Off-Season/OTA/Training Camp Thread

[Blkbrd671]

Darius Slay looks ready to have a breakout sophomore year.

A second-round pick out of Mississippi State last spring, Slay has two things going for him that the Lions hope will help him handle a bigger role.

First, the Lions’ new defense, in which cornerbacks will play more press man coverage, is better suited for Slay’s skills. Slay primarily played bump-and-run in college and has the length to disrupt receivers at the line of scrimmage and the speed to run with them downfield. He struggled with zone concepts last year.

Second, Slay spent about a week this off-season working with Hall of Fame cornerback Rod Woodson and learning some of the finer points of the position. Slay got to know Woodson through his agent, Eugene Parker, and said he plans to visit Woodson’s California home for another week or so of training this summer.

If slay can be our #1 corner, i think our secondary is looking pretty decent. Vaughn looks like he might be a legit #2, and Bentley, mathis , green, greenwood, all add serious depth. My concern is still safety, but there are some UDFA that maybe able to help with depth

[Icness]

I watched Slay's final college game yesterday, against Northwestern in the Gator Bowl. Man he looked good.

[Blkbrd671]

I watched Slay's final college game yesterday, against Northwestern in the Gator Bowl. Man he looked good.

Like can be best corner we've ever had good, or like chris houston prime good?

[Icness]

Slay can be better than Chris Houston ever was. Has a ceiling of being a solid #1 CB, not a star.

[Blkbrd671]

Speaking of the secondary, Bill Bentley also looks a lot more comfortable this season. Spoke with him after practice and asked him why that was. He turned it around and asked me why I thought that. I was pretty honest in that he looks more instinctual this season and perhaps a touch faster. He agreed and said (paraphrasing) he essentially had no choice -- it was his third year, he had to start playing better.

Best player of the day might have been cornerback Darius Slay. I talked with him a bunch over the past two weeks about his improvement. He has really shown better recovery if he gets beat early in a route -- that recovery speed showed up at least once Wednesday -- and better coverage skills as well. He is not going to be an All-Pro or anything in 2014, but he could ease some concerns about the cornerback position if he continues to improve

To highlight one of the players on the line, rookie Caraun Reid particularly impressed. He often beat his defender and ended up in the backfield. He appears to be picking things up fairly quickly.

http://espn.go.com/blog/detroit-lions/p ... a-practice

[Blkbrd671]

On the first play of seven-on-sevens, Matthew Stafford challenged Slay deep down the sideline on a throw to Calvin Johnson, but the young corner stuck in Johnson's back pocket, turned his head and nearly intercepted the slightly under-thrown ball. Johnson became the defender, separating the ball from Slay at the last possible moment.

• The Lions are making sure their defensive ends are getting work dropping back into coverage and the outside linebackers work rushing the passer. When the front four and back seven split up into groups for pass rush and coverage work, it was interesting watching several players darting back and forth to get in reps with both groups.

The big gains in those end-of-half scenarios came from tight ends Brandon Pettigrew and Joseph Fauria, working on separate units. Stafford found Pettigrew deep down the middle twice, while Fauria worked shorter routes and picked up some nice chunks of yardage after the catch.

[Piston Pete]

Anyone else hoping the Lions kick the tires and invite QB Josh Freeman to camp to compete for the QB2 spot behind Stafford?

QB1 - Stafford
QB2 - Freeman
QB3 - Moore or Franklin

[Blkbrd671]

Anyone else hoping the Lions kick the tires and invite QB Josh Freeman to camp to compete for the QB2 spot behind Stafford?

QB1 - Stafford
QB2 - Freeman
QB3 - Moore or Franklin

Freeman would be interesting he's better than moore or franklin right now, but he's nothing that we should be excited about. There's a reason he hasn't been picked up

[Piston Pete]

I forgot we also had Orlovsky (meh) as well. I still like the idea of giving Freeman a look to have him compete for the #2 spot on the cheap....

1) STAFFORD
2a) Orlovsky
2b) Freeman

...and maybe we keep either Moore or Franklin on the PS as emergency depth.

[Icness]

Hey guys-
I'm doing a mailbag segment for my Bleacher Report piece this Friday. If you have any questions post them here. Since y'all have been supportive for a long time, your questions get precedence. It can be on anything Lions related. Have already been asked about Corny Lucas' chances and what Jim Caldwell needs to do to be considered a success in '14. Try and keep 'em to a couple of sentences. Thanks!

[Blkbrd671]

On LB DeAndre Levy: "I think he's just kind of scratching the surface of what he can be. He's a talented guy, he's smart, he works hard. He's got great respect for his teammates, but is extremely conscientious and he's got talent, physically. I think you're going to continue to see him grow and develop."

On RB Theo Riddick: "He's certainly done well. He's had a very good spring. As a matter of fact, even in my preliminary evaluation just watching him in special teams last year, he jumps out at you. He's eager, he's hungry, he's tough, he can run. He's a very, very fine route-runner. He can catch the ball. He's had a real fine spring, so I hope he continues to develop. We think he will."

