Notes: Alim McNeill released a new album

Most Detroit Lions fans know that Alim “the Dream” McNeill is an intense interior run defender, but did you know he is also the strongest pound-for-pound musical recording artist on the roster? Buttercup released a new album recently, which can be listened to in its entirety on Spotify:

The new album is just the latest in a long line of musical projects that McNeill has worked on since at least his college days at North Carolina State. Earlier albums and singles can be found on various platforms like Pandora, SoundCloud, and Apple Music:

One of the tracks on his EP “DREAM” called “Different Breed” is actually what he told the Lions he’d want as an entrance theme song, in his “Get to Know” article. There just seems to be no end to the depth of culture the players on this defense are into. We’ve had examples from the visual arts and the world of food, but Alim McNeill keeps it rolling in the realm of the aural. You can check out McNeill’s work on any of the audio services linked above.

Now, on to the rest of your weekend Notes:

• There is a very important birthday to celebrate:

• If you want to revisit the good times, our fearless leader Jeremy Reisman has you covered:

• The defending 2019 Czech League of American Football champion (no 2020 season) Prague Lions are in the title game once again. Lest you think this kind of fantastic success is unbelievable for a professional football team named the Lions, don’t worry: they’re most certainly a Lions team.

• An amusing historical note for the next time someone brings up Dan Orlovsky stepping out of the back of the end zone:

• Yesterday, Jeremy and Erik discussed the training camp battles among the wide receivers we’re all looking forward to. One receiver whose role is not at all in doubt is the Sun God Amon-Ra St. Brown, who Pro Football Focus pointed out was one of the top pass catchers in the red zone last year:

• Speaking of wide receivers, Tim Twentyman at the official team site posted his own analysis of that position group on Friday.

• According to Football Outsiders’ Bryan Knowles, Jared Goff was pretty much a middle of the pack quarterback (19th out of 34 qualifiers) when evaluated with their 2021 plus/minus stats.

• Finally, here’s yet another interesting item from ESPN’s Seth Walder. Designed rollout pass plays that change the launch point and pursuit angles can be tough to defend. The Lions were tied with the Cowboys and Chiefs for 14th in the league last year in calling such plays. The team that used it the most? Matthew Stafford’s new team, and it wasn’t even close.