QB

Matt Stafford

(+) Stafford’s rookie year was a success on the Fantasy landscape and is now in the rearview mirror
(+) Stafford has very solid Red Zone targets in superhuman Megatronic Calvin Johnson and TE Brandon Pettigrew
(+) The addition of Jahvid Best and Nate Burleson puts some real playmakers in Staff’s arsenal
(+) Offensive Coordinator Scott Linehan trends toward throwing the ball; he gave Stafford a nice season of experience with Detroit ending up 6th overall in pass attempts
(–) Stafford will be running for his life again this season trying to find open targets behind a weak Detroit Offensive Line (Ranked 24th in the league)
(–) Matty threw 20 picks last season, and while that number should come down a bit, the pass-heavy offense will likely produce a similar amount of turnovers this year

RB

Jahvid Best

(+) Jahvid Best might just be the most electric player to come along since, oh… Barry Sanders?
(+) To quote Coach Jim Schwartz:  "Some people watch adult videos on their computer.  I go to YouTube and watch Jahvid Best highlight clips. That’s what gets me aroused."
(+) He’ll be in on every down, regardless of position on the field
(–) His lack of size and feverish style of play could end up getting him hurt the way it did in college
(–) Regarding his college career, Best dealt with numerous injuries, most recently a concussion… which is never a good thing for an RB
(–) Detroit has been one of the top-3 most pass-happy teams in the league over the past decade
(–) The Lions have one of the tougher run schedules in the league (8th)

Kevin Smith

(+) Smith is still very young and before last season, was expected by most to be a big producer for years to come
(+) Led the Lions in rushing his only two years in the league
(–) The Lions drafted Jahvid Best with the 30th overall pick… and we happen to be drooling over Best’s potential
(–) Kevin is coming off of reconstructive knee surgery and will likely be limited this season by injury
(–) Terrible O-line and rush schedule (31st in run blocking and 25th rush SOS)

WR

Calvin Johnson

(+)The Lions bringing in Nate Burleson and Tony Scheffler will take the double/triple-teams off of him this year
(+) Calvin has elite size for a WR and top-5 hands in the game
(+) Averages close to 10 targets/game and is one of the top-5 red-zone WRs in the game
(+) Matthew Stafford loves him and they looked to be getting into a real groove right before Stafford went down for the year
(+) The Lions will still likely be playing from behind a bunch, which means a ton of passing
(–) A rookie running back might not scare opposing defenses
(–) Has Darrelle Revis on the schedule this year

Nate Burleson

(+) Joins perhaps the most physically gifted WR in the league, MEGATRON, and should sneak into some soft #2 cornerback situations without safety help
(+) Stafford is a clear upgrade over Hasselbeck for this season, so Burleson could be in line for some better numbers than in 2009 (1,000 yards and 5 TDs is reachable)
(–) Burleson cannot stay on the field, as he missed 15 games in ’08, 3 games in ’09, and has tried to play hurt many other times
(–) Detroit will struggle to protect Stafford (and he’s not exactly a physical beacon of toughness), so if Matty gets hurt, Burleson’s value drops dramatically

Bryant Johnson

TE

Tony Sheffler

(+) Scheffler has good hands and nice speed at the TE position and they are talking about using him in the slot similar to how Indy uses Dallas Clark
(+) Brandon Pettigrew is coming off ACL surgery and will be brought along cautiously and used in more of a blocking role
(+) Scheffler is averaging 14.9 yards per reception over the past two seasons which ranks #1 for TE in that time span
(–) Regardless of Pettigrew’s injury, Detroit is invested in him and when he is ready, a committee approach seems likely
(–) The Detroit O-Line struggles in pass protection which could create the need for more blocking from the TE position

Brandon Pettigrew

-  The Detroit Lions came off a season in which they could do no worse after their 0-16 year which brought them Matthew Safford
-  In 2009 the Lions had low expectations with their rookie QB starting from week 1.
-  The Lions ended the season 2-14 and missed the playoffs yet again
-  The Lions scored 262 points and allowed 494 against them

2009 Total Points Rank:           2nd (139 tot pts)
2009 Average/Game Rank:     2nd (8.7 pts/gm)

FR=Fumbles Recoverd, PA=Points Allowed, FP Rank=Fantasy Points Rank, FP/G=Fantasy Points per Game

2010 Lions Defensive Outlook... 

You’re our kind if you are reading this write up on the Detroit Lions defense.  Send an application to spike@pyromaniac.com, you’re just the kind of guy we’re looking for.

