In this week’s Lions report, we take a look back at Week 2 of training camp, and the team’s 24-10 win over the Colts, with interviews, highlights, quotes of the week, Tweets, photos and more.
By Michael Stets
We are officially two weeks into training camp and the Detroit Lions are inching ever so close to their 2017 season opener against the Arizona Cardinals. The calendar pages continue to turn, and as per usual, there is plenty happening in the world of the Honolulu blue and silver.
This week, I will take a glance back at Week 2 of Lions training camp–the team’s trek out to Indianapolis for joint practices, and Sunday’s 24-10 win over the Colts in the preseason opener–and go over some of the key storylines that have been developing, and others that have been ongoing since the start of camp.
Kerry Hyder and Brandon Copeland lost for the season
I’ll start with the elephant in the room: the Lions lost two defensive ends for the season on Sunday afternoon in their 24-10 win against the Colts. Kerry Hyder left the game in the first quarter with an achilles injury, and Brandon Copeland left in the second half with a shoulder injury.
After the game, head coach Jim Caldwell told Jim Brandstatter about the severity of Hyder’s injury.
“We love Kerry. He’s just such a warrior, but he tore his achilles is what the preliminary report says,” Caldwell told Brandstatter. “The doctors will look at it more, but it’s significant.”
On Monday, NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport reported on Twitter that Hyder’s season was over and the fourth-year defensive end will have surgery this week. You have to feel awful for Hyder, who after playing on the practice squad in 2015, became the feel-good story of the summer last season when he made the 53-man roster. He also led the team with eight sacks last season.
But Hyder being done for the season wasn’t the only bad news of the day. Later on in the evening on Monday, Rapoport reported that Copeland tore his pectoral muscle during the Colts game, and he will also miss the entire 2017 season.
The Lions have not made any official announcements on Hyder or Copeland just yet, but those are expected to come down soon, according to Caldwell. “We’ll probably have something to announce maybe in the next 24 hours, 48 hours or so.”
In the NFL, every player is only one play away from injury. These two injuries to Hyder and Copeland are a painful reminder of that.
The defensive ends on the team as of now are as follows: Ziggy Ansah (PUP), Anthony Zettel, Cornelius Washington, Pat O’Connor (Rookie), Alex Barrett (UDFA), Jeremiah Valoaga (UDFA). The talk around camp is that Ansah was placed on the PUP list as a precautionary move and the veteran will be ready to go for the season opener. Behind him, the only veterans are Zettel, who is entering his second season with the Lions, and Washington, who is entering his fifth season in the league. What that means is that the Lions will likely be trying out veteran defensive ends on Tuesday to add some much-needed depth to the defense.
Kenny Golladay shines in Lions 24-10 win over Colts
Golladay scored two touchdowns in the first half on Sunday, showcasing his ability to use both his big six-foot-four frame and his athleticism to reel in a pair of passes from Jake Rudock.
On the first touchdown, a 15-yard pass, the third-round draft pick reached away from his body on a 50-50 ball to make the catch. On the second, a 23-yard score on a back-shoulder fade, Golladay ran a good route into the end zone, giving Rudock an easy target before making the catch.
“It was a great feeling,” Golladay told Jim Brandstatter on WJR after the game. “A little bit surreal, but I’ve just been putting the work in and I’m just happy to see it all unfold.”
It’s still very early, but Golladay continues to look better and better. And at pick No.53 of the third round, he may end up being one of the biggest steals of the draft. On Sunday’s post-game show, my colleague Sean Baligian said Lions fans may soon be singing the old Madonna classic “Holiday,” but changing the lyrics to suit the rookie wide out. And, yes, he sang,” Golladayyyyyyyyyy. Celebrateeeeeeeee.”
Here is the full interview with Jim Brandstatter:
Joint practices with the Colts
The Lions traveled to Indianapolis last Thursday and Friday for a pair of joint practices with the Colts before Sunday’s preseason opener at Lucas Oil Stadium. Many of the players welcomed the chance to go against another team other than themselves and the intensity was definitely ratcheted up a few notches on both days.
Golden Tate having fun
I made the trek out there to take in each practice, and on the first day there was one player that immediately stood out: Golden Tate. The veteran wide out made a nice catch down the sideline on a deep pass from Matthew Stafford, which was thrown perfectly between cornerback Nate Hairston and safety Darius Butler. Tate went to the ground after he made the catch, and when he got up he spun the ball in celebration.
“Just having fun, man,” Tate told me after practice on Thursday. “This is supposed to be a fun game. I’ve always believed that you shouldn’t be playing if you stop having fun. So, I’m just going to always have fun and just be who I am as a player.”
