2019 Offseason thread

[Gulf of Brazil]

in that same link as above there's this

5 observations from Week 1 of Lions training camp

5. The offense has a completely different feel under Bevell
It’s not just the addition of Hockenson or the signing of Danny Amendola. The offense looks plenty different under Bevell than it did with Jim Bob Cooter. Get ready for an abundance of 12 personnel and some actual, real pre-snap motion. Bevell also hinted at a more mobile Stafford, likely meaning more rollouts for the QB. On Sunday, Stafford took part in a drill where he would start rolling out to one side of the field and then quickly spin to the other side as if evading a pass rusher to throw the football while on the run.

 

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I felt prior to drafting Glasgow that he appeared to me as being better suited as a RG than Center or LG. Glasgow performed adequately at LG in his rookie season and to some extent at Center the last two seasons but I believe he has the potential to become top 5-8 at RG.

Training camp Day 5 observations: Glasgow continues to shine

Graham Glasgow continues to impress
Through five days of practice, I don’t think any offensive lineman has impressed more than Graham Glasgow. The Lions were back to their 1A offensive line lineup (Decker, Wiggins, Ragnow, Glasgow, Wagner), and Glasgow continued to show that his move to right guard should be seamless this year.

His best play on Tuesday came on positional drill in which he and Rick Wagner had to deal with a pair of stunting pass rushers. The handoff between the two was so smooth and effortless, in stark contrast to the second and third team, who both struggled in the same drill. Particularly, UDFAs Ryan Pope and Beau Benzschawel really struggled in the drill, as they have all camp.

Taylor Decker and Kenny Wiggins had a good rep, as well, but Decker also had a false start that had him running a lap.

 

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Lions Sign DT Mike Daniels to 1 year 9 mil contract. This could be one of the best units in the league this year now.

I really like this signing - a LOT.

This signing should push A' Shawn even more so. Imo, The only time A' Shawn has stepped up his play has been when we had a healthy Ngata and then again once Snacks came on board.

I don't believe it's automatic that he gets/deserves an extension until he can show on the field production (not just in stats) without Snacks in the same lineup/rotation. He's going to have to produce when Snacks is getting a breather and more than likely when Snacks and Flowers both are on the sideline getting breathers. He has to start being a much better run defender, gap plugger, disengaging from combo blocks.

 

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A' Shawn could easily be on his way out of Detroit by end of this season unless his play on the field changes substantially. jmo.

 

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Got a link without the blocks?

Here's another link

Five Lions trending up after first week of training camp

► Tight end T.J. Hockenson

Sure, there are things for Hockenson to improve upon, namely with his blocking, but the first stretch of camp couldn't have been much more promising for the first-round pick out of Iowa.

As a pass-catcher, Hockenson is exceeding high expectations. He runs routes to all depths and has showcased outstanding hands and body control. Where he continues to shine the brightest is in the red zone. Working in the confined spacing, he's getting quality separation on his routes and catching everything thrown his direction. He's owned the back corner of the end zone on flag patterns, catching at least four scores in that area.

Detroit's other tight ends also have performed well when working inside the 20-yard line, and the group is shaping up to be a position of strength.

 

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Believe it or not - but- Tabor has done well in coverage when it's in the red-zone area from all that I've read albeit a couple snafu's here and there. It's between the 20's that he has had the very same struggles as before. By all accounts he has improved quite a bit this camp in comparison to the two previous camps.

There are still some negative posts regarding his play but there are also more positive posts in various articles written so far to date.

I'm hoping this kid can turn it around but I'm also not counting on it.

 

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Detroit Lions Training Camp 2019 Day 4 Stock Report

Stock Up: T.J. Hockenson, TE

For most of you who have followed along, you know that we tend to be pretty cautious when it comes to rookie tight ends. Even those drafted highly tend to struggle, which is a big part of where the “Never draft a first-round tight end” folks get their ammo. Tasked with learning blocking assignments, pre and post snap motion both for run and pass concepts, running routes, and of course catching the football, few positions come close to the sheer volume of information needed to be learned than tight end.

T.J. Hockenson has lived up to the billing so far and looks fantastic. I have yet to see him drop a pass and there is a strong possibility he is the best route runner in camp (not just at tight end!). The hype train is a rolling, and even our own conservative mindset on the topic may be challenged soon.

 

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Top-10 NFL compensatory picks in the PFF era | NFL News, Rankings and Statistics | Pro Football Focus

DI Mike Daniels
Green Bay Packers’ Mike Daniels hasn’t quite lived up to his 90.3 overall grade in 2015 in any of his other six seasons in the NFL, but he’s still put forth stable, efficient play as a key cog along the defensive line. In his career-best season, he recorded 62 total pressures and 35 defensive stops.

 

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Mike Daniels on Matt Patricia: ‘He’s a genius’



That’s quite the comment. Especially since it wasn’t long ago that the belief was that players didn’t want to play for Matt Patricia after Sports Illustrated published a report in which agents told them Detroit was an undesirable destination. “Especially with Matt ‘I think I’m Belichick but I haven’t done s---’ Patricia,” one anonymous agent said.

Daniels comments just about destroy that narrative.

What’s interesting is that Mike Daniels commented that he had never even met Matt Patricia before signing with the Lions on Friday. So this something where the belief in the league, at least among some of the players, is that Matt Patricia is a guy that defensive players want to play for, and his reputation is good. Daniels, in fact, said his reputation is that “he does things the right way.”

