  I can't wait to keep watching your NFL success!!  Harriett and Lee [image] Glad to hear practice is going well.  I am sure there is a place for you in the roster as QB1.  You have not had your shot yet, but you will!  I can't wait to keep watching your NFL success!!  Harriett and Lee [image] Fri, 22 May 2009 19:21:33 GMT http://affiliate.kickapps.com/_Drew/BLOG/286526/42930.html MSUKID1 2009-05-22T19:21:33Z Drew Stanton Glad to hear practice is going well.  I am sure there is a place for you in the roster as QB1.  You have not had your shot yet, but you will!  I can't wait to keep watching your NFL success!!  Harriett and Lee [image] nonadult false Drew text blog 124 0 0.0 http://affiliate.kickapps.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3775175&as=42930 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/42930/photos/PHOTO_1784744_42930_3775175_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 0 286526 3775175 Member 0 http://affiliate.kickapps.com/_The-Twilight-Zone/BLOG/257625/42930.html The NFL draft is officially over and although I'm so happy that I'm not a Raider fan, I'm still quite disappointed in the direction Detroit decided to go.  I understand what they are trying to do, but I don't understand why they are doing it.  I feel like I'm living in the twilight zone right now.  The reason the Lions have been so bad over the years and the reason Matt Millen is no longer GM is because we always drafted off of player talent and not team needs.  Now I will say we got Calvin Johnson out of this philosophy, but we had to pay with Rogers and Mike Williams.  I'm not a professional football analyst, so really anything I say can be taken as irrelevant, but I do watch a lot of football have played a lot of football and would like to think I understand the game enough to know what a team needs.  So let's talk about the draft.1st - I'm not going to start by saying I'm done being a Lions fan - at this point it's been hell being a Lions fan, so there's really no reason to turn my back on the franchise now.  I'm not going to say we should of drafted Aaron Curry... but to me the drafting of Matt Stafford (or Staff-infection as they call him online) will have a chain reaction in the league.  When you take a guy who has never played one NFL down and pay him more then ANY PLAYER EVER, there is going to be repercussions.  Diva Qb's will complain, veteran players will deserve more and in the end there has to be a cap on this chaos because at this rate untested rookies will make 100 million w/ 60 million guaranteed.  I find it hard to believe that a city that has one of the highest crime rates, falling home buying market and is deep right now in a recession should be paying that much money for a QB.  It's not their money, but when your fan base are mostly blue collar workers, it's hard for them to swallow that much money to be paid for someone that will sit the bench.My biggest issue I think with the draft was just drafting based off talent and not team need.  If you draft solely on talent then you never have a solid team, because there are too many holes.  When you look at solid franchises they aren't filled will all the best players that were available on the board.  They are filled with hard working players that fit the team and the team need.  We went into the draft needing help on defense more than anything and we barely addressed it.  I know some people really like the pick up of hard hitting Louis Delmas, but your talking about a WAC player and I'm not sure how great he'll be in the NFL level.The one good things is the players are taking it well - they know they are walking in not wanted by the fans.  They know that they will have prove they are what they worth.  It's not really fare to them, but it's a good attitude to have.  At this point I'm just going to support the decision and hope it all works out.  I really feel for the Lion nation right now because the Lions stepped in with the chance to walk away with an A grade for the draft, but they passed on key players that left many scratching their heads.So in the end, I don't believe we'll turn this franchise around this year, but I don't think that is the plan.  I think the coaching staff believes it will take at least 2 years to get things turned back around, but they need the top talent now and not later.  It's not about team needs now, but later.  It's too soon to really tell what's going to happen.  I mean in my mind if everything works out it'll be the draft that every Lion fan talks about.  If it doesn't, well you could very well see the Lions franchise shipped to LA.For Drew, all I can say is I enjoy your leadership, always staying cool about things, but it's time for an environment change.  The Lions have pretty much put the nail in the coffin and told you straight to your face, they have no faith in you.  If you were worth anything to them, they wouldn't of drafted Stafford.  It has nothing to do with your talent, it's just that they don't believe in you and when your coaches don't believe in you, then why should you continue to put all the work you do for the team?  I'm not sure what your future holds, but know that I and others will support you regardless of where you play.  If you stay in Detroit, I can only hope that you will one day get your chance to shine like we all know you can.Closing note is this.  Let's hope that there isn't a lockout.  I really think that there are going to be a lot of disgruntled NFL veterans that feel like they should be getting paid more then some guy coming out of college.  If this is the case, then maybe all NFL players should look into one more year of eligibility with their old school, since those players make more coming out then the ones working hard everyday (and yes I know this isn't possible).  The NFL Draft was not what I was hoping, but it was everything I expected.  You have the worst defense in the NFL and you pass top elite players more than once.  Let's hope for every Lion fan out there that the new coaching staff knows what they are doing.Here's to looking toward a positive off season. Best of luck Drew! The NFL draft is officially over and although I'm so happy that I'm not a Raider fan, I'm still quite disappointed in the direction Detroit decided to go.  I understand what they are trying to do, but I don't understand why they are doing it.  I feel like I'm living in the twilight zone right now.  The reason the Lions have been so bad over the years and the reason Matt Millen is no longer GM is because we always drafted off of player talent and not team needs.  Now I will say we got Calvin Johnson out of this philosophy, but we had to pay with Rogers and Mike Williams.  I'm not a professional football analyst, so really anything I say can be taken as irrelevant, but I do watch a lot of football have played a lot of football and would like to think I understand the game enough to know what a team needs.  So let's talk about the draft.1st - I'm not going to start by saying I'm done being a Lions fan - at this point it's been hell being a Lions fan, so there's really no reason to turn my back on the franchise now.  I'm not going to say we should of drafted Aaron Curry... but to me the drafting of Matt Stafford (or Staff-infection as they call him online) will have a chain reaction in the league.  When you take a guy who has never played one NFL down and pay him more then ANY PLAYER EVER, there is going to be repercussions.  Diva Qb's will complain, veteran players will deserve more and in the end there has to be a cap on this chaos because at this rate untested rookies will make 100 million w/ 60 million guaranteed.  I find it hard to believe that a city that has one of the highest crime rates, falling home buying market and is deep right now in a recession should be paying that much money for a QB.  It's not their money, but when your fan base are mostly blue collar workers, it's hard for them to swallow that much money to be paid for someone that will sit the bench.My biggest issue I think with the draft was just drafting based off talent and not team need.  If you draft solely on talent then you never have a solid team, because there are too many holes.  When you look at solid franchises they aren't filled will all the best players that were available on the board.  They are filled with hard working players that fit the team and the team need.  We went into the draft needing help on defense more than anything and we barely addressed it.  I know some people really like the pick up of hard hitting Louis Delmas, but your talking about a WAC player and I'm not sure how great he'll be in the NFL level.The one good things is the players are taking it well - they know they are walking in not wanted by the fans.  They know that they will have prove they are what they worth.  It's not really fare to them, but it's a good attitude to have.  At this point I'm just going to support the decision and hope it all works out.  I really feel for the Lion nation right now because the Lions stepped in with the chance to walk away with an A grade for the draft, but they passed on key players that left many scratching their heads.So in the end, I don't believe we'll turn this franchise around this year, but I don't think that is the plan.  I think the coaching staff believes it will take at least 2 years to get things turned back around, but they need the top talent now and not later.  It's not about team needs now, but later.  It's too soon to really tell what's going to happen.  I mean in my mind if everything works out it'll be the draft that every Lion fan talks about.  