by Joe Tailgate on July 6, 2009
in NFL News
At the NFL Rookie Symposium in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., Lions rookie QB Matthew Stafford told CBSSports.com in an exclusive interview that his new team’s offense is familiar to him.
“Coming from Georgia, we do a lot of the same concepts with [offensive coordinator Scott] Linehan that we did there,” Stafford said. “It’s obviously called something completely different and you may look for a different look for certain coverages, but a lot of the concepts are similar, so it’s been a pretty easy transition for me so far.”
Before and after the draft, the Lions talked about adding a veteran backup because they weren’t sure how quickly Stafford would be ready. They didn’t want to get into a situation where Daunte Culpepper would start the season and then get hurt and then be forced to go with a raw rookie. That situation has changed. The Lions are now very confident that Stafford will be ready for the start of the regular season.
The Lions’ offensive line is under scrutiny again. Center Dominic Raiola knows it, and so does right tackle Gosder Cherilus. They are two of the key figures on the line and both believe the OL will be improved.
“We feel like we got good people around us,” Cherilus said. “We are playing well together. We understand each other and once we start playing (games), the sky is the limit. I love what we are doing. I am excited. I can’t wait to start hitting somebody.”
Caleb Campbell’s NFL career may be on hold, but he is now training with the United States bobsled team in hopes of making the 2010 Olympics. He had never been in a bobsled prior to the start of his training, so it would be pretty remarkable if he actually is able to make the Olympics.
by Joe Tailgate on June 24, 2009
in NFL News
- Lions Quarterback Daunte Culpepper said his goal is to win the NFC North. Culpepper still looks excellent physically. He said he has been around 260 pounds — more than 30 pounds less than he weighed last year — and is 100% going into training camp for the first time since 2004, when he had the best year of his career and put up huge numbers for Minnesota.
- Titans WR Kenny Britt has been hampered by a hamstring injury. After only a handful of minicamp workouts, he has been unable to showcase his skills. “I don’t have a feel for this guy,” offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger said. “He hasn’t played more than five minutes since he’s gotten here.” – “I hope he’s back there watching things and staying into it mentally.”
- Bengals RB Cedrick Benson is preparing himself for the physical grind. ”No doubt, I’m ready to carry this team on my back,” Benson said. “I’m due, hungry for it, miss it, and excited. It’s good to be on a team that wants you. It’s a great opportunity for me and I am definitely going to seize every moment. I plan to take full advantage of those opportunities and see where it takes us. I’m about whatever it takes to get the job done. I think I am in the best situation that I can be in and it has to happen for me here.”
- Cowboys WR Roy Williams refuted highly respected NFL scribe Peter King’s report that the coachable wide receiver was never on a consistent weight program until this off-season. “That’s trying to find something to make something negative out of me once again,” said Williams, who has been hit by a barrage of criticism since being traded from Detroit to Dallas. “I started lifting weights in the seventh grade.” Williams, a 6-3, 220-pound physical specimen, said he took lifting seriously throughout his high school career at Odessa Permian. He added that he continued to work hard in the weight room at Texas under the guidance of Jeff “Mad Dog” Madden, one of the country’s most famous strength coaches.
Peyton Manning, on the Kravitz and Eddie show on 1070 The Fan in Indianapolis, on whether the first pick in the 2009 draft should play as a rookie or observe. “With Matthew Stafford, I think you throw him in there right away. I think he’s lucky, the fact that he’s coming in with a new coaching staff. That’s a big advantage because basically he’s just like all the other veterans as far as learning this new system, learning the way their new head coach is going to approach things, learning his philosophy … I’m waiting for somebody to break that NFL rookie record for interceptions I set back in ‘98. Hopefully Stafford will give it a good run. But I’ll say this, there’s no way I could have played as well as I did in my second year if I hadn’t played that first year.”
But, according to the Detroit Free Press, if the season started today Daunte Culpepper would be under center for the Lions despite drafting quarterback Matthew Stafford with the first overall pick in the draft. The Lions seem committed to bringing Stafford along slowly, but when you pay a guy that much money he isn’t going to sit for long. Culpepper will probably start the season under center, but get your over/under pools ready to go for which week Stafford takes over.
Drew Stanton is the third quarterback for now, though Mayhew said he’s “actively looking” to add another veteran backup to the mix. “All the starters and all that, it’s May,” Mayhew said. “We got plenty of time to figure all that out. Daunte is a guy that’s a vet, that’s been around, that’s a pro. I trust Daunte. He’s got a lot of ability, and I anticipate that if we had something to do today, Daunte’d be the guy. Today. But we got a lot of time to work and we’ll see where it goes.”
