1 yards he is second only to speed demon Percy Harvin

He is second in the league with an average return of 30.1 yards, he is second only to speed demon Percy Harvin. While Percy Harvin has run multiple kickoffs for touchdowns, Clifton Smith only has one touchdown in the last two years, despite being second in average return in 2009, and fifth in 2008. Although Clifton Smith rarely breaks one, he is incredibly reliable, and on a team that is this weak, reliability is something they will be desperate for.. Being a Lions fan, it's painful to say there are very few bright spots on the team this year, but besides finally winning a game, few players have preformed exceptionally well.

However, one of the players who has showed glimpses of exceptional promise, is second year defensive end Cliff Avril. Despite only starting eight games over the last two years, he has 7.5 sacks and five forced fumbles. He is second on the team in sacks, and was second on the team last year as well. So every one of Cliff's stellar plays have been created purely through his own determination. There are several young potential future stars on the Lions, and Cliff Avril is certainly one of them. Andre Carter has racked up 60.5 sacks over the last nine years, but playing for the 49ers and now the Redskins, few people have even noticed. With the signings of Albert Hanyesworth and drafting of Brian Okrapo many people forgot about Andre Carter, but Andre Carter leads his team with eight sacks His eight sacks ranks sixth in the league.

Typically the sack leaders, are sack specialists who don't get many tackles, but Andre Carter is a multidimensional defensive end who also racks up many tackles. He leads all defensive linemen with 42 tackles, and over the last nine years has averaged 40-50 tackles which is phenomenal for a defensive linemen. Meanwhile sack specialists like Dwight Freeney average 25-30 tackles. The Redskins have typically been a team chalked as underachievers, but Andre Carter is one of the few who has surpassed expectations.. When people think about the Raiders defense, Nnamdi Asomugha isusually the person that comes to mind.