ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- The Detroit Lions invested a lot in the middle of their defensive line, drafting Ndamukong Suh No. 2 and Nick Fairley No. 13 in consecutive years, without much of a return.Suh chose to leave the Lions last year as a free agent, signing with the Miami Dolphins. The Lions let Fairley go, and he signed with the St. Louis Rams, lasting only one season with them before joining the New Orleans Saints this year.I dont think we ever taken a step back, defensive end Devin Taylor insisted.Detroit began rebuilding the unit around the talents of end Ezekiel Ansah, drafted No. 5 overall in 2013, and the experience of tackle Haloti Ngata, who re-signed this season. With first-year general manager Bob Quinn, the franchise made another commitment to the defensive line by selecting Alabama tackle AShawn Robinson in the second round.We have a lot of depth, Taylor said.The pivotal player on the front, though, may prove to be Taylor, who has started just twice. The 6-foot-7, 275-pound Tylor has shown signs of promise, making seven sacks last year to more than double his career total from his first two years in the league.Hes gotten a little bit better since the time that weve been here, Lions coach Jim Caldwell said. It seems like every year he makes some growth and some steps forward. I think hes one of those guys where the more familiar he becomes with a system, the better he plays.The last big games of the season, six games, he made a ton of plays for us and showed up a significant number of times. Hopefully we can keep him on the same trajectory.If Ansah can stay on his path of improvement, it will be an incredible feat.He ranked third in the NFL with 14 1/2 sacks last season and became the first Lion to have 30 sacks in his first three seasons since sacks became an official stat in 1982.Ansah, who plays 10-on-10 soccer during the offseason back home in Ghana and in Utah, where he went to college at BYU, is incredibly quick and agile for someone who is 6-5 and 275 pounds. During a drill earlier this week, he put both of his hands on the grass, hovering just above the ground, and powerfully shot out of his stance as he worked on his pass-rushing skills.Ziggy is an amazing player, an amazing athlete, Ngata said. I dont want to say (I am) jealous, but he makes things look so easy. Its fun to watch a kid like that continue to get better.Taylor believes the defensive line will be a strength this season, but Caldwell is not quite ready to echo that prediction five-plus weeks before the season starts.Its early, yet, he said. I mean theres talent there. Theres no question about it. We have depth there at this point, but well wait and see.--AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Cheap Nike NBA Jerseys .C. -- Chris Thorburn thinks one of the reasons the Winnipeg Jets have been successful under new coach Paul Maurice is that theyre playing together as a team. Nike Basketball Jerseys Authentic Cheap . The Dutchmans tenure got off to a poor start when referee Guido Winkmann awarded a penalty within two minutes for Niklas Starks clumsy challenge on Alexandru Maxim. http://www.cheapbasketballjerseysoutlet.com/ . There are some early surprises in the race for the Hart Trophy, but two of the contenders are the leagues biggest stars over the past decade. There are many more players in contention for the awards than just the three that Ive named, and a good or bad week can easily alter the landscape, but through the first 20 or so games of the NHL season, this is how the awards races look to me. Stitched Basketball Jerseys . Manuel was offered a position the day he was fired. He accepted earlier this week and the team made the announcement Friday. Cheap NBA Jerseys China .Y. -- Syracuse has turned up the defence at the right time all season, and when High Point threatened to pull off a monumental upset the second-ranked Orange did what they do best with their quick hands and savvy play. Former NFL player Joe McKnight was shot to death Thursday following an argument at an intersection with another motorist.Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand said the incident involving McKnight happened about 2:43 p.m. Thursday in Terrytown, a suburb of New Orleans.The 28-year-old running back was standing outside his car when he was shot by Ronald Gasser, 54, Normand said during a news conference at the scene of the shooting.The only thing we know right now, everything else is conjecture, is that Mr. Gasser did in fact shoot Mr. McKnight, Normand said.McKnight is the second former NFL player this year to die in the New Orleans area as a result of a possible road-rage incident. Former New Orleans Saints player Will Smith was killed in April in a shooting that was sparked over a traffic altercation.Norman said investigators have Gasser in custody and hes being questioned, along with a number of witnesses. Col. John Fortunato, a sheriffs office spokesman, said they anticipate charging Gasser, but with what has not yet been determined.We will release additional details when we get through with the interviews, Normand said.Normand said Gasser, whose hometown was not immediately released, stayed at the scene and relinquished his weapon to responding officers.The sheriff said he did not know where the incident started, but noted that McKnight was standing outside his vehicle when he was shot. He did not release any details on the number of times McKnight was shot, saying the coroners office would do so.Normand said no gun was found outside either vehicle, but they had not searched the cars and wont do so until a search warrant has been obtained.McKnight played three seasons for the New York Jets and one with the Kansas City Chiefs. He spent this season in the Canadian Football League, playing two games for the Edmonton Eskimos and three for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. He ran for 150 yards against Toronto on Oct. 15 in his Saskatchewan debut.We send our deepest sympathies to Joes family, friends, and all those impacted by this tragedy, Roughriders general manager and coach Chris Jones said in a statement.McKnight was considered the No. 1 running back recruit in the country when he came out of John Curtis Christian School in Louisiana in 2006 and signed with the University of Southern California, where he played under Pete Carroll. With his running and catching skills, McKnight was often compared to do-it-all running back Reggie Bush, a USC star who was the No.dddddddddddd 2 overall pick by New Orleans in the 2006 draft.Bush took to Twitter to offer his condolences: RIP my brother Joe McKnight, he posted, this one hurts bad.For a life to be lost so senselessly is just beyond description, said JT Curtis, McKnights high school coach, whos been head coach there for nearly five decades. Right now its pretty devastating.He was just a good kid, the coach added.After a sometimes-spectacular college career in which he ran for 2,213 yards and 13 touchdowns and caught 66 passes for 542 yards and two scores in three seasons, McKnight was drafted by the Jets in the fourth round in 2010.His NFL career got off to a shaky start, marked by his first rookie camp practice in which he dropped a few passes, had both calves cramp up and later vomited on the side of the field because of nerves and lack of conditioning. McKnight saw limited action as a rookie, but started the regular-season finale and rushed for 158 yards on 32 carries.McKnight assumed the role as the Jets primary kick returner in 2011, and led the NFL with a 31.6 yard kickoff return average that season. That included a franchise-record 107-yarder in 2011 against Baltimore that also stands as the teams longest play.He was released by the Jets as part of their final cuts after training camp in 2013 and spent that season out of football. McKnight signed with Kansas City in January 2014 and had two touchdown catches in a game for the Chiefs early that season before tearing his Achilles tendon during a practice and missing the rest of the year.Several of McKnights former teammates and friends took to social media to express shock and sadness at the news, and to offer condolences to his family.The Jets posted a photo of McKnight with the words Joe McKnight 1988-2016 on it on their official Twitter account. Rest in peace, Joe McKnight, the team said. Our thoughts and condolences are with his loved ones.Former Jets teammate Antonio Cromartie wrote on Twitter: Just got a message saying my former teammate Joe McKnight was killed today. This hurt to the heart. I cant stop crying.---Associated Press writer Rebecca Santana in New Orleans and sports writer Dennis Waszak in New York contributed to this report. Jerseys NFL China Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys From China Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale China Jerseys NFL Jerseys China Discount Soccer Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys China China NCAA Jerseys Cheap Cheap Nike Dolphins Jerseys Cheap Nike Patriots Jerseys Cheap Nike Jets Jerseys Cheap Nike Bengals Jerseys Cheap Nike Browns Jerseys Cheap Nike Steelers Jerseys Cheap Nike Texans Jerseys Cheap Nike Colts Jerseys Cheap Nike Jaguars Jerseys Cheap Nike Titans Jerseys Cheap Nike Broncos Jerseys ' ' '