defence that forced four

DETROIT -- The Detroit Lions put up a lot of points in beating the New England Patriots on Thursday night. Cheap NCAA Jerseys China . But most of the talk afterward was about the suddenly stout Lions defence that forced four first-half turnovers en route to a 40-9 victory. "Thats a Hall of Fame quarterback, and we flustered him a little bit," Detroit wide receiver Nate Burleson said about Tom Brady, who threw his first interception of the preseason and led New England to only three points despite playing the entire first half. The Patriots first-team offence, which looked to be in midseason form in its first two exhibition games, was in preseason form Thursday at Ford Field. Tight end Zach Sudfeld and running backs Brandon Bolden and Shane Vereen lost fumbles and Brady was picked off in four of New Englands first five possessions. The other possession was a three-and-out that ended with Zoltan Meskos punt. "The defence set a standard today. We can be one of the better defences (in the league) if we keep working," said Louis Delmas, the oft-injured safety who returned after missing much of the preseason while recovering from a knee injury. He recovered Sudfelds fumble on the games first drive. Brady played four series in the first two preseason games combined, completing 18 of his 20 passes for 172 yards and two touchdowns in two victories. But in a half of work in Detroit, he was 16 of 24 for 185 yards and the second-quarter interception by Detroit cornerback Chris Houston. "We didnt do anything in the first half other than turn the ball over," Brady said. Detroit starter Matthew Stafford also played the entire first half and helped lead Detroits first team to a better showing than it had in its first two exhibition efforts. The starters played seven series in those games -- a win over the Jets and a loss in Cleveland -- and managed only a pair of field goals. They produced three more field goals from David Akers against the Patriots, but also added Staffords 9-yard touchdown toss to a diving Tony Scheffler in the end zone that gave the Lions a 10-0 lead 2 minutes into the second quarter. Akers first field goal, a 23-yarder, was set up by a 67-yard catch and run by Reggie Bush, who was a big factor in the passing game. Bush, the multi-purpose back brought in to provide a spark for Detroit this season, ran for only a single yard on six carries, but he had five catches for 103 yards. Stafford finished 12 of 25 for 166 yards, but had to play again without his top target, Calvin Johnson. The star wide receiver also missed last weeks game in Cleveland, largely as a precaution. He has been bothered by a bruised knee. Johnson, who caught three passes in Detroits preseason opener Aug. 9 against New York, is expected to be ready to go once the regular season gets starts in two weeks. "We were down a big playmaker in our offence tonight and our defence knew that, showed up and played great," Stafford said. "Its about the team, man." Kellen Moore, who backed up Stafford in Shaun Hills absence, led the Lions on a touchdown drive to open the second half, throwing a 22-yard scoring pass to tight end Joseph Fauria. That score, which gave the Lions a 23-3 lead, was sandwiched by Akers field goals of 49 and 47 yards. Hill sat out the game to rest as he did this week in practice. Moore threw another TD pass, a 15-yarder, to wideout Micheal Spurlock in the fourth quarter. Another of Detroits key free-agent signings, defensive end Jason Jones, had a big game for the Lions, sacking Brady twice and recovering a fumble. Fellow linemen Ndamukong Suh, Nick Fairley and first-round pick Ezekiel Ansah also made their presence felt, stuffing New Englands ground game and pressuring Brady throughout the first half. "Those guys make my job easy," Detroit linebacker Stephen Tulloch said. "They disrupt everything." Ryan Mallett directed the Patriots for the entire second half with New Englands coaches opting not to play third-stringer Tim Tebow. A contingent of fans at the game broke into a "We want Tebow!" chant. The former Heisman Trophy winner has passed poorly but run well in the preseason and is not considered a lock to make the team. Asked why he only played two quarterbacks, Patriots coach Bill Belichick responded with: "Because I only played two quarterbacks." Both teams need to get down to the NFL-mandated 75 players by Tuesday. The Patriots finish the exhibition schedule Aug. 29 against the New York Giants, while the Lions play at Buffalo that evening. The final cut to 53 comes two days later. NOTES: Detroit special teams ace Montell Owens fell to the turf without being touched during a second-quarter rushing attempt and had to be helped off the field after several minutes. He did not return. ... WR Kenbrell Thompkins led the Patriots in receiving with eight catches for 116 yards. ... Lions rookie punter Sam Martin had a 57-yard boot late in the first half that landed at the 5 before making an abrupt left turn and dribbling out of bounds inside the 1. ... A 9-yard pass from Mallett to RB James Develin accounted for New Englands lone TD. Cheap NCAA Jerseys . His actions are much louder on the Fenway Park mound. De La Rosa had another strong home start, going seven solid innings to lift the Boston Red Sox to a 2-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Saturday night. College Jerseys . Helwani said that Weidman has been dealing with recurring swelling and pain in his knees related to torn meniscus he suffered as a teenager and the problems came to a head last week when he suffered prolonged swelling and pain in his left knee, resulting in the decision to undergo an arthroscopic scope procedure to clean up the tear in both knees.SARASOTA, Florida – On a pristine, cloudless Saturday morning before his Blue Jays took to the field to play the Orioles, manager John Gibbons assumed his familiar perch behind home plate to watch his charges take batting practice. That time around, the cage is as much a part of baseballs daily routine as a beer and a hotdog is to a fan in the stands. Coaches, scouts, broadcasters and other media