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The community member previously known as "morgado01" joins the team as an unmasked film analyst. Not a trained journalist, I began semi-serious writing about the Detroit Lions on this site in 2015 through numerous FanPosts. Actually an economist by trade, this began as a fun time hobby for me, and I am gratified that the excellent staff at Pride Of Detroit has invited me on board as a 'real' writer.
Oddly enough, I do not have any direct ties to Michigan: born in Hawaii and moved to the Washington, DC area for graduate school -- where I have remained more or less ever since (the jobs here are recession-proof). No joke, I get stopped at least once a year when wearing Lions shirts in a random place and get asked "Are you REALLY a Lions fan?" This has happened in the baked goods section of Costco, a shopping center parking lot and poolside at a resort in Cancun.
My loyalty to the Lions came with the team's selection of Barry Sanders during my football card collecting days as a kid. Yes, I have a PSA graded 1989 Score Barry rookie card and a bunch of signed stuff from when my friends, and I would vulture for autographs at Pro Bowl events. Pretty sure this makes me the "old guy" on the staff now.
As stated above, my focus will be on breaking down game film and working in explanations of core football strategy from things I've read over the years by much smarter football people. Since this is the offseason, the initial articles will look at the development of some of the young guys on the roster -- where the tape says they're at, and what to look for when training camp hits later this summer. As the games start, I'll be dissecting important plays each week as part of the POD game week post-mortems.
It's been an enjoyable three years as part of the community both lurking and posting, and I hope to have many more as a staff writer. Although I don't use social media nearly as much as these other young whippersnappers (read: not at all), you can definitely find me every day in the comments sections here on the site.