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One thing you can count on with the Detroit Lions is that they are never, ever boring. Follow the latest news including injuries, roster moves and more here daily from Oakland Press beat writer Paula Pasche. Plus you'll find regular commentary about the team.

5/12/2010

Lions' Delmas played by the rules, Cushing didn't

Louis Delmas deserved more.

Brian Cushing deserved much less.

Delmas, the Lions free safety, was never in the race for the NFL defensive rookie for the 2009 season. Yes, the Lions were 2-14. But Delmas did something no other NFL rookie had done — he scored on an interception return, a fumble return and a safety. There’s only three ways a defensman can score and Delmas hit for the cycle.

More importantly, he quickly became a leader on defense. Yes, it was the NFL’s worst, but it was not because of his play.

Cushing, on the other hand, should be an embarrassment to the league. The Houston Texans linebacker was originally voted as the defensive rookie of the year. Then he tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs, was suspended for the first four games of this season and the voting (by 50 writers and broadcasters who cover the NFL) was re-done.

He still won. The announcement was just made.

Hey, cheating does pay.

ProFootballTalk.com checked in with this: “Cushing has an opportunity to emerge from the shadows, to address the positive result and the suspension, to tell the truth about what he took and why he took it, to embrace the consequences, to commit to being clean in the future, and to refuse to accept an award that was secured via a violation of the rules.’’

It’s a great idea. Too bad it probably won’t happen.

(Follow me on Twitter @paulapasche.

10 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Question: "return to its glory years as they rebuild."

When were those?

The one year where they actually won a playoff game?

When I lived in Mass, the Patriots were a joke, how many Super Bowls since then?

Would a Detroit fan even know what "glory years" means?

10:10 AM 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The Glory years would be the 50's when the Lions were NFL champions 3 times. Not many people actually remember those times, but that doesn't mean they didn't happpen.

10:29 AM 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

you're d*n right we do!

i remember walking past Dick Lane and seeing him sit in a chair and cry;

i remember a reporter asking Karras why did he fall down with clear sailing to the end zone with a fumble and an avalanche of players convoying him--"because i couldn't see that far";

i remember when Joe Schmidt was asked why it was important to win a seemingly meaningless game against Green Bay--"we sent them to Miami (the former Playoff Bowl Lombardi called the "Loser's Bowl")...that's where they belong";

i remember when Lem Barney and Mike Weger sang background for Marvin on his album, "What's Going On', and even talked Marvin into a tryout;

i remember when a PK normally sure as gold missed a simple FG that would've beat SF and put us in the playoffs by less than 6 inches;

i remember when Milt Plum deliberately threw the ball and game away to Herb Adderly when we had GB licked in 1962, and KArras and Joe Schmidt trying to literally kill Plum in the lockerroom afterward--and THAT is the real reason why Karras got suspended for what most players were doing to supplement their pathetic salaries and EVERY owner was doing just for fun;

i remember the first pass somebody threw at Lem Barney--who promptly returned it for six;

i remember the entire OL carrying Barry on their shoulders after he ran for 2 grand--you see anyone carrying Chris Johnson or anybody else?

oh, yes, we had glory days, and i remember almost every one of them;

if you look closely, you will see ours is a history of not losing but falling just short, even when we were predicted--yes, predicted--to win a super bowl once;

in sum, the smodern story of this team is not just losing, but coming tantalisingly close at times to winning, only to fall victim to the most insidious string of racetrack bad luck;

in one word, our story is, "almost";

10:38 AM 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

@anonymous Awesome post at 10:38 am. Thanks for the history lesson!

10:54 AM 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I remember also when we used to BEAT New England every time that they came to our field.
And we will start that tradition Again this year.
I was there at the Game against Tampa Bay where Barry Sanders Ran 50 sum yards against them. What a great game.
And also saw the Playoff game against Dallas in 1991. Has it been that Long? Well it is Time to do that again. Only this Time it will be time to GO ALL the way.
There have been glory Days!
And there will BE more Glory Days Comming in the Near Future!

11:53 AM 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This is just another example of the dishonesty that is a large part of the NFL!
And it is the Black eye that all or most sports in our country has.
Along with everything From Horrible calls from the refs That are so Blantantly Wrong and Obveously Dishonest.
Infact The way that the refs have been so blaintantly dishonest in games THAT is ONE other reason that a lot of Detroit fans choose not to go to games.
It isn't that the Fans don't believe that we will have a TEAM good enough to win it all.
A lot of it is because a lot of Fans believe that the refs are being paid to make sure that the Lions never Win.
NO TEAM can win if other TEAMS,Players or outside enfluances are paying off REFS to make sure that The LIONS DON"T win NO matter how good of a TEAM we are.
Year After Year after year we have watched this TEAM Be held back By the REFS and there dishonest calls that are so blaintant that it isn't Funny.And even though Most of our coach's will try to tell us that, that is not the reason for loses in key games at key times of the games.We see it time and time again.
And a lot of times and mostly when we have a key play at a turning point in the game.
Like one of the 90 yard pass plays that is brought back Just when the Lions where going to go on top and take the lead only to be taken away by the refs.And all the wind is taken out of our sails and the players Give up again by another BAD call.
Yes,The refs are doing what they are paid for!
LIONS,YOU won't win until you get the refs in your pocket.

12:43 PM 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

On an earlier post I said 50 some yards for Barry against Tampa Bay
I was meant to say 250 sum yards.

12:46 PM 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Just to clarify that that is not the reason that the Lions have been losing for the past three years.
It wasn't the refs that were holding us back these last three years. It has been our TEAM.
However,we have seen good teams in the past that have been taken down by the refs NOT the other TEAMS.

12:52 PM 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You have to be kidding me when you write this? There is no way that Cushing should be an "embarrasment" because of something he tested positive for once in Septemeber. He had numerous clean(negative) tests and that meant whatever he had was a flare up at the time of the test and it was no longer in his body. So if your a reporter get your facts straight and never call a player an "embarrasment" becuase when I hear that I am embarrased for you.

2:08 PM 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I guess that last annonymous comment was left by a doctor or a urologist. A flare up??? Are we talking about steroids or hemmoroids? My question is this. If he tested positive in Sept 2009 then why is he getting suspended now? Why does he get to play his rookie season just to win DROY in the first place? That's the NFL's fault. The AP elected him to DROY for a 2nd time and that's their fault.

2:34 AM 

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