Monday Notes: Ball Placed on Reserve/Injured List
by Sean Yuille
on Jul 28, 2008 1:59 AM EDT
in Notes
- The Lions' fourth day of practice followed the same basic routine as the previous three days. Both sessions were outside and in the morning the Lions were in full pads, and in the afternoon they were in shells.
- As expected, wide receiver Reggie Ball was placed on the reserve/injured list. The knee injury he suffered during Friday's morning practice was serious enough to shelve him for an extended period of time, which is why the Lions just went ahead and put him on the reserve list.
- To fill the void created by Ball's injury, the Lions have signed former Grand Valley State wide receiver Eric Fowler. Fowler is actually from New Haven, Michigan, and had an outstanding career at GVSU. He signed with the Steelers after last year's draft before being cut after the preseason ended. Eventually Fowler was signed to the Rams' practice squad last December, but was cut just last week, giving the Lions a chance to bring him back home.
- Just as usual, no changes have been made to the PUP list.
- The Lions' new offensive philosophy that focuses on balance will greatly help Jon Kitna this season. Compared to the past two years with Mike Martz calling the shots, Kitna will be sacked far less since there will be less passing. That's good news for the Lions as Kitna isn't getting any younger, and getting hit as much as he has in the past two years didn't help.
- Bill Ford Jr. has faith in Rod Marinelli but declined to comment on Matt Millen. Also, Tom Lewand claimed that the Lions are actually ahead in season-ticket sales compared to last year despite some rumblings that they were having trouble selling tickets.
- Daniel Bullocks feels he is ready to start practicing, but the Lions don't want to take any chances of him getting injured again due to being rushed back too soon.
- Teddy Lehman was traveling quite a bit before ending up back in Detroit.
- Calvin Johnson's back thankfully didn't give him problems after he made a catch that was similar to the one that hurt him in the first place.
- Center Dominic Raiola crushed a trash can before practice yesterday instead of a tackling dummy.
- Rod Marinelli is likely going to utilize a new rule change that gives teams the option to defer if they win the opening coin toss. That new option means teams can send their defense out first and start the second half on offense, but still have a say in which end of the field they want to defend.
- The Lions' 12th annual kickoff luncheon will be held at Cobo Center on August 27. For more information, including how to order tickets, click here.
- Brett Favre did not report to Packers training camp yesterday. Originally he was planning on showing up, but he decided against it as it would only cause more problems.
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Sunday Notes: Ball Possibly Done for Season Due to Knee Injury
by Sean Yuille
on Jul 27, 2008 12:00 AM EDT
in Notes
- The Lions' third day of training camp (on Saturday) featured a full pads practice in the morning and a special teams session in the afternoon in shells.
- Wide receiver Reggie Ball is likely done for the season after suffering a knee injury in practice on Friday.
On WR Reggie Ball's injury: "He's out, no question about that. It's a knee (injury). I can't say exactly what it all is. The (doctor) I know came in this morning to look at it, but he's out."
Ball was a long shot to make the team, but it's still disappointing to see any player get hurt, especially that seriously. Ball was able to walk off the practice field on his own after lying on the ground for a bit, but it's obvious that he hurt his knee pretty badly based on Rod Marinelli's above comments.
On whether Ball is out for the season: "He could be out - done."
On whether Ball will need surgery: "Once the (doctor) sees - I want to see what he says today. But it doesn't look good." - The first pair of practices open to the general public are on Tuesday. Practice times for that day are 8:35 a.m., and either 3:30 p.m. or 4:30 p.m. I've seen both listed and will see if the Lions can clarify the exact time. Gates open a half hour before each practice and only the first 700 fans there will be allowed in. Here is some more info on all open practices:
Re-entry is not permitted and children under 18 must be accompanied by an adult. Personal belongings are subject to inspection upon entry and items not permitted into open practices include: professional cameras (lenses over five inches long and/or 50mm or above), any video camera, food, beverage, coolers, lawn chairs, blankets, umbrellas, backpacks or large bags. The fan viewing area features: bleacher seating areas, additional standing areas, a shaded tent area, The Roar & More team store, offering items such as official 2008 Training Camp and Sideline apparel, and concessions. Though autographs are not guaranteed, it was common in 2007 for Lions' players and coaches to meet fans following practice sessions.
