Although the schedule for the rest of the offseason is pretty filled for the Detroit Lions, it does not yet include specific dates for training camp. We know the Lions will begin training camp in late July, but as far as specifics go, nothing is out yet. The dates won't be announced until later in the offseason, meaning for now nothing is set in stone.

While nothing official is out right now, Anwar Richardson did share the expected start date on Thursday.

Although unofficial, #Lions players will likely report for training camp on July 26. Hit the field on July 27 #NFL

— Anwar Richardson (@AnwarRichardson) May 24, 2012

Following the Lions' minicamp from June 12-14, players will get some time off before training camp begins. July 26, the report date, is when the players would need to be back in Allen Park for camp. If the first day the players hit the field does end up being July 27, it would be exactly two weeks before the Lions' first preseason game (vs. the Browns on Aug. 10).

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Earlier this week, Detroit Lions wide receiver Nate Burleson had some praise for cornerback Aaron Berry by saying that he doesn't think "there's too many CBs in the league that bump coverage like him." Considering Berry is in line for a starting job, this was good to see. It was also good to see fellow cornerback Chris Houston and defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham praise Berry as well.

Here's what Houston had to say about Berry:

"I think they underrate him," Houston said. "That's the best way to be, going into the game underrated, the ball coming his way a little bit more. He can make plays and get everybody up off him."

And here is Cunningham's comment:

Cunningham on Berry: "This guy can play. He's one of the finest cover guys I've seen in a long time."

— Tim Twentyman (@ttwentyman) May 24, 2012

If Berry can live up to these comments and surprise people, the Lions' secondary as a whole could be a positive surprise in 2012. Houston personally thinks the secondary is "going to surprise a lot of people," and if he turns out to be right, perhaps one of the bigger concerns in the offseason could turn into a strength next season.

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Things have been pretty quiet on the Cliff Avril front as of late. This is because there really haven't been any significant developments ever since the Detroit Lions placed the franchise tag on him. While both sides continue to hope for a long-term deal, right now there is still a fairly big gap between what Avril wants and what the Lions want to pay. From Albert Breer:

The Lions and Avril's people aren't near reaching a deal, either. In fact, the sides are separated by around $2 million per year on Avril's worth, according to sources with knowledge of the situation. The player's side is looking for something with a yearly average exceeding the $10.605 million attached to the tender, over four years, which would top $42 million, with more than half of it guaranteed. The Lions have made several offers. But nothing's close.

While the Lions do value Avril, they have made it clear in the past year that they aren't going to pay what he is looking for. Last summer, there were hopes of the two sides working out a long-term deal, but nothing happened. This is still the case, and you can see why. That $2 million per year difference is an obstacle the two sides haven't been able to get past yet, and until they do, there won't be a long-term deal.

The Lions and Avril have until July 16 to agree on a long-term deal. After that day, Avril will be stuck playing on his one-year franchise tender in 2012.

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• On Wednesday night at the Lions' charity bocce ball tournament, Jim Schwartz was asked about Titus Young's status. Young was absent from the Detroit Lions' OTAs earlier in the week after allegedly sucker punching Louis Delmas last week. Right now, it's unclear when Young will be back, and it's going to remain unclear until he actually returns, because Schwartz basically declined to comment on the situation.
• Schwartz recently said that the Lions didn't sign Kellen Moore to "help out the meeting room," but rather because they want him to "develop as a player" and "help out on the field."
• Nate Burleson and Stephen Tulloch will square off as captains of opposing teams in a charity softball game on June 9 in Dearborn.
• The NFLPA filed a collusion complaint against the NFL on Wednesday over there allegedly being a "secret" salary cap in 2010, which was officially an uncapped year. Just like last year, it appears that the union and league are headed to court. Luckily, there isn't a lockout this time around.
• The Seattle Seahawks are the latest team to turn down Hard Knocks. Two things are clear: 1) HBO really wants a team other than the Jacksonville Jaguars to be on the show; and 2) the Jaguars seem to be the only team that actually does want to be on the show as of right now. What does this mean? The Jaguars will likely end up being the choice once HBO makes its way through asking and getting turned down by the other 31 teams.
  