If it doesn't, well you could very well see the Lions franchise shipped to LA.For Drew, all I can say is I enjoy your leadership, always staying cool about things, but it's time for an environment change.  The Lions have pretty much put the nail in the coffin and told you straight to your face, they have no faith in you.  If you were worth anything to them, they wouldn't of drafted Stafford.  It has nothing to do with your talent, it's just that they don't believe in you and when your coaches don't believe in you, then why should you continue to put all the work you do for the team?  I'm not sure what your future holds, but know that I and others will support you regardless of where you play.  If you stay in Detroit, I can only hope that you will one day get your chance to shine like we all know you can.Closing note is this.  Let's hope that there isn't a lockout.  I really think that there are going to be a lot of disgruntled NFL veterans that feel like they should be getting paid more then some guy coming out of college.  If this is the case, then maybe all NFL players should look into one more year of eligibility with their old school, since those players make more coming out then the ones working hard everyday (and yes I know this isn't possible).  The NFL Draft was not what I was hoping, but it was everything I expected.  You have the worst defense in the NFL and you pass top elite players more than once.  Let's hope for every Lion fan out there that the new coaching staff knows what they are doing.Here's to looking toward a positive off season. Best of luck Drew! Mon, 27 Apr 2009 01:30:46 GMT http://affiliate.kickapps.com/_The-Twilight-Zone/BLOG/257625/42930.html TripleHent 2009-04-27T01:30:46Z Drew Stanton The NFL draft is officially over and although I'm so happy that I'm not a Raider fan, I'm still quite disappointed in the direction Detroit decided to go.  I understand what they are trying to do, but I don't understand why they are doing it.  I feel like I'm living in the twilight zone right now.  The reason the Lions have been so bad over the years and the reason Matt Millen is no longer GM is because we always drafted off of player talent and not team needs.  Now I will say we got Calvin Johnson out of this philosophy, but we had to pay with Rogers and Mike Williams.  I'm not a professional football analyst, so really anything I say can be taken as irrelevant, but I do watch a lot of football have played a lot of football and would like to think I understand the game enough to know what a team needs.  So let's talk about the draft.1st - I'm not going to start by saying I'm done being a Lions fan - at this point it's been hell being a Lions fan, so there's really no reason to turn my back on the franchise now.  I'm not going to say we should of drafted Aaron Curry... but to me the drafting of Matt Stafford (or Staff-infection as they call him online) will have a chain reaction in the league.  When you take a guy who has never played one NFL down and pay him more then ANY PLAYER EVER, there is going to be repercussions.  Diva Qb's will complain, veteran players will deserve more and in the end there has to be a cap on this chaos because at this rate untested rookies will make 100 million w/ 60 million guaranteed.  I find it hard to believe that a city that has one of the highest crime rates, falling home buying market and is deep right now in a recession should be paying that much money for a QB.  It's not their money, but when your fan base are mostly blue collar workers, it's hard for them to swallow that much money to be paid for someone that will sit the bench.My biggest issue I think with the draft was just drafting based off talent and not team need.  If you draft solely on talent then you never have a solid team, because there are too many holes.  When you look at solid franchises they aren't filled will all the best players that were available on the board.  They are filled with hard working players that fit the team and the team need.  We went into the draft needing help on defense more than anything and we barely addressed it.  I know some people really like the pick up of hard hitting Louis Delmas, but your talking about a WAC player and I'm not sure how great he'll be in the NFL level.The one good things is the players are taking it well - they know they are walking in not wanted by the fans.  They know that they will have prove they are what they worth.  It's not really fare to them, but it's a good attitude to have.  At this point I'm just going to support the decision and hope it all works out.  I really feel for the Lion nation right now because the Lions stepped in with the chance to walk away with an A grade for the draft, but they passed on key players that left many scratching their heads.So in the end, I don't believe we'll turn this franchise around this year, but I don't think that is the plan.  I think the coaching staff believes it will take at least 2 years to get things turned back around, but they need the top talent now and not later.  It's not about team needs now, but later.  It's too soon to really tell what's going to happen.  I mean in my mind if everything works out it'll be the draft that every Lion fan talks about.  If it doesn't, well you could very well see the Lions franchise shipped to LA.For Drew, all I can say is I enjoy your leadership, always staying cool about things, but it's time for an environment change.  The Lions have pretty much put the nail in the coffin and told you straight to your face, they have no faith in you.  If you were worth anything to them, they wouldn't of drafted Stafford.  It has nothing to do with your talent, it's just that they don't believe in you and when your coaches don't believe in you, then why should you continue to put all the work you do for the team?  I'm not sure what your future holds, but know that I and others will support you regardless of where you play.  If you stay in Detroit, I can only hope that you will one day get your chance to shine like we all know you can.Closing note is this.  Let's hope that there isn't a lockout.  I really think that there are going to be a lot of disgruntled NFL veterans that feel like they should be getting paid more then some guy coming out of college.  If this is the case, then maybe all NFL players should look into one more year of eligibility with their old school, since those players make more coming out then the ones working hard everyday (and yes I know this isn't possible).  The NFL Draft was not what I was hoping, but it was everything I expected.  You have the worst defense in the NFL and you pass top elite players more than once.  Let's hope for every Lion fan out there that the new coaching staff knows what they are doing.Here's to looking toward a positive off season. Best of luck Drew! nonadult false The Twilight Zone text blog 204 2 4.0 http://affiliate.kickapps.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=4130772&as=42930 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/42930/photos/PHOTO_3648915_42930_4130772_ap_160X120.jpg false 3 0 257625 4130772 Member 0 http://affiliate.kickapps.com/_Stafford-is-not-the-answer-but-hes-a-Lion/BLOG/256184/42930.html Well it's official.  Just when the you thought the Lions were changing things around and things were looking up, they go and do something like this.  I've been a Lions fan for a long time and even after an 0-16 season I still had hope for them this season, but now I just don't know.  I believe this will be the next Tim Couch the next Ryan Leaf not the next Matt Ryan.  I just don't understand why the Lions GM would go and spend that type of money on a player that is unproven. Really dont' know what to say.  I mean I heard all the rumors, saw it all over the mock drafts, but I really thought the Lions would pick someone other than Stafford.  He's now going to be the highest paid player ever coming out of the draft and he'll be sitting on the bench.  Hey Drew, remember when they said they would bring in a veteran?  Well they just did by signing Stafford.  You, Henson and Daunte are all officially veterans now. It's a shame too, because Daunte worked extra hard this off season and this is how they reward him.  So much for an open competition.This is a real shame and I know Lion nation is not going to be happy about this.  I know Drew has been positive through all the ups and downs, but I think it's time to demand a trade.  They've had no faith in you last year and this just goes to show they still have no faith in you.  Unless you want to spend your career with the 3rd string, I would highly suggest looking for a new place of employment.My guess now is they'll go after Ayers, Oher or James Laurinatis  with the other 2 picks tomorrow.  I hope that Mr. Ford knows that the government bailout does not include a Matthew Stafford clause.  I think the GM and owners think this will sell tickets and jerseys, but we all know that drafting a QB number 1 doesn't always work out.  I really thought we were looking up, but this is a huge step back for the Lions organization. Best wishes Drew, really sorry to hear about the direction of the team. Well it's official.  Just when the you thought the Lions were changing things around and things were looking up, they go and do something like this.  I've been a Lions fan for a long time and even after an 0-16 season I still had hope for them this season, but now I just don't know.  I believe this will be the next Tim Couch the next Ryan Leaf not the next Matt Ryan.  I just don't understand why the Lions GM would go and spend that type of money on a player that is unproven. Really dont' know what to say.  