I think it was quite obvious after seeing a veteran like Tate get up for competition against a different team, these joint practices are very helpful for the Lions. This is the second year the Lions have teamed up with another franchise (last year they had two joint sessions with the Pittsburgh Steelers) under GM Bob Quinn. If I were a betting man, I’d wager on another joint session happening in 2018.
Jim Caldwell not big on nostalgia
Caldwell was the head coach for the Indianapolis Colts from 2009-2011, and an assistant under Tony dungy from 2002-2008. After practice on Thursday, a Colts reporter asked him if coming back to Indianapolis brought back any fond memories.
“Most people tell you, I’m not that nostalgic just in terms of looking back,” Caldwell said. “But obviously, I spent 10 years here and I certainly have some good memories. Won a lot of football games, had a lot of good teams. Great organization, so we certainly enjoyed it while we were here.”
The Lions head coach was asked a similar question later on in his media session.
“I come back every year for the [NFL Scouting] Combine and we’ve been back here obviously to play a game last fall, so I really have had an opportunity to see most of the people that are here,” said Caldwell. “I see a lot of them at league meetings and things of that nature–[Colts owner]Jim [Irsay] and his daughters, etcetera. But some of the folks here, ‘Smack’ [Colts assistant equipment manager Mike Mays] and a few of the guys I don’t get a chance to see, and [director of facilities and grounds] Troy [Glendenning] who takes care of the fields, etcetera. So, some of those folks it was great to see them. It’s been awhile.”
Matthew Stafford on drops
The offense had several drops on the first day of practice with the Colts. Dropped passes, of course, were a glaring issue that plagued the Lions in 2016.
“Well, you know, I think we, as a team, were kind of sloppy in the throwing and catching area a bit today,” Stafford said after practice. “[We] Probably put too many on the ground as far as not catching the ball goes. And maybe missed one or two between all the quarterbacks with a couple we wish we had back. That’s practice. That’s why we are out here. We are trying to get better.”
Stafford addressed Kenny Golladay, who had a couple of drops to go along with some nice catches. He made sure to point out the rookie wasn’t the only receiver letting the football hit the ground.
“But as far as Kenny goes, all you do is just keep working and that’s all he’ll do. I don’t think he stood out in that area more than anyone else today. We had some guys that were putting it on the ground. We gotta do a better job of that. We always talk about it, harp on it, clean it up. That’s how you are successful in this league, don’t beat yourself.”
A conversation with a legendary kicker
Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri is entering his 22nd year in the NFL. In a league where the average career is between three and four years, that’s an incredible accomplishment.
While In Indianapolis last week, I had a conversation with Vinatieri, which aired on Sunday’s “Lions Countdown to Kickoff” pregame show on WJR. At 44 years of age, Vinatieri is now fifth in league history for number of years played in the NFL. At the top of that list is George Blanda, who played 26 seasons, Morten Anderson, who played 25, Jon Carney, 24, and Gary Anderson, 23.
“Are you going for the record?” I asked him.
“Some of those records will probably last,” he said. “I might pass one or two of those guys, but I don’t know about playing that long. “Honestly, I take it one year at a time. I’d love to play two or three more years, but you know, it’s kind of one of those things if I’m still putting them through the posts and still feeling healthy, maybe we will keep going. I haven’t put a time limit on it. I know I’m excited for this season. When that ends if everything is good we will keep going.”
You can listen to the full interview below:
Coaching lineage: Jim Caldwell and Chuck Pagano
I’ve always been fascinated by NFL coaching trees and how certain coaches have either worked on different teams together, or know each other by other means.
Last Wednesday, before the Lions departed for Indianapolis, Caldwell said in his daily media session how he’s known Colts head coach Chuck Pagano for a while. In a rare moment after practice, I was able to have a brief chat with the Lions head coach and I asked him how long he and Pagano have actually known each other.
It turns out, Caldwell has known Pagano since the early 1980s. The two future NFL coaches met while Caldwell was an assistant coach with the University of Colorado (wide receivers 1982-1984). At that time, Pagano hadn’t started his coaching career, but was working at his father’s football camp. Pagano’s father Sam, Caldwell said, is well-known out in Colorado for that particular camp, which he ran for 36 years, and for winning three state titles at Fairview High School, where he coached for 26 years.
Pagano left his job as defensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens to take over as head coach of the Colt in 2012, the year after Caldwell was fired there. Caldwell went to the Baltimore Ravens that same year to be the quarterbacks coach. He was promoted to offensive coordinator in December of that season.
Anquan Boldin signs with the Buffalo Bills
Season 15. pic.twitter.com/4DKyxQTeZM
— Anquan Boldin (@AnquanBoldin) August 7, 2017
Last Monday, former Lions wide receiver Anquan Boldin signed a one-year deal with the Buffalo Bills for $2.75 million. While playing for the Lions in 2016, Boldin, now 36, caught 67 passes for 584 yards and led the team with eight touchdowns.
