Tag: Lomas Brown

Two former Lions among 25 semifinalists for Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2024

Two former Lions are among the 25 semifinalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, though neither spent much time in Detroit

The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced the 25 semifinalists for the inauguration class of 2024. Two former Lions players are among those moving on in the process.

They’re probably not who most fans would expect, however. Dwight Freeney and Anquan Boldin are the two former Lions who made the semifinalist cut. Both finished their careers in Detroit after establishing their Hall of Fame bona fides with other teams.

Among the initial 2024 nominees known primarily as Lions, none advanced. That group includes Lomas Brown, Jason Hanson, Dre Bly and Herman Moore.

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Lomas Brown breaks down the Lions bad day in Baltimore

Brown gave a lot of credit to the Ravens but also found some nits to pick with the Lions in the loss

Watching the Lions get slaughtered by the Baltimore Ravens in Week 7 was not fun. Imagine the perspective of a Lions team legend having to not only watch the game in person, but broadcast the brutal beatdown.

Such was the case for Lomas Brown. The longtime Lions left tackle and current color analyst for the team’s radio network had a long day on Sunday in Baltimore. He joined Matt Dery of Locked On Lions to break down where he thought the 38-6 game was lost.

Brown pointed out the relative youth of the Lions roster, noting that “sometimes you’re going to have games like that.”

He was quick to credit Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken for “a great offensive plan” and also that Baltimore QB Lamar Jackson “executed it to a T.” Brown also stated that the Ravens defense deserves a lot of credit for “getting pressure on us, getting sacks on us. They sped Jared (Goff) up and they stopped the run.”

Brown remained critical of the decision to play “soft” coverage on the Ravens receivers. The Lions legend repeatedly made that point during the radio broadcast on Sunday.

“We were kind of soft on the receivers. We didn’t throw off any of their rhythm or jam those guys and get them off,” Brown stated.

It’s an interesting conversation and always good to get the input from someone like Lomas Brown.

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Several Lions alumni among the 2024 nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame

Several Lions alumni among the 2024 nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, including two 1st-time nominees

The initial nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2024 were released on Tuesday morning. Several players with Lions ties are amongst the 173 names, including some who are eligible for the first time.

Haloti Ngata and T.J. Lang are part of the group of first-year nominees who spent some time in Detroit. Ngata played defensive tackle in Detroit from 2015-2017, while Lang — a Detroit-area native — finished his offensive guard career in 2017-2018 with the Lions.

Returning nominees who have playing roots in Detroit include:

  • OT Lomas Brown
  • WR Herman Moore
  • CB Dre Bly, the Lions current DBs coach as well
  • WR Anquan Boldin
  • K Jason Hanson
  • QB Jeff Garcia
  • DE Dwight Freeney

Coach Buddy Parker is one of the Senior Finalists as well, which was previously announced.

The selection committee whittles the list down to 25 semifinalists in November.

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Lomas Brown to be inducted into the Pride of the Lions

Brown is the team’s radio color analyst and was surprised with the news during Detroit’s preseason opener

On a night when the Detroit Lions opened the 2023 preseason with an exciting victory over the New York Giants, the best moment in Ford Field came up in the Lions’ radio broadcast booth.

Team president Rod Wood surprised color analyst Lomas Brown with a beautiful montage of Brown’s stellar playing career. At the end, Wood revealed that Brown will be this year’s inductee into the Pride of the Lions.

The gregarious Brown was clearly overcome with all the adoration. Fellow Pride of the Lions member and longtime teammate Chris Spielman gave Brown a lengthy hug, as did play-by-play partner Dan Miller. He received a huge ovation from the 48,000-plus fans in Ford Field and also from the press box.

Brown, who played in Detroit from 1985-1995, will have his name enshrined at halftime of the Lions home date with the Las Vegas Raiders on October 30th.

Watch Brown’s special moment here, courtesy of the Lions:

A history of the No. 6 overall pick in the NFL draft

A history of the No. 6 overall pick in the NFL draft

The Detroit Lions find themselves in unusual territory in the 2023 NFL draft. By virtue of the trade with the Los Angeles Rams, the Lions hold the No. 6 overall pick in the draft.

It’s a slot where the Lions haven’t made a selection in a very long time. The history of the sixth overall pick features a variety of success stories, weird misses, and very little reference to the Detroit Lions.

Here’s a brief history of the No. 6 pick in the NFL draft.

Florida offensive guard becomes program’s 34th Consensus All-American in history

Florida Gators offensive lineman O’Cyrus Torrence has become the 34th Consensus All-American in Florida football program history

Florida Gators offensive lineman [autotag]O’Cyrus Torrence[/autotag] has become a Consensus All-American. To be considered a Consensus All-American, a player must be named to the three major All-American teams (Walter Camp, Sporting News, AP), something Torrence did in his only season as a Florida football player.

Torrence becomes the 34th player in Florida football history to be a consensus All-American and the first since [autotag]Kyle Pitts[/autotag] in 2020. He joins [autotag]Lomas Brown[/autotag] (1984), [autotag]Jason Odom[/autotag] (1995), [autotag]Mike Pearson[/autotag] (2001), and [autotag]Maurkice Pouncey[/autotag] (2009) as the only Gators offensive linemen to be named a Consensus All-American. He is the first offensive guard in Florida football history to earn the honor.

The 6-foot-5-inch, 347-pound senior was also named an All-American by The Athletic, CBS, and Pro Football Focus (PFF).

Torrence was a vital part of the Florida run game. He transferred to Florida from Louisiana, joining [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] in the move from Lafayette to Gainesville. He brought stability and familiarity in a run game that became the Gators’ offensive identity.

