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By Leland Stein III Earlier in the season some were calling for


the head of Lions star receiver Calvin Johnson. I could only shake my head.


In the Game By Leland Stein III


NFL: Smart move on helmets-to- helmet hits


Congratulations to the NFL for finally and


forcefully implementing a crackdown on un- necessary and superfluous helmet-to-helmet hits.


I’ve been playing, coaching, watching and/


or writing about football for over 40 years, and I’ve seen the game change drastically. A guard used to weigh 230 to 240 pounds, now all linemen are at 300 pounds. Most of today’s missiles pawning themselves off as lineback- ers weighed in at 210 to 220, now they are in the 240 to 250 range.


The athletes have gotten bigger, stronger


and faster. Sure there were always the excep- tional ones, like sprinter Bob Hayes, and su- perman Jim Brown and mean machine Sam


After all, in the first game of the season


versus Chicago, the Lions’ million dollar in- vestment, second-year quarterback Matthew Stafford, injured his right shoulder and missed the teams’ next five games.


In steps career backup Shawn Hill and


people expect Johnson to light up the league? Another thing I felt was that the Lions were being too smart for themselves, knowing that Johnson was going to be doubled teamed, so they used him as a decoy far too often.


I’ve always believed that if a player is your


best player, use him and use him. The entire NFL knew Jim Brown was going to carry the rock, but Cleveland gave it to him anyway. Jerry Rice is the NFL’s all-time receiving king and all knew the ball was coming his way every game all game long.


So it has been refreshing to see the Lions ac-


tually throw Johnson’s way consistently. With a nickname like “Megatron” and possessing a rare combination of size (6-feet-5, 236 pounds), speed (4.35 sec 40-yard dash), strength, and leaping ability (45 inch vertical leap), the ball needs to find its way to him as much as pos- sible every game.


When the Lions drafted him with the second


overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft out of Geor- gia Tech, it surely could not have been to use him as a decoy. When he left Georgia Tech he was the school’s all-time receiving yardage and touchdowns leader.


If Stafford really becomes what all hope he


will be, I’m sure Johnson will benefit from a consistent relationship with a quality quarter- back.


“Matthew and I talk all the time about what


PITTSBURGH’S JAMES HARRISON has been fined over $100,000 for head-to head hits.


Huff, but they were the exceptions. The NFL saw their athletes getting bigger


and stronger, so they outlawed the horse collar and close-line hit to the neck and head. So this is a natural progression for a league trying to control a violent game.


I’ve had my bell rung so many times, I


think that is what is wrong with me today. We had to play through all that. After all, if there wasn’t any blood and you were able to walk after the cobwebs cleared, how could you tell anyone you were hurt?


With better medical practice and more


history it is a fact that helmet-to-helmet hits aid the onset of concussion syndrome and heightens the risk of premature senility, Al- zheimer’s and depression.


I was shocked when so many pundits


wailed against the NFL’s tightened rules that will include suspensions and hefty fines. Many said it would change the game, water down what the fans really like to see and place the players in a position where they will approach a hit not at full speed.


I think those are some pretty stupid re-


torts. Football is a violent game and people will continue to get their block knocked off, and the sound of crashing shoulder pads make just as much noise as helmets banging together.


Unfortunately many of the NFL TV pun-


dits, the athletes themselves and some fans seem to be taking their cue from the era of the “big hit” that will make ESPN Plays of the Day. Almost every player wants to make that list and many of the fans always watch and go “oooohhhhhhhh!”


Players have been encouraged by the


highlight film and coaches cajole players to crush an opponent. I really believe the game can be contested without trying to knock another player out the game. Just make the tackle, get up and play on. After all, I know the line between reality and video games is being skewed out of whack, but these are real human beings and anything that can make this violent game safer should be enacted.


Again, I applaud the NFL on its stance


against the helmet-to-helmet hits. It was great to see the intense week of conversa- tion after the league announced that it was fining three players as part of a plan to crack down on those who violate the league’s safety rules. Yes, I understand that even as officials are stiffening penalties, critics are pointing out that the NFL and television networks have capitalized for years on the same kind of bone-crunching hits they are now con- demning. To that I say so what! Everyone can change their direction if they see they might fall off a cliff. It is wise to reverse field and drive a different way.


That is why I watched the college and pro-


fessional football scene with intent, and for the most part it happened like I thought it would. Game after game, defensive players were making a better effort to lead with their shoulder pads, pull up when a defenseless re- ceiver clearly had no chance to catch a pass and aim at a lower pad level at the quarter- back, too.


I love football, but I got no joy out of seeing


my brother men Mohamed Massaquoi, Todd Heap and DeSean Jackson quivering knocked out on the ground from head hits. As fast and big as these men are someone was due to get a broken neck or even killed in the 100 yard ring.


For once I agree with the suits! Leland Stein can be reached at lelstein3@


aol.com.


we can do together on the field,” Johnson said following his three touchdown effort against Washington. “The more we work together the better we will become. We are getting on the same page and that is what you want from a quarterback and receiver. I think we can have something special here with time.”


Johnson’s teammates already feel that he is


special and is ready to break out big. “I feel he is in the top three in the NFL as a


receiver,” said Nate Burleson. “I line up on the other side from him every game and I see how the defenses rotate to his side. It is a fact most


November 10-16, 2010


Lions’ Johnson coming up COMMENTARY


Calvin Johnson. - Andre Smith photo


teams game plan for him and he is always a focus to what defenses are trying to do. When they slip up and leave him in single coverage we all see what happen!”