I mean I heard all the rumors, saw it all over the mock drafts, but I really thought the Lions would pick someone other than Stafford.  He's now going to be the highest paid player ever coming out of the draft and he'll be sitting on the bench.  Hey Drew, remember when they said they would bring in a veteran?  Well they just did by signing Stafford.  You, Henson and Daunte are all officially veterans now. It's a shame too, because Daunte worked extra hard this off season and this is how they reward him.  So much for an open competition.This is a real shame and I know Lion nation is not going to be happy about this.  I know Drew has been positive through all the ups and downs, but I think it's time to demand a trade.  They've had no faith in you last year and this just goes to show they still have no faith in you.  Unless you want to spend your career with the 3rd string, I would highly suggest looking for a new place of employment.My guess now is they'll go after Ayers, Oher or James Laurinatis  with the other 2 picks tomorrow.  I hope that Mr. Ford knows that the government bailout does not include a Matthew Stafford clause.  I think the GM and owners think this will sell tickets and jerseys, but we all know that drafting a QB number 1 doesn't always work out.  I really thought we were looking up, but this is a huge step back for the Lions organization. Best wishes Drew, really sorry to hear about the direction of the team. Sat, 25 Apr 2009 03:30:56 GMT http://affiliate.kickapps.com/_Stafford-is-not-the-answer-but-hes-a-Lion/BLOG/256184/42930.html TripleHent 2009-04-25T03:30:56Z Drew Stanton Well it's official.  Just when the you thought the Lions were changing things around and things were looking up, they go and do something like this.  I've been a Lions fan for a long time and even after an 0-16 season I still had hope for them this season, but now I just don't know.  I believe this will be the next Tim Couch the next Ryan Leaf not the next Matt Ryan.  I just don't understand why the Lions GM would go and spend that type of money on a player that is unproven. Really dont' know what to say.  I mean I heard all the rumors, saw it all over the mock drafts, but I really thought the Lions would pick someone other than Stafford.  He's now going to be the highest paid player ever coming out of the draft and he'll be sitting on the bench.  Hey Drew, remember when they said they would bring in a veteran?  Well they just did by signing Stafford.  You, Henson and Daunte are all officially veterans now. It's a shame too, because Daunte worked extra hard this off season and this is how they reward him.  So much for an open competition.This is a real shame and I know Lion nation is not going to be happy about this.  I know Drew has been positive through all the ups and downs, but I think it's time to demand a trade.  They've had no faith in you last year and this just goes to show they still have no faith in you.  Unless you want to spend your career with the 3rd string, I would highly suggest looking for a new place of employment.My guess now is they'll go after Ayers, Oher or James Laurinatis  with the other 2 picks tomorrow.  I hope that Mr. Ford knows that the government bailout does not include a Matthew Stafford clause.  I think the GM and owners think this will sell tickets and jerseys, but we all know that drafting a QB number 1 doesn't always work out.  I really thought we were looking up, but this is a huge step back for the Lions organization. Best wishes Drew, really sorry to hear about the direction of the team. nonadult false Stafford is not the answer - but he's a Lion text blog 216 2 3.0 http://affiliate.kickapps.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=4130772&as=42930 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/42930/photos/PHOTO_3648915_42930_4130772_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 0 256184 4130772 Member 0 http://affiliate.kickapps.com/_Stafford-signed-for-1-BILLION/BLOG/254799/42930.html That's right Stafford is signed officially for 1 Billion dollars and the Lions have officially renamed the stadium to Matthew Stafford Stadium.  In honor of him the Lions are also removing the "new" logo with another new logo which will simply feature a cut out of Matthew Stafford.  Also to increase jersey sales every player on the team will have Stafford on the back.  Mr. Ford has also made plans to release a new car along with the signing of Matt Stafford called the Ford Stafford.  It won't run on gas, electricity or even water, it will simply run off of how awesome Matt Stafford is.So I hope you know this is a joke by now :)  I'm so tired of hearing Stafford getting signed for 80 some million dollars when there are way better Qb's coming out next year and I just don't see how you can give a unproved player that much money.  Detroit lost 7 games last year by a TD or less and it was the KO punch in the 4th quarter.  I really hope we sign Curry for less then what Long got signed for and go OL with the #20 pick.Please can we just get over Stafford already? Lions fans thoughts?  That's right Stafford is signed officially for 1 Billion dollars and the Lions have officially renamed the stadium to Matthew Stafford Stadium.  In honor of him the Lions are also removing the "new" logo with another new logo which will simply feature a cut out of Matthew Stafford.  Also to increase jersey sales every player on the team will have Stafford on the back.  Mr. Ford has also made plans to release a new car along with the signing of Matt Stafford called the Ford Stafford.  It won't run on gas, electricity or even water, it will simply run off of how awesome Matt Stafford is.So I hope you know this is a joke by now :)  I'm so tired of hearing Stafford getting signed for 80 some million dollars when there are way better Qb's coming out next year and I just don't see how you can give a unproved player that much money.  Detroit lost 7 games last year by a TD or less and it was the KO punch in the 4th quarter.  I really hope we sign Curry for less then what Long got signed for and go OL with the #20 pick.Please can we just get over Stafford already? Lions fans thoughts?  Thu, 23 Apr 2009 22:47:39 GMT http://affiliate.kickapps.com/_Stafford-signed-for-1-BILLION/BLOG/254799/42930.html TripleHent 2009-04-23T22:47:39Z Drew Stanton That's right Stafford is signed officially for 1 Billion dollars and the Lions have officially renamed the stadium to Matthew Stafford Stadium.  In honor of him the Lions are also removing the "new" logo with another new logo which will simply feature a cut out of Matthew Stafford.  Also to increase jersey sales every player on the team will have Stafford on the back.  Mr. Ford has also made plans to release a new car along with the signing of Matt Stafford called the Ford Stafford.  It won't run on gas, electricity or even water, it will simply run off of how awesome Matt Stafford is.So I hope you know this is a joke by now :)  I'm so tired of hearing Stafford getting signed for 80 some million dollars when there are way better Qb's coming out next year and I just don't see how you can give a unproved player that much money.  Detroit lost 7 games last year by a TD or less and it was the KO punch in the 4th quarter.  I really hope we sign Curry for less then what Long got signed for and go OL with the #20 pick.Please can we just get over Stafford already? Lions fans thoughts?  nonadult false Stafford signed for 1 BILLION text blog 179 0 0.0 http://affiliate.kickapps.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=4130772&as=42930 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/42930/photos/PHOTO_3648915_42930_4130772_ap_160X120.jpg false 4 0 254799 4130772 Member 0 http://affiliate.kickapps.com/_Mini-Camp-Walkthrough/BLOG/250934/42930.html April 20, 2009 The weekend has come and gone with the nice weather departing along with it.  Being cooped up all weekend, I was only able to get a glimpse of how nice it truly was outside.   Inside the facility at Allen Park, there was a lot of work being done.  Overall, I think the weekend was a success and a move in the right direction for the franchise.  The obvious reason for the mini-camp was to be able to evaluate the talent before this coming weekend and try and finalize what areas need to be addressed for the draft.   With the draft looming, everyone is wondering what Detroit will do with the first pick, but none of the players have a clue.  I have heard rumblings that Stafford is a done deal, but also that he is not.  I guess we will find out soon enough, but that can be a completely different blog to come soon.   So let me get back to the mini-camp and what transpired this past weekend.  We had to arrive early Friday morning for team, offense and individual meetings.  A morning walkthrough followed meetings and by then it was lunch.  From lunch we had more meetings, practice, then watched the film.  In the morning walkthrough we practiced what our warmup would be, along with the procedure of practice.  Coach Schwartz is very detailed in every aspect and overlooks absolutely nothing, hence why we walked through everything before we did it.   The first practice is always a little interesting on offense because there are new guys all over the place, and you are looking to gain a comfort level with each one.  With Calvin, the comfort level is huge – just get any ball in his vicinity and he will come down with it.   The first practice seemed long, because our bodies were not used to doing that type of work for that extended period of time.  