- Thread Author
- #1
tbone413
Well-known member
- Joined
- Aug 8, 2011
- Messages
- 1,588
My buddy has a Detroit Lions blog and he attends most of the training camps. He likes to post his thoughts during training camp on his blog and other websites, I think he's a pretty good blogger so I'll post his observations.
-----------------------------------------------
Megatron and Stafford were their 'usual' selves. *I guess that I've become 'spoiled', along with how many others(?),but never bored when these 2 are doing what they do so well. *So, please bear with me as I try to focus elsewhere and 'Rest Assured' that #9 & #81 are 'Lighting It Up'.
#11 RB/WR Stefan Logan
#11 continued to get the 'Lions Share' of Reps @ RB. *I'm developing a 'Theory' about this:
Either the Lions really like what he brings to the Position, as he is different from the other RBs in Size & Style, OR he is similar to: #44 RB Jahvid Best in Size & Style, at least moreso than the other RBs, that his Increased Reps are to Accustom the Offense (O-Line, WRs, & TEs) to what they're missing (and hope to get back) regarding Blocking Schemes and Downfield Blocks. *Regardless, #11 is making the most of his reps.
#13 WR Nate Burleson
#16 WR Titus Young
Both #13 & #16 saw more Plays in their direction today versus yesterday and each made at least a few noticeable Receptions. *#13 was used mostly inside, but did have 1 nice Sideline Catch. *#16 also had a nice Sideline Catch, but he really shone on TD Catch in the Endzone Corner (right in front of me) that had his momentum carry him well past the Stands -and this after having to leap over the Rope separating the Fans from the Field. *Trust me, this had 'disaster' written all over it -but #16's Agility & Awareness prevented this becoming another Injury.
#36 CB Jonte Green
#36 had Coverage for this and was 'all over' (no Contact, though) #16 on this Play, but #9 placed the Ball where only #16 had a chance to catch it. *#36 is progressing and it seemed that he was getting more 'Looks' too.
#28 CB Bill Bentley
#28 is, not so quietly, becoming a real challenge for the 2nd CB Spot. *#81 'schooled' him on 1 Play early on (which again, was right in front of me) and both myself and another Fan simultaneously said 'It just isn't Fair' -referring to how well #81 plays against Coverages. *Other than that, #28 was as 'Solid' as 1 could hope for a Rookie CB -but he is learning, and learning quick, from the Best in the League.
#27 CB Alphonso Smith
#27 is the 'nominal Starter' at this stage and he is trying to stay within the Scheme, making more Plays -but, still, he has been 'burnt' on a few occasions. *He and his Coach, Marcus Robertson, had a 'Running Dialogue' during all of the Sets, whether #27 was involved in a Drill or not -so, he is seeing 'how' things go 'right' or 'wrong'. *This can only help, both #27 & the Lions, down the Road.
#87 TE Brandon Pettigrew looks to be 'slimmer' and has seen his Receptions increase. *In Unit Drills (WRs & TEs), the initial 'Progression' is #81, #87, #13, #16 and so on down the Ranks. *This also seems to 'show up' during Full Squad Drills with #9 looking toward #87 frequently and I've yet to see a real 'Drop' from him. *#85 Scheffler has been 'Solid' as well, but it seems that more Reps are going to #89 and then further down the Depth Chart.
#84 WR Ryan Broyles
#84 continued his progress with Full Participation and made some some catches that were in Traffic (short range and between the Hashes). *On a few of these, he looked to gain good additional Yardage. *I'll note here that #11, #16, & #84 were the only PRs today (more related comment on this later).
#80 WR Maurice Stovall
#83 WR Patrick Edwards
#83 is the 'Next Man Up' in WR progressions and continues his development. Nothing in particular seemed to 'stood out', but he doing a good job with what appears to be the 'Routine' in PlayCalls -Repetitions to 'perfect' what the Players can presently do. *This is also true for:
#70 T Jason Fox
#71 T Riley Reiff
#73 T Jonathan Scott
#77 Gosder Cherilous
#78 T Corey Hilliard
#70 got the majority of Reps @ LT again, with occasional 'Blows' from #78. *#77 was the 'Nominal Starter' @ RT, but #71 saw more Reps. *#73 workload increased from yesterday and he switched between both T Positions.
#51 Dominic Raiola
#63 G Jaques McClendon
#64 C/G Dan Gerberry
#65 C/G Dylan Gandy
#66 G Stephen Peterman
#67 G Rob Sims
#72 G J. C. Oram
#74 G Rodney Austin
#51, #66, & #67 retain their Starter Status, but were followed by #65 @ C, #63 & #72 @ RG, and #74 & #64 @ LG.
