Lions traning camp update (7/31)

[BigTen]

SNL will update Lions training camp daily and when news breaks. Remember to join us live from Lions camp weekdays from 6-10 AM for the latest news and to hear from players and coaches!The Lions completed their third-day of training camp today with morning and afternoon practice sessions on the outdoor practice field at the team's headquarters and practice facility. The team practiced in full-pads during the morning workout and practiced in helmets and shorts for the afternoon session.

 

STILL WAITING: WR Mike Williams and restricted free agent KR Eddie Drummond still have not reported to training camp. Williams has yet to agree to contract terms with the club and Drummond has opted not to sign his restricted free agent tender. Neither player can participate in team activities until signing a contract.

 

INJURIES: G Damien Woody left the morning practice early with a strained shoulder and did not participate in the afternoon workout. His practice availability will be determined day-to-day. LB Boss Bailey sat out of the afternoon session as Coach Mariucci is cautiously easing Bailey into the two-a-day practice regimen.

 

SIGNING: The Lions announced today that they have signed WR Charles Frederick (5-11, 185). Frederick signed with the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent following the 2005 NFL Draft, but was waived May 17. The team waived (injured) WR Grant Mattos. I watched Frederick at Washington and although he doesn't have great speed, he made a ton of plays and can return kicks and punts while Drummond is away from camp. If nothing else, he has possibly the best hair on the team while he's here. Check his link to see it.

 

LIONS HEAD COACH STEVE MARIUCCI:

 

On QB Joey Harrington saying that nobody on this team should be afraid to say that they should win the division: "In the recent past here, I don't know if people felt that they were confident enough to make that a realistic expectation. I think we are getting to a point where we make that as our goal and every intention. Everything we talk about is about beating the Packers, the Bears, and the Vikings. Obviously there are other teams in the league, but if you can dominate and be on top of your division you are always in the playoff hunt. It's time for us to win that thing. The Packers have won it three times in a row. We are all in it for that reason but it's time to change the guards."

On G Damien Woody's shoulder: "When he was working one-on-one pass protection and he got his arm caught back and he strained his shoulder a little bit. We put him in ice, but we don't think it's serious. We think he'll need a little treatment and rest and he'll be back in."

On if Woody would be a day-to-day: "Yes. I don't think we'll put him out here this afternoon; we'll put him in ice.

On four offensive linemen totaling 245 career starts: "That is good experience. We've got to get them playing together and communicating. We have Kelly Butler trying to fit in and he's coming along pretty good. They have more depth and experience this year. It's a good bunch. I like that group; it's as good of an offensive line as we've had in a while."

On if he is confident in Kelly Butler's ability at the right tackle: "He's trying to earn his stripes and prove to us that he belongs there. He's going through this one practice at a time. We like what we see. We are giving him every opportunity to show us that he is good enough to start there. He's going to get better and better playing right next to Damien Woody."

On if there has been a position that has surprised him in development: "I like our linebackers. I really like that bunch. It's good to have Boss (Bailey) back. Andrew Battle is back for depth. We have guys like Donté Curry and Wali Rainer that are so valuable. They play all of the spots. They are hardcore special teams guys. They play everything. They are like the energizer bunny on this team. Then you have James Davis, Teddy Lehman, and Alex Lewis. Of course Earl Holmes is the guy who kind of keeps them all in-check. We are going to have tough decisions to make as to who makes the team and how to play our guys. It's an excellent group."

On FB Will Matthews: "Did you hear his hit today? That's the first thing that sticks out in my mind. He had a collision on a linebacker today that was heard around the building. He got some hoots and hollers from the team. That's how fullbacks earn their stripes. They show their toughness and bend facemasks like Cory (Schlesinger) has over the years. That was very encouraging. He also has to prove to us that he can contribute in some kicking-game stuff. For a free-agent fullback that we had evaluated as a draftable player, he is showing us that he has a chance to make the team."

On if championships can be won in the off-season as much as during the season: "When the teams start practicing, I think you'll find that the routine during the practice week is fairly similar amongst the other teams. There are only so many hours in a day. Where do you get ahead? How do you get better than somebody else? Well, it's what you do during the off-season. Those sorts of things add up over time. I think our off-season here has been excellent."

 

LIONS QB JOEY HARRINGTON:

On his mindset at this point in camp: "(I'm) kind of tired - starting to lose my voice a little bit. That is normal. I actually feel really good about the progress we have made since last camp. We had a lot of mental mistakes last camp. We had a lot of young guys, new guys in there, stuff you expect. We seem to have cleaned that up quite a bit. This camp is really encouraging."

On the offensive line: "I think we have a great situation on the offensive line because we have three guys in Dom, Jeff and Woody who have all played together. Proven guys who are all in that 20-25, 28, 29 range; they have the experience, but they are still young and fresh.

On RT Kelly Butler: "When you put in a young guy like Kelly Butler, he can learn from those guys who have the experience. Kelly is so physically talented - I love how our offensive line has turned out so far."

On progress the offense has made: "I see more consistency. I was a little frustrated with all the mental mistakes we were making in the mini-camp. Once we started putting the offense in, guys seemed to short circuit a little bit, which you expect to happen to some degree, but it is still frustrating. I really like the fact that we seem to have ironed out the majority of those problems, coming into this camp, which I am really pleased with."

On goals he is working on: "With what we did at the end of last year offensively, the last six games of the year; the way Kevin ran the ball; the way we threw the ball; it became an atmosphere where I just needed to facilitate people making plays. Kevin was running the ball which was putting us in third-and-shorts, second-and shorts, which opened everything up to throw the football. If we continue this year, doing the things we ended last year with: running the ball well, completing passes, guys are going to make plays. I do not think there is anything specific other than getting that completion percentage. (I'll) work on getting the balls to guys in the right situations. I think that is going to come from running the ball better and putting ourselves in good situations - if that makes sense. When we run the ball like we did last year, it put us in great situations. If you look at the end of the season, we threw for about 288 (yards) a game, over the last six games or so, and I did not do anything different. It is just a matter of being consistent and getting the ball to the guys when we are put in those good situations."