Football specific movements are very hard to simulate, especially for a long time period, so there is really nothing like practice.   Saturday was a longgggggggggggg day, as we had two practices, but accomplished a lot. Coach Linehan has a great approach to installing his offense and presenting it in a way that is understandable and allows the player to just play, not think.  Although, it is not dirt simple, so the defense won’t know what you are running merely by your alignment.   After Saturday, I began to get more comfortable with receivers, knowing which guys have the attributes necessary on any given play.  Also, this game is so fast and not going through the normal procedure of football in four months, it took some time to feel completely comfortable again. But by Saturday I felt that way.   By the end of camp I felt good about the weekend and I am really looking forward to progressing within this offense.  It has a lot of answers, and that gives the quarterback freedom to do things that I have not had the luxury of doing in the past.  Also, my new QB coach, Jeff Horton, was a pleasure to work with.  Having two great resources to turn to as coaches will only help me progress and help me to be the player I have set out to be. Drew Stanton is a quarterback with the Detroit Lions. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.drewstanton.com. Follow him on Twitter as drewstanton.  April 20, 2009 The weekend has come and gone with the nice weather departing along with it.  Being cooped up all weekend, I was only able to get a glimpse of how nice it truly was outside.   Inside the facility at Allen Park, there was a lot of work being done.  Overall, I think the weekend was a success and a move in the right direction for the franchise.  The obvious reason for the mini-camp was to be able to evaluate the talent before this coming weekend and try and finalize what areas need to be addressed for the draft.   With the draft looming, everyone is wondering what Detroit will do with the first pick, but none of the players have a clue.  I have heard rumblings that Stafford is a done deal, but also that he is not.  I guess we will find out soon enough, but that can be a completely different blog to come soon.   So let me get back to the mini-camp and what transpired this past weekend.  We had to arrive early Friday morning for team, offense and individual meetings.  A morning walkthrough followed meetings and by then it was lunch.  From lunch we had more meetings, practice, then watched the film.  In the morning walkthrough we practiced what our warmup would be, along with the procedure of practice.  Coach Schwartz is very detailed in every aspect and overlooks absolutely nothing, hence why we walked through everything before we did it.   The first practice is always a little interesting on offense because there are new guys all over the place, and you are looking to gain a comfort level with each one.  With Calvin, the comfort level is huge – just get any ball in his vicinity and he will come down with it.   The first practice seemed long, because our bodies were not used to doing that type of work for that extended period of time.  Football specific movements are very hard to simulate, especially for a long time period, so there is really nothing like practice.   Saturday was a longgggggggggggg day, as we had two practices, but accomplished a lot. Coach Linehan has a great approach to installing his offense and presenting it in a way that is understandable and allows the player to just play, not think.  Although, it is not dirt simple, so the defense won’t know what you are running merely by your alignment.   After Saturday, I began to get more comfortable with receivers, knowing which guys have the attributes necessary on any given play.  Also, this game is so fast and not going through the normal procedure of football in four months, it took some time to feel completely comfortable again. But by Saturday I felt that way.   By the end of camp I felt good about the weekend and I am really looking forward to progressing within this offense.  It has a lot of answers, and that gives the quarterback freedom to do things that I have not had the luxury of doing in the past.  Also, my new QB coach, Jeff Horton, was a pleasure to work with.  Having two great resources to turn to as coaches will only help me progress and help me to be the player I have set out to be. Drew Stanton is a quarterback with the Detroit Lions. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.drewstanton.com. Follow him on Twitter as drewstanton.  Tue, 21 Apr 2009 02:36:26 GMT http://affiliate.kickapps.com/_Mini-Camp-Walkthrough/BLOG/250934/42930.html Drew 2009-04-21T02:36:26Z Drew Stanton April 20, 2009 The weekend has come and gone with the nice weather departing along with it.  Being cooped up all weekend, I was only able to get a glimpse of how nice it truly was outside.   Inside the facility at Allen Park, there was a lot of work being done.  Overall, I think the weekend was a success and a move in the right direction for the franchise.  The obvious reason for the mini-camp was to be able to evaluate the talent before this coming weekend and try and finalize what areas need to be addressed for the draft.   With the draft looming, everyone is wondering what Detroit will do with the first pick, but none of the players have a clue.  I have heard rumblings that Stafford is a done deal, but also that he is not.  I guess we will find out soon enough, but that can be a completely different blog to come soon.   So let me get back to the mini-camp and what transpired this past weekend.  We had to arrive early Friday morning for team, offense and individual meetings.  A morning walkthrough followed meetings and by then it was lunch.  From lunch we had more meetings, practice, then watched the film.  In the morning walkthrough we practiced what our warmup would be, along with the procedure of practice.  Coach Schwartz is very detailed in every aspect and overlooks absolutely nothing, hence why we walked through everything before we did it.   The first practice is always a little interesting on offense because there are new guys all over the place, and you are looking to gain a comfort level with each one.  With Calvin, the comfort level is huge – just get any ball in his vicinity and he will come down with it.   The first practice seemed long, because our bodies were not used to doing that type of work for that extended period of time.  Football specific movements are very hard to simulate, especially for a long time period, so there is really nothing like practice.   Saturday was a longgggggggggggg day, as we had two practices, but accomplished a lot. Coach Linehan has a great approach to installing his offense and presenting it in a way that is understandable and allows the player to just play, not think.  Although, it is not dirt simple, so the defense won’t know what you are running merely by your alignment.   After Saturday, I began to get more comfortable with receivers, knowing which guys have the attributes necessary on any given play.  Also, this game is so fast and not going through the normal procedure of football in four months, it took some time to feel completely comfortable again. But by Saturday I felt that way.   By the end of camp I felt good about the weekend and I am really looking forward to progressing within this offense.  It has a lot of answers, and that gives the quarterback freedom to do things that I have not had the luxury of doing in the past.  Also, my new QB coach, Jeff Horton, was a pleasure to work with.  Having two great resources to turn to as coaches will only help me progress and help me to be the player I have set out to be. Drew Stanton is a quarterback with the Detroit Lions. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.drewstanton.com. Follow him on Twitter as drewstanton.  nonadult false Mini-Camp Walkthrough text blog 828 0 0.0 http://affiliate.kickapps.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3059937&as=42930 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/42930/photos/PHOTO_1495683_42930_3059937_ap_160X120.jpg false 1 0 250934 3059937 Member 0 http://affiliate.kickapps.com/_Back-to-Football/BLOG/238281/42930.html April 9, 2009 Now that we are a couple weeks into our off-season program I have football information to write about again.  I could have written about my Spartans, but I didn't want to jinx them. They made a helluva run at it, but UNC has, like, seven lottery picks.  Anyways, back to football.  The faces have definitely changed around the building, that is obvious, so now it appears after a month the acclimation phase has passed. All the players know one another for the most part, now it is getting to know the new coaches.   Just being in meetings with Coach Linehan has been a breath of fresh air.  He is so detailed it's great, and we are actually going over information that will remain constant for the entire season. Scott Loeffler was similiar, but did not have the control to install material like an offensive coordinator does. My new QB coach, Jeff Horton, has been good, too. He came from St. Louis with Linehan and before that was the QB coach in Wisconsin for six years. The funny thing about Linehan is he knows all of my college coaches from MSU, as he coached under John L. at Idaho.  My body feels great, my mind is clear and focused, and I am really looking forward to mini-camp next weekend.  Check for my updates on that and other stuff as we continue to get ready for next season.   Drew Stanton is a quarterback with the Detroit Lions. