The Lions have have confidence in their linebacker depth
How many times have you heard in recent years that the Detroit Lions have a linebacker problem? It seems like it's been an issue for years now. The last great Lions linebacker was maybe DeAndre Levy? This has simply been a weak spot of this team. Today the Lions seem to feel pretty good about […]
How many times have you heard in recent years that the Detroit Lions have a linebacker problem? It seems like it's been an issue for years now. The last great Lions linebacker was maybe DeAndre Levy? This has simply been a weak spot of this team.
Today the Lions seem to feel pretty good about what they have at linebacker. Dan Campbell took tot he podium Monday for day two of training camp and talked at length about some of his linebackers and how he's not sure who could start Week 1. He's not sure in a good way by the way.
"I mean, that the nature of that room and the competition that's in there and knowing the players. Man I'm just going I wouldn't be shocked if Rodriguez is starting game one. That wouldn't shock me. It wouldn't shock me Barnes does wouldn't shock me off the pup (Jack Campbell) does, it wouldn't shock me if, you know, Alex is. I mean, it's a good room. So, you know, we'll let them duke it out. And the good news is they're all competitive, you know, they don't sulk they don't worry about it, they just go to work."
The Lions have some real confidence in this group right now. As we mentioned before, that's a big change from the past. Not knowing who your day one starter is going to be can sometimes be a bad problem. In this case it's a good problem. The Lions have depth at the position and it's anyone's fight to win.
Campbell did single out a few of his guys at Monday's presser. He had some very encouraging words to say about the Lions 18th pick in the draft.
"Yeah, I don't think keeping him (Jack Campbell) locked in is gonna be an issue. Because he, yeah, he's kind of wired that way. He, you know, to that point, he's, you know, he can kind of self diagnose pretty quickly. Anything he doesn't know he can, he's not going to make that mistake again, which that's a great trait to have. That's how you develop quickly. But, you know, I would just say this there again, it is early, but from spring to even yesterday, he just slowly improves, you know, I mean that in a good way. It's just, he gets a little bit better, picks something else up, has a little more level of awareness and that's good."
I don't think anyone would be shocked to see Dan Campbell being high on Jack Campbell. The last name isn't the only connection there. Jack Campbell just seems like the epitome of a Dan Campbell guy. It wasn't just Jack Campbell though, Dan Campbell had something to say about all of his guys and the work they've put in so far this summer.
"Barnes has made big jumps, you know, here we go. He's year three, and he continues to just get better. And then Alex as steady as he's he's been you know, and it's it's a good room. then we get Germ (Jalen Reeves-Maybin) back. I mean, we go out there in seven on seven, Germ gets a pick, you know it ricochets. He's a ball guy, you know, he's like a magnet. So it's good to have him back in special teams. Pittman, another guy he's been steady for us and does a lot of jobs. It's a good group, it's a real good group."
As to who will actually start at linebacker when the dust settles is something we'll have to wait and see about. As for now, the Lions seem to feel very good about the play they're going to get out of everyone.
Featured image by Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK
