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2019 Detroit Lions season preview

Embed from Getty Images Coming off a difficult season in which the Detroit Lions were getting to know a new head coach, new offensive and defensive schemes, and starting quarterback Matthew Stafford playing with broken bones in his back. The Lions fresh off an offseason that saw players brought in to show the “Patriot way”  the question now is, will it work?

Lions general manager Bob Quinn seems hell-bent to remaking the team in the same fashion of the New England Patriots. He has actually done that. The Lions now mirror the Patriots in player drafting. The question is does he get the players in the late rounds of the draft like New England?

Matt Patricia’s defense is constructed in the Patriot mold. The Detroit defense  boasts of big, versatile linemen, hard hitting linebackers and versatile man to man defensive backs. I look for middle linebacker Jarrad Davis to become a top linebacker in the league this season. Davis’ run defense will be greatly aided by the addition of defensive lineman Trey Flowers, and 2018 fourth round draft pick Da’Shawn Hand and continued excellent play of ex New York Giant Damon (Snacks) Harrison, whose 2018 midseason trade made it mission impossible for teams to run the ball.

New offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell, has been put in charge of implementing a ball control offense centered around second year running back  Kerryon Johnson. Bob Quinn went above and beyond in fixing the total disaster that was the Lions  tight ends. Starting with first round draft pick T.J. Hockenson as well as five other TE’s have been brought in.

The 2019 Detroit Lions have the necessary pieces for a championship team in place. While the division is a difficult one, the thing that may be holding the team back is a first-time head coach, Matt Patrica. If Patricia is as smart as people around the NFL claim, then he should figure things out a bit more in year two.

Two wins against the Green Bay Packers and the New England Patriots last season showed what the Lions are capable of. With more players who know what Patrica is trying to do now in the fold as well as roster leftovers from last season who now understand the program better. If Patrica can manage the game better Detroit could be a serious sleeper this season.

 

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Michigan Wolverines football 2019 season preview

Embed from Getty Images After four years of the same old, same old, change has come to the Michigan Wolverines football program. Head coach Jim Harbaugh is going to facilitate and not call offensive plays. Josh Gattis is now the offensive play caller. Michigan is heavy favorites to win the Big Ten.

Offensively Josh Gattis has introduce spread concepts this past spring and, in his words, completely remove the huddle from the equation. This style of offense really suits returning quarterback Shea Patterson, who finished last season with 2,600 yards and 22 touchdowns through the air.

Michigan has young running backs and will rotate Christian Turner, Tru Wilson and highly touted freshman Zach Charbonnet. The talent is there, the experience is not.

The Wolverines offensive line will be a position of strength. The wide receivers are a very talented group. Donovan Peoples-Jones, Nico Collins, Ronnie Bell and Tarik Black all return.

The Michigan defense was hit hard by the offseason.  Rashan Gary and Chase Winovich and linebacker Devin Bush Jr. all left for the NFL. With that said, the cupboard is far from bare. Carlo Kemp, Michael Dwumfour and Aidan Hutchinson all return to the defensive line and bring plenty of potential and playing time. Talented freshman Donovan Jeter and Luiji Vilain will also rotate in. Giving Michigan a very athletic defensive line.

Returning linebacker Josh Ross will man middle linebacker. The linebacking corps as a whole are solid and have playmakers that is a real strength of the defense as a whole. The secondary is the only question mark for the Michigan football team.

Still the few questions Michigan has are much smaller than the nearly total rebuild Jim Harbaugh faced in 2017. Michigan has significantly fewer questions than the rest of the Big Ten schools making them preseason favorites.

This is the season Jim Harbaugh needs to deliver. Changes have been made to the coaching staff. Players at skilled positions have returned. This is the year Michigan should and needs to return to the top of the Big Ten. The question is will they take the next step?

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Michigan State football 2019 season preview

Embed from Getty Images As the sweat has dried from last season nightmare, Michigan State football looks to rebound this season. A punishing defense will lead the way. There are many things the Spartans need to clean up from a year ago. If they can, Michigan State will be a dark horse in the Big Ten.

As long as Mark Dantonio has been on the sidelines in East Lansing, defense has not been a problem. Nor will it be again this season. Michigan State led the nation in rush defense last year. Loaded at defensive line, linebackers and a very good, very athletic secondary, the Spartans defense will be scary good this season.

The offense has been well, pretty vanilla under Dantonio’s watch. Quarterback   Brian Lewerke, now healthy is a good start. When Lewerke injured his shoulder  the Spartans scored seven or fewer points in four of their last seven games. The  Spartans have a solid trio of receivers, Cody White, Darrell Stewart Jr. and Jalen Nailor. Yet they all missed time with injuries.

Seven offensive linemen with starting experience return. That should help the pass and run game.  Connor Heyward rushed for 529 yards to go with 32 catches last year. He is not a game-breaker, but a solid back. The key to the Spartans offense is health at skilled positions and consistency on the offensive line.

The Michigan State Spartans and Mark Dantonio are looking to make a 12th Bowl appearance. All the pressure is on the Spartans offense. Michigan State could repeat 2018-19 seven wins, or it could yield double digit wins. If the offensive line gels the Spartans will be a dark horse in the Big Ten. The defense will keep them in every game and could steal a win or two for the team.

 

 

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Previously unranked Detroit Tigers prospect Tarik Skubal is turning heads

Embed from Getty Images The Detroit Tigers drafted lefthander Tarik Skubal in the ninth round in 2018, Skubal has opened eyes as a pitcher with the potential to join top prospects Casey Mize and Matt Manning,  something no one saw coming.

