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Mayhew spoke to reporters for about a half-hour Thursday, recapping a solid year in which the Lions made the playoffs for only the second time in the past 15 seasons.
"I think that the focus on a couple bad calls takes away from the fact that two really good teams played an outstanding football game that day," Mayhew said. "You know,Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping, when the penalty happened there were eight minutes left in the game when they got the ball back.
"We talked about that on Monday,Cheap NFL Jerseys, had a good conversation with him," Mayhew said. "He wants to be here and we want him to be here. As I said before, I think that's a pretty good combination. We'll see how it all plays out."
"Having a bye and having a home game would have obviously helped us in terms of the playoffs and advancing. In those games, the other team played better than we played and we lost."
NOTES: Mayhew was asked about rugby star Jarryd Hayne, who visited Detroit recently during his tour of NFL teams. "We're always on the lookout for players that can help us," Mayhew said. "We'll see what happens. He's still out there and he's still looking at other teams as well. I'm not sure what'll happen with him, but we'd like to have him."
"We had every opportunity to do something to overcome that and do something positive to win that game and we didn't. ... I'm from the old school of,Cheap Nike Shox, 'No excuses, no explanations.' Did you win the game? No, we didn't win it. They won it, they advanced. We hope to see them next year at some point."
Although he addressed Suh's uncertain future, Mayhew wouldn't talk much about the status of any individual players. Veteran offensive linemen Rob Sims and Dominic Raiola have reached the end of their contracts, and offensive lineman Travis Swanson — a third-round pick in last year's draft — may be ready for a bigger role.
Mayhew said he's leaving all options open with Suh — including the possibility of using the franchise tag on him. The team's preference, though,Cheap Jerseys From China, is to reach a long-term deal.
ALLEN PARK, Mich. (AP) — As usual, Martin Mayhew chose his words carefully when assessing the offseason for the Detroit Lions — but the biggest issue facing the team is fairly obvious.
"He likes to win, I know that,Jerseys NFL Cheap," Mayhew said. "I know he likes coach (Jim) Caldwell, I know he's very comfortable here in Detroit, so those things all play in our favor. At the end of the day money talks, so we'll have to step up in terms of pursuing him financially as well."
One thing Mayhew didn't want to do was dwell on the pass interference flag that was rescinded late in the loss to Dallas. The reversal by the officials cost the Lions what would have been a huge first down, and the Cowboys ended up rallying to win.
"I had an opportunity to sit down and talk with him on Monday," said Mayhew, Detroit's general manager. "We had a good conversation. We look forward to working with him to try to get a deal done."
Suh was a big part of Detroit's 11-win season,Wholesale Jerseys Online, helping the Lions become one of the league's top teams against the run.
Defensive tackle Nick Fairley can also become a free agent, and the offense is coming off an uneven season in which the line struggled to protect quarterback Matthew Stafford.
Suh's situation — however it's resolved — could have a major effect on the rest of Detroit's plans this offseason.
"We have to get better from a talent standpoint. We have to be a better football team," Mayhew said. "I think we're a good football team right now, but we're not a great football team. We have to be able to go and win at Green Bay, which we have not done in a long time.
Making the playoffs was an important step in Caldwell's first season as Detroit's coach, but the Lions lost the regular-season finale at Green Bay with the NFC North title at stake. Then they fell 24-20 at Dallas in their postseason opener.
Mayhew said Suh is open to staying in Detroit.
Ndamukong Suh, Detroit's All-Pro defensive tackle, can become a free agent now, and if he leaves, the Lions would have to scramble to replace his formidable presence in the middle of their defense.
The fact that Detroit is coming off an encouraging season probably won't hurt. |
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