On Tuesday, three Detroit Lions coaches\u2014head coach Dan Campbell, wide receiver coach Scottie Montgomery, and offensive line coach Hank Fraley\u2014met with the media in the team\u2019s first real day of Week 1 preparation for the Green Bay Packers. While each session was informative, I\u2019m not sure anything was revealed that requires a BREAKING NEWS banner.<\/p>\n
So on days in which a lot of little tidbits are dropped, but nothing major, we\u2019ll try to offer a more broad recap of the media sessions for ease of consuming. Here are five things worth noting from Tuesday\u2019s press conferences.<\/p>\n
Scottie Montgomery has all of the hats<\/p>\n
This offseason, coach Scottie Montgomery moved from the running backs to the wide receivers room. But that is just the tip of the iceberg in what Montgomery\u2014who is also the team\u2019s assistant head coach\u2014contributes to the team.<\/p>\n
\u201cScottie\u2019s a stud, man. He is. He\u2019s an invaluable coach for me,\u201d coach Dan Campbell said. \u201cHe does a lot. He wears really a lot of different hats. Not only the Assistant Head Coach, but the receivers, the offense, screen game, the pass game, the splits, the formations, the tendencies. I mean, he wears a ton of hats.\u201d<\/p>\n
Montgomery also used the hats analogy, thanking Campbell for the opportunity to do so many thing that is preparing him for bigger opportunities down the line.<\/p>\n
\u201cComing in here, I probably only had three hats. Now, I\u2019ve probably got like 25 hats, a lot of them to cover up the hair that I\u2019ve lost learning some of the things that I\u2019ve learned,\u201d Montgomery said. \u201cIt\u2019s just the big picture. You can get so involved when you\u2019re in a room that you can\u2019t see the building, right? What Dan has given me the ability to do since I\u2019ve got here is see the building, not just from an offensive standpoint, but from a defensive standpoint and also an administrative standpoint. That\u2019s one of the things. I\u2019ve got to say thank you to him for giving me the opportunity, and not just giving me the title. There\u2019s two different things. There\u2019s the title and there\u2019s the opportunity to create your ability to see it from the head coach\u2019s position, and that\u2019s what he\u2019s been able to do for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Parsons or no Parsons, the Lions will stick to their rules<\/p>\n
At this point, it\u2019s unclear if new Packers defensive end Micah Parsons will play on Sunday vs. the Lions. He\u2019s currently dealing with a back injury and is obviously just getting to know the playbook. Smart money is on Parsons playing a limited role. And while Parsons can play anywhere on the defensive line, Fraley says the outlook is the same for the Lions offensive line: stick to the coverage rules.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have rules and when they want to move guys or stuff like that, we have certain rules we follow,\u201d Fraley explained. \u201cAnd he definitely can be a force off the edge or in the middle when they stand up, when he was in Dallas, rushing through the middle of the A-gap.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dan Campbell is confident in defensive line<\/p>\n
While many Lions fans are concerned about the depth along the defensive line, particularly on the edge, Campbell expressed his confidence in the unit. It starts with Marcus Davenport, who is expected to not only start opposite Aidan Hutchinson, but Campbell says he\u2019s playing well enough to play on all three downs.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s another guy who\u2019s had a really good camp for us. He\u2019s done exactly what we\u2019ve asked him to do,\u201d Campbell said. \u201cHe\u2019s got some versatility with his ability to play, really in all the packages that we have. There\u2019s nothing more that he needs to show me. I know he can do it all.\u201d<\/p>\n
The big concern with Davenport has always been his health, but Campbell insists the seven-year veteran has done everything humanly possible to stay on the field.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s doing everything he can to take care of his body, and he went through a rigorous offseason to try to help all of that which is a credit to him to put the work out. He\u2019s in a good place right now,\u201d Campbell said.<\/p>\n
Kicking inside, Campbell was also quick to point out how veteran nose tackle DJ Reader also looks at his best right now, nearly two years removed from a torn quad that cost him all of last year\u2019s training camp.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s kind of been this quiet, really kickass camp. He really has, man. He\u2019s shown up. He\u2019s a staple for us right now, and yes, we\u2019re going to need him. He\u2019s big for us,\u201d Campbell said.<\/p>\n
Penei Sewell is already coaching<\/p>\n
This week, Lions right tackle Penei Sewell\u2014arguably the best player on the team\u2014was named one of six captains. It was his third straight year to earn the honors, and while his play alone would warrant being named captain, Sewell is a prototype of everything a captain should be. Fraley pointed to two stories that perfectly capture the kind of teammate Sewell is.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t know if anybody noticed, but even in preseason games when he\u2019s not playing, he made sure he had an earpiece and he got the playcall. He got to the iPads before I got to them, and he\u2019s already coaching the guys.\u201d<\/p>\n
Later, he talked about how Sewell is particularly hard on himself, even during light, unpadded practices.<\/p>\n
\u201cYesterday, we had practice\u2013not in pads\u2013we worked a couple of combinations, he didn\u2019t feel right. He\u2019s like, \u201cNah, I need to go again. I need to go again.\u2019 And went three or four times in a row, where other players may go, \u2018Ah, I\u2019ll get it later.\u2019 That\u2019s what makes him great. Like, today, watching\u2013in there, he\u2019s watching individual drills. He\u2019s watching himself on his sets, pass sets. And this is individuals, this isn\u2019t even going up against anybody. Actually, he\u2019s hitting the med ball. And he\u2019s watching himself. That\u2019s what makes him special.\u201d<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t forget about Kalif Raymond<\/p>\n
While people are understandably excited about the progress rookie wideout Isaac TeSlaa made this offseason, Montgomery offered a strong endorsement for veteran Kalif Raymond\u2014who repped with the first-team offense for most of the offseason.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was probably one of the more consistent springs that we\u2019ve seen at the wide receiver position being here and being detailed, his catch-to-target ratio, his 1-on-1 wins, his ability to separate in tight coverage, his ability to make plays down the field,\u201d Montgomery said. \u201cWe\u2019re tracking this a little bit differently than maybe everybody else, we\u2019re just trying to make sure that we get the upper echelon out of each player and he is playing closer to his roof now than he was before. We really like where he is and hopefully he can have a tremendous role in helping us this year.\u201d<\/p>\n
With TeSlaa absent from Tuesday\u2019s practice for reasons still unknown, don\u2019t be surprised if Raymond has a big role in Week 1 vs. the Packers.<\/p>\n
That said, TeSlaa earned some praise from Montgomery, as well.<\/p>\n
\u201dHe just came in and did his job,\u201d Montgomery said. \u201cWhat we would see is he would take it from the meeting room to the walkthrough to the individual drills to the practice tape. When he failed in practice, he very rarely failed again in that same detail. That lets us know, first of all, he cares. But it (also) lets us know he\u2019s in his playbook. When you\u2019re in your playbook, you\u2019re going to get the respect of the people in the room. And when your mental errors are low, you get the respect of the people in the room.\u201d<\/p>\n