Concurred rookie defensive lineman Ndamu-


kong Suh: “From the first time I saw him in practice I knew he was special. He is surly one of the elite receivers in the league. That is why we call him ‘Big Play C.J.’ ”


Lions standout safety Louis Delmas is


charged with checking some of the best receiv- ers in the league game after game, so he is a valid resource on Johnson’s capabilities.


“He can run like a 5-foot-8 receiver, but we


all know that he is a 6-foot-5 beast,” he said. “This is my second year in the league and I’ve seen enough to say he is the best receiver in the league.”


Johnson’s numbers are not spectacular, but


there are a number of reasons for starting with the quarterback position. Still, as a sopho- more, he made 34 receptions for 646 yards and 10 touchdowns. His third year in the league he caught 40 passes for 736 yards and eight touchdowns.


CALVIN JOHNSON celebrates one of his three touchdown catches. — Lakeisha Harvey


In spite of the Lions 0–16 season in 2008


Johnson finished 5th in receiving yards (1,331), 7th in receiving yards per game (83.2), and led the league in receiving touchdowns (12). He finished 2009 with 67 receptions for 984 yards and 5 TDs, while completely missing 2 games.


Generally regarded as a humble and well-


mannered man, do not mistake his quiet de- meanor for soft. In the final three months of the 2007 season he needed the medication to help him play with a bone bruise in his back.


“I was on meds the rest of the season,” he


said. “I was taking Vicodin twice a game just to get through the game. I stayed hurt the whole season, probably because I was trying to come back too soon.”


With the Chicago catch, no catch behind


him, he has picked up his game and it will be interesting to see how much he and Stafford can impact the remaining Lions contests.


Leland Stein can be reached at lelstein3@ aol.com. Willie Horton’s Day


By Leland Stein III Recently, for the seventh con-


secutive year, the State of Michi- gan recognized Detroit Northwest- ern and Tigers’ icon Willie Horton for his ability to negotiate obsta- cles and achieve a lifetime of suc- cess with the annual Willie Horton Day.


Horton is only the fourth person


in Michigan history to be given a day, with the third being Rosa Parks. He received this honor in 2004 when Governor Jennifer Granholm signed House Bill No. 5200, which permanently declares October 18 of each year as “Willie Horton Day.” The legislature chose to recognize the seven-time all- star for his humanitarian efforts in the city and the state. The date of the honor coincides with his birth- day.


For the first time Horton, who


now serves as a special assistant to Tigers president, CEO and gen- eral manager David Dombrowski, held his special day at his alma mater Northwestern High.


On hand to help Horton were


Detroit City Council president pro tem Gary Brown, State Represen- tative Fred Durhal, Jr. and Joe Barber, president of Northwestern High School Alumni Association. Also on hand were executives from the Detroit Tigers baseball organi- zation.


“I got together with some good


people and we decided to get con- nected to my city school,” Horton said. “I hope this is the beginning of something good and maybe it will get even bigger.


“I got to speak to the kids about


the great history of the school they attend. I think we have to remind them that they attend a school that has a lot of noteworthy people come through it. People always talk about the negative, but I’m living proof that there are many, many people that have come through the Detroit schools and have made themselves good mem- bers of society. We have to recog- nize the great history of Detroit and pass it down to our younger generation, so they can feel good about where they live, go to school and the environment they live in.”


Horton, speaking to 11th and


12th graders, said he let the kids know about how Northwestern has helped him and he also talked to them about keeping their dreams alive and not letting others dis- suade them.


“I’ve seen things go from Dr.


King to President Obama and that is proof that dreams do come true,” he explained.


WILLIE HORTON Day at Northwestern High School. WILLIE HORTON with Northwestern students. “When I first got with the Tigers


in Tiger Town it took me five years to get a taxi and stay with the White players. I credit the things I learned growing up in Detroit that helped me walk through and endure a lot of things beyond the field that that were put in front of me.”


Dreams can be hard to see


when one is a product of a family of 21 brothers and sisters. But Horton said he found some great mentors when he was young who helped him find his calling. And as a result of what others did for him he has been committed to do for others.


“I’m a neighborhood guy,” said


Horton. “When Mayor Coleman Young brought me in to head up PAL, it was all about the kids. When I left the program we had close to 20,000 kids involved in all the programs we offered them. We set an example of how to integrate PAL and cities all over the country modeled their programs after us.


“After the riots Coleman made


PAL bigger and we created career development programs and out- reach initiatives as well and sports opportunities. We looked at PAL as more than putting a bat, basket- ball or football in kids’ hands, we were looking to impact the total person.”


Horton, who played for the


Tigers 14 of his 18 seasons in the majors and was a key member of the team’s 1968 World Series championship, is one of the most distinguished athletes to come out of the talent-rich Detroit Public School League.


Horton’s return to Northwest-


ern High was an excellent choice, and, it also uplifted him: “It was a beautiful thing going back home and looking the kids in the eye,” he said.


Always active in the commu-


nity, Horton works in partnership with Don Bosco Hall to host the annual Willie Horton Batting for Kids (ages 7-14) event at Comerica Park and also sponsors a $5,000 scholarship that is awarded annu- ally to a high school senior from Northwestern. The United States military has also honored him with the highest honor a civilian can receive for his humanitarian efforts.


A lifetime .273 hitter, Horton


finished his career with 1,993 hits, 325 home runs and 1,163 RBIs in 2,028 games. His No. 23 is retired by the Tigers, and a statue of his likeness stands at Comerica Park.


Leland Stein can be reached at lelstein3@aol.com.


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