I asked Caldwell about Boldin on Wednesday.
“He came in and did a great job for us,” he said. “I’ve been with him a couple of times now both in Baltimore and here. I’m glad to see he has another spot to go to and he’l do well.”
Then I asked Golden Tate about Boldin.
“I’m happy for him,” said Tate. “That guy is not showing any decline in his game. I think Buffalo is very, very lucky to get him. I think he is going to make a huge difference. He is a great guy. He makes any locker room better. So, I’m happy for him. We learned a lot from him here. He was definitely a leader. He made a bunch of plays for us. We leaned on him and he responded well.”
Tate is only 29 years old now. So, I asked him about playing at Boldin’s level when he’s 36.
“Man, I hope I can walk as fluent as him when I’m his age,” he told me. “He has it figured out. He understands the game. He understands how to be ready and you can see it every single day. Every single day before practice he’s in the cold tub. Every single day after practice he’s in the hot box. His preparation is incredible.”
In a very classy move, Boldin sent out another tweet thanking the Lions.
Special thank you to @Lions, all the fans, the community and the Ford family.
— Anquan Boldin (@AnquanBoldin) August 7, 2017
The battle for the fourth wide receiver
Depending on who you talk to on the Lions beat, many will have a different opinion on who is in the lead so far for the fourth wide receiver spot.
Some say it’s TJ Jones. Others say it’s Jace Billingsley. Me personally, I think it’s Jared Abbrederis. And don’t forget, Keshawn Martin is also in the mix. The team could end up keeping five receivers, so two of the aforementioned may end up on the 53-man roster when all is said and done at the beginning of September.
I’ve spoken to each of the four receivers at different times throughout the first two weeks of camp. Here is a collection of some of their quotes:
“Why would I think that, that I have the edge? It’s an open competition. It’s open. That’s the best way to describe it. Everyone is trying to put there best foot forward and show what they can do, show how versatile they are, and why they should be kept. So, by know means do I think I have an edge.”–TJ Jones on if thinks he’s is in the lead
“Yeah, we battling. Everybody fighting for a spot, but at the end of the day I don’t really look at where I’m at. I’m just looking at me going out there everyday and making sure I’m giving it my 100 percent and my best effort out there.”–Kehsawn Martin on where he fits among the battle to make the roster
“Yeah, I mean, the more you can do, obviously, the better. You just want to make yourself the best as possible. You gotta stay healthy. You gotta be out there in order to play. That’s the biggest thing. But yeah, the more you can do. Obviously, trying to get on anything you can whether it’s gunner or doubling the gunner on the other side or being punt return or kickoff. Whatever it is, it obviously helps your position with the team You just gottta do whatever you can and just do your best at it.”–Jared Abbrederis on how special teams makes a player more valuable.
“I’m excited to get these games started. The first couple of weeks of training camp you’re just waiting for that first game, so I’m excited to get closer to it.”–Jace Billingsley on getting the preseason action underway.
“It’s been up there the while time. Players have been making plays. Guys like Noel Thomas have been killing it in camp. Guys on all the levels from rookies to veterans have been really doing a good job, so it’s about being consistent.”–Jared Abbrederis on if the level of competition is rising.
“There is no ill will or harm wished against anybody, man. There’s 31 other teams if this team isn’t the one for you, or the one for us at this point. By no means do we want someone to do bad or get injured and that’s why we get the spot. We want to be able to earn it and say that we outright deserve to be here. Otherwise it’s never truly your spot. We don’t harp on the negative sides of competition. We push each other to get better and we remain friends thought it all. It’s not a kind of pessimistic mentality that we carry.”–TJ Jones on he camaraderie of the receiver room.
“That’s in the past. It’s a new year, new slate. I’m just trying to improve from last year and hopefully do a little better on the things I need to improve on and see what happens.”–Jace Billingsley on his strong preseason in 2016
“We are just pushing each other. Everybody wants everybody to get better. When you see a guy make a play, you be like, ‘Oh man, it’s my turn to make a play now.’ You know what I’m saying? Everybody is making plays. Everybody is doing a good job. Everybody’s attention to detail is up and that’s what you need when you got a winning football team.”–Keshawn Martin on the receivers pushing each other to be better.
Photos of the week: Tattoos, Game of Thrones
Jarred Abbrederis is a religious man. On his Twitter bio it says, “I am a follower of Christ, and use my talents to glorify His name! Strive daily to become a better husband, father, and man of God!”
I noticed the tattoo on his left arm and asked him about it. It’s of Psalm 18, a chapter in the bible. The artwork is a description of verses 31-35, Abbrederis said.
