SB Nation - Fernando Bryant

Wednesday Notes: Lions' Final Minicamp Is Underway

Sean Yuille — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 17:43:40 -0000

6 months ago: Detroit Lions quarterback Daunte Culpepper throws during football minicamp, Wednesday, June 24, 2009, in Allen Park, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

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First and foremost, my condolences go out to Jared DeVries, as his high school coach, Ed Thomas, was killed in a shooting this morning. Thomas was not only a great coach, but he also was a great person and friend to his players. After tornadoes tore through Iowa last year, he helped lead the effort to rebuild his city. DeVries went back home to help rebuild as well. He was pulled from practice this morning to be informed of the tragic news.
Daunte Culpepper broke his silence on the battle that is shaping up between him and Matthew Stafford for the starting QB job, but nothing he said was really all that groundbreaking. The only really notable comment Culpepper made was when he talked up Stafford.

"(Stafford's) played a lot of football and he's a hard worker,'' Culpepper said. "He's going to be a great player in this league and I wish him the best in everything he does in his career.''
Aside from that, the other thing worth noting is that Culpepper's goal for this coming season is to win the NFC North. I like that his top goal is team-oriented. Many players would probably be more concerned with playing than anything else, so it's good to see Culpepper's got the right attitude.
Due to a combination of warm temperatures and a couple weeks off, practice got off to a rough start yesterday. Once some of the rust wore off, things got back to normal.
Jon Jansen and Ephraim Salaam are currently practicing as backups to the right and left tackle positions, respectively. Jansen is probably going to practice at guard during training camp, and it is expected that Salaam will move around to right tackle at some point as well. It is important for these types of players to be versatile, so this isn't too surprising.
The Lions could really use Kevin Carter, as Eric Hicks, Jared DeVries, and rookie Ryan Kees are currently the team's only left defensive ends.
Grady Jackson and Derrick Williams didn't participate in practice yesterday. Jackson still is recovering from knee surgery and Williams had a tight hamstring.
Don't expect Jim Schwartz to release a depth chart until the first exhibition game of the preseason.
The main motivation behind the Lions someday moving training camp appears to be to make the players uncomfortable. Another reason is to give more fans a chance to attend practices, but Schwartz seems set on throwing a curveball at his team next summer, and moving the players out of their practice facility is a good way to do just that.
~~Schwartz supposedly now has his own Twitter page~~, as do the Lions.

UPDATE: The Lions confirmed that that isn't Schwartz's Twitter page.
Larry Foote's return to Detroit comes with the goals of making the Lions better and making his hometown better as well.
Don't expect many NFL teams to have any interest in Charles Rogers.
Tom Kowalski seems to think the story about Roy Williams not participating in a lifting program while he was with the Lions is a bit overblown.
Former Lion Fernando Bryant has retired.
Another report is stating that Brett Favre already has an agreement to play for the Vikings and that he will be in Minnesota when training camp begins.
SB Nation recently added its 200th blog.

Monday Notes: Roy Williams Thinks the Lions Practiced Harder Than the Cowboys

Sean Yuille — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 05:51:38 -0000

The 2009 offseason is officially underway, as the Pittsburgh Steelers ended the season last night with an amazing 27-23 victory over the Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII. The game was one of the best Super Bowls of all time, so congratulations to Behind the Steel Curtain. I also want to congratulate Revenge of the Birds, as the Cardinals played their tails off and never quit.
Four former Lions players are on the Steelers and, therefore, are Super Bowl champions.
Fernando Bryant, one of those four players, isn't sure of who actually ran the show while he was in Detroit. He shared that he never once spoke with Matt Millen when he was getting his contract restructured. He only talked to Tom Lewand, which is both strange and concerning considering Lewand was promoted following Millen's departure. I know that Lewand is heavily involved with contracts and stuff like that, but you still would think the GM would be involved when a player is restructuring his contract.
Former Lions offensive lineman Mike Utley was a guest at the Steelers' last practice before the Super Bowl.
Roy Williams raised some eyebrows when he said this on the radio last week:

“I mean, I was there until we were 0-5, I think," Williams said Friday morning on ESPN's "Mike and Mike in the Morning," based in Tampa this week for the Super Bowl.

"You know," Williams continued, "we still had a chance to be in the playoffs at 0-5. Guys were still working. I think, actually, Detroit works harder than Dallas on the practice field. I don’t know why it doesn’t transition to the game field on Sunday."
I'm sure the Cowboys were happy to hear him say that.
Former Lions offensive lineman John Gordy died at the age of 73 on Friday.

Wednesday Notes: Lions Re-Sign Cason, Release Middleton

Sean Yuille — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 16:14:22 -0000

The Lions released wide receiver Brandon Middleton and re-signed Aveion Cason on Tuesday. Wide receiver John Standeford was also re-signed after fullback Darian Barnes was released. Barnes was on the roster for depth purposes while Jerome Felton was injured. Now that Felton is healthy again, Barnes was no longer needed.
Apparently the Jaguars were making jokes about the Lions during Sunday's game. Kevin Smith tried to defend his team by saying that Jacksonville also sucks, but the Jaguars simply came back by saying, "Well, not as bad as (you)." Smith then agreed with whoever said that since no one sucks as bad as the Lions.
Some Lions players aren't acting like they are on an 0-9 team.
Rod Marinelli shared an interesting metaphor at his press conference earlier this week.

“You’re in this dark tunnel and you’ve got no way out,” he said. “You’re waiting for light, and you see that light, what do you do? What do you do? You start digging and getting out. … I’ve always believed you stay in the tunnel and you keep digging when you expect no light.

“You have the same faith when you expect no light. You have the same belief in what you’re doing when you expect no light. … It’s dark and I’m going to dig through. My shovel is sharp and my pick is sharp and my will is outstanding.”
I was following what Rod was saying initially, but why would you dig your way out of a tunnel? If it's dark and you suddenly see a light, wouldn't you go to it? And if there was something to dig out of, how was the light showing through in the first place? I'm so confused.
Pro Football Talk has the details on how Daunte Culpepper can get his $1 million incentive. He has to participate in 5% of the Lions' offensive plays before anything else, and then he can become eligible to make the incentive.
Speaking of Culpepper, he reportedly weighed 280 pounds at his physical with the Lions.
How desperate were the injury-riddled Denver Broncos for a healthy running back? Well, they signed Tatum Bell on Wednesday. I never thought Bell would play in the NFL again after allegedly stealing Rudi Johnson's bags, but then again, Denver is where he played before he was traded to the Lions in 2007.
The Steelers signed former Lions cornerback Fernando Bryant on Monday.
I was a guest on the Pigskin Podcast last Friday. You can listen to my interview here.