Don’t draft ‘em, just don’t do it, but if you’re a Lions fan get ready to be very happy with a new face on this defense.  Ndamukong Suh will do wonders to your line.  As a Bears fan, I can say with a dreadful heart, that when I see the Lions investing early first rounders into defensive lineman, things just might be turning around.  It’s about time.  Stay tuned Lions fans. 

-  Larry Foote led the team with 99 tackles, Louis Delmas had 94
-  The Lions had 26 sacks last season
-  Leading sacker was Cliff Avril with 5.5
-  How can the Lions acclimate Suh in and make the overall defense stronger
-  Louis Delamas and 2 others led the team with 2 INTs each
-  Team forced 18 fumbles
-  Team forced a total of 27 turnovers

Team PYRO is hyper about Offensive Lines!  Understanding who will be blocking for the players on your roster is vital to your teams Fantasy success.  We take many factors into account when we rank these units, including weight, height, starts together as a unit, starts per year played, rushing average, sacks allowed, draft position, contract situation, pro bowl/all pro honors, Adjusted Line Yardage (ALY) and Adjusted Sack Rate (stats found at the link below).  O-Line Rank is one more piece of the puzzle that directs us towards delivering you a Fantasy Football Championship. 

The fantasy lifeblood of the players sitting on your roster boils down to one EXTREMELY important stat.  Drum Roll please……………………………  ATTEMPTS!!!!  Ahhhh, there, we said it.  Before you can make a play, you gotta have the pill in your hands.  It’s pretty simple really, in the immortal words of the maligned Keyshawn Johnson… “Just give me the damn ball”.  There is no “I” in the word “team”, but don’t fool yourself, it’s in the word rotisserie twice. 

For the QB, it’s Pass Attempts, for the RB, it’s Carries, and for the WR and TE, it’s Targets.  If you look at the players in the league who are amassing large quantities of points, they are the ones who are seeing the rock come their way the most often.  Sure, you have to be good enough to do something with the p-skin when you get it, but never forget, you can’t make a play until you have the pill in your hands. 

The PYRO Offensive scheme charts aim to deliver you perhaps the most important information you could attain before and after draft day; Will my player get the chances they need to put out or will they be shut out?  It really boils down to what the offensive game plan on Sunday is.  These charts should provide some perspective on which teams are going to live by land and which are going to live by air. 

By Air

-  Stafford had a rookie season in which he showed flashes of greatness and other moments where he struggled,
       whether the moments were due to a shoulder injury or his decision making remains to be seen
-  Stafford will look to build on his strengths in the next season and hopefully play a full 16 game schedule
-  Team ranked 21st in the league with 3,168 passing yards
-  Calvin Johnson when healthy can be one of the best receivers in the game
-  Nate Burleson, Derrick Williams, and Bryant Johnson will provide depth at WR
-  Pettigrew will be joined by Tony Scheffler to form a dynamic duo at TE
-  Jahvid Best and Kevin Smith are both prolific pass catchers out of the backfield

By Land

-  The Lions got decent production out of Kevin Smith while he was healthy last season
-  Kevin Smith is still penciled in as the teams starter depending on how he returns from injury
-  Jahvid Best was drafted for his big play ability and his value as a two-dimensional back
-  Detroit ranked 24th in the league in rushing piling up 1,616 yards on the ground 

RZ Touches (Position Rank) = The first number you see is Red Zone Touches (a pass attempt, a carry, or a target inside the 20 yard line).  The number in the parentheses is where this player ranks amongst the rest of the NFL at that position.

% of Teams RZ Touches (Position Rank) = The first number is the players percentage of touches cut out against the total number of the Teams Red Zone plays called.  The number in the parentheses is where this player ranks amongst the rest of the NFL at that position.  So, if Thomas Jones received a touch in 45 percent of the Jets Red Zone calls last year, and Knowshon Moreno received a touch in 38 percent of all the Broncos plays last year, Jones would be ranked higher at his position than Moreno would be.

RZ TD Success Rate (Position Rank) = The first number is the percentage of which an individual player was able to score a TD against his total number of touches.   The number in the parentheses is where this player ranks amongst the rest of the NFL at that position.

Why Should I look at this Chart?

We couldn’t possibly take up a whole minute of your valuable fantasy football research time babbling about the importance of Attempts for your team and then leave out Red Zone Tendencies.

Yep, same drill with these charts, only a lot more important if scoring TD’s is what you’re leagues about.  The PYRO Red Zone Tendencies chart delivers a touchdown focused microcosm of the Offensive Scheme section.