#79 DE Willie Young
#90 DT Ndamukong Suh
#91 DT Sammie Lee Hill
#93 DE Kyle Vanden Bosch
#94 DE Lawrence Jackson
#95 DE Everette Brown
#96 DE/DT Andre Fluellen
#98 DT Nick Fairley
#99 DT Corey Williams
The Camp Starters are established until:
#92 DE Cliff Avril
#92 returns. *#93 & #94 played at the Ends, while #90 & #99 manned the middle. *#79 saw good Reps @ RDE while #95 worked LDE. *From my seat today, I couldn't see the D-Line as well as yesterday -but I have to note that today I saw an Alignment of #90 @ LDE, #99 @ DT, & #98 @ LDE. *#91 may been @DT as well, but I thought that I saw 4 LBs -this was far down the Field from me, so I had to look through the other Players to note what I could. *The LBs involved in this looked to be:
#52 LB Justin Durant
#55 LB Stephen Tulloch
#58 LB Ashlee Palmer
#54 LB DeAndre Levy
I wish that I was in a better position to ascertain this and how that brief series developed but, hopefully, that will occur another time for myself or someone that attends Camp. *Nonetheless, I thought that was important enough to note and give a 'Heads Up' to others about.
While touching upon LBs, I'll note that:
#50 LB Travis Lewis
#59 LB Tahir Whitehead
#50 & #59 saw 'Routine Reps' today and it looked like #50 has a 'Miked' Helmet as he appeared to be listening in on PlayCalls.
#26 S Louis Delmas
#29 S John Wendling
#31 S Don Carey
#32 S Sean Jones
#39 S Ricardo Silva
#42 S Amari Spievey
#26 was given the Day off, so #31 & #39 saw the most Action in his absence. *#32 seemed to have 'Light Duty' as well today, with #42 getting the majority of Reps and was 'spelled' by
#29 occasionally.
#21 CB Jacob Lacey
#23 CB Chris Houston
#40 CB Drew Coleman
#43 CB Justin Miller
All saw considerable Reps with #23 Starting. *Other than what I noted earlier with #28 & #36, I didn't note anything as 'exceptional'. *This leads me to 2 other observations:
1) *Lions HC Jim Schwartz spent a lot of Unit Drill Time with the Secondary.
2) *Lions DC Gunther Cunningham was quite 'colorfully vocal' today and visibly displeased with some of the Effort today -threatening to extend 'Work' for more than a few. *I'll admit to be distracted by the 'Sideshow', so this 'Report' may not be as 'Detailed' as hoped for.
-----------------------------------------------
Megatron and Stafford were their 'usual' selves. *I guess that I've become 'spoiled', along with how many others(?),but never bored when these 2 are doing what they do so well. *So, please bear with me as I try to focus elsewhere and 'Rest Assured' that #9 & #81 are 'Lighting It Up'.
#11 RB/WR Stefan Logan
#11 continued to get the 'Lions Share' of Reps @ RB. *I'm developing a 'Theory' about this:
Either the Lions really like what he brings to the Position, as he is different from the other RBs in Size & Style, OR he is similar to: #44 RB Jahvid Best in Size & Style, at least moreso than the other RBs, that his Increased Reps are to Accustom the Offense (O-Line, WRs, & TEs) to what they're missing (and hope to get back) regarding Blocking Schemes and Downfield Blocks. *Regardless, #11 is making the most of his reps.
#13 WR Nate Burleson
#16 WR Titus Young
Both #13 & #16 saw more Plays in their direction today versus yesterday and each made at least a few noticeable Receptions. *#13 was used mostly inside, but did have 1 nice Sideline Catch. *#16 also had a nice Sideline Catch, but he really shone on TD Catch in the Endzone Corner (right in front of me) that had his momentum carry him well past the Stands -and this after having to leap over the Rope separating the Fans from the Field. *Trust me, this had 'disaster' written all over it -but #16's Agility & Awareness prevented this becoming another Injury.
#36 CB Jonte Green
#36 had Coverage for this and was 'all over' (no Contact, though) #16 on this Play, but #9 placed the Ball where only #16 had a chance to catch it. *#36 is progressing and it seemed that he was getting more 'Looks' too.
#28 CB Bill Bentley
#28 is, not so quietly, becoming a real challenge for the 2nd CB Spot. *#81 'schooled' him on 1 Play early on (which again, was right in front of me) and both myself and another Fan simultaneously said 'It just isn't Fair' -referring to how well #81 plays against Coverages. *Other than that, #28 was as 'Solid' as 1 could hope for a Rookie CB -but he is learning, and learning quick, from the Best in the League.