• On a related note, check out Big Cat Country's Hard Knocks "application" for the Jaguars. It is absolutely hilarious.

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The NFL regular season may be three and a half months away, but odds for what will happen in 2012 are already coming out. Last week, for example, point spreads were released for nearly every Detroit Lions game in 2012. Now, the win totals are being released for the upcoming season by Cantor Gaming.

The Lions' win total for 2012 has been set at 9.5 wins. The over is a slight underdog to the under, meaning the Lions are narrowly favored to win nine games or fewer in 2012. For the Lions to hit the over, they need to at the very least have a repeat of 2011 and win 10 games.

As a reminder, here is what the Lions' schedule looks like for 2012:

I do think it's still a bit too early to start making predictions about exact win totals, but at this point, I would go with the over. I think the Lions can get to at least 10 victories in 2012 just based on looking at the schedule. What do you think?

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• Ndamukong Suh is well aware that 2012 is "very important" for him. He called 2010 a "good year" for him personally and 2011 an "indifferent year." Now, with Suh set to enter his third season in the league, he sees an opportunity to "have an outstanding year." He did add the caveat that how he does personally doesn't matter all that much because "it's a team game." He's right, but an outstanding year for Suh would be good news for the Lions.
• Nate Burleson had high praise for Aaron Berry when asked about him on Tuesday.

  Nate Burleson today on Aaron Berry: "At the line of scrimmage I don’t think there’s too many CBs in the league that bump coverage like him"

  — Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) May 22, 2012

  I think a big part of the reason why the Lions didn't feel the need to pursue a free-agent cornerback other than Jacob Lacey is because they are confident in Berry's abilities.
  
• According to Anwar Richardson, the NFL is "still reviewing" the run-ins with the law that Mikel Leshoure, Nick Fairley and Johnny Culbreath had this offseason.
• Speaking of Leshoure, he spoke about his offseason "mistakes" on Monday and said, "You live and you learn."
• Roger Goodell said on Tuesday that the NFL wants stadiums to be equipped with Wi-Fi for fans. I wish more sports leagues/teams would do this, because at events it can often be extremely difficult to get a decent signal for Internet on your phone. At Michigan Stadium, for example, it's rare to have a cell phone with service because there are so many people at games and the towers just get overloaded.
• Goodell also said on Tuesday that a decision has not yet been made about the 2013 Pro Bowl and whether or not it will be held. If there is a Pro Bowl next year, it will be played in Hawaii or New Orleans, the site of the 2013 Super Bowl.

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Detroit Lions linebacker Stephen Tulloch is expected to miss at least the rest of the month of May because of knee tendinitis. The injury resulted in him being on crutches last week, and after having an injection, the decision was made to shut Tulloch down for a couple weeks at the least.

Although Jim Schwartz expects that Tulloch will miss "something like" three or four weeks because of the ailment, Tulloch is hoping to be back before then. Specifically, Tulloch would like to be back in time for the Lions' minicamp from June 12-14. He isn't going to rush things, though.

"It’s just a little spot," he said. "The whole knee is perfectly fine, it’s just one spot, which is important 'cause it’s your get-off. I just want to take precautions when it comes to that, so I can give 100% effort throughout the season and not have to worry about it. It’s something that Coach decided to hold me out and rest and get ready for the season."

According to Dave Birkett, Ashlee Palmer filled in for Tulloch at middle linebacker during Monday's OTA session. Come training camp, Palmer may be in a battle to keep his spot on the team with the Lions drafting a pair of linebackers in April, but for now he is apparently the top backup at middle linebacker. (It's worth noting that DeAndre Levy is also capable of filling in at MLB, and if this were during the season and Tulloch had to miss a game, I'd imagine Levy would replace him.)

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OG Rodney Austin (Elon) - Undrafted Free Agent

Rodney Austin is one of three offensive guards who joined the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent this offseason. He is one of four undrafted free agent offensive linemen, but as noted on Tuesday, Quinn Barham is the lone tackle. Austin, along with Pat Boyle and J.C. Oram, are now among the offensive guards on the Lions' roster.

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