Locker Room/Attitude

The War Room Detroit Lions — The Den
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The locker room/attitude of this team is changing drastically. We will have more guts and grit than we had last year. Players will feed off of each other’s intensity and energy, instead of the opposite, like we experienced last year. There will be more grit, more effort, more fight, less give, to this team.

From what I’ve seen, the tough guys that like to hit:
Hock - will start and contribute heavily
Tavai - likes to hit, but may not start right away, IMO. Looks slow and unrefined.
Harris - loves to hit - will contribute early, possible immediate starter
Bryant - I think he’s the dude that surprises. With other guys getting double teamed, I think he’s got a great chance to not only start, but be nasty.The locker room/attitude of this team is changing drastically. We will have more guts and grit than we had last year. Players will feed off of each other’s intensity and energy, instead of the opposite, like we experienced last year. There will be more grit, more effort, more fight, less give, to this team.
Oriwarie - Phyiscal tools and likes contact, but seems raw. Love that he’s a hitter and has a great chance to develop. Seems to rely on talent, from what I saw. In the NFL, he won’t be able to do that. Good hitter, and with some coaching hoping he can contribute.
Fulghum - Doesn’t appear to “hear footsteps,” and isn’t afraid to go after a jump ball. Another football player, not just an athlete. Fingers crossed that he can develop and get some playing time.
Ty Johnson - Really, IMO, the only one that isn’t a flat out football player. Not really a tough dude. I’d love to see him develop into a more talented Riddick, but I don’t think he has Riddick’s toughness. He’s fast and may end up being a damn good KR/PR, but we shall see. Lots of talent and high ceiling, but not a tough dude.
Nauta - great measurable, great results, but his film doesn’t reveal a ton of hitting. TBD in the toughness department, IMO
PJ Johnson - I think he’s another dude that could surprise. provides depth and talent at interior line. Nasty dude that keeps it clean. I think he will do well, either this year or next.

Free Agency added toughness too. Flowers and Amendola will really bring mental toughness. Hate that Ziggy was so injured. Would have been awesome to bring him back too.

Our defense will be nasty this year. Can’t wait to see this!

More toughness on both sides of the ball.

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Just one question. How many times have you been in the locker room?
What I am saying is, you most probably haven’t even been on a tour. I mean no harm. We all hope they have changed the culture by the addition of character players from free agency and the draft. Very few of us have been in Patricia’s lockerroom. Amendola’s work ethic, Trey Flowers leadership. These should add something as we start to gel as a unit. Hopefully Tavai brings it on every play.

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Most of us would like to think that the improvement in attitude, preparation, and work ethic will payoff in more wins. Seems like the Lions have come a long way from the Club Mooch days; different HCs and philosophies have I think move this franchise in a forward direction, albeit not as quickly as we would have liked. So, it looks like the ingredients for a successful football team are there, or at least getting ever closer. They might need a little more talent, depth, and luck, but I think the trend is up.

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I think the lockerroom culture is important. But one thing I’ve grown to appreciate thru Hard Knocks and listening to coaches and players is just how important position rooms are. I had no idea they spent so much damn time with eachother as opposed to larger groups. Kyle Van Noy was on TV just the other day talking about how great it is that the Patriots have leaders in every room. Obviously Brady is the leader in the QB room. They just brought in Ben Watson to lead the TE room. Hightower leads the LB room. WR room has Edelman. He said McCourty and someone else (brain fart) leads the DB room, etc.

Its just given me a different perspective on the way the roster is made up and how you have to not only target the kinds of guys you want in your culture overall, but you have to make sure each room individually represents what you want because the guys will spend what appears to be a majority of their time with that particular group of guys.

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Great insight, dude! I’ve coached High School and Middle School, and when you have guys out there absolutely crushing the other team and trying their guts out, it really impacts other players.

I’ve never been anywhere near the level of stuff you’re talking about. When I said “locker room,” I wasn’t actually literally talking about locker room, but impact on the attitude of the team overall. Conversely, there are dudes that complain and have entitlement attitudes. We are developing the opposite of that. I’ve literally not watched Hard Knocks…Not once…Not ever. I will if our guys are on it.

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Tre Lamar

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Nasty! Love it
Seems like scouts think he’s just a situational guy. Our DL could keep him clean on blitzes. From the looks of things, he’d be fantastic on run downs, but not so much in coverage. Might be a fantastic ST player to?

PROS: Physically imposing presence in the middle of the field. First off the bus body composition. Plays forward and into the line of scrimmage with intent and power plugging gaps. Plays with active hands while working through contact. Diagnoses inside run well and certainly fits the bill as a thumper. Good closing speed playing forward when there is a clear path to his target. Executes with urgency. Offers some appeal as a blitzer. Has good contact power and balance.

CONS: A throwback linebacker that lacks many of the desirable traits for today’s game. Tight hipped and lacks lateral mobility. Range is limited to between the tackles only. Noticeably lacks comfort in space and in his coverage drops. Does not read the backfield well in zone coverage and is often stuck in the mud. Very calculated in space in terms of movement and reactionary skills. A scheme specific player that is likely to not see the field on passing downs at the next level; might even be a subpackage contributor only. Not a candidate for work in man coverage against tight ends or running backs and asking him to carry them into space. Limited.

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Let’s get fired up!

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5 runningbacks with over 4.0 yards per carry. 2 of them with over 5.0. 1* with over 7.0! (College)
2 solid TE’s. Maybe more.
Right Guard could be the weak spot? I have a feeling about the UDFA’s, especially the kid that starts with a B. (Not even trying to spell that at 2:00am on a Sunday morning.)

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Kinda off topic, but I see the Lions with 2 weak spots, or perhaps more accurately as questionable.

  1. RG - maybe somebody steps up or the Lions sign or trade for somebody. Or their offensive schemes and plays minimize the shortcomings.

  2. LB - I think the Lions are a tad thin at LB, I’m not sure how good Christian Jones is or how good the backups are. Maybe Tavai surprises us, but I’m guessing he needs some time to acclimate and learn the defense.

The Lions do have other areas where some might say they are weak or thin at, but no team is solid everywhere. If I thought the Lions were legit SB contenders, I might want a better CB2 or WR in addition to the RG and LB spots, but as a team I think the Lions probably should pretty much roll with what and who they got now. And I’d re-up Glasgow and A;Shawn if I could, either or both might want to hit the FA market next year though and get all the money they can. Which is okay, I can’t blame guys for that.