To score a TD, your player needs a touch (pass att, carry, or target), and when they get a touch inside the 20, great things can happen for your Fantasy teams total points line.

It’s really easy, touches are King and converting a touch in the red is Fantasy Gold.

PYRO 2010 Lion Leaders in the Red Zone...

1. Jahvid Best
2. Kevin Smith
3. Calvin Johnson
4. Brandon Pettigrew
5. Tony Sheffler

Grade* = Team PYRO took this number directly from NFL.COM - not a number devised here by us, you know, your friends who don’t sleep?  In other words, proceed with caution knowing the source, but we thought it was at least a worthy effort and could help you gauge just how solid the teams draft was.  We hope it helps, we think it will.

Draft Bits...

Wow do we like RB Jahvid.  This kid could be Fantasy relevant right away.  The Lions have a lot going against them, but they seem to have enough in the passing game to take the heat off Best.  Take a chance on this kid.

Team PYRO considers our Strength of Schedule data an essential part of building you a Fantasy Championship.  This data is integral in helping us rank our players each year.  So far, so good.  We go to GREAT lengths to deliver you this PYRO nugget and we know nobody else in the industry is putting forth this type of effort, which puts you at a great advantage if you have been using us as your fantasy football research outlet.  Our SoS considers three factors when determining rankings for schedules for the upcoming year:

1) 75% weight is applied to the strength of defense from the previous season.  This is determined by fantasy points given up (run and pass).  Easy right? Here's where Team Pyro goes deep: before we get to that number, we factor in the quality of teams that these defenses had to face (essentially, a strength-of-schedule for the prior season).

 
2) 20% weight is applied to Free-Agent, Trade, and Injury Returns that will help or hurt the team for the current year.  We rank each players impact to their former team (2008), sum it all up, and then rank each team accordingly.

3) 5% weight is applied to the NFL Drafts incoming rookie impact.  It's a challenge to successfully gauge a rookie's effectiveness (too many Jamarcus Russells out there) which is why we valued it so low.  Some teams not only drafted highly touted defensemen this year, but will be immediately filling deficient positions from '09 with rookies, and usually, anything is an upgrade when you are starting a rookie.

Chart Key =

Ranking:  1=easiest  32=toughest

QB's, WR's, and TE's

(INDY) Peyton Manning, Reggie Wayne, and Dallas Clark have the EASIEST passing schedule in 2010

(BALT) Joe Flacco, Anquan Boldin, and Todd Heap have the HARDEST passing schedule in 2010

RB's

(SF) Frank Gore has the EASIEST rushing schedule in 2010

(MIA) Ronnie Brown has the HARDEST rushing schedule in 2010

July 13, 2010

Agreed to terms with QB Shaun Hill.

July 2, 2010

Signed CB Dre' Bly to a two-year contract. Released CB Paul Pratt.

July 1, 2010

Agreed to terms with WR Tim Toone. Signed PK Aaron Pettrey. Claimed DT Leger Douzable off waivers.

June 30, 2010

Agreed to terms with CB Amari Spievey.

June 26, 2010

Signed OT Jason Fox to a three-year contract.

May 11, 2010

Signed TE John Madsen. Released WR Kole Heckendorf.

May 1, 2010

Signed LB Caleb Campbell, CB Aaron Berry, DT Robert Callaway, FB Matt Clapp, TE Richard Dickson, WR Mike Moore, WR Contrevious Parks, and LS Sam Scroggins.

April 20, 2010

Signed S Daniel Bullocks. Released TE Michael Matthews.

April 12, 2010

Agreed to terms with DE Jared DeVries on a one-year contract.

April 6, 2010

Signed CB Dante Wesley to a two-year contract.

March 23, 2010

Signed LB Landon Johnson. Re-signed S Marquand Manuel.

March 11, 2010

Signed T Jon Jansen and LB Vinny Ciurciu to one-year contracts.

March 10, 2010

Signed CB Jonathan Wade.

March 8, 2010

Re-signed TE Will Heller to a three-year contract. Signed WR Brian Clark to a one-year contract. Released DE Dewayne White. Acquired CB Chris Houston from Atlanta for 2010 fifth- and sixth-round draft picks.

March 5, 2010

Agreed to terms with DE Kyle Vanden Bosch on a four-year contract. Acquired DT Corey Williams from Cleveland for a 2010 fifth- and seventh-round draft pick.

February 23, 2010

Released DE Jared DeVries.

January 22, 2010

Named Danny Crossman special teams coordinator.