On LB Tahir Whitehead's size for a middle linebacker: "He's an explosive guy. He's got punch and can run. Certainly, he can direct traffic in there. He's got a real good feel for things. He's a good football player. You see him close ground out there on the field. The guy can make plays. Obviously, Tully's (Stephen Tulloch) a little bit bigger than he is in terms of weight and girth, not in terms of height. Nevertheless, I still think that he can function in there."

comments from day 2 from Caldwell

[Blkbrd671]

Check out Ihedigbo's appreciation article of his physique.

http://edge.si.com/edge/2014/06/09/behi ... s-ihedigbo

[Blkbrd671]

Hey guys-
I'm doing a mailbag segment for my Bleacher Report piece this Friday. If you have any questions post them here. Since y'all have been supportive for a long time, your questions get precedence. It can be on anything Lions related. Have already been asked about Corny Lucas' chances and what Jim Caldwell needs to do to be considered a success in '14. Try and keep 'em to a couple of sentences. Thanks!

I figure i just get all the questions out the way and let you decide.

1.) From what you've seen, has Stafford made any noticeable improvement from Last OTA's and Minicamp? Specifically his footwork.

2.) Word from Camp is our secondary is looking a lot more comfortable and aggressive, has it been dramatically noticeable? Slay ,Bentley and Vaughn have all been talked about amongst beat writers, has Green, Greenwood, etc. made any noticeable improvements? What about Lawson and Couplin?

3.) Who has really impressed you out of this Years draft class? and who do you think has a shot to make the roster?

4.) There has been a lot of talk about our DL and how they may not be as good this year? How have the new additions, Tapp, Reid, Webster, etc looked? Do you think it'll be better or worst this year?


Thank you Jeff

[ajaX82]

Hey guys-
I'm doing a mailbag segment for my Bleacher Report piece this Friday. If you have any questions post them here. Since y'all have been supportive for a long time, your questions get precedence. It can be on anything Lions related. Have already been asked about Corny Lucas' chances and what Jim Caldwell needs to do to be considered a success in '14. Try and keep 'em to a couple of sentences. Thanks!

Dunno if it is too late to get in but here are a few:

1) What are Travis Swanson's realistic chances of knocking Sims off the roster and starting at LG Game 1?

2) Do Jonte Green or Chris Greenwood even make the roster, let alone live up to some of their perceived potential?

3) Is Theo Riddick going to be used as a weapon this year, catching passes out of the backfield like a poor mans Sproles?

Thanks for giving us a shot to ask, it is appreciated.

[Blkbrd671]

3) Is Theo Riddick going to be used as a weapon this year, catching passes out of the backfield like a poor mans Sproles?

Thanks for giving us a shot to ask, it is appreciated.

From what i've read, in lombardi's offense, we will use 4 RB's, meaning Riddick should have a significant role. and yes a sproles like weapon. Bush has been raving about riddick and his ability to make people miss in space, as well as his contributions on special teams.

Not that i am asking, but its going to be interesting to see if Leshoure makes the cut, and if he does , what we'll see out of him

[Blkbrd671]

Jason Jones appears to be slowly moving back to health. He seemed more active Wednesday than he has during past open practices, including working some with the first unit. He is still coming back from a ruptured patella tendon suffered last season, but he will be a contender for the closed defensive end spot in the fall opposite Ansah on the defensive line.

Glad to hear, if he can stay healthy, our DL is a lot better. i was worried he was done for the year, however if he's competing for the RE position, must mean he's still got that bounce that so many lose with a achilles

Carey is starting to really emerge as the probable third safety, although this is not unexpected. He once again filled in for Quin during team drills and has been a decent presence back there. In the secondary, Jonte Green is the one player who doesn’t seem to be getting as many reps as one might think.

Carey's been gettin raved reviews out of OTA's and Minicamp due to his versatility and "energy" when he plays. This is interesting as must feel we needed to draft a S in the first 3 rounds, i think Carey's presence dropped the "need" from the lions big board.

Sequence of the day: Two impressive plays in a row. First, safety James Ihedigbo jumped a route from Stafford to Brandon Pettigrew to break up the pass. It was a great break on the ball by Ihedigbo. Stafford followed it up, though, with a perfectly threaded ball to Patrick Edwards into a small window over safety Don Carey. It was the best throw Stafford made on the day.

[ajaX82]

Chris Houston released. A pretty big move, but one that freed up some cap and got Ebron signed. So who is at CB now?

Slay, Mathis, Vaughn, Lawson, Bentley and one of Green/Greenwood?

[Piston Pete]

Is going after CB Brandon Flowers in play at all?

[Blkbrd671]

Chris Houston released. A pretty big move, but one that freed up some cap and got Ebron signed. So who is at CB now?

Slay, Mathis, Vaughn, Lawson, Bentley and one of Green/Greenwood?

Lions didn't believe he'd ever return to form, being that the problem with his foot is degenerative. I wonder if we had signed Suh to a extention, if we'd have made this same move? and on that note, does that mean there's no longer a need to extend Suh.

I think Slays noticeable improvement in OTA's and minicamp helped reassure the Lions, this makes not drafting help in the secondary early seem even more quesitonable

[Icness]

Smart move to let Houston go. He was headed for PUP, might never play again. Needed the cap room to sign Ebron, might as well cut losses now.

Current CB depth chart, in order: Slay, Mathis, Bentley, Vaughn, Lawson, Hester, Green, Greenwood, Seisay.

Greenwood has been out with sports hernia surgery, killed his chance to make a strong first impression. Really doubt he makes it. Bigger question is if they keep 6 or 7. I think it's just 6 because Don Carey and Glover Quin can both play CB and the depth at S is solid.


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