- Teddy Lehman's contract is for one year.
- After three days of being able to evaluate injured players, there are surprisingly still zero changes to the PUP list. S Daniel Bullocks, TE Dan Campbell, WR Shaun McDonald, and OG Edwin Mulitalo are all still stuck on the PUP list, meaning they are not able to practice. It was initially expected that at least one of the four would be back on the active roster by now, but obviously the Lions don't want to rush anyone back to practice too soon.
- Zero Lions were fined this year for being overweight. That is a nice thing to hear for a change after having players like Mike Williams and Shaun Rogers face weight issues in the past.
- Jim Colletto has already installed most of the Lions' base offense in only three days of practice.
- According to Colletto, Dan Orlovsky is ahead of Drew Stanton so far when it comes to who will be Jon Kitna's backup.
- Jared DeVries is hungry for the left defensive end starting spot.
- Mike O'Hara caught up with Cory Redding.
- The Lions are learning about having discipline quickly as an officiating crew has been in attendance the last three days.
- Tom Kowalski has quite a few tidbits posted from yesterday.
- The Free Press has a photo gallery up of Friday's afternoon practice.
- MLive has audio of Caleb Campbell's interview on the Dan Patrick Show.
- Browns defensive tackle Shaun Rogers picked off a pass in practice that was similar to his INT he had that went back for a TD against Denver last year.
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Saturday Notes: Interceptions for Everyone
by Sean Yuille
on Jul 26, 2008 12:00 AM EDT
in Notes
- Saturday? Although I rarely post on the weekends in the offseason, I felt there was a need to today since so much is going on right now with the start of training camp. I can't tell you for sure if there will be another post tomorrow or if weekend posts will continue in the future, but as long as there is a lot to talk about, I will keep you all updated regardless of the time of the week.
- Anyways, getting to the important stuff, the Lions' second day of practice was held outside for both sessions. In the morning the Lions wore full pads and in the afternoon were in shells.
- Jordon Dizon was able to get out on the practice field in the afternoon after missing the morning session. He also said that he regrets not telling the Lions about his drunk driving arrest that happened just days before the draft. He only came clean with Rod Marinelli once the arrest became public knowledge, but at least he did admit his mistake.
- Cornerback Leigh Bodden has officially signed his four-year, $27 million contract extension. Back on Thursday, Bodden picked off a pass and returned it for a touchdown. That was before he found out about his contract extension, too. I bet he was pretty happy how his first day of Lions training camp went.
- On Friday, Bodden got another interception, and linebackers Paris Lenon and Buster Davis also got a couple of picks, although Davis was stripped by Calvin Johnson after the INT. Is it just me, or are there way too many interceptions being thrown? I know the Lions don't have the best QBs around, but man, it seems like a lot of passes are being picked off.
- Ernie Sims participated in team drills on Friday after not being a part of them on Thursday. That's good news as it obviously means his injury isn't too big of a concern right now.
- There have been no changes to the PUP list despite some speculation that a player or two would be taken off and put on the active roster.
- Rookie running back Kevin Smith was treated like the rookie he is by a couple of veterans after his first practice. He had to carry the shoulder pads and helmets of Tatum Bell and Aveion Cason.
- College quarterback turned NFL receiver Reggie Ball injured his knee yesterday in practice.
- An Army graduate and one-time Tigers draft pick thinks that Caleb Campbell would better serve the Army by playing for the Lions rather than possibly going to Iraq in the future.
- Speaking of Campbell, somebody needs to tell CNN he was a seventh-round pick, not a first-rounder.
- The Free Press has a partial transcript up of Matt Millen's recent interview on WDFN.
- MLive has a photo gallery of the Lions' second day of camp up.
- NBC will stream its Sunday night football games on the Internet for free. This is the first time NFL games will be live on the Internet for free, and as expected, other networks aren't exactly thrilled about this development.
- Finally, in an unrelated note, I f***ing hate Todd Jones. The Tigers went from being 4.5 games back to 6.5 as Jones served up a home run with only 1 more out needed for the win. They don't call him Roller Coaster for nothing.
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