Wednesday Notes: Lions' Final Minicamp Is Underway
by Sean Yuille on Jun 24, 2009 1:43 PM EDT
in Detroit Lions Notes
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Print- First and foremost, my condolences go out to Jared DeVries, as his high school coach, Ed Thomas, was killed in a shooting this morning. Thomas was not only a great coach, but he also was a great person and friend to his players. After tornadoes tore through Iowa last year, he helped lead the effort to rebuild his city. DeVries went back home to help rebuild as well. He was pulled from practice this morning to be informed of the tragic news.
- Daunte Culpepper broke his silence on the battle that is shaping up between him and Matthew Stafford for the starting QB job, but nothing he said was really all that groundbreaking. The only really notable comment Culpepper made was when he talked up Stafford.
"(Stafford's) played a lot of football and he's a hard worker,'' Culpepper said. "He's going to be a great player in this league and I wish him the best in everything he does in his career.''
Aside from that, the other thing worth noting is that Culpepper's goal for this coming season is to win the NFC North. I like that his top goal is team-oriented. Many players would probably be more concerned with playing than anything else, so it's good to see Culpepper's got the right attitude. - Due to a combination of warm temperatures and a couple weeks off, practice got off to a rough start yesterday. Once some of the rust wore off, things got back to normal.
- Jon Jansen and Ephraim Salaam are currently practicing as backups to the right and left tackle positions, respectively. Jansen is probably going to practice at guard during training camp, and it is expected that Salaam will move around to right tackle at some point as well. It is important for these types of players to be versatile, so this isn't too surprising.
- The Lions could really use Kevin Carter, as Eric Hicks, Jared DeVries, and rookie Ryan Kees are currently the team's only left defensive ends.
- Grady Jackson and Derrick Williams didn't participate in practice yesterday. Jackson still is recovering from knee surgery and Williams had a tight hamstring.
- Don't expect Jim Schwartz to release a depth chart until the first exhibition game of the preseason.
- The main motivation behind the Lions someday moving training camp appears to be to make the players uncomfortable. Another reason is to give more fans a chance to attend practices, but Schwartz seems set on throwing a curveball at his team next summer, and moving the players out of their practice facility is a good way to do just that.
Schwartz supposedly now has his own Twitter page, as do the Lions.
UPDATE: The Lions confirmed that that isn't Schwartz's Twitter page.- Larry Foote's return to Detroit comes with the goals of making the Lions better and making his hometown better as well.
- Don't expect many NFL teams to have any interest in Charles Rogers.
- Tom Kowalski seems to think the story about Roy Williams not participating in a lifting program while he was with the Lions is a bit overblown.
- Former Lion Fernando Bryant has retired.
- Another report is stating that Brett Favre already has an agreement to play for the Vikings and that he will be in Minnesota when training camp begins.
- SB Nation recently added its 200th blog.
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Schwartz' Twitter
I’m still not convinced that’s the real deal.
Peace
Ty
http://thelionsinwinter.blogspot.com
by ty@thelionsinwinter on Jun 24, 2009 4:41 PM EDT reply actions
agree...
doesn’t seem like him at all
by calvins got a job on Jun 24, 2009 5:19 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah, you guys are right
I updated the story, as I’m waiting on confirmation from the Lions on whether it’s actually his.
Pride of Detroit, SB Nation's Lions Blog
my condolences go out to Jared Devries...
it’’s hard to lose someone important to you. I feel for the man’s family and loved ones, what a crappy world we live in sometimes. I think that it’s important to appreciate those things that are not nighmarish and terrible; one never knows when it could be all over. One minute to the next. Three years ago I was out in AZ, coming home from a third shift factory job (and perhaps not as aware as I normally am) and I got blindsided by a pickup…I was a pedestrian. Now I’m disabled, still relatively young, and MUCH wiser. It really comes as a wakeup call. RIP, man, I hope those close to you will be o.k.
Peace
As an Iowan
Coach Thomas embodied everything that was good about high school sports in Iowa. He was a pillar of his community and one of, if not the, most respected coach in the state.
I can’t imagine being one of the 20 or so athletes in the weight room when it happened and my heart goes out to them as to the entire Applington-Parkersburg school district of which Thomas was such a pillar.
I can’t believe the multiple lapses in judgement that led to his killer being allowed to walk the streets yesterday morning.
Did anyone else...
See Ephraim Salaam on the Best Damn Sports Show Period guarantee a better record than the Oakland Raiders? He even bet Nnamdi Asomugha a 2010 Mercedes-Benz.
I was pissed at the biased show though, they were laughing at him as he was saying it, and they were trying to see being on the Lions was terrible. But he didn’t laugh with them, instead he told them that he had full confidence in the team, and then he made the bet, saying he knows it will come true.
Now that’s the type of respectful veteran/leader we need on this team.
Fake twitter
Easy guys, I created that account to prove a point to some friends on how simple it is to be someone else on Twitter. I couldn’t think of anyone but then decided on the new coach who I think is great and most people wouldn’t care much about. To be honest I don’t find the allure of Twitter at all. However, I was bombarded with a ridiculous amount of emails yesterday for people following it and realized it went beyond my circle so I posted a message stating I was not Mr Schwartz. No cease and desist statement from the Lions, more likely because they realized I wasn’t posting much and if I did it was basic stuff everyone read.
Sean, nice detective work on the Stafford background though and I follow your site religiously. I was originally following you on the twitter account then realized it might not seem logical for a coach to follow a blog.
Keep up the good work and Go Lions!!
No offense
But it’s not cool to impersonate people on there. You probably should change the URL/delete the account, even though you already said it’s not actually Schwartz.
Pride of Detroit, SB Nation's Lions Blog
MILLEN
SOMEONE FIND AN NFL NETWORK or Matt Millen E MAILso we can write to them and tell them what a buffoon Millen is.His fired coach had a press conference when he left last year but Millen runs out of town with his tail between his legs and his wife does the talking and says"he’s out of prison now"Well ma’am he built the prison and put himself in it.It was his job to evaluate talent and coaches and he could do neither but he lands right in a cushy job.Dam that makes me mad
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