Dec 30, 2012; Detroit, MI, USA;Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh (90) prior to the snap of the ball against the Chicago Bears during 1st half of a game at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

Detroit Lions’ fans have thick skin and have long ago accepted the fact that the majority of their players will get disrespected. With just one winning season since 2001 it should be expected, however one of the cornerstones of the franchise continues to be disrespected to the degree of petty jealously.

The most notorious Lion constantly under the microscope is Ndamukong Suh. The star out of Nebraska had an astonishing rookie season in 2010 with the makings of a bona fide NFL star. Early in the 2011 season, it was reported that Suh had been named “dirtiest player in the NFL” by his peers. That is obviously a media creation to fuel the countless hours of “debate” shows ESPN runs on a daily basis. You’ll never see a poll of the creepiest looking janitors voted by custodians everywhere, but dirty football players apparently moves the needle. At the time, I remember wondering how Suh was dirty. The only questionable thing was when he shoved Jay Cutler to the turf in a 2010 game, resulting in a bogus personal foul. That was a solid football play, not dirty.

But then a funny thing happened–he started living up to his reputation. Right around that time came the Thanksgiving stomping incident and the off field issues began to emerge. Its almost like he thought that if he couldn’t convince people that he’s clean, he might as well be dirty. His play suffered, taking a noticeable step back in the Lions’ playoff season.

Suh bounced back with a solid 2012 season, doubling his number of sacks to eight and appearing in the Pro Bowl, but no one really cared to notice. The media even trumped up another Thanksgiving kicking incident (clearly unintentional) and an unsubstantiated report of taunting an injured Indianapolis Colt. Future Hall-of-Famer Warren Sapp has made a second career out of obsessing about everything Suh-related. Sapp has taken so many shots that even a fellow employee of NFL media, Kareem Copeland of NFL.com, had this to say about the NFL Network analyst in January:

I still haven’t figured out the Sapp-Suh beef,” Copeland wrote. “Former players are hired as analysts to give a perspective only gained from playing the game at a high level. That’s his job. But there always seems to be a Suh-doesn’t-do-what-I-did element.”

Sapp is an overexposed, overpaid, lousy NFL analyst. He gets by on his name and his loud mouth, but he really wishes he was on that football field, making the same mistakes that Suh has made or will make. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Copeland hits the nail on the head. Whenever I hear Sapp open up his yap and the word “Suh” comes out, I roll my eyes. I am not sure what Sapp has to gain from this feud, he had a career which will take him to the Hall of Fame later this summer. It just seems to be a bit of petty jealous on his part.

It’s the same thing people in their 30′s and 40′s do when they look at today’s college students–they can’t believe the choices these “kids” make, they didn’t do things like that in “their day,” and they’ll never make it in this world if they don’t change their ways. But all of that is a way of expressing jealousy–that they are doing what you enjoyed most during your life, and you’ll never have that slice of life back. Sapp is an overexposed, overpaid, lousy NFL analyst. He gets by on his name and his loud mouth, but he really wishes he was on that football field, making the same mistakes as Suh.

Back in December, Ndamukong called Sapp out and told him to put his money where his mouth is.

You have a guy that, in essence, criticizes me and says I’m doing things so horribly wrong and not playing up to my potential,” Suh said. ”Show me what you think I’m doing incorrectly…”

It appears Sapp passed on that opportunity in order to continue to spout his petty nonsense. The Copeland story from above was in response to fresh criticisms from Sapp in January, after Suh had asked for his tutelage.

Way to step up to a challenge, Warren.

Oct 1, 2011; Fort Worth, TX, USA; Southern Methodist Mustangs quarterback J.J. McDermott (15) gets a pass off against TCU Horned Frogs defensive end Braylon Broughton (99) during their game at Amon G. Carter Stadium. The Mustangs defeated the Frogs 40-33 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

The Detroit Lions had an open spot on their offseason roster and have filled it today after being awarded a waiver claim for defensive end Braylon Broughton. He went undrafted a year ago and spent last season on the New Orleans Saints practice squad.

The Lions have shown interest in Broughton going back to last Spring during the pre-draft process ahead of the 2012 NFL Draft. Broughton visited the Lions so while he may be a camp body at this point, he is one the Lions obviously like to some degree.

Whether or not that is enough to translate into a roster spot remains to be seen, especially after the Lions drafted two defensive ends last month.

Broughton is without question a developmental player – he is a high-motor player who started just five of the 42 games he played in over the course of his college career.

This is the type of move we are likely to see throughout the rest of the offseason as the Lions continue to evaluate options for improving their roster.

Here is some video from his play at TCU:

Dec 22, 2012; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) congratulates wide receiver Calvin Johnson (81) during the fourth quarter against the Atlanta Falcons at Ford Field. Falcons won 31-18. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports

The Detroit Lions’ superstars may be young but Calvin Johnson and Matthew Stafford are each within striking distance of a couple of franchise records.

1. Career Passes Attempted
Current Record Holder: Bobby Layne, 2,193 attempts
Matthew Stafford broke Bobby Layne’s franchise record for completions in a career during the 2012 season but Layne’s low completion percentage meant his career attempts mark was a bit further out. Needing 330 more attempts to catch Layne, even a mostly healthy season from Stafford will see him break the mark. At last year’s average of nearly 45 attempts per game, Stafford would break the record in game eight with a target range extending into game ten based on a more modest 35 attempts per game.

2. Career Receiving Yards
Current Record Holder: Herman Moore, 9,174 yards
If Calvin Johnson can come anywhere near repeating his insane performances over the last two years, he will overtake Herman Moore’s club record for receiving yards in a career. If Megatron gets on another pace near a 2,000 yard season he could pass Moore in front of a national television audience on Thanksgiving Day. A 100 yards per game pace sets the milestone in game 14 while a step back to an 85 yards per game average gets the job done in the season finale. Important to note that it won’t necessarily take another freak year for Calvin to break this record. He needs 1,338 yards nearly identical to what he totaled in his second professional season.

3. Career Passing Touchdowns
Current Record Holder: Bobby Layne, 118 touchdowns
With 80 touchdowns through his first four seasons. Matthew Stafford sits 38 touchdowns shy of the Lions’ career mark of 118. This record may turn out to be out of reach in 2013 but if Stafford can return to the prolific scoring form that saw him throw 41 touchdown passes in 2011, he could catch Layne in week 16 or 17.

4. Career Touchdown Receptions
Current Record Holder: Herman Moore, 64 touchdowns
The franchise record in striking distance with the most variability in terms of when it might be broken is Herman Moore’s career receiving touchdowns mark. Calvin Johnson needs 8 touchdown catches to tie Moore and nine to stand alone. He caught his ninth touchdown pass of the 2011 season in game six but finished his prolific 2012 season with only five. The smart money is on Megatron catching at least nine touchdown passes in 2013 but when he’ll get his ninth is anyone’s guess.

Here is a look at the record targets in graphical form:

*Cliff Avril finished his Lions career 2 forced fumbles short of Robert Porcher‘s franchise record – certainly within striking distance if he had not departed via free agency.