Check it out over at Bleacher Report

Grand Valley State wide receiver Eric Fowler was among four players waived today by the Detroit Lions as the team continues to creep toward the 53-man roster limit.

The local product was a fan favorite and drew praise from coaches for his sure hands and willing blocking. Fowler--out of practice squad eligibility--will earn tryouts elsewhere but is likely to be back in Allen Park next summer.

Also waived by the team today: DE Chima Ihekwoaba, LB Lee Campbell, and waive/injured TE Jake Nordin (Torn Labrum.)

According to Fox Sports Adam Caplan, the team is expected to place Nordin on IR when/if he clears waivers.

Ihekwoaba, a Canada native, is a practice squad candidate. League rules allow for a ninth player to be placed on the eight-man roster so long as his full-time residence is not in the United States.

However, Ihekwoaba was drafted in the second round of the CFL draft and may want to return home.

Campbell was a three-year starter for University of Minnesota and also has practice squad eligibility.

The Detroit Lions are adding Rocky Boiman according to Pro Football Talk. The veteran linebacker and special teamer has plenty of experience with both head coach Jim Schwartz and defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham. 

The 6'4", 245 lb linebacker played for the Tennessee Titans in 2002-2005 while Schwartz was the defensive coordinator and Cunningham was his position coach.

In 2008, Boiman played again for Cunningham in Kansas City.

In addition, Boiman's new position coach, Matt Burke, was a defensive quality control assistant for the Titans from 2004-2008.

That high level of familiarity explains the late addition of Boiman who is a known commodity to this coaching staff and didn't neccesarily need to prove anything. The 30-year-old did work out for the Lions earlier this year and has undergone a physical.

Boiman adds very little in terms of top-end talent for the Lions, but likely spells the end of Vinny Ciurciu who has a very similar skill set and has underperformed this preseason.

 

 

SATIRE — With World Cup fever hitting the United States like a calm summer's breeze, it seemed fitting that someone took America's favorite punchline and our favorite squad, the Detroit Lions, and put them on the soccer pitch.

It just makes sense.

The Lions newest superstar, Ndamukong Suh, got most of his athletic training at a young age playing soccer and still roots hard for the Cameroon Lions to this very day.

So what would the Detroit Lions look like as a soccer team?

Check it out...

The Detroit Lions are a pretty bad football team.

There, I said it.

Another big secret: the city of Detroit is in pretty bad shape right now as well.

Now, Dave Bing has a lot of huge plans to make Detroit a better place. More power to him! But, years of decay combined with a healthy spattering of gang violence is enough to drive citizens away from any town—even one with history like Detroit.

Detroit brought us Motown, Ford cars, the assembly line, Eminem and Marvin Gaye, the Hughes brothers and Tim Allen, and Kwame Kilpatrick!

Even Detroit can falter.

Cities Like This Have Crumbled Before

A friend of mine recently brought up a classical parallel to Detroit.

Ephesus, a town in modern day Turkey was a epicenter of commerce from the Greek era all the way into the Byzantine dynasty. It's location on accessible waterways and a temple to Artemis made Ephesus a destination spot for any traveler.

Then, as Christianity took hold, the temple was destroyed and eventually silt built up in the waterways.

When the Turks arrived, Ephesus was hardly a destination—it was a shell of its former self.

Forty years ago, Jesse McCartney wouldn't have gotten a record deal anywhere near Detroit, let alone been able to sing at a Thanksgiving day game on national TV.

Forty years ago, the Jackson Five would've crooned "I'll Be There" while thousands of United Way-clad children held candles right before being joined by Stevie Wonder in a "Signed, Sealed, Delivered/A.B.C." medley going straight into Diana Ross bursting onto stage for a group rendition of " Ain't No Mountain High Enough."

I'm a little impressed just thinking about the possibility.

But no, Detroit is not the central locale for music anymore—that temple has been destroyed.

And the waterway we all knew as the auto industry is silting up as well.

Sure, Ford (who also owns the Lions) is doing just fine, but plants are being built in different cities, states, and countries. Eventually, the legacy that Henry left this fine city might only be seen at Greenfield Village.

Why Go to Detroit?

Detroit isn't a pass-through city like Chicago or Indianapolis. It doesn't have the night life of growing cities like Miami or Minneapolis.

With no jobs and a bunch of crime, it has a stigma that is well-deserved (although still overblown by outsiders) making it an undesirable destination for young families looking to relocate.

It also isn't a great location for NFL athletes looking to relocate.

Sports Illustrated often polls professional athletes. Recently, NFL players named Detroit the fourth-least desired city to play in—following Oakland, Buffalo, and Green Bay.

Twelve percent of players called Detroit the city they would least like to play for, compared to only seven percent for Cleveland.

Cleveland!

Have you been to Cleveland?!?

Maybe It's Not the City, But the Team

Other things those cities in the Sports Illustrated poll have in common (save Green Bay) are losing seasons and a history of ineptitude. Perhaps NFL players would play in Detroit, just not for the Lions!

Fans might feel the same way.

As national pundit after national pundit blames the economic woes of the city for low merchandise sales and historic blackout numbers, fans in Ann Arbor and Grosse Pointe are close enough to drive and doing just fine financially.

Maybe NFL players, and fans, are fine with Detroit, just not playing for or rooting for a bad football team.

Michigan has a rich football heritage.

With Michigan, Michigan State, Central, Western, Eastern, Northern, Grand Valley, Saginaw Valley, Wayne State, and even Hillsdale *gasp* there are a lot of college football fans.

The Lions fans that permeate the web are knowledgeable and loyal.

But those who like football, and those who still root for the Lions specifically, aren't buying tickets, aren't buying jerseys.

Martin Mayhew, Jim Schwartz, Matthew Stafford, and Ndamukong Suh have a lot of work on their hands.

A Look to the Future

As teams like Jacksonville and Buffalo get put on the chopping block for the NFL's next foray into the city of L.A., Roger Goodell has further plans for expansion.

Toronto, San Antonio, Mexico City, London—all those cities could have NFL teams by 2030, in most of our lifetimes.

The Honolulu Blue-clad London Lions?

Driving to Toronto to see Joey Harrington Jr. throw interceptions?

Becoming a Browns fan?

Yuck!

Once the new car smell in Ford Field is replaced by stale beer and vomit odors, the Lions could easily be on the chopping block.

Unless the team gets better, and unless the city gets better.

Without a renaissance in Detroit, the Lions could go from bad to nonexistent.