29-year old WR Stefan Logan is a small guy at 5’6″, 180 pounds but he’s making a huge impact for the Lions this season.  Logan has played in all 8 games for the Lions this year and he has returned 27 kickoffs for 793 yards (29.4 avg) with 1 TD return.  He has also returned 16 punts for 211 yards (13.2 avg) and he has also carried the ball 1 time for 21 yards.  Logan continues to give the Lions’ offense great starting field position which has led to a increase in points and offensive production.

What looked like a minor trade during the off-season has resulted in the Lions robbing the Broncos.  The Lions acquired 25-year old CB Alphonso Smith from the Broncos for 25-year old TE Dan Gronkowski.  Gronkowski has played in all 8 games for the Broncos this year and he has 6 grabs for 43 yards (7.2 avg).  But, Alphonso Smith has played in all 8 games for the Lions this year and he has 30 tackles, 8 passes defensed and 5 interceptions (1 he returned for a TD).  The Lions saw the potential in Smith who was a second round pick of the Broncos in 2009 and that’s what has led this steal of a deal.

The Lions threw 22-year old QB Matthew Stafford to the wolves as a rookie last season.  He played in 10 games as a rookie for the Lions last season and he completed 201 of 377 passes (53.3%) for 2,267 yards with 13 TD passes and 20 INTs (61.0 QB Rating).  Stafford also carried the ball 20 times for 108 yards (5.4 ypc) with 2 TD runs last season.  This year though was supposed to be Stafford’s breakout season so he’s looking to make up for lost time.  Stafford has played in 2 games so far this year and he has completed 37 of 60 passes (61.7%) for 295 yards with 4 TD passes and 1 INT (89.2 QB Rating).  This is the beginning of something special as I think Stafford is going to develop into a franchise QB for the Lions.

Rookie first round pick Ndamukong Suh has really been a playmaker for the Lions so far this year.  In the first six games of his NFL career, Suh has 21 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 4.5 sacks, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception.  He is been very hard for defenses to contend with because of his blend of speed and power.  Despite Suh’s success so far in this career the Lions are still giving up 138.8 yards rushing and 4.9 yards per carry this year as teams are running the other way against them so far this year.

Veteran QB Shaun Hill is doing a really good job of filling in for starting QB Matthew Stafford who is getting close to his return.  Hill has played in 5 games (4 starts) for the Lions so far this year and he has completed 118 of 193 passes (61.1%) for 1,218 yards with 8 TD passes and 7 INTs (78.0 QB Rating).  The Lions are averaging 25.2 points per game and 250.0 yards passing per contest so Hill is doing a really solid job for them this year.  Matthew Stafford was injured in the season opener after completing 11 of 15 passes (73.3%) for 83 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs (86.3 QB Rating).  Stafford will get his job back when he’s ready to return to action but the Lions can wait and make sure that’s he’s 100% before getting him back in there because of how well Hill has played while he is out.

Brandon Pettigrew and Tony Scheffler have turned into solid targets for Shaun Hill so far this year.  Pettigrew has caught 14 passes for 158 yards (11.3 avg) so far this year.  Tony Scheffler has even lined up in the slot at times for the Lions this year as he has caught 14 passes for 108 yards (7.7 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Until Nate Burleson comes back from injury I think the Lions are going to continue to look to Pettigrew and Scheffler quite often in the passing game.

Rookie RB Jahvid Best is off to a very fast start to his NFL career for the Lions.  In his first two games with the Lions, Best has carried the ball 31 times for 98 yards (3.2 ypc) with 4 TD runs.  He has also caught 14 passes for 170 yards (12.1 avg) with 1 TD grab this year.  Best is averaging 22.5 touches and 134.0 yards from scrimmage so far this season.  He is super fast and he makes moves that look like they came right off playstation.  The Lions have found their best running back since Barry Sanders so they need him to stay healthy.  He has had concussion problems in college.

Despite the secondary playing awful this season 30-year old CB William James has been o.k.  James has played in 13 games for the Lions this season and he has made 60 tackles, defensed 12 passes and he has 2 interceptions (1 returned for a TD).  Even if James doesn’t return to the Lions next season he showed that he still has something left.

With Calvin Johnson either out or gimpy the Lions will need someone to step up and that could wind up being 31-year old Dennis Northcutt.  Northcutt has played in 10 games for the Lions this season and he has caught 26 passes for 226 yards (8.7 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He has also returned 2 kickoffs for 32 yards (16.0 avg) and 16 punts for 143 yards (8.9 avg) so far this season for the Lions.  Northcutt might not have great numbers this season but he has been a playmaker in the past so maybe he can turn back the clock for a game or two. 

29-year old veteran inside linebacker Larry Foote is playing well for the Lions this season.  In 8 games Foote has 56 tackles (leads team), 5 tackles for a loss, 1 sack and he has defensed 3 passes.  Foote is a good example for the younger players on the Lions as he plays hard all of the time.  He actually likes playing in Detroit and he wants to play for them again next season so it will be interesting to see if the Lions bring him back.