Afternoon Lions Links for Wednesday 9-5-12

Articles:

Wednesday breakfast with Tim and Mike - Lions vs. Rams:   http://www.detroitlions.com/news/article-1/Wednesday-breakfast-with-Tim-and-Mike-Lions-vs-Rams/3ca1b526-bba0-42b9-9668-c6a84fea641d

Johnson on being a Captain - There are times when something has to be said ... and that's my duty now:    http://blogs.detroitlions.com/2012/09/05/johnson-on-being-a-captain-there-are-times-when-something-has-to-be-said-and-thats-my-duty-now/

Stafford has no problem poking fun at himself:   http://blogs.detroitlions.com/2012/09/05/stafford-has-no-problem-poking-fun-at-himself/

Delmas and Houston miss practice; Silva signed to practice squad:   http://blogs.detroitlions.com/2012/09/05/delmas-and-houston-miss-practice-silva-signed-to-practice-squad/

Best vows he'll be ready when PUP time is over:   http://www.freep.com/article/20120905/SPORTS01/120905068/detroit-lions-jahvid-best-injury?

Lions rank 27th in NFL for team value at $855 million:   http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120905/SPORTS0101/209050431/1126/sports0101/Forbes-Lions-rank-27th-NFL-team-value-855M

Bizarre off season for Lions sets the stage for hopeful season (Caputo picks the Lions to go 10-6 and win one playoff game):   http://www.pressandguide.com/articles/2012/09/05/sports/doc5047a5d448a6a460721717.txt

In NFL, best QBs, lead best teams (He ranks the teams in each division by QB.   The Lions are ranked 2nd in the NFC North):   http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/michael_rosenberg/09/05/nfl-quarterbacks/1.html

Lions-Rams - DB concerns are secondary:   http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcnorth/post/_/id/45745/lions-rams-db-concerns-are-secondary

ESPN's MVP Watch (Stafford is #5, CJ is #9):   http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcwest/post/_/id/73477/mike-sandos-mvp-watch-53

Articles from Opposing Team's Media:

Schwartz, CJ conference call transcript:   http://www.stlouisrams.com/news-and-events/article-1/Lions-Head-Coach-Schwartz-WR-Johnson-Conference-Call/9f2e0c30-e675-46e8-a1cd-7627955b6e34

Game Previews and Predictions:

ESPN's week 1 predictions (All 14 pick the Lions to win):   http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcwest/post/_/id/73477/mike-sandos-mvp-watch-53

Schrager's week 1 cheat sheet (He predicts the Lions to win 28-14):   http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/week-1-cheat-sheet-denver-broncos-peyton-manning-sour-debut-090412

Season Previews and Predictions:

NFC home to likely SB winner (He predicts the Lions to finish 3rd in the NFC North with a record of 9-7):
http://www.profootballweekly.com/2012/09/05/nfc-likely-home-to-super-bowl-winner

NFP's 2012 Predictions (One expert picks the Lions to be a wildcard team.  He has the Lions losing to the Packers in the NFC championship game):    http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/2012-NFL-predictions.html

CBS Local Detroit's Dennis Fithian's Lions season prediction (He picks the Lions to go 9-7):   http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/09/05/lions-season-prediction/

CBS' Eye of Football Predictions (All 3 experts pick the Lions to finish 3rd in the NFC North.   One picks CJ to be the Offensive Player of the Year):    http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/blog/eye-on-football/20062839/eofs-2012-nfl-season-predictions

Power Rankings:

SI's Power Rankings (Lions ranked 13):   http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/don_banks/09/05/season-preview-power-rankings/index.html?sct=nfl_t11_a0

Video:

Countdown Daily Accuscore Prediction (The Lions are 80 percent favorites):   http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=8340270

Audio:

Stafford post practice audio:   http://www.detroitlions.com/media-center/audio/Post-Practice-Audio-Matthew-Stafford-09-05-12/777666ef-af32-4bdc-9fb7-63b656b3f3fb

Schwartz post practice audio:   http://www.detroitlions.com/media-center/audio/Post-Practice-Audio-Jim-Schwartz-09-05-12/94da3435-f2ce-4fb2-8092-8f54053f4737

Jeff Fisher conference call:   http://www.detroitlions.com/media-center/audio/Rams-Conference-Call-Jeff-Fisher-Week-1/360b194e-44fc-451e-95c7-2f2298b2f08d