- Former Lions offensive tackle Jonathan Scott recently talked about how bad of a time he had playing in Detroit. Based on what he said, it is no surprise that the Lions went 0-16. Coaches were telling him to do different things on certain plays; nobody seemed like they were on the same page; and there were constant communications breakdowns.
When Jim Colletto was promoted to offensive coordinator after doing a mediocre job with the O-line, that alone should have been a sign that last season was going to be awful.In Detroit, the life of a lineman was maddening. Scott said the communication breakdowns between the offensive coordinator and his offensive line coach ran rampant. One told him to step left on a play, the other said to step right.
“So which one do I do?” Scott said. “If I don’t it the offensive line way, I won’t be able to play. If I don’t do it the offensive coordinator’s way then I’ll never get on the field. There were always situations like that.”
Chaotic fragmentation. The shoddy separation of powers triggered on-field breakdowns. Scott said the linemen became “chickens with their heads cut off.” Who was supposed to block where was a play-to-play mystery.
- Training camp opens for the Lions on July 31.
- In the Lions' new defense, defensive ends line up much wider than they did in the Tampa Two.
- Jim Schwartz attended the Red Wings-Blackhawks overtime thriller last week and was impressed by all of the banners hanging in the rafters of Joe Louis Arena. It seems like that could be a motivational tool for Schwartz to use with his own team.
- Schwartz bought his house from former Red Wing Pat Verbeek.
- The Lions are currently 12-point underdogs to the Saints, their opponent in Week 1 of the season.
- The Lions' roster is bulking up.
- Vikings defensive tackles Kevin Williams and Pat Williams had most of their claims against the NFL over a banned diuretic thrown out of federal court. Two claims have been moved back to state court, but things don't appear to be looking too favorably for the Williamses right now, which is good news for the Lions. The Lions play the Vikings in Week 2, and if the Williamses have to serve their suspension at the start of the season, it would keep them out of that game.
- Grady Jackson could also be suspended by the NFL, as he was apparently involved in the StarCaps case as well. He filed a class action lawsuit against the manufacturer of StarCaps and filed an internal appeal with the NFL. That appeal had been "deferred pending additional information," but now that there is a break with the Williamses, perhaps Jackson's appeal will be resolved soon.
- Mark Sanchez didn't get off to too hot of a start in the Jets' OTAs last week.
- Jon Gruden is going to replace Tony Kornheiser in the Monday Night Football booth this year, but was Matt Millen originally supposed to be Kornheiser's replacement?
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Tuesday Notes: Jonathan Scott Reveals Just How Poor the Coaching Was in Detroit
By
Sean Yuille