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.drewstanton.com.  April 9, 2009 Now that we are a couple weeks into our off-season program I have football information to write about again.  I could have written about my Spartans, but I didn't want to jinx them. They made a helluva run at it, but UNC has, like, seven lottery picks.  Anyways, back to football.  The faces have definitely changed around the building, that is obvious, so now it appears after a month the acclimation phase has passed. All the players know one another for the most part, now it is getting to know the new coaches.   Just being in meetings with Coach Linehan has been a breath of fresh air.  He is so detailed it's great, and we are actually going over information that will remain constant for the entire season. Scott Loeffler was similiar, but did not have the control to install material like an offensive coordinator does. My new QB coach, Jeff Horton, has been good, too. He came from St. Louis with Linehan and before that was the QB coach in Wisconsin for six years. The funny thing about Linehan is he knows all of my college coaches from MSU, as he coached under John L. at Idaho.  My body feels great, my mind is clear and focused, and I am really looking forward to mini-camp next weekend.  Check for my updates on that and other stuff as we continue to get ready for next season.   Drew Stanton is a quarterback with the Detroit Lions. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.drewstanton.com.  Fri, 10 Apr 2009 00:50:26 GMT http://affiliate.kickapps.com/_Back-to-Football/BLOG/238281/42930.html Drew 2009-04-10T00:50:26Z Drew Stanton April 9, 2009 Now that we are a couple weeks into our off-season program I have football information to write about again.  I could have written about my Spartans, but I didn't want to jinx them. They made a helluva run at it, but UNC has, like, seven lottery picks.  Anyways, back to football.  The faces have definitely changed around the building, that is obvious, so now it appears after a month the acclimation phase has passed. All the players know one another for the most part, now it is getting to know the new coaches.   Just being in meetings with Coach Linehan has been a breath of fresh air.  He is so detailed it's great, and we are actually going over information that will remain constant for the entire season. Scott Loeffler was similiar, but did not have the control to install material like an offensive coordinator does. My new QB coach, Jeff Horton, has been good, too. He came from St. Louis with Linehan and before that was the QB coach in Wisconsin for six years. The funny thing about Linehan is he knows all of my college coaches from MSU, as he coached under John L. at Idaho.  My body feels great, my mind is clear and focused, and I am really looking forward to mini-camp next weekend.  Check for my updates on that and other stuff as we continue to get ready for next season.   Drew Stanton is a quarterback with the Detroit Lions. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.drewstanton.com.  nonadult false Back to Football text blog 660 1 5.0 http://affiliate.kickapps.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3059937&as=42930 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/42930/photos/PHOTO_1495683_42930_3059937_ap_160X120.jpg false 4 0 238281 3059937 Member 0 http://affiliate.kickapps.com/_NEW-UNIFORMS/BLOG/212354/42930.html Oh they are coming!!!  Between Grady Jackson stating he liked the new look and colors and the fact [image]the Detroit Marketplace is selling NOTHING w/old logos (http://www.detroitlionsstore.com/)- or selling it for next to nothing is a very good sign Detroit will look like a brand new team next year!! So do you guys think this is good or bad?  Personally, I'd have to see the new look - but I'm guessing they cleared it with the community in one of their town hall meetings.   I love the colors, but the overall outfit could use some updating.  Let's just not hope they go arena football league style on us!Also, what's up with the draft now - so many options out there - Will we take Jason Smith now with the #1 pick?  I don't see us drafting Curry, because we'd be in the same spot the Hawks were just in, three highly paid LB's.   Also what do you think about trading the #1 pick for Cutler?  The rumors are flying - theres also still a chance we'll pick up Stafford in the draft.  Don't be surprised to see us pick up Josh Freeman if we don't grab a QB with the 1st or 2nd pick.Another fun day in the world of being  a Lions fan.  I've enjoyed the trades that have been made and applaud the new staff on trying to completely change the face of the Lions organization.  We'll truly know how well they do once the draft is over!Jason ABOVE PHOTO Provided by : http://zelleydesigns.com/ Another design provided at http://mkdesign.carbonmade.com/    NEW UPDATE!!! BELOW APPEARS TO BE THE REAL NEW LOGO[image] Oh they are coming!!!  Between Grady Jackson stating he liked the new look and colors and the fact [image]the Detroit Marketplace is selling NOTHING w/old logos (http://www.detroitlionsstore.com/)- or selling it for next to nothing is a very good sign Detroit will look like a brand new team next year!! So do you guys think this is good or bad?  Personally, I'd have to see the new look - but I'm guessing they cleared it with the community in one of their town hall meetings.   I love the colors, but the overall outfit could use some updating.  Let's just not hope they go arena football league style on us!Also, what's up with the draft now - so many options out there - Will we take Jason Smith now with the #1 pick?  I don't see us drafting Curry, because we'd be in the same spot the Hawks were just in, three highly paid LB's.   Also what do you think about trading the #1 pick for Cutler?  The rumors are flying - theres also still a chance we'll pick up Stafford in the draft.  Don't be surprised to see us pick up Josh Freeman if we don't grab a QB with the 1st or 2nd pick.Another fun day in the world of being  a Lions fan.  I've enjoyed the trades that have been made and applaud the new staff on trying to completely change the face of the Lions organization.  We'll truly know how well they do once the draft is over!Jason ABOVE PHOTO Provided by : http://zelleydesigns.com/ Another design provided at http://mkdesign.carbonmade.com/    NEW UPDATE!!! BELOW APPEARS TO BE THE REAL NEW LOGO[image] Mon, 16 Mar 2009 18:54:22 GMT http://affiliate.kickapps.com/_NEW-UNIFORMS/BLOG/212354/42930.html TripleHent 2009-03-16T18:54:22Z Drew Stanton Oh they are coming!!!  Between Grady Jackson stating he liked the new look and colors and the fact [image]the Detroit Marketplace is selling NOTHING w/old logos (http://www.detroitlionsstore.com/)- or selling it for next to nothing is a very good sign Detroit will look like a brand new team next year!! So do you guys think this is good or bad?  Personally, I'd have to see the new look - but I'm guessing they cleared it with the community in one of their town hall meetings.   I love the colors, but the overall outfit could use some updating.  Let's just not hope they go arena football league style on us!Also, what's up with the draft now - so many options out there - Will we take Jason Smith now with the #1 pick?  I don't see us drafting Curry, because we'd be in the same spot the Hawks were just in, three highly paid LB's.   Also what do you think about trading the #1 pick for Cutler?  The rumors are flying - theres also still a chance we'll pick up Stafford in the draft.  Don't be surprised to see us pick up Josh Freeman if we don't grab a QB with the 1st or 2nd pick.Another fun day in the world of being  a Lions fan.  I've enjoyed the trades that have been made and applaud the new staff on trying to completely change the face of the Lions organization.  We'll truly know how well they do once the draft is over!Jason ABOVE PHOTO Provided by : http://zelleydesigns.com/ Another design provided at http://mkdesign.carbonmade.com/    NEW UPDATE!!! BELOW APPEARS TO BE THE REAL NEW LOGO[image] nonadult false NEW UNIFORMS!!! text blog 307 0 0.0 http://affiliate.kickapps.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=4130772&as=42930 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/42930/photos/PHOTO_3648915_42930_4130772_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 0 212354 4130772 Member 0 http://affiliate.kickapps.com/_Corey-I-Will-Not-Give-Up-Hope/BLOG/201247/42930.html March 4, 2009 Corey Smith is the type of person you always root for, the guy you want to see always succeed. The guy who does everything that is asked of him and tries to give even more. I have had the luxury of being Corey’s teammate for the past two seasons in Detroit, and though more people know him better than I do, still I feel I got to know the person he truly is.  He is a quiet guy who keeps to himself and just continues to bust his butt and make it in this profession.  He would run down and make a tackle on special teams just to follow it up with a tackle on defense.   I am down in the Bahamas right now, and caught wind of what happened Sunday morning right when I arrived.  I have yet to walk by a television and not wait for an update, hoping that he will be rescued.  When I saw that the Coast Guard had called off the search, my heart jumped up into my throat.   At times like this, it is hard to make sense of why things like this happen, especially topeople like Corey.  Add that with no closure for all of their families, and it makes it even harder.   Corey is as fine a person as I have met in this crazy profession, and actually became close to him by frequently sitting in the cold tub.  