DETROIT -- The Detroit Lions will lean on Matthew Stafford a lot this season, maybe more than ever.The veteran quarterback looks and sounds ready for the challenge.Ive just been through a lot, acknowledged Stafford, entering his eighth season. Been through some really good times. Been through some bad times. Seen a lot of defenses.Detroit depended on Staffords right arm quite a bit in the past, too, but he always had a relatively large margin of error when he threw short, long or over to middle to Calvin Johnson.The spectacular receiver known as Megatron for his superhuman-like skills left the Lions and retired from the league during the offseason after years of making Staffords job easier.Staffords passes, of which there will be many, will have to be more accurate.He cant afford to throw too high or late and get away with it, as he could with the 6-foot-5 Johnson.Stafford probably will not be able to count on a running game to create shorter down-and-distance situations, or to get a tough yard or so on third or fourth down. Detroit ranked last in the league in rushing last season and may struggle to show signs of improvement in the important facet of the game.Stafford, the No. 1 overall pick in 2009, will have to sling it early and often in a pass-heavy offense that will frequently be in hurry-up mode. He has a solid trio of receivers, a talented tight end and one of the NFLs best pass-catching running backs.Jim Bob Cooter, entering his first full season as offensive coordinator, has relinquished quite a bit of control to Stafford. The Lions will likely use a no-huddle offense, and Stafford will have plenty of opportunities to call plays at the line.Its not about what plays I like the best. Its about what plays the players feel the best about, Cooter said. Ive learned early in my time that if the quarterback really likes a play, he tends to make it work and the same thing works at different positions.If a receiver really likes a route, that guy tends to get open on that route.Golden Tate, who made 189 receptions the previous two years in Detroit, will be Staffords top target.Marvin Jones was signed just after Johnsons retirement and Anquan Boldin was added just before training camp, giving Stafford a pair of veteran receivers he can count on.Tight end Eric Ebron, who missed the preseason with a lower right leg injury, has the potential to be a breakout player in his third NFL season.Theo Riddick, rarely tackled by the first defender with a shot at him, is coming off an 80-catch season in which he shared the league lead with Danny Woodhead for receptions by a running back.THE NEW BOSS: The Lions made big changes during their 1-7 start last season, firing general manager Martin Mayhew, team president Tom Lewand and offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi. Team owner Martha Firestone Ford was behind the bold moves. She hired Bob Quinn to run football operations as GM, hoping he can bring some of what he learned with the New England Patriots. He was New Englands director of pro scouting for four seasons after serving as assistant director of pro personnel for two years in a 16-year career with the franchise. Quinn has made some tangible changes, including adding a curtain between the locker room and training facilities at team headquarters to keep reporters from seeing who is going in and out of that area.CALDWELLS CHANCE: Quinn had the freedom to fire coach Jim Caldwell, but chose to give him a shot to lead the team for a third season after he helped them win six of the last eight games last year. If Caldwell cant improve upon last years record, getting to at least 8-8, it is difficult to imagine he will be back for a fourth year with the Lions.WEAK LINK: Detroit didnt run the ball well last season and failed to protect Stafford. The Lions made an investment to improve their offensive line, drafting Taylor Decker out of Ohio State with the 16th pick overall. Decker is expected to start at left tackle, shifting Riley Reiff to right tackle.D STANDOUTS: The Lions have potential stars in each position group on defense: Ezekiel Ansah at defensive end, cornerback Darius Slay and linebacker DeAndre Levy, who missed most of last year with a hip injury.EARLY AND LATE: Detroit plays three of its first four games on the road, starting with Week 1 at Indianapolis. The Lions will also play three of their last five on the road, including a prime-time matchup Dec. 26 at Dallas.