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Detroit Lions DE Cliff Avril was a guest on NFL Network’s “Around the League Live” yesterday after a standout performance in his team’s 45-10 victory against Denver.

Avril recorded recorded two sacks, two forced fumbles, one tackle for loss, one quarterback hit and returned a fumble 24 yards for a touchdown. He was also named NFC Defensive Player of the Week.

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Part II: Withstanding the Test

The Lions exited their Week 7 bye riding high. They had ravaged all who stood in their way with the notable exception of a 45-0 first week loss to the Washington Redskins. But since that loss the Lions had won every game leading up to the bye week. There was one chink in the Lions armor: of the teams Detroit had beaten, none had a winning record. When faced with a superior challenge, the Lions had failed to score a point. But nevertheless the Lions had shown grit and a will to win, after all a win was a win for the Lions who had found them to be elusive in the past years.  That grit and will was put on the front lines when Detroit headed to San Francisco in Week 8. Barry Sanders ran into a wall, rushing for just 26 yards while Rodney Peete threw for just 187 yards and threw an interception.The same couldn’t be said for the San Fransisco 49ers, who despite coming into the game just 2-4, forced Detroit to their knees as Jerry Rice and the Steve Young led 49ers powered to a 35-3 victory reminiscent of the Lions first week beating. Detroit’s defense allowed Steve Young to complete all but two passes on the afternoon, but managed to keep him at just 20 attempts. It was the under talented force of San Francisco’s ground attack that mauled the Lions. A total of four running backs, Keith Henderson, Dexter Carter, Harry Sydney and Tom Rathman combined for 188 yards and 3 touchdowns. Steve Young added 40 yards rushing of his own as the Lions tasted brutal defeat for the second time.

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Erik Kramer started ten games in 1991, including two in the playoffs. Source: YardBarker.com

Our training camp countdown is moving along smoothly as today marks the 12 day point. That’s right, just 12 days remain until training camp for a team whose best regular season yielded 12 wins.

That lone 12 win regular season came in 1991 when the Lions finished the regular season on a six game winning streak to finish one game better than the 11-5 Chicago Bears. The first game of that six game streak was a 21-10 win over the Los Angeles Rams. It was during that game in which Mike Utley suffered an injury that left him paralyzed from the waist down. His famous thumbs up gesture became a rallying cry and undoubtedly the motivation for the Lions strong finish.

The 1991 Lions featured a balanced offensive attack that ranked as the ninth best scoring offense in the NFL. Brett Perriman, Robert Clark, Mike Farr, and Willie Green all caught between 39 and 52 passes while Barry Sanders added another 41 catches out of the backfield. Those passes came from Rodney Peete in the early part of the season until Erik Kramer took over because of injury. 100 yards and a touchdown was just average game for Barry in 1991.

Relieve more of the 12-win 1991 season after the jump(…) (more…)