He would beat his body up every practice and be the first in the cold tub.   I will not give up hope of a miracle, and continue to pray for him to turn up.  His will and desire alone will keep him alive much longer than people give him credit for.  Those three men remain in my prayers, and I hope yours, as well.  This is yet another example to show how precious life truly is.  I’m just wishing that those days in the cold tub will allow him to persevere this time through. Drew Stanton is a quarterback with the Detroit Lions. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.drewstanton.com.  March 4, 2009 Corey Smith is the type of person you always root for, the guy you want to see always succeed. The guy who does everything that is asked of him and tries to give even more. I have had the luxury of being Corey’s teammate for the past two seasons in Detroit, and though more people know him better than I do, still I feel I got to know the person he truly is.  He is a quiet guy who keeps to himself and just continues to bust his butt and make it in this profession.  He would run down and make a tackle on special teams just to follow it up with a tackle on defense.   I am down in the Bahamas right now, and caught wind of what happened Sunday morning right when I arrived.  I have yet to walk by a television and not wait for an update, hoping that he will be rescued.  When I saw that the Coast Guard had called off the search, my heart jumped up into my throat.   At times like this, it is hard to make sense of why things like this happen, especially topeople like Corey.  Add that with no closure for all of their families, and it makes it even harder.   Corey is as fine a person as I have met in this crazy profession, and actually became close to him by frequently sitting in the cold tub.  He would beat his body up every practice and be the first in the cold tub.   I will not give up hope of a miracle, and continue to pray for him to turn up.  His will and desire alone will keep him alive much longer than people give him credit for.  Those three men remain in my prayers, and I hope yours, as well.  This is yet another example to show how precious life truly is.  I’m just wishing that those days in the cold tub will allow him to persevere this time through. Drew Stanton is a quarterback with the Detroit Lions. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.drewstanton.com.  Wed, 04 Mar 2009 16:49:41 GMT http://affiliate.kickapps.com/_Corey-I-Will-Not-Give-Up-Hope/BLOG/201247/42930.html Drew 2009-03-04T16:49:41Z Drew Stanton March 4, 2009 Corey Smith is the type of person you always root for, the guy you want to see always succeed. The guy who does everything that is asked of him and tries to give even more. I have had the luxury of being Corey’s teammate for the past two seasons in Detroit, and though more people know him better than I do, still I feel I got to know the person he truly is.  He is a quiet guy who keeps to himself and just continues to bust his butt and make it in this profession.  He would run down and make a tackle on special teams just to follow it up with a tackle on defense.   I am down in the Bahamas right now, and caught wind of what happened Sunday morning right when I arrived.  I have yet to walk by a television and not wait for an update, hoping that he will be rescued.  When I saw that the Coast Guard had called off the search, my heart jumped up into my throat.   At times like this, it is hard to make sense of why things like this happen, especially topeople like Corey.  Add that with no closure for all of their families, and it makes it even harder.   Corey is as fine a person as I have met in this crazy profession, and actually became close to him by frequently sitting in the cold tub.  He would beat his body up every practice and be the first in the cold tub.   I will not give up hope of a miracle, and continue to pray for him to turn up.  His will and desire alone will keep him alive much longer than people give him credit for.  Those three men remain in my prayers, and I hope yours, as well.  This is yet another example to show how precious life truly is.  I’m just wishing that those days in the cold tub will allow him to persevere this time through. Drew Stanton is a quarterback with the Detroit Lions. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.drewstanton.com.  nonadult false Corey: I Will Not Give Up Hope text blog 672 2 5.0 http://affiliate.kickapps.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3059937&as=42930 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/42930/photos/PHOTO_1495683_42930_3059937_ap_160X120.jpg false 2 0 201247 3059937 Member 0 http://affiliate.kickapps.com/_Yes-we-Can/BLOG/179510/42930.html I noticed a fan at the Super Bowl that wore a solid Honolulu Blue Lion shirt that read 0-16 and beneath it read "yes we Can"  May be a good slogan for next year I noticed a fan at the Super Bowl that wore a solid Honolulu Blue Lion shirt that read 0-16 and beneath it read "yes we Can"  May be a good slogan for next year Sat, 07 Feb 2009 09:19:02 GMT http://affiliate.kickapps.com/_Yes-we-Can/BLOG/179510/42930.html spartanyooper 2009-02-07T09:19:02Z Drew Stanton I noticed a fan at the Super Bowl that wore a solid Honolulu Blue Lion shirt that read 0-16 and beneath it read "yes we Can"  May be a good slogan for next year nonadult false "Yes we Can" text blog 245 1 3.0 http://affiliate.kickapps.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3905898&as=42930 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/42930/icons/defaultMember_42930_portrait160X120.jpg false 0 0 179510 3905898 Member 0 http://affiliate.kickapps.com/_The-Super-Bowl/BLOG/173499/42930.html Written By Drew StantonJanuary 31, 2009 Well, the Super Bowl is finally upon us.  The last football game of the season for all the marbles, and once Monday hits, the quest begins for everyone again. Yes, that means the Lions too. Each Super Bowl is obviously special, but for some reason this one seems to lack the usual "hype."  Because hype is usually the leading headline of this event that allows the two-week layoff to build up.  Sure, Arizona is a feel good story, Anquan got into an argument with Coach Haley, Big Ben and Hines are questionable, and Ben wants to improve on his last performance at Ford Field, but once that ball is kicked off for the first time, how is it any different from any other game?  Exactly, it is not, except the commercials are stupid expensive and fun to watch.   Well enough of the introduction, let me get down to the way I see things.  Let me start on my favorite side of the ball, offense.  At this point everyone is aware of Larry Fitzgerald and everything spectacular he can do on a football field.  Couple that with the freshness at tailback in Edgerrin James and the experience of Kurt Warner and I think you find this to be a no-brainer.  Well, I would say that is the case with one more X factor, that being Anquan Boldin.  He’s not healthy, and that throws a wrench into the entire thing and makes it much, much harder to pick.   For the Steelers, Ben is playing with a chip on his shoulder, Hines Ward is as consistent as they come at his position, Willie Parker can fly and at anytime, Heath Miller or Santonio Holmes can absolutely go off.  So, yes, the Cardinals offense is more glitzy and glamorous, but we are talking about one game, not a season.  I think with a healthy Anquan, the Cardinals are better on offense, but that is not the case.   I think the Steelers get the nod here.Now, in an interesting turn of events I will try to tackle the issue of special teams. Well, sort of.  I think this one could go either way, because both teams possess great kickers, average punters and game-breaking return men.  Coverage teams will be a huge part in this aspect of the game. I am a firm believer in the philosophy that winning a football game entails first playing good defense, because you cannot lose if they do not score, and second, running the football.  That being said, the Steelers are as solid on defense as anyone this year.  They are constantly around the ball and at times appear to be playing with 12 or 13 guys.  They have a lot of different looks that can cause problems for quarterbacks and clog running lanes for tailbacks.  I think a huge surprise has been the development of the Cardinals’ defense in the playoffs.  They have shown up big in every game.  I think on a consistent basis the Steelers have proven to be better.   I know what you’re thinking at this point, he is contradicting his statement from above on his one game theory.  Yes and no, because there are much different schools of thought depending on which side of the ball we are talking about.   So those are my views on the game, but it could be completely different in the end. As they say, "that's why they play the game."  All in all, I hope it is an enjoyable game to watch, with some great commercials.   My prediction for the final score is Pittsburgh 27, Arizona 21. You heard it here first, remember that!   Thanks for continuing to read and I will write next about the talks I had with my new head coach and offensive coordinator. Drew Stanton is a quarterback with the Detroit Lions. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.drewstanton.com.  Written By Drew StantonJanuary 31, 2009 Well, the Super Bowl is finally upon us.  The last football game of the season for all the marbles, and once Monday hits, the quest begins for everyone again. Yes, that means the Lions too. Each Super Bowl is obviously special, but for some reason this one seems to lack the usual "hype."  