Thursday Notes: Football Is Back!

by Sean Yuille on Jul 24, 2008 2:37 AM EDT in Detroit Lions Notes

(Photo courtesy DetroitLions.com)

The Lions will take the practice field in Allen Park this morning for the first time to signify the beginning of training camp. The offseason isn't technically over until the first regular season game kicks off, but for football fans, it is over. Once training camp gets rolling, Pride of Detroit will post daily updates of the latest tidbits from each and every practice. To some it may not seem like there will be a whole lot to talk about as all Detroit is doing is practicing, but trust me, there are a countless number of things to discuss throughout the next month or so.
Aside from whether or not Jordon Dizon will be signed in time to practice this morning, the one thing I'm keeping my eye on is which players will be on the PUP list. There were reports recently that said four players may be on the list, one of them being Ernie Sims, so it will be interesting to see who is held out of practice due to injury.
To listen to Rod Marinelli's "state of the team" address from yesterday, click here.
Nicholas Cotsonika believes the Army "mishandled" Caleb Campbell's situation, and I agree with him 100%. The Army enacted the policy that allowed Campbell to play in the NFL as they figured it would create good PR for the Army. And they were right up until yesterday. Campbell was all over ESPN and the NFL Network, was featured in magazines, and was a familiar name on many sports websites.

Despite all of that good PR generated since April, the Army now will likely be ridiculed by many for this sudden change that is forcing Campbell to put his NFL career on hold. Changing the policy is one thing. But forcing Campbell to suddenly leave the Lions after allowing him to play is just plain wrong.
Brian VanOchten took a look at the legal issues many Lions are facing and how their actions are embarrassing the team.
USA Today put together a list of the five most intriguing running backs for the 2008 season, and Detroit's Kevin Smith was included in the discussion.
Fox Sports' power rankings have the Lions coming in at the 29th spot.
Reminder: Lions practices are open to the general public on July 29, August 1, and August 4-5. Practice times on those days will be announced 24 hours in advance, but generally the morning session starts at 8:35 a.m. and the afternoon session begins at 4:30 p.m. Gates open a half hour before practice starts, and only the first 700 fans will be allowed in, so make sure to get there at an early enough time.

If you happen to attend a practice, feel free to put up a FanPost reporting what you saw and what the general experience was like. Also, if you take pictures make sure to share them as well.