Marinelli’s Smile Tells You All You Want and Need to Know

Marinelli’s Smile Tells You All You Want and Need to Know ÂThere he stood at mini-camp this week. It wasn’t a long lasting moment and it certainly isn’t

Marinelli’s Smile Tells You All You Want and Need to Know

Â
There he stood at mini-camp this week. It wasn’t a long lasting moment and it certainly isn’t something that we have become accustomed to in Detroit. Lions Head Coach Rod Marinelli is hands-on. If you didn’t know what he looked like, but had frequented NFL practices over his tenure in Motown, you would have easily mistaken him for a position coach the way he dives into practice drills and participates. But not at this one moment I caught him this week, not that split time when he stood over his practice fields and surveyed the land. His smile that he wore was real. Love or hate Marinelli, (I can’t imagine any moron that hates him) and I admire the man completely, he is honest, frank and a straight shooter. He may deflect or refuse to answer questions, but a lie is not a part of who he is. When he smiled at this moment it was real and it was genuine. It was a brief glimpse into what he is all about. He loves football and for the first time since he arrived in the D, his Lions (and WCF may own them and Matt Millen may be the GM, but they are his guys) look and act like him.

Â
This team, in my opinion, is one more season away from arriving on the perennial playoff side of success. They are young at some very key positions and the learning curve will take its toll. Now they have athletes, but if you look at the best teams that are consistently in the hunt year after year they are teams that have more depth than the Lions. That said the sermon that Marinelli has preached and the stump that he has perched and spoken from since day one has arrived. He is consistent and he has spoken about speed and character from day one. It is here.

Â
You only need to look at new MLB Jordon Dizon to see that. His motor to play and practice and his speed tell the story of what the Lions are becoming…on both sides of the ball. As I walked around the fields I saw players whose speed told the story. I was amazed at the lateral movement (in the Tampa 2 more than any D that is one of the most key ingredients of success: lateral movement in your MLB) Dizon displayed. Paris is a great person and a good football player, but if you watched him miss plays last year, it was his lack of ability to laterally move off of blocks or get to plays that cost him. Great heart, but he lacked the speed to shorten the field.Â

Â
Marinelli this week described what he means when he speaks of shortening the field, “I want to shrink the field. The width of this field I want to narrow it with speed and right now we’re very active and the thing about speed is when you have it, you got to be tough enough to use it all the time. That’s the mental toughness playing with that one snap so they’ll really use this speed and we decide to use it and turn it on every down and know exactly what we’re doing. Now we’re able to play a little bit faster.”
Â
After practice when I was talking with him was the most important part of mini-camp, in my opinion. He has never hid that being an NFL head coach is an honor and one that he relishes. This was different. This was like one of my children at Christmas that couldn’t wait to get outside and play with his toy. He has enjoyed his job, but that smile after practice was the same that he wore as he surveyed his troops.

Â
I asked him about that lateral speed of Dizon and there it was, that smile I had seen only about an hour before, and this was his answer. “The make-ups you’re looking for in a defensive player and a linebacker, he’s aware and he is extremely bright. But his instincts, he’s a flexible guy he can bend well. He’s got a good feel I’m excited about it [Dizon].”

Â
That smile was back as soon as I asked about The Goz’s ability to use his hands. In the Zone scheme that the Lions are moving to on a full time basis, especially the tackles have to be able to use there hands to manipulate and move people both off of them and to move them. If you watch The Goz for any amount of time, you can’t help but see that hand speed. It is a skill that you need on both sides from your OL and DL and Marinelli now has it. He reiterated, “Hand speed is both sides of the ball, whole line, full d-lines, it’s all about hands and coming off the ball and the way through the sets. It’s the speed of hands.”
Â
Â
The youngsters on this team are young, hungry and fast. This is not just this year’s class. You can see it with those that are new since Marnelli arrived. Ernie Sims is no longer the talented young LB. He is the defensive leader. Calvin Johnson may have had a rookie season that left the fans and the head coach disappointed along with himself, but his work ethic on the field and off clearly is passed Roy Williams and players recognize that and appreciate it. IAF has a high motor and his willingness to work is both inspirational and motivating. So far already in camp some veterans (guys here BEFORE Marinelli arrived) have talked to Dizon. They have encouraged him to slow down. He is respectful, but he also won’t change the way he practices. He loves the game. He understands that physical numbers will tell you that he is too small. Numbers would tell you the Lions made a mistake. He also knows that numbers lie and his speed and heart are the exact reason Rod Marinelli told Millen that, “He is our kind of guy,” and that the Lions made him a millionaire. He respects those vets, but he is what he is. He cherishes this moment. He is moved to get the chance to play pro-football. This isn’t a job to him. “It’s the best job in the world. I come out here and I get to run around for two hours and I can’t complain, this is the life I’ve dreamt since 4th grade and this is the dream I’ve always had. This is just awesome to me, just a dream come true.”
Â
Marinelli’s smile soon disappeared when he went back to teaching. It was gone the moment he thought someone wasn’t playing at game speed in the mini camp, but that was O.K. He isn’t going to puff his chest out. He isn’t going to act like this team has won anything because they haven’t. He was simply a man on a mission, a man who coaches the way he lives: with purpose. A man who doesn’t care what the critics say, he has the foundation of a very good football team that is now in his image. The problem people are gone and now the battles aren’t over character, it is over talent. This is now about who wants it more. No more complaints and undermining. No complaints to the union for too much and no more private complaining about the franchise. These Lions are on a path. They get it. They also know that people are coming.Â

Â
When the Lions signed free agents, many of the critics bemoaned that they got yet another Buc or failed to yet again sign a star. Here is a memo that was never sent but I know it is certainly what Marinelli thinks:Â

Â
TO:Â MediaÂ

From:Â MarinelliÂ

RE: Kiss my Butt! I don’t care what you think.  I got rookies who play like I want and vets that already know. Say what you want, I know the destination and I know how to get there.

P.S. I have a long memory!

Â
This team looks different and this team is different. I truly believe that 2008 will be the last sub .500squad for some time. Judging by that smile, Marinelli agrees!

Â
Â
Â