Because hype is usually the leading headline of this event that allows the two-week layoff to build up.  Sure, Arizona is a feel good story, Anquan got into an argument with Coach Haley, Big Ben and Hines are questionable, and Ben wants to improve on his last performance at Ford Field, but once that ball is kicked off for the first time, how is it any different from any other game?  Exactly, it is not, except the commercials are stupid expensive and fun to watch.   Well enough of the introduction, let me get down to the way I see things.  Let me start on my favorite side of the ball, offense.  At this point everyone is aware of Larry Fitzgerald and everything spectacular he can do on a football field.  Couple that with the freshness at tailback in Edgerrin James and the experience of Kurt Warner and I think you find this to be a no-brainer.  Well, I would say that is the case with one more X factor, that being Anquan Boldin.  He’s not healthy, and that throws a wrench into the entire thing and makes it much, much harder to pick.   For the Steelers, Ben is playing with a chip on his shoulder, Hines Ward is as consistent as they come at his position, Willie Parker can fly and at anytime, Heath Miller or Santonio Holmes can absolutely go off.  So, yes, the Cardinals offense is more glitzy and glamorous, but we are talking about one game, not a season.  I think with a healthy Anquan, the Cardinals are better on offense, but that is not the case.   I think the Steelers get the nod here.Now, in an interesting turn of events I will try to tackle the issue of special teams. Well, sort of.  I think this one could go either way, because both teams possess great kickers, average punters and game-breaking return men.  Coverage teams will be a huge part in this aspect of the game. I am a firm believer in the philosophy that winning a football game entails first playing good defense, because you cannot lose if they do not score, and second, running the football.  That being said, the Steelers are as solid on defense as anyone this year.  They are constantly around the ball and at times appear to be playing with 12 or 13 guys.  They have a lot of different looks that can cause problems for quarterbacks and clog running lanes for tailbacks.  I think a huge surprise has been the development of the Cardinals’ defense in the playoffs.  They have shown up big in every game.  I think on a consistent basis the Steelers have proven to be better.   I know what you’re thinking at this point, he is contradicting his statement from above on his one game theory.  Yes and no, because there are much different schools of thought depending on which side of the ball we are talking about.   So those are my views on the game, but it could be completely different in the end. As they say, "that's why they play the game."  All in all, I hope it is an enjoyable game to watch, with some great commercials.   My prediction for the final score is Pittsburgh 27, Arizona 21. You heard it here first, remember that!   Thanks for continuing to read and I will write next about the talks I had with my new head coach and offensive coordinator. Drew Stanton is a quarterback with the Detroit Lions. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.drewstanton.com.  Sat, 31 Jan 2009 21:03:01 GMT http://affiliate.kickapps.com/_The-Super-Bowl/BLOG/173499/42930.html Drew 2009-01-31T21:03:01Z Drew Stanton Written By Drew StantonJanuary 31, 2009 Well, the Super Bowl is finally upon us.  The last football game of the season for all the marbles, and once Monday hits, the quest begins for everyone again. Yes, that means the Lions too. Each Super Bowl is obviously special, but for some reason this one seems to lack the usual "hype."  Because hype is usually the leading headline of this event that allows the two-week layoff to build up.  Sure, Arizona is a feel good story, Anquan got into an argument with Coach Haley, Big Ben and Hines are questionable, and Ben wants to improve on his last performance at Ford Field, but once that ball is kicked off for the first time, how is it any different from any other game?  Exactly, it is not, except the commercials are stupid expensive and fun to watch.   Well enough of the introduction, let me get down to the way I see things.  Let me start on my favorite side of the ball, offense.  At this point everyone is aware of Larry Fitzgerald and everything spectacular he can do on a football field.  Couple that with the freshness at tailback in Edgerrin James and the experience of Kurt Warner and I think you find this to be a no-brainer.  Well, I would say that is the case with one more X factor, that being Anquan Boldin.  He’s not healthy, and that throws a wrench into the entire thing and makes it much, much harder to pick.   For the Steelers, Ben is playing with a chip on his shoulder, Hines Ward is as consistent as they come at his position, Willie Parker can fly and at anytime, Heath Miller or Santonio Holmes can absolutely go off.  So, yes, the Cardinals offense is more glitzy and glamorous, but we are talking about one game, not a season.  I think with a healthy Anquan, the Cardinals are better on offense, but that is not the case.   I think the Steelers get the nod here.Now, in an interesting turn of events I will try to tackle the issue of special teams. Well, sort of.  I think this one could go either way, because both teams possess great kickers, average punters and game-breaking return men.  Coverage teams will be a huge part in this aspect of the game. I am a firm believer in the philosophy that winning a football game entails first playing good defense, because you cannot lose if they do not score, and second, running the football.  That being said, the Steelers are as solid on defense as anyone this year.  They are constantly around the ball and at times appear to be playing with 12 or 13 guys.  They have a lot of different looks that can cause problems for quarterbacks and clog running lanes for tailbacks.  I think a huge surprise has been the development of the Cardinals’ defense in the playoffs.  They have shown up big in every game.  I think on a consistent basis the Steelers have proven to be better.   I know what you’re thinking at this point, he is contradicting his statement from above on his one game theory.  Yes and no, because there are much different schools of thought depending on which side of the ball we are talking about.   So those are my views on the game, but it could be completely different in the end. As they say, "that's why they play the game."  All in all, I hope it is an enjoyable game to watch, with some great commercials.   My prediction for the final score is Pittsburgh 27, Arizona 21. You heard it here first, remember that!   Thanks for continuing to read and I will write next about the talks I had with my new head coach and offensive coordinator. Drew Stanton is a quarterback with the Detroit Lions. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.drewstanton.com.  nonadult false The Super Bowl text blog 592 1 5.0 http://affiliate.kickapps.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3059937&as=42930 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/42930/photos/PHOTO_1495683_42930_3059937_ap_160X120.jpg false 8 0 173499 3059937 Member 0 http://affiliate.kickapps.com/_New-OC/BLOG/168095/42930.html Your new OC Drew!!! I hope you like!!!Sources: Linehan to coach Lions' offenseComment Email PrintESPN.com news services [image]LinehanScott Linehan, the former St. Louis Rams coach who turned down the San Francisco 49ers' offer to become their offensive coordinator, has agreed to join the Lions in that position, team sources told ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen on Friday. Linehan declined the 49ers' offer Sunday, saying he wasn't ready to commit to his next coaching move. Linehan, a respected former offensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins and Minnesota Vikings, was fired four games into his third season as the Rams' coach last September. Your new OC Drew!!! I hope you like!!!Sources: Linehan to coach Lions' offenseComment Email PrintESPN.com news services [image]LinehanScott Linehan, the former St. Louis Rams coach who turned down the San Francisco 49ers' offer to become their offensive coordinator, has agreed to join the Lions in that position, team sources told ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen on Friday. Linehan declined the 49ers' offer Sunday, saying he wasn't ready to commit to his next coaching move. Linehan, a respected former offensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins and Minnesota Vikings, was fired four games into his third season as the Rams' coach last September. Fri, 23 Jan 2009 18:25:34 GMT http://affiliate.kickapps.com/_New-OC/BLOG/168095/42930.html SailorSparty 2009-01-23T18:25:34Z Drew Stanton Your new OC Drew!!! I hope you like!!!Sources: Linehan to coach Lions' offenseComment Email PrintESPN.com news services [image]LinehanScott Linehan, the former St. Louis Rams coach who turned down the San Francisco 49ers' offer to become their offensive coordinator, has agreed to join the Lions in that position, team sources told ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen on Friday. Linehan declined the 49ers' offer Sunday, saying he wasn't ready to commit to his next coaching move. Linehan, a respected former offensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins and Minnesota Vikings, was fired four games into his third season as the Rams' coach last September. nonadult false New OC text blog 414 0 0.0 http://affiliate.kickapps.