hover, tossing verbal barbs, telling stories and sharing laughs. Occasionally, especially in spring when the atmosphere is relatively laid back, the list of invited guests expands and on this day, Gibbons welcomed two men strongly influential in his life. To his left stood his high school baseball coach, Syl Perez and on his right, Frank Arnold, Gibbons high school football coach. The two are spending these early days of camp with the man they mentored. Its a chance for the men to catch up, reminisce about old times, and for Gibbons to share his pro experience with two people whove helped him along the way. "Your high school years are very big years in forming who youre going to be," Gibbons told TSN.ca. "When youre in athletics, if you get the right guys, it can steer you the right direction, teach you discipline, the work ethic and all the right stuff that benefit you in life." Arnold, 72, is a legend in Texas high school football, a state where "football is king," as Gibbons likes to remind the uninitiated. Gibbons played but didnt start at MacArthur High School in San Antonio. He was a running back, although in hindsight, Arnold thinks Gibbons was better suited to play linebacker because he was athletically inclined and had good instincts. Arnold also took notice, almost immediately, of Gibbons upbringing, especially his supportive parents, William and Sally. "Great kid, great family, never had, you know you have some parents who are a little overbearing, his parents were right there to support him," said Arnold. He had a knack for baseball, although Gibbons admits he was a late bloomer, especially offensively. A senior catcher graduated after Gibbons sophomore season, a year in which Gibbons played the outfield, and Perez had someone else pegged as the teams next catcher. Gibbons was still an unknown commodity. The coaching staff tried him at third base. It wasnt the right fit. "I dont care where I put John Gibbons, he was a catcher," said Perez. "I mean, it was in his DNA. He carries himself like a catcher." Perez had Gibbons and the would-be catching successor get behind the plate and simulate throwing out base stealers. "I timed him," said Perez. "From the time the sound hit the mitt to the time it hit the shortstop or second baseman at the bag. The other young man was very accurate but John was kind of like a Nolan Ryan. He was not very accurate, or not as accurate, but he would only average two seconds and sometimes slightly less than that. The other kid was 2.3, 2.4." Funny thing, Gibbons ended up catching that year. The other kid played third base. Both were all district at the end of the season, Gibbons in spite of a batting average below .200. He was that good defensively. His game rounded into form in his senior year, thanks to a scout named Buzzy Keller, who in advance of the baseball season, instructed Perez on a new hitting pphilosophy featuring a more compact swing. NCAA Basketball Jerseys. Perez coached up Gibbons and the results were immediate. "John batted .500 in 19 games and he hit 10 home runs," said Perez. "Its not that he hit 10 home runs, its how far he hit those 10 home runs that really got him to be a lot more noticed. A lot of our practices were very, very well attended and of course, he went 24th overall in the first round (1980) to the Mets." A series of injuries derailed Gibbons big league playing career, the nail in the coffin being the Mets acquisition of Gary Carter before the 1985 season. He stayed around the game, coached at various levels over a number of years, and by 2004, was into his first run as manager of the Blue Jays. "Hes old school and the old school way of thinking is, good catchers become good managers," said Perez. "Theyre the only ones looking the other way at the entire defence. Lets face it, he may have been not a starter in his major league life but when hes in the bullpen catching and working with folks like the Dwight Goodens and such, Im sure hes going to learn some things." Gibbons credits Arnold and Perez with teaching him some of the tactics he employs to this day. "You get to this level, its a little different," said Gibbons. "Guys are very successful when they get to this level so theyve got a good idea of what they do. Theres not as much coaching, teaching and things like that and you give these guys a little more leeway because theyre adults. But theres a lot of the same principles that work. I dont care if youre in high school or big league baseball, you have to have discipline. You still have to play the right way." Gibbons fair, jovial but stern-when-he-needs-to-be personality endears him to those who know him best and have known him the longest. "Personally, I think he has the demeanour, the ability to work with people," said Arnold. "I hope he gets lucky this year because last year they had some bad luck, in my opinion, with injuries and other things. I follow him, I watch him all the time and Im very proud to say that I was around him." Arnold continued, "John is going to be the same on the docks with some dock workers as he is at some high class place with the boss. I just think hes a quality person. Hes not flashy, he is what he is but hes always good to people." Coming off a disappointing 74-88 season, a startling and uncomfortable thud after the offseason hype of a year ago, Gibbons knows there is pressure to rebound. His mentors know it, too. "Nobody wants you unless you win," said Arnold. "I dont care what level, what league so I wish him well and hope he has some great luck this year. I hope some of the guys have some great years because I think he deserves it." Gibbons is aware the fan base is angst-ridden, unsure of whether the Blue Jays can compete in the ultra-tough American League East. He knows about the Twitter faction thats popularized the "FireGibby" hashtag, understands and accepts its a fans right to be upset, but wants to be clear about something he says wont change, win or lose. "I want people to know that I care about Toronto, I care about Canada, and nobody wants to win for the fan base more than I do because I know they deserve it." ' ' '