On being set up for success: "There is no reason in my mind why we should not win the division. I do not think we should be scared to say that. I am tired of losing football games. There is no beating around the bush on that one: I hate losing, and I am not going to take it anymore. I know the organization feels the same way, the city feels the same way. It is not something that we are comfortable with, or going to accept. It is going to require consistency in all levels of offense. When we ran the ball well, we threw the ball well. There was no secret about that last year. If we can come out and do the things we ended with last year, I expect to win football games."

 

LIONS DE JAMES HALL:

On the injuries from a year ago: "Last year we had a lot of guys bruised up, but this year we had a lot of guys come in healthy; a lot of guys came back for off-season workouts and a lot of guys came in under their weight, so that is definitely a positive."

On the importance of keeping the defense off the field: "Toward the end of the season it helps really helps out. When you have defenses playing 60 snaps a game, it starts to wear on you once you get down toward the end of the season and into the playoffs. If they can keep us off the field as much as possible that will definitely help us."

On having LB Boss Bailey back this season: "It really helps having Boss (Bailey) back this season. He had a real good rookie year and will most definitely come back and help us a lot."

On his 2004 season: "It was kind of hard because during training camp and the pre-season I was on the left side and they did not move me back to the right side until the season opener. So I was a little nervous going into the season because I did not get a lot of repetitions over there. But I started off fast and I was able to maintain it throughout the entire season."

On maintaining the level of the 2004 season: "Making all the workouts in the off-season and just coming out here and working on what I need to work on, trying to get better. Right now I am just trying to become more productive than I was last year and just getting ready for the season."

On RT Kelly Butler: "So far Kelly Butler has been looking good; I have not been going against him because he is on the other side, but so far he is looking good."

On the high expectations for the upcoming season: "We have a lot of depth at every position and we have a lot of playmakers so the standards are definitely higher. What we did last year and the year before just wasn't good enough. We should have won a lot more games than we did last year, so all the excuses are just out the door."

 

LIONS WR ROY WILLIAMS:

On the difference of beginning his second training camp with the Lions: "I know what to expect now; I know how the game goes; I know how training camp goes and I know how everything is. Last year I was guessing on what was supposed to happen."

On the nagging ankle injury of last season: "It bothered me a lot, but I still went out there and played my hardest to try and help the team win and we didn't win too many. This year I believe we are going to win a lot."

On the contract situation of Lions WR Mike Williams: "I think his contract situation is his deal, I don't know what is happening. I am here, I hope he gets here because we need to work together and he needs to get some timing with the quarterback."

On the importance of being in camp: "With the type of receiver Mike (Williams) is, he is a big guy and we are going to use him a lot, but we do need him in camp so he can get timing with the quarterback. Right now though he is handling his business situation and that is what comes first."

On the potential of the offense: "The sky is the limit. It is just a matter of how we utilize the players. We just have so much fire power it is ridiculous - it's like weapons of mass destruction. We have receivers, running backs, tight ends, offensive lineman and quarterbacks. It is almost like a Pro Bowl team."

On whether there are enough balls to go around: "Oh yeah. It is a long season. This is not college, it is a 16-game season plus the playoffs."

On the relationship Williams has with fellow WR Charles Rogers: "We know each other pretty good, especially on the field. We know all of our attributes and we know our strengths and our weaknesses."

[BigTen]

I also saw this post from a guy who was at training camp. Don't know how reliable it is but I have heard a lot of the same things from other sources. Glad to hear that J. Randall is doing well. Take it for what it is worth:

 

* Kelly Butler will be the RT, mark it down...he already looks better then McDougle with twice the heart.

 

* FB Mathews was taking a few snaps with the 1st team, mostly Sledge though. Mathews made a heck of a block on Goddard.

 

* Randall is defently a roster guy right now, looks better then fitz.

 

* Harrington looked good yestrday, threw 1 pick but other then that he was elite. Orlovsky looked decent, Garcia looked decent.

 

* Lehman got about 60% of the snaps with the 1st team at MLB, 10% with the 1st team at SLB. Bailey took a lot of snaps at SLB, and even a few at WLB. Could see a Lehman-Holmes- Bailey set, but most likely not.

 

* Hamilton and Vines have set the table for the last WR spot, with Kircus and Savoy quite a bit behind.

 

* Cody/Bell/Wilkinson all got about 33% of snaps with the 1st team defense, Cody looked the best, then bell. Wilkinson looked out of shape and rusty.

 

*Jamal White broke a long one for a td, but didnt do much after that.

Edited August 1, 2005 by BigTen

[Puddy]

Fitting that a show called SNL will provide the reports for our Lions:bash:

[spain]

The skies were clear and bright the days leading up to the last fateful voyage of the Edmund Fitzgerald...

[Puddy]

The skies were clear and bright the days leading up to the last fateful voyage of the Edmund Fitzgerald...

 

903601[/snapback]

 

 

 

You are already on record giving the Leo's a 10-6 record this year. I've printed the post and laminated it.

[CaptainHook]

The skies were clear and bright the days leading up to the last fateful voyage of the Edmund Fitzgerald...

 

903601[/snapback]

 

 

 

 

I got screwed out of that contest last year. I had it right!

[Egret]

The skies were clear and bright the days leading up to the last fateful voyage of the Edmund Fitzgerald...

 

903601[/snapback]

 

 

 

Plenty of room on the band wagon.