The offensive line was a position of need before Napier was hired and brought Torrence with him to the SEC. Once Torrence was brought in, the unit flourished. They finished the season No. 1 in SEC yards per carry (5.8), and second in the SEC in sacks allowed (12) and tackles for loss allowed per game (4). Torrence was also named to the First-Team All-SEC team for his role in one of the best offensive lines in the conference.

Unfortunately for the Gators, Torrence will be unavailable for the upcoming bowl game. In fact, the Gators will finish their season with a depleted roster after over a dozen players have entered the transfer portal.

Other top players like [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] and [autotag]Ventrell Miller[/autotag] have also declared for the NFL draft and will not be playing against the Oregon State Beavers in the Las Vegas Bowl. That game will be played on Saturday starting at 2:30 p.m. EST and broadcast on ESPN.

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8 Giants among modern-era Pro Football Hall of Fame nominees

8 former members of the New York Giants are among 129 modern-era nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2023.

Eight former New York Giants are among the list of 129 Modern-Era Nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2023.

The list of potential inductees consists of “67 offensive players, 50 defensive players and 12 special teams players. The list of Modern-Era Nominees will be reduced to 25 Semifinalists in November and, from there, to 15 Finalists whose names will be announced in early January.”

Four of the Giants’ eight nominees played their entire careers with Big Blue: running back Tiki Barber, defensive lineman Justin Tuck, linebacker Jessie Armstead and offensive lineman Chris Snee.

The other four played part of their careers here with the Giants: punters Jeff Feagles and Sean Landeta, offensive tackle Lomas Brown and kick returner Brian Mitchell.

Per the Pro Football Hall of Fame:

Nineteen Finalists will be presented to the full 49-member Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee during its annual meeting to choose the Class of 2023. Those candidates will consist of 15 Modern-Era Players Finalists and the recently named Seniors Finalists Joe Klecko, Chuck Howley and Ken Riley and Coach/Contributor Finalist Don Coryell.

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Lomas Brown, Jason Hanson headline former Lions nominated for the Pro Football Hall of Fame

Jason Hanson headlines former Lions nominated for the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2023

Longtime Lions kicker Jason Hanson is one of the initial nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Hanson is one of a few nominees who spent some time in a Detroit uniform.

Hanson ranks fourth in NFL history in scoring, sixth in games played and fourth in both field goal attempts and makes. Known for his reliability on long field goals, his 52 successful FGs of longer than 50 yards ranks third all-time.

The Lions kicker from 1992 through 2012, Hanson is one of two nominees best known for his time in Detroit. The other is offensive tackle Lomas Brown, who spent the first 11 seasons (1985-1995) of his stellar career in Detroit. Brown was a seven-time Pro Bowler and four-time All-Pro, with all of those accolades coming in seasons in Detroit except his final Pro Bowl.

A few other nominees had brief stops in Detroit after attaining most of their career accomplishments elsewhere:

  • DE Dwight Freeney
  • QB Jeff Garcia
  • EDGE Pat Swilling

The full list of 129 Modern-Era nominees for the class of 2023 is available at the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s website. The nominees get whittled to 25 semifinalists later this fall.

Visiting the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a Lions fan

Watch: Bringing together Lions legends Herman Moore, Lomas Brown and coach Wayne Fontes

Coach Wayne Fontes joined WR Herman Moore and LT Lomas Brown to reminisce about the 1991 Detroit Lions and share stories

The 1991 Detroit Lions were a special team. Led by head coach Wayne Fontes, they remain the only Lions team to win a postseason game in the Super Bowl era.

As part of the Detroit Lions Podcast 24-hour podcast for St. Jude’s, we were able to bring back together three members of Lions royalty from that wonderful season 30 years ago. We had wide receiver Herman Moore and left tackle Lomas Brown surprise coach Fontes during a phone call that coach was only expecting to talk to the hosts.

What followed is one of the reasons why that team was so special. They shared stories, they reminisced, they spoke openly of their love for one another as a team and as coach and players. It was an inspirational conversation that I am incredibly proud to be a fly on the wall as a co-host. The genuine love and respect these great Lions still share 30 years later is exactly what we want to see from the new edition of the Lions.

Enjoy this incredible walk down Detroit memory lane!

Former Gator Lomas Brown nominated for Pro Football Hall of Fame

Brown is one of 19 offensive linemen on the list of 122 nominees.

Florida currently only has two players in the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Jack Youngblood and Emmitt Smith. However, it’s possible that the school could get its third this year.

Offensive tackle Lomas Brown is one of 122 players (and 19 offensive linemen) to be nominated for the 2022 Pro Football Hall of Fame induction class.

Brown played at Florida under coaches Charley Pell and Galen Hall from 1981-84, where he started 34 games at tackle. As a senior in 1984, he was named a consensus All-American while also earning First Team All-SEC honors and winning the Jacobs Blocking Trophy as the best blocker in the conference.

The Detroit Lions selected Brown with the sixth pick in the 1985 NFL draft, and he played with the team for 11 seasons before playing stints with the Arizona Cardinals, Cleveland Browns, New York Giants and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

He made it to seven-straight Pro Bowls from 1990-96, and he was a First-Team All-Pro in 1995 (while earning Second-Team honors in 1991 and 1994). He retired from football after winning a Super Bowl with the Bucs in 2002.

Brown certainly faces some stiff competition, including tackle Tony Boselli, who was the Jacksonville Jaguars‘ first pick in franchise history and has been nominated to the preliminary HOF list every year since 2009 and was a finalist in 2021. There are also several first-time eligible offensive linemen in Jake Long and Nick Mangold.

The list of 122 nominees will be trimmed to 25 semifinalists in November and then 15 finalists in January. Voters will meet before the Super Bowl to cast their ballots for the class, and those picked will be enshrined next August.

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