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow Larry Lage at www.twitter.com/larrylage and follow his work at www.bigstory.ap.org/content/larry-lage Christian Villanueva Jersey . In Europe, top teams seem to be largely happy with their squads after spending nearly $1 billion in the off-season. And although English league clubs are unlikely to splash cash in January, Arsenal and Chelsea could be tempted to strengthen their squads with new strikers. Hunter Renfroe Jersey . After Mondays hard-fought loss, the wait seemed longer than usual. Getting set to go their separate ways for a short Christmas break, the Raptors coach credited his team for their effort on a seemingly impossible three-game road trip, urging them to build on that success when they get back to work at the end of the week. http://www.padresrookiestore.com/Padres-Freddy-Galvis-Kids-Jersey/ . Fellow centre Pavel Datsyuk remains out because of a concussion. Zetterberg has 11 goals and 19 assists for a team-high 30 points, and Datsyuk has a team-high 12 goals and 11 assists. Johnny Manziel Jersey . Jim Rutherford, President and General Manager of the Carolina Hurricanes, announced Wednesday that the team would assign Swedish forward Elias Lindholm to his nations team for the upcoming tournament. Matt Szczur Jersey . Nigeria beat surprise package Ethiopia 2-0 in the second leg of their playoff for a comfortable 4-1 aggregate victory. Victor Moses converted a 20th-minute penalty after an Ethiopian handball, and Victor Obinna made certain of Nigerias place in Brazil with his powerful free kick in the 82nd at UJ Esuene Stadium. KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Carl Edwards generally loves the two races a year at Kansas Speedway.He was born and raised in Columbia, Missouri, and spent his formative years racing late models across the Midwest. So to this day, Edwards considers the mile-and-a-half speedway just down Interstate 70 and on the other side of the state line his home track.He gets to see family and friends. The crowd adores him. There really are no drawbacks.Except that he cant seem to win there. And that presents a problem heading into Sundays Sprint Cup race. Its the second stop in the three-race round of 12 in the championship Chase, and a win would take the stress out of Talladega by assuring him a spot in the next round.Its pretty obvious the pressure is pretty high in general with this format, said Edwards, who will start third on Sunday . But there is more pressure coming here. And its good pressure.In fairness, Edwards actually has been to victory lane at Kansas, though it was in the Truck Series more than a decade ago. He dueled with Bobby Hamilton that day, and still remembers thinking he had some engine trouble after taking the checkered flag. When he shut it off, he realized the rumbling that hed heard in the drivers seat was the crowd roaring its approval.It was the first time Edwards could ever remember hearing the crowd over the sound of the engine.Kansas hasnt been so kind to him in the intervening years. Hes won 38 times in the Xfinity Series, but never in seven tries at Kansas, and none of his 27 wins in the Sprint Cup Series has come there.Perhaps most disappointing is how often his car has been capable of winning.Whether driving for Jack Roush or Joe Gibbs, Edwards has typically found his way to the front at some point in the race. Eleven different times hes led a lap, hes finished in the top 10 a dozen times, six times hes been in the top five, with a career-best finish of second in 2008.Edwards qualified second in the Chase race a year ago before finishing eighth.This place, its going to be special when we go to victory lane. Its going to be really cool, he said, making clear that its a matter of when and not if he wins a race.Just the idea of winning hhere in front of all these people who supported me so much, Edwards said, that would be huge.dddddddddddd. But the icing on the cake would be no pressure at Talladega.Jimmie Johnson already has the pressure off after his win last weekend at Charlotte, and one of the 11 remaining Chase contenders could be in the same situation on Sunday.Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch qualified on the front row, while Edwards gave the Gibbs stable a sweep of the top three spots. Throw in Martin Truex Jr., whose Furniture Row team has an alliance with them, in fourth, and Denny Hamlin qualifying seventh, and it could be a banner day for their teams Chase hopes.Its just a testament to Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota to be able to do what weve done, Busch said, and to have three of them in the front three spots and then Truex there in fourth. Thats really good.Even if they dont win Sunday, the Gibbs team could still take some drama out of Talladega.Kenseth, Busch, Edwards and Truex escaped engine trouble and wrecks at Charlotte, giving them a bit of a points cushion over five Chase drivers who finished 30th or worse. Among them was Hamlin, who finds himself this week in the tenuous eighth -- and final -- spot for advancing to the next round.The year has been pretty solid for the organization. We all had a pretty good day (in qualifying), Kenseth said. Its great having teammates that good, but its also hard to beat them.You can count Edwards among them.The only blip hes had this weekend was a poor first run in qualifying, which he wiped out with a better effort later in the opening session. He wound up making the final round of qualifying to take third on the grid, and was hovering solidly around the top 10 in the final practice session Saturday.It was enough to raise his hopes for that long-awaited home win.I definitely envy Jimmie Johnson right now. Those guys did a really good job last week, he said. I know hes going to be on his bike a bunch and relaxing and having a good time the next two weeks. We want to be able to do that going to Talladega. 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