3 Challenges of a Shortened Training Camp for the Detroit Lions
If the National Football League were operating according to schedule, the Detroit Lions would be preparing for their preseason opener against the New England Patriots.
Instead, Detroit will begin practices at their Allen Park practice facility next week.
"I love to practice; we all know that. I think in the NFL we tell, philosophy-wise, the team in every year that in the NFL we only have 16 games, we need to practice in order to get better," head coach Matt Patricia said back in July. "That’s what’s different than some of the other major league sports. They can play games and get better through the course of games. We only have a limited amount of opportunities, so practice is a major concern. We’re really trying to do everything we can to maximize that opportunity that we have to get out on the field."
With only 14 padded practices though, there will be some inherent challenges Detroit's coaching staff must overcome.
1.) Special teams battles
It will have been quite some time since Detroit had a competition to determine who the starting punter will be.
Sam Martin was a member of the Lions roster since 2013, but he signed with the Denver Broncos this past offseason.
Punters Jack Fox and Arryn Siposs will be battling for the starters job over the course of the next three weeks.
With limited practices, new special teams coordinator Brayden Coombs will be tasked with discovering who can make plays for the team.
2.) Teaching fundamentals
With limited time wearing pads and simulating live football, the ability to teach fundamentals will present Patricia and Co. some challenges.
Detroit also features youth along the offensive line that will need as many live reps as possible to get acclimated to life in the NFL.
3.) Tackling
Missed tackles plagued Detroit's defense last season.
Without playing any preseason games, Detroit may have to increase the intensity of practices to include more live reps in order to be able to instill proper tackling techniques.
Patricia has previously noted, "The interesting part is, when you take out preseason games and you buy back some of the time that we usually spend -- whether it’s traveling, the game itself, maybe post-game -- you actually pick up a couple extra days. When you look at the training camp portion of the schedule, the ramp-up period and when you get to that training camp practice schedule, we wind up with actually a lot of practice days."
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