The Anthony Pittman love continues at Lions camp. Dan Campbell the latest today: Pittman moved from OLB to ILB & shed 10 lbs. He has 1 INT and nearly 2 others the last few days, getting lots of 2 reps: “He’s one of those guys you get really fired up. … The potential is there.”
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From Justin Rogers (a tidbit not seen elsewhere):
Another receiver who quietly stood out in the head-to-head matchups was undrafted rookie Javon McKinley, who bested cornerback Mike Ford on a deep ball before getting the necessary separation on safety Tracy Walker to haul in an out-breaking route near the sideline.
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I would have loved them both to be honest. Though I’m a big Derrick Barnes fan and was prior to the draft so I’m okay with how things went down.
Pittman was a 4.5 guy coming into the league. I imagined at the lower weight he’s playing with that kind of speed. Our LBers should be much faster this year.
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From Wayne State, the only NFL player ever to come out of WS was Joique Bell! Perhaps we have found another.
And of course the undrafted Pittman is making more plays in training camp than 2nd rounder Tavai! lol
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The Lions gave their second-team offensive line a long burn against the top defense, and let’s just say viewer discretion was advised. The O-line was overwhelmed repeatedly, with Nick Williams and Da’Shawn Hand both blowing into the backfield for negative plays. Tyrell Crosby (who didn’t practice on Wednesday) and Matt Nelson have done some good things on that second unit, but that’s about where the bench ends.
Really pulling for Hand. Dudes a beast when healthy.
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You are forgetting the great Paul Butcher. Who was with the Lions from ‘86 - ‘88. Played 11 years in the league.
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They’ve had so many injuries over the past 2 days they’re switching to light practice again tomorrow.
Must’ve had a bad day at his pro day, but maybe the extra 12 lbs slowed him down some. ¯_(ツ)_/¯
Or maybe what I posted is coach fluff. Perhaps a bit of column A and Column B. Who knows. He seems to be showing excellent movement skills in camp and that’s what matters most.
We need good coverage LB’s among our ILB corps. Tavai isn’t that guy. I’m not convinced Barnes is that guy even though I love the other things he brings. I think Collins is that guy, JRM is that guy, but he’s out due to the COVID. So Pittman and Dion-Hamilton seem to be showing they can do that.
Barnes is going to be have a roster spot and so is Collins. I don’t know how many other ILB’s they are going to keep, but if it’s me I’d be inclined to keep JRM, whoever wins out between SDH and Pittman and show Tavai the door. I think we’ll have the kind of Dline where we don’t need big downhill types in our LB corps. Give me speed and coverage ability there and pass rushers in our OLB’s and I’m fine with that.
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Anzalone has a spot too, though I haven’t heard anything on him in camp. All of a sudden this looks like a very crowded room. At the start of camp, I thought it would be Collins, Anzalone, Barnes, Tavai and JRM, but Pittman and Dion-Hamilton are showing up. Tavai and JRM might be on the outside looking in. Totally agree - speed and coverage win out. But I also wouldn’t mind some Spielman-like pop to show up (not Tavai’s constant pull-downs!).
Oh and if Tavai doesn’t make it - here’s a bold prediction: he signs with the Patriots.
If this situation is competitive because the whole crew is playing well, that could be gigantic. ILB was thought to be one of the weak spots on this team, and if some guys surprise, that could really help to solidify the defense.
If it’s competitive because you’ve got a bunch of guys playing at the same mediocre-to-less-than-mediocre level, that’s not quite as good. Depth, I guess, but having your backups be just as good as your starters isn’t great when your starters are playing at backup levels.
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I think there’s no way they’d sign him. They’ve got a ton of LBs already:
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Right now these would be first 4 IMO
Anzalone,Collins,Barnes,Pittman JRM right now would be behind Hamilton
I wanted to see what JRM could do an we know he is good on ST but so far we have not seen enough to put him ahead of the or even 5.
But its early but he needs to crank it up. I expect we keep 4 maybe 5 at most These guys are inside LBs mainly an some blitz , coverage is main job, handle the middle run.