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=4332212&as=42930 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/42930/photos/PHOTO_2201483_42930_4332212_ap_160X120.jpg false 1 0 168095 4332212 Member 0 http://affiliate.kickapps.com/_A-Wedding-and-a-New-Coach/BLOG/167704/42930.html Written By Drew StantonJanuary 22, 2009 For those of us players not preparing for the Super Bowl, it seems that we are all doing whatever makes us happy.   For some, it is a vacation to a warm destination. Others, including me, continue to dwell where we play or are from, for various reasons.  My main two reasons are that I am getting married in June, and I have been anxiously waiting to see who our offensive coordinator and quarterback coach are going to be.First, getting married is something I have been looking forward to since the day we got engaged.  Unfortunately, once you really get down to the nitty-gritty, it can become frustrating at times.  Luckily, my beautiful bride-to-be has been unbelievable in coordinating things and the majority of stuff has gone smoothly.  Registering at stores, on the other hand, can be extremely overwhelming.  Cake tasting, though, not overrated at all.   During the off-season I really get a chance to relax and focus on the things I deem important outside of football.  Obviously, the wedding is important, but spending more time with my fiancée has been great.   Being an athlete I can only go so long without wanting to do physical activity, that is just how I am wired.  But it is important to try and find that balance of when the season ends and when you get back to training very hard.  I think this year I have a good understanding and have everything mapped out for an off-season program.  I have started doing yoga 5 times a week and enjoy it tremendously.  I have been doing yoga off-and-on for about three years now, but have become very dedicated to my practice this year.  It is amazing all the benefits I receive from doing it, and I try to do it as much as possible when we report back.  Plus it helps having your fiancée be a yoga instructor.  A new yoga studio has open in downtown Plymouth called The Yoga Room, and I have been going there a lot and will continue to do so.I really do not have much to report about Coach Schwartz.  He called me yesterday and left a message from the Senior Bowl.  I do not know how much you can take from a voicemail, but I was very excited after getting the message.  I called him back, but his phone went to voicemail right away, which meant he was probably on the plane back to Detroit.  I then went in today to introduce myself in person, but he was in an interview with someone who I would love to get here in Detroit, but will remain nameless at this point.  His secretary informed me that it would probably last the rest of the day, so I will attempt again tomorrow.   I will give you updates as I get them, but my first impression of Coach Schwartz is a great one.  And people around the building seem to share my sentiments.   Look for my Super Bowl predictions coming very soon, as I give my opinions on each team on both sides of the ball. Drew Stanton is a quarterback with the Detroit Lions. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.drewstanton.com.  Written By Drew StantonJanuary 22, 2009 For those of us players not preparing for the Super Bowl, it seems that we are all doing whatever makes us happy.   For some, it is a vacation to a warm destination. Others, including me, continue to dwell where we play or are from, for various reasons.  My main two reasons are that I am getting married in June, and I have been anxiously waiting to see who our offensive coordinator and quarterback coach are going to be.First, getting married is something I have been looking forward to since the day we got engaged.  Unfortunately, once you really get down to the nitty-gritty, it can become frustrating at times.  Luckily, my beautiful bride-to-be has been unbelievable in coordinating things and the majority of stuff has gone smoothly.  Registering at stores, on the other hand, can be extremely overwhelming.  Cake tasting, though, not overrated at all.   During the off-season I really get a chance to relax and focus on the things I deem important outside of football.  Obviously, the wedding is important, but spending more time with my fiancée has been great.   Being an athlete I can only go so long without wanting to do physical activity, that is just how I am wired.  But it is important to try and find that balance of when the season ends and when you get back to training very hard.  I think this year I have a good understanding and have everything mapped out for an off-season program.  I have started doing yoga 5 times a week and enjoy it tremendously.  I have been doing yoga off-and-on for about three years now, but have become very dedicated to my practice this year.  It is amazing all the benefits I receive from doing it, and I try to do it as much as possible when we report back.  Plus it helps having your fiancée be a yoga instructor.  A new yoga studio has open in downtown Plymouth called The Yoga Room, and I have been going there a lot and will continue to do so.I really do not have much to report about Coach Schwartz.  He called me yesterday and left a message from the Senior Bowl.  I do not know how much you can take from a voicemail, but I was very excited after getting the message.  I called him back, but his phone went to voicemail right away, which meant he was probably on the plane back to Detroit.  I then went in today to introduce myself in person, but he was in an interview with someone who I would love to get here in Detroit, but will remain nameless at this point.  His secretary informed me that it would probably last the rest of the day, so I will attempt again tomorrow.   I will give you updates as I get them, but my first impression of Coach Schwartz is a great one.  And people around the building seem to share my sentiments.   Look for my Super Bowl predictions coming very soon, as I give my opinions on each team on both sides of the ball. Drew Stanton is a quarterback with the Detroit Lions. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.drewstanton.com.  Thu, 22 Jan 2009 20:52:26 GMT http://affiliate.kickapps.com/_A-Wedding-and-a-New-Coach/BLOG/167704/42930.html Drew 2009-01-22T20:52:26Z Drew Stanton Written By Drew StantonJanuary 22, 2009 For those of us players not preparing for the Super Bowl, it seems that we are all doing whatever makes us happy.   For some, it is a vacation to a warm destination. Others, including me, continue to dwell where we play or are from, for various reasons.  My main two reasons are that I am getting married in June, and I have been anxiously waiting to see who our offensive coordinator and quarterback coach are going to be.First, getting married is something I have been looking forward to since the day we got engaged.  Unfortunately, once you really get down to the nitty-gritty, it can become frustrating at times.  Luckily, my beautiful bride-to-be has been unbelievable in coordinating things and the majority of stuff has gone smoothly.  Registering at stores, on the other hand, can be extremely overwhelming.  Cake tasting, though, not overrated at all.   During the off-season I really get a chance to relax and focus on the things I deem important outside of football.  Obviously, the wedding is important, but spending more time with my fiancée has been great.   Being an athlete I can only go so long without wanting to do physical activity, that is just how I am wired.  But it is important to try and find that balance of when the season ends and when you get back to training very hard.  I think this year I have a good understanding and have everything mapped out for an off-season program.  I have started doing yoga 5 times a week and enjoy it tremendously.  I have been doing yoga off-and-on for about three years now, but have become very dedicated to my practice this year.  It is amazing all the benefits I receive from doing it, and I try to do it as much as possible when we report back.  Plus it helps having your fiancée be a yoga instructor.  A new yoga studio has open in downtown Plymouth called The Yoga Room, and I have been going there a lot and will continue to do so.I really do not have much to report about Coach Schwartz.  He called me yesterday and left a message from the Senior Bowl.  I do not know how much you can take from a voicemail, but I was very excited after getting the message.  I called him back, but his phone went to voicemail right away, which meant he was probably on the plane back to Detroit.  I then went in today to introduce myself in person, but he was in an interview with someone who I would love to get here in Detroit, but will remain nameless at this point.  His secretary informed me that it would probably last the rest of the day, so I will attempt again tomorrow.   I will give you updates as I get them, but my first impression of Coach Schwartz is a great one.  And people around the building seem to share my sentiments.   Look for my Super Bowl predictions coming very soon, as I give my opinions on each team on both sides of the ball. Drew Stanton is a quarterback with the Detroit Lions. His blog for www.playerpress.com runs at www.drewstanton.com.  nonadult false A Wedding and a New Coach text blog 2658 1 5.0 http://affiliate.kickapps.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=3059937&as=42930 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/42930/photos/PHOTO_1495683_42930_3059937_ap_160X120.jpg false 4 0 167704 3059937 Member 0