Tracking former Lions

[Futureshock]

Well, the kid has confidence in himself...


Clayton Tune: I think I’m the best quarterback in this class, I elevate everyone around me

Posted by Josh Alper on May 8, 2023, 9:49 AM EDT

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The Cardinals made Clayton Tune the ninth quarterback selected in this year’s draft, but seeing eight other players at the position come off the board before hearing his name didn’t do anything to dim Tune’s confidence in himself.

Tune spent the last five seasons leading the Houston offense and that experience has left him feeling like he is at the top of this year’s group of incoming quarterbacks.

“I think I’m the best quarterback in this class and God’s got a plan for me,” Tune said, via Bob McManaman of the Arizona Republic. “If you look at my body of work, the effect that I have on my team that I play on, I elevate everyone around me. I’m a natural leader, people follow me and see the work that I’m putting in and the mindset that I have, and they want to follow suit. I have that no-flinch mentality when things get going tough. Those are some of the intangible things, and then being able to make every throw on the field, being able to make plays off schedule and being more mobile than people realize.”

It’s unclear when Kyler Murray is going to be ready to play after last year’s torn ACL, so the Cardinals may be starting the season with a different starting quarterback. If Tune’s self-assessment is proven correct over the next few months, he could get that nod over Colt McCoy, David Blough, and Jeff Driskel.

[Futureshock]

D’Andre Swift to wear No. 0 for Eagles

Posted by Josh Alper on May 5, 2023, 1:39 PM EDT

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NFL owners approved allowing players to wear No. 0 at their meeting earlier this year and the team that proposed the change will have a player wearing that number this fall.

The Eagles announced that running back D'Andre Swift will wear No. 0 in his first year with the team. The Eagles acquired Swift in a trade with the Lions during the final day of the draft.

Jaguars wide receiver Calvin Ridley and Giants wide receiver Parris Campbell are among the other players who will take advantage of the rule change this season.

The Eagles also announced several other jersey numbers, including those selected by the team’s two first-round picks. Defensive tackle Jalen Carter will wear No. 98 and edge rusher Nolan Smith will wear No. 3.

[whatever_gong82]

A certain former First Round draft pick (#10 overall in 2014) of the Detroit Lions has admitted that he "wasn't mentally ready" when the Detroit Lions drafted him:

https://www.prideofdetroit.com/2023/5/9/23717336/eric-ebron-admits-not-mentally-ready-detroit-lions-draft-2014-interview

I'm also thinking that he is worried that his career is probably over, since he hasn't even suited up since the end of the '21 season when he played with Pittsburgh.

[froot loops]

When you read that it gives a good insight on why Holmes and Campbell value the guys who are really focused on football.

[CGVT]

Reading that it is easy to see he's still an immature fuck.

He wasn't ready to put in the work and blames the fact that the Lions had more players to go to.

Fuck that Jabroni

[chemiclord]

It sounds like he kinda is starting to understand that he fucked things up. He hasn't quite gotten over the part where the stops worrying about the environment beyond his control.

Yeah. Megatron is going to get the bulk of the touches. That's something that even a 20-year-old rookie should be able to understand, internalize, and focus on making every touch he gets count.

[froot loops]

I'm not a big Ebron fan , but sometimes as old men we are expecting mature thoughts and motives on 20 year old athletes who've been told during their formative years that their shit don't stink. I'm not a scout or a NFL coach but I have to imagine the hardest thing to figure out if the player is willing to put in the hard, tedious work in the NFL that most of these guys didn't have to at the other levels.

One thing to remember is this is first and foremost a job. Think of your jobs and how many people are doing the job, but they aren't like really enthusiastic about it.

[whatever_gong82]

Reading that it is easy to see he's still an immature fuck.

He wasn't ready to put in the work and blames the fact that the Lions had more players to go to.

Fuck that Jabroni

+1. If he couldn't up his game while working alongside an future Hall Of Fame wide receiver and a talented #2 wide out, that's on him.

