Fellow D4L comrade Devin Jones and I journeyed out to Allen Park this morning in order to get an early look at our Detroit Lions for the upcoming season. Although the contact was kept to a minimum and the team is still more than a month away from playing actual games, there was more Kool-Aid being served than a first grader’s birthday party. One overly optimistic fan even proclaimed that “the media’s 7-9 prediction for us is ridiculous! We’re going to be so much better than that!” He must have gotten into Charles Rogers’ stash.
Here’s some of our thoughts on the day’s events–
-Tony Scheffler looked good for the most part. He caught the day’s only TD on a seam pass over the middle from Matty Staff. Later he let one roll off his fingertips in the end-zone. Still, we were encouraged by his play and anticipate a lot of two tight-end formations once Brandon Pettigrew is 100 percent. Get ready to bust out your Scheff hats this season!
-Both Megatron and Suh are grown ass men. They are Bigger. Faster. Stronger. than what your HD TV does justice.
-Mr. Irrelevant Timmy Toone, not to be confused with your local head shop employee, was the fan-favorite in Allen Park today. I don’t think they allow weed in Utah anyway.
-Danny Crossman, the Lion’s new special teams coordinator, will be an upgrade over Stan Kwan (not saying a whole lot). He had the boys flying to ball today. Eric King even got into it as a gunner on kickoff, giving the minimal Allen Park crowd the “Dre Bly Crowd-Pump-Up” motion before he raced down for non-contact kick coverage. At the very least Crossman was amusing while he chewed out a handful of players during the special teams period. Never saw Stan light a fire like that.
-Dan Gronkowski walks like an alpaca. He’s a fascinating creature to watch as he grazes the open plane.
–Tom “Killer” Kowalski, Lions’ beat writer for MLive, looks like he could work his way into the rotation at D-Line. Nothing strikes fear into the opponent more than a flat-top haircut and a mustache.
-Gunther Cunningham did what Gunther Cunningham does best by laying into Landon Cohen for loafing a few times. We predict the Turk to be looming. Well, at least we’ll still have Joe Cohen…I guess.
-D4L poster boy Stafford resembled a seasoned vet with moxy and touch (granted there was no contact). He only overthrew one pass on the day. I don’t care if Stafford (Heaven forbid) is a bust, he’ll still be way cooler than caviar loving piano playing Joey Harrington. Just keep showin’ off that cannon and rockin’ that Olde English D, Matt.
-The secondary, notably Randy Phillips and Chris Houston, looked solid in 7 on 7 drills allowing no red-zone touchdowns. Otherwise known as Bizzaro 2009 season.
-Raoila was the only player to sign autographs. Surprisingly didn’t flip anyone the bird. We were bummed, too.
–Willie Young has the legs of a Brazilian supermodel. There’s no punchline, they’re just amazing.
-Shaun Hill looked solid (no suprises here). Stanton did not (nor here). Burleson was a non-factor over the course of the day, although the playbook did seem limited. Bryant Johnson must have been grabbing a hot pretzel somewhere.
-The only way to beat the heat from August two-a-days: Authenic Detroit Lions floppy hats. Everyone had one. We wanted one. Bummer.
-Sammie Lee Hill limped off the field during 11-11 on drills. No lives were rescued in the process.
-Kyle Vanden Bosch has a motor that must be a hybrid or something. It never seems to run out of gas. It was clear to see that he was the most intense and energetic player on the field today. Additionally, at any point, he could have destroyed us with his icy stare.
-Aaron Brown was a pleasant surprise making some plays on special teams, out of the backfield and in the slot. He looked like a Jahvid Best Lite. Speaking of Best, he made a move during 11 on 11 to bust a long one outside that left our jaws on the turf. Tune in on Sundays this Fall to enjoy the full feature.
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