The Detroit Lions made a significant move on the first day of free agency.
It wasn't an addition.
On an otherwise quiet Wednesday
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Ebron had flashes in his four years with the Lions, catching 186 passes for 2,070 yards and 11 touchdowns, but poor hands and inconsistent play made him a target for boos at Ford Field.
Much of the frustration came from the players Detroit passed to pick him so early in the draft. Six of the next seven players chosen have gone to at least one Pro Bowl, including New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (selected 12th) and Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald (13th).
Ebron, on the other hand, never lived up to the potential he showed at North Carolina. Ebron is fast, and the Lions thought he would be a deep threat next to Calvin Johnson and Golden Tate.
However, he only caught 25 of 47 targets as a rookie and scored one touchdown while averaging 9.9 yards per reception. While his hands improved over the next three seasons, he was never able to provide Matthew Stafford with consistent playmaking.
In the first half of last season
Cheap Ronnie Harrison Jersey , he pulled in 18 of 36 targets and was booed when he was shown during a charity announcement on the Ford Field video board. He improved in the second half of the season, but the Lions decided they could find a cheaper option in free agency or the draft.
Detroit re-signed cornerback Nevin Lawson, linebacker Nick Bellore and quarterback Jake Rudock, and also announced the signing of free-agent defensive back DeShawn Shead.
Shead, 28, played his first six seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, winning a Super Bowl in the 2013 season. He started 15 games at cornerback in 2016, but tore his ACL in a postseason loss to the Atlanta Falcons and only got into two games last season.
Shead is expected to compete with Lawson and Teez Tabor for a starting spot at cornerback opposite All-Pro Darius Slay. Bellore is a special-teams contributor who has seen time at linebacker and fullback, while Rudock will go into his third season as Stafford's backup.
Rudock threw his first NFL passes in relief of Stafford in a 44-20 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Dec. 3. He completed three of five attempts, but also threw an interception that Eric Weddle returned 45 yards for a touchdown.
NEW ORLEANS — Now that Stephen Curry is back to waving his magical right wrist and pointing three fingers to the rafters
Cheap Josh Allen Jersey , the Golden State Warriors are heavy favorites to dispatch the New Orleans Pelicans after winning the first two games of their seven-game Western Conference semifinal series in Oakland.
But the Pelicans, who have won 12 of their last 17 games at home, are taking a glass-half-full approach coming off a closer-than-expected 121-116 loss on Tuesday night as the teams meet Friday night in Game 3 at the Smoothie King Center.
There is some reason for the Pelicans’ optimism of stealing a game. After being crushed 123-101 in the series opener — a game in which forward Anthony Davis and guard Jrue Holiday combined for just 32 points — New Orleans hung tough in Game 2 and trailed by only a point midway through the fourth quarter.
The Pelicans are buoyed by the curious stat line emerging from the Game 2 loss: Even though New Orleans outscored Golden State 66-38 in the paint, the Pelicans could not get to the free-throw line. In the first two games, Golden State has a 59-20 edge in free-throw attempts.
In Game 2, Davis and Holiday never attempted a free throw — the first time that had happened since they began playing with each other five seasons ago.
“I just go out there and play,” said Davis, who scored 25 points in Game 2, about his failure to get to the line. “It’s on the refs to make calls. They said I didn’t get fouled, so maybe I have to go in there a little stronger and force them to call them.”
Veteran point guard Rajon Rondo expressed the frustration his teammates are feeling about the foul-shooting imbalance.
“Both of those guys (Davis and Holiday) shot the ball a combined 48 times
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Playing his first game in more than five weeks since suffering a Grade 2 MCL sprain in his left knee, Curry came off the bench in Game 2 and scored 28 points in just 27 minutes. Golden State coach Steve Kerr said Curry would definitely start Game 3.
“Oh yeah, yeah, yeah,” Kerr said. “You don’t keep a guy like that on the bench for long. His knee is fine. That’s the good news. The bad news is that he hasn’t played in (five) weeks. So any sort of minutes restriction was only based on his conditioning. There was no-holds-bar in terms of his knee.”
The Pelicans are hoping they will be energized by a home crowd that helped them sweep through Games 3 and 4 of a first-round series against the Portland Trail Blazers. New Orleans has posted an 8-2 record at home since March 18.
Coincidental to the Pelicans’ improvement at home has been the switch they made in the last month — going to the Smoothie King Center for game-day shoot-arounds instead of doing their preps at their training facility in Metairie.
“Practicing where you play, there is something to that,” Holiday said. “Being able to get a feel for the arena
Adidas Patrick Kane Jersey , the depth (perception) with the bleachers and the stands compared to our practice facility.”
Curry, a two-time NBA MVP, was a plus-27 in Game 2 while on the court for the Warriors, and no teammate was better than plus-7.
“He was Steph — he didn’t take long to warm up, that’s for sure,” Kerr said.
But Kerr said the Warriors are expecting a battle in Game 3.
“We played well enough to win (on Thursday night), but we’re going to have to play better in New Orleans,” Kerr said.
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