Nick Fairley exhibited more confidence during the offseason wit hthe Detroit Lions.
Fairley was vocal during every practice and also challenged Ndamukong Suh during drills.
Fairley predicted that he and Suh will become the NFL's best defensive tackle tandem this season.
"He's never lacked confidence," Jim Schwartz said. "He hasn't been healthy enough to be on the field for a long enough time for us, and that's his biggest challenge. He's got work to do between now and the start of training camp. It's not just talent, it's not just confidence, it's availability.
"For his first two years he wasn't available enough for us and this will be a big year for him to be on the field consistently for us. We've seen some other guys be in that situation, you know, (Matthew) Stafford included. Stafford wasn't on the field enough as a first- and second-year player. You know, he seems to have put some of that stuff behind him, and we need Nick to do the same thing."