Ebron to me, was not only a wasted pick, he's not even aware of his wasted talent. Oh, he says the right things, but he's not still putting the blame squarely on himself, where it should be.

[froot loops]

I remember when Roy Williams used to do a weekly segment with Stoney and Wojo and some of the things he said were very similar. I would listen to those segments and it was clear he didn't get it and sure enough he had a pretty unspectacular career.

We think it's a given that if you have some great talent that you should be obsessive compulsive about it. I think Jerry Rice or Kobe Bryant to name a few that were known grinders who were also extremely talented. That is rare. The ability to grind and enjoy the tedious work is a talent. That ability to grind is going to mostly come from the guys not drafted highly or not from a big school.

[Futureshock]

I remember when Roy Williams used to do a weekly segment with Stoney and Wojo and some of the things he said were very similar. I would listen to those segments and it was clear he didn't get it and sure enough he had a pretty unspectacular career.

We think it's a given that if you have some great talent that you should be obsessive compulsive about it. I think Jerry Rice or Kobe Bryant to name a few that were known grinders who were also extremely talented. That is rare. The ability to grind and enjoy the tedious work is a talent. That ability to grind is going to mostly come from the guys not drafted highly or not from a big school.

I have an unrelated question, what year was it that Stafford had all those games where he brung us back at the last minute?

[Futureshock]

Chris Board: Bill Belichick’s praise meant a lot, I felt like a priority for Patriots in free agency

Posted by Josh Alper on May 9, 2023, 4:30 PM EDT

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When the Patriots were getting set to face the Lions last season, their head coach Bill Belichick put a spotlight on then-Lion Chris Board during a press conference.

Belichick praised the linebacker’s work on special teams and said that Board has “no weaknesses” in that area of his game. Those words made an impression on Board once he hit free agency this offseason.

Board said Tuesday that Belichick “knows ball, and for him to say that, it definitely meant a lot” when the Patriots showed interest in signing him.

“In free agency, there were a lot of teams that wouldn’t mind having me, but there was definitely an emphasis and a priority to get me here, which I really appreciated,” Board said, via Andrew Callahan of the Boston Herald. “So that kind of went into the process of me deciding to sign here. I appreciate just the respect that I’ve had here so far.”

The Patriots had a down year on special teams in 2022 and targeting Board made it clear that they see him as part of the way to turn things around this season.

[Futureshock]

When the Patriots were getting set to face the Lions last season, their head coach Bill Belichick put a spotlight on then-Lion Chris Board during a press conference.

Belichick praised the linebacker’s work on special teams and said that Board has “no weaknesses” in that area of his game. Those words made an impression on Board once he hit free agency this offseason.

Tampering? Not like the Lions would make a stink about it if it were.

[froot loops]

I have an unrelated question, what year was it that Stafford had all those games where he brung us back at the last minute?

The 2016 team

[Futureshock]

The 2016 team

Ok. I thought it was. Won a bet with the misses

[Futureshock]

Lions great Ed Flanagan dies at 79

Posted by Michael David Smith on May 11, 2023, 4:39 AM EDT
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Ed Flanagan, a four-time Pro Bowl center who was chosen to the Lions’ 75th anniversary all-time team, has died at the age of 79.

Flanagan played his college football at Purdue, snapping to quarterback Bob Griese, and was an All-Big Ten center in his senior year of 1964.

In 1965 the Lions drafted him in the fifth round, he became their starting center as a rookie, and he retained that position for a decade. Flanagan told Coffin Corner that the Lions were paying him $12,000 a year.

“We always worked in the offseason. I started off selling steel in Detroit, calling on General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler. I did that for two years, and then I got into real estate. I sold real estate for two years,” Flanagan recalled years later.

After 10 seasons in Detroit and selections to the Pro Bowl in 1969, 1970, 1971 and 1973, Flanagan attempted to leave for the World Football League, but that deal fell through. A contract dispute with the Lions saw him sign with the San Diego Chargers in 1975, where he made the highest salary of his career, $37,000 a year. He retired after the 1976 season.