#27 CB Alphonso Smith
#27 is the 'nominal Starter' at this stage and he is trying to stay within the Scheme, making more Plays -but, still, he has been 'burnt' on a few occasions. *He and his Coach, Marcus Robertson, had a 'Running Dialogue' during all of the Sets, whether #27 was involved in a Drill or not -so, he is seeing 'how' things go 'right' or 'wrong'. *This can only help, both #27 & the Lions, down the Road.
#87 TE Brandon Pettigrew looks to be 'slimmer' and has seen his Receptions increase. *In Unit Drills (WRs & TEs), the initial 'Progression' is #81, #87, #13, #16 and so on down the Ranks. *This also seems to 'show up' during Full Squad Drills with #9 looking toward #87 frequently and I've yet to see a real 'Drop' from him. *#85 Scheffler has been 'Solid' as well, but it seems that more Reps are going to #89 and then further down the Depth Chart.
#84 WR Ryan Broyles
#84 continued his progress with Full Participation and made some some catches that were in Traffic (short range and between the Hashes). *On a few of these, he looked to gain good additional Yardage. *I'll note here that #11, #16, & #84 were the only PRs today (more related comment on this later).
#80 WR Maurice Stovall
#83 WR Patrick Edwards
#83 is the 'Next Man Up' in WR progressions and continues his development. Nothing in particular seemed to 'stood out', but he doing a good job with what appears to be the 'Routine' in PlayCalls -Repetitions to 'perfect' what the Players can presently do. *This is also true for:
#70 T Jason Fox
#71 T Riley Reiff
#73 T Jonathan Scott
#77 Gosder Cherilous
#78 T Corey Hilliard
#70 got the majority of Reps @ LT again, with occasional 'Blows' from #78. *#77 was the 'Nominal Starter' @ RT, but #71 saw more Reps. *#73 workload increased from yesterday and he switched between both T Positions.
#51 Dominic Raiola
#63 G Jaques McClendon
#64 C/G Dan Gerberry
#65 C/G Dylan Gandy
#66 G Stephen Peterman
#67 G Rob Sims
#72 G J. C. Oram
#74 G Rodney Austin
#51, #66, & #67 retain their Starter Status, but were followed by #65 @ C, #63 & #72 @ RG, and #74 & #64 @ LG.
#79 DE Willie Young
#90 DT Ndamukong Suh
#91 DT Sammie Lee Hill
#93 DE Kyle Vanden Bosch
#94 DE Lawrence Jackson
#95 DE Everette Brown
#96 DE/DT Andre Fluellen
#98 DT Nick Fairley
#99 DT Corey Williams
The Camp Starters are established until:
#92 DE Cliff Avril
#92 returns. *#93 & #94 played at the Ends, while #90 & #99 manned the middle. *#79 saw good Reps @ RDE while #95 worked LDE. *From my seat today, I couldn't see the D-Line as well as yesterday -but I have to note that today I saw an Alignment of #90 @ LDE, #99 @ DT, & #98 @ LDE. *#91 may been @DT as well, but I thought that I saw 4 LBs -this was far down the Field from me, so I had to look through the other Players to note what I could. *The LBs involved in this looked to be:
#52 LB Justin Durant
#55 LB Stephen Tulloch
#58 LB Ashlee Palmer
#54 LB DeAndre Levy
I wish that I was in a better position to ascertain this and how that brief series developed but, hopefully, that will occur another time for myself or someone that attends Camp. *Nonetheless, I thought that was important enough to note and give a 'Heads Up' to others about.
While touching upon LBs, I'll note that:
#50 LB Travis Lewis
#59 LB Tahir Whitehead
#50 & #59 saw 'Routine Reps' today and it looked like #50 has a 'Miked' Helmet as he appeared to be listening in on PlayCalls.
#26 S Louis Delmas
#29 S John Wendling
#31 S Don Carey
#32 S Sean Jones
#39 S Ricardo Silva
#42 S Amari Spievey
#26 was given the Day off, so #31 & #39 saw the most Action in his absence. *#32 seemed to have 'Light Duty' as well today, with #42 getting the majority of Reps and was 'spelled' by
#29 occasionally.
#21 CB Jacob Lacey
#23 CB Chris Houston
#40 CB Drew Coleman
#43 CB Justin Miller
All saw considerable Reps with #23 Starting. *Other than what I noted earlier with #28 & #36, I didn't note anything as 'exceptional'. *This leads me to 2 other observations:
1) *Lions HC Jim Schwartz spent a lot of Unit Drill Time with the Secondary.
2) *Lions DC Gunther Cunningham was quite 'colorfully vocal' today and visibly displeased with some of the Effort today -threatening to extend 'Work' for more than a few. *I'll admit to be distracted by the 'Sideshow', so this 'Report' may not be as 'Detailed' as hoped for.