Here are those verses:
31- For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God?
32- It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure.
33- He makes my feet like the feet of a deer. He causes me to stand on the heights.
34- He trains my hands for battle. My arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35 – You make your saving help my shield and your right hand sustains me. Your help has made me great.
This is a photo of Lions seventh-round draft pick Pat O’Connor, a defensive end who played at Eastern Michigan.
With his long hair and majestic beard, to me, he looks like an easy casting for the hit HBO series “Game of Thrones.” Put a sword in his hand, dress him in armor, and let him fight alongside Jon Snow, Tormund Giantsbane and the rest of the Night’s Watch and Wildlings in the North’s imminent battle against the White Walkers.
Lastly, a pic of Matthew Stafford and Colts quarterback Andrew Luck I took in Indianapolis:
Quotes of the Week
“It’s coming along. This is the second or third time hearing the offense since learning from scratch. We are getting good work and we are starting to gel as a unit.”–Rick Wagner on the offensive line coming together
“Yeah, it’s like the chicken pox. If I touch one and you touch me, you might get one too.”–Darius Slay on turnovers being contagious
“We had a blast. It’s great to go against a different team, a different scheme. I think it was a great test for us today. I”m excited to get out here tomorrow and compete.”–Golden Tate on first practice with Colts
“Practice environments and game environments are totally different. You have guys who are really good in practice and not so good in games. You have guys that are not so good in practice and are really good in games.”–Glover Quin on players performing differently in practice than in games.
“I try not to even think about that. I’m very short-term goals thinking about this season, but if that ever happens that it would be an unbelievable honor with all the great players that have come and gone and what this league means. It would be a huge honor.”–Adam Vinatieri on if he gets into the NFL Hall of Hame
“He had a great offseason, so it’s hard for him to not have a great camp. He’s been doing a lot of good things. He’s gotten faster, stronger and quicker. It’s good to see him put it all together.”–Haloti Ngata on Anthony Zettel
“It was excellent. I can’t tell you how valuable these sessions have been for us. Where you don’t get a chance to work against anyone else other than yourself from the spring and most of the summer and then you get an opportunity to see a little different schematics on all sides of the ball and also the kicking game to kind of measure your guys against.
“Now, our older guys we kind of know, what are we going to learn about Haloti Ngata, right? He’s been around awhile, we know him extremely well, but yet, [Jeremiah] Ledbetter, we can find out a whole lot about him. We can watch and we can learn the way in which he handles different techniques and things of that nature, so just all across the board it’s been great. The hospitality we received here was absolutely unbelievable. It was well organized and I think we all benefitted from it.”–Jim Caldwell after the second joint practice with the Colts
The Funny side of Dan Miller and Jim Brandstatter
Lions radio was off and running on Sunday afternoon for the Lions first preseason game of the season. Veteran play-by-play man Dan Miller, and color analyst Jim Brandstatter were back in the booth to call all of the action between the Lions and the Colts from Lucas Oil Stadium.
In an absolutely hilarious exchange during a review of Lions receiver Dontez Ford’s touchdown in the fourth quarter, Miller and “Brandy” turned the broadcast into an episode of “Seinfeld” to discuss the finer points of pizza-eating etiquette.
Miller: “Did you use the pizza spatula?”
Brandstatter: “I did. I didn’t use my fingers. I was very polite.”
Miller: “I was behind some people in line who used their fingers. It’s caveman like.”
Brandstatter: “You don’t like that. You don’t even like the double dip with the french fries.”
Miller: “No. Stop.They don’t provide the pizza spatula for beauty.”
They paused for the official call by referee Jerome Boger and then jumped right back into it.
Miller: “Let it be a lesson at home folks, especially in public, use the pizza spatula. If you go to one of those all-you-can-eat places, or you are at a party there is social etiquette. Nobody wants to see you reach onto the pizza plate to grab your piece of pizza with your hands.”
Brandstatter: “I’m going to get in trouble for saying this: You are such a ninny.”
Miller: “You know what? It comes down to common decency, manners.”
Brandstatter: “Hahaha. Common decency.”
They paused again so Miller could call Matt Prater hitting the extra point, and then again, jumped back into the pizza-eating debate.
Miller: “It’s a bit distasteful when you are waiting in line and two guys in front of you reach in with their bare hands, you have no idea where they’ve been and they’re grabbing pizza.”
Brandstatter: “When you’ve got boxes of pizza out in a buffet, and it’s a free for all, common decency goes out the window.”
Miller: “Pizza spatula is there to be used.”
Lions Highlight of the Week
Here is Dan Miller’s play-by-play call of Kenny Golladay’s second touchdown of the game against the Colts.