Daniells wasn’t the only new Lion that had praise for Matt Patrica on Sunday. New corner Rashaan Melvin said Patrica was “No BS” when the media spoke with him after camp.

 

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Why Mike Daniels signed with Lions

There is one reason in particular Mike Daniels is now a Detroit Lion, and that’s head coach Matt Patricia.

Daniels, a seven-year veteran defensive lineman and Pro Bowler in 2017, was released by the Green Bay Packers earlier this week. He said 13 teams contacted him within the first hour of his release, but knew Detroit was the place for him as soon as he met Patricia.

“Coach Patricia, flat out,” Daniels said when asked why he picked Detroit to sign with. “He’s just a genius. He really is. He understands the game of football. He knows what it takes. So to be able to play for a coach like that it means everything. I’m really trying to be restrained right now because I’m so excited. If I could do a backflip right now I’d do one, but I can’t. I’m really excited.”

Daniels said he respected Patricia and his body of work as a defensive coach from afar, but was blown away after meeting him.

“I thank god that I got cut and I have an opportunity to play for a defensive genius,” he said.

 

[Gulf of Brazil]

Why Mike Daniels signed with Lions

In his career, Daniels has appeared in 102 games (72 starts), and logged 225 tackles (154 solo), 29.0 sacks, 64 quarterback hits and 44 tackles for loss.

Since becoming a full-time starter in 2014, Daniels is one of two defensive tackles in the NFL (Sheldon Richardson) to produce at least 150 tackles, 25 tackles for loss, 20.0 sacks and one interception over the last five seasons.

 

[Gulf of Brazil]

Lions camp observations: Undrafted Strong stands out; Hockenson mixes it up

► T.J. Hockenson mixed it up a bit with some defensive players. In an early blocking drill, the rookie tight end got an ear full from Lee after the defensive end won their first two reps, but Hockenson rebounded, winning the third and final battle between the two.

On the receiving end, Hockenson showed more emotion than we're used to seeing. After making a long catch down the sideline, he signaled first down, irking veteran safety Tavon Wilson, who gave the rookie a little shove. And in red zone work, Hockenson scored yet another touchdown in the back corner of the end zone, slicing between two safeties. He briefly celebrated the scoring grab as the crowd cheered.

 

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Lions camp observations: Undrafted Strong stands out; Hockenson mixes it up

Also from the one-on-one trench battles, the offensive line won most of the matchups against their fatigued counterparts. Linebacker Jarrad Davis popped over to get in some reps and blew by offensive tackle Andrew Donnell, impressively dipping around the outside without being touched. Davis also ran a rep inside, but was pancaked by center Luke Bowanko.

The Lions ran their safer version of the Oklahoma drill for the first time this year, where a ball carrier and defender start laying down on their backs, heads facing each other, scramble to their feet and battle in a confined space.

Davis was sharp during the drill, standing up Thompson, a 240-pound back. Jalen Reeves-Maybin was pushed around by rookie Ty Johnson on one rep, but the linebacker responded by driving veteran C.J. Anderson backward in their head-to-head matchup.

 

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It appears that JDavis has showed some on field improvement to date this year during camp which is long overdue yet welcomed at the same time.

 

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Lions camp observations: Undrafted Strong stands out; Hockenson mixes it up

It's easy to scoff when a player says he's in the best shape of his life, especially when they're 33 years old, but Danny Amendola has looked sharp in these early camp practices. He's had little issue getting separation when working against the defensive backs and seems to have a good rhythm going with Matthew Stafford.

BB_72; arguably the best wr in camp so far according to all articles written that I've read.

 

[Gulf of Brazil]

Five Lions trending up after first week of training camp

Defensive lineman Kevin Strong

Although there's little concern about any long-term issues, Detroit's defensive line is beat up at the moment. By the time the team finished practice on Sunday, they only had four healthy options of the 14 on the roster.

But bumps and bruises created opportunity for others, and Strong was one of those four young linemen who received a significant increase in reps because of the depth chart decimation in front of him. With that extra time, the undrafted rookie out of UTSA made a reasonably strong impression.


Despite high temps with equally high humidity, stamina didn't seem to be an issue for the 6-foot-4, 285-pounder, who was moving well throughout the session. He was the only lineman consistently having success in one-on-one pass rush drills, working both inside and outside techniques, and he carried over his ability to penetrate in full-team work.

The Lions' D-line is loaded with talent, but there's always room for at least one surprise to make the roster. Strong put his best foot forward out the gate and will look to build on that early momentum.

 

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Detroit Lions WR Marvin Jones fueled by injury-shortened 2018 season

“It’s a great offense. Definitely fun,” Jones said. “And obviously it’s still (early in camp) so we just keep grinding and keep taking the coaching, keep going through the installs and go from there.”

Jones is the only NFL player since 2014 to average more than 18 yards per catch while topping 40 catches in a season, and the Lions are banking on a return of that big-play ability this fall.


Last year, when Jones missed the final seven games, Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford ranked near the bottom of the league in yards per attempt, and Jones didn’t have a reception longer than 39 yards. One of the best deep-ball duos in the NFL in 2016-17, Stafford and Jones seemed out of sync at times last year.