Starting the season with the Lakeland Flying Tigers, Tarik Skubal put up some lofty numbers. Skubal was 4 wins 5 losses, but as I keep saying wins and losses do not matter for pitching prospects. The rest of Skubal’s numbers are crazy, In 15 games pitched the young prospect had 19 walks and 97 strikeouts.

Tarik Skubal was recently promoted to Double-A Erie. Pitching like he did not miss a beat. In 3 starts for the Seawolves, the southpaw has walked 4 while striking out 34. Turning the heads of scouts and general managers everywhere.

A ninth round draft pick, Skubal was drafted out of Seattle University.  The 22 year old Skubal had Tommy John surgery in 2016. In a minor league systems that has some great arms, one national scout said Tarik Skubal has the best arm in the Detroit Tigers system. High praise. Yet Skubal is backing the praise up.

Having cleaned up his fastball velocity Tarik now has consistency pitch in and pitch out, start after start. The Tigers were going to develop the left handed pitcher and use him out of the bullpen. Quality start after quality start has now shifted the Detroit Tigers into leaving Skubal in as a starter.

The question now is where does Tarik Skubal fit in the Tigers prospect rankings? While he is only 22 years old. Other Tigers prospects are more seasoned and are ranked appropriately. Given that, and his high ceiling factored by his walks to strikeouts, Skubal lands at #17.

As he moves forward in his development should he stay on his current trajectory, Tarik should end the season close to if not in the top 10 Tigers prospects.

A draft risk coming off of major surgery and an up and down senior year in high school. The Detroit Tigers have a left handed pitcher who looks like a draft pick steal, certainly the Tigers are getting tremendous value out of the pick.

One more reason Tigers fans should relax. It is going to be fun again soon at Comerica Park.

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The Detroit Lions need to win or blow it up

Embed from Getty Images Detroit Lions fans are both loyal and extremely passionate. Yet, they also can only handle false promises so long. When he took over as Lions general manager Bob Quinn sounded like a man who believed he could get the Lions to a deep playoff run. That has yet to happen. He fired Jim Caldwell in favor of his New England Patriots buddy Matt Patricia saying he was the coach to get them to the next level. He needs to be right this season.

Do not get me wrong Bob Quinn has for the most part drafted well. His free agents have been hit-or-miss. Winning while Matthew Stafford is still a decent quarterback is paramount.

Detroit Lions fans have suffered a long time. The running joke around the city of Detroit is the Lions have been rebuilding since ’57. As in 1957, the last championship the team won (pre-Super Bowl era.) The joke gets older and older with every missed or failed season. Since 1980 the Lions have 11 playoff appearances. Making out of the first round only once in 1991.

Barry Sanders retired because he came to the understanding the team was not going to win. Calvin Johnson did the same. Both players All-Pros. Both players Hall of Fame (Johnson will get in.) Both walked away from the same organization at 30 years old.

If the Detroit Lions do not make the playoffs this NFL season, sweeping changes must be made. From Bob Quinn and team president Rod Wood to scouts and coaches. Team owner Martha Ford is much tougher than her husband the late William Clay Ford. Martha is not shy about making changes and not waiting years to do so.

Lions fans need to be rewarded. The Lions are not an easy team to continue to cheer for, buy apparel and tickets for and pay for parking for either. Something needs to shake the organization to life. Another front office shakeup would help somewhat. But finding the right people is critical.

This absolutely needs to be the final chance for the current front office. The Detroit Lions fans are growing restless.

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Detroit Red Wings making scouting changes

Embed from Getty Images When the Detroit Red Wings introduced Steve Yzerman as team general manager back in April, Yzerman spoke at length about how he trusts his scouts. While the Wings legend does his own scouting, he values his scouts and counts on them heavily for input.

Steve Yzerman made the choice to  release amateur scouting director Tyler Wright and chief amateur scout Jeff Finley. “Our contracts were not renewed,” said Finley, who scouted for 10 years with the Wings. “Steve (Yzerman) said basically they had different plans. It’s the nature of the business, putting your own people in place. We’ve had a few high draft picks lately in Detroit and we feel we’ve made good picks.”

Finley said Wright and former Detroit pro scout Archie Henderson were hired last Thursday by former Wings GM Ken Holland in Edmonton. Detroit assistant GM Chris Draper  is among the candidates to replace Tyler Wright as the team’s director of amateur scouting.

What is the underling factor in the scouting department shakeup is, the fact Yzerman is used to working with his people he has a history with so he began the process of bringing in his people. The same people whom he trusted in Tampa Bay. Tampa Bay was a top five team during Yzerman’s time as Lightning GM.

Pat Verbeek, Yzerman’s main and most trusted confidant’s while with the Lightning was the first brought in to Detroit. Yzerman also hired his brother, Chris, and booted Glenn Merkosky, who’d been scouting for the Wings since 1999.

Steve Yzerman hinted more changes are coming. But this is a big first move. One that should bay high dividends for the Red Wings moving forward. While the former Red Wings scouts did have some solid draft picks, it became clear during this past NHL amateur draft Yzerman drafted 3 defensive players with Detroit’s first four draft picks. A clear sign Yzerman was not all that thrilled the organization is forward heavy.

Perhaps, this was Yzerman’s plan all along. But he did allow the released scouts the chance to work and attend the draft. What happened at the draft is anyone’s guess.

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Is this the season Jim Harbaugh leads the Michigan Wolverines to the Big Ten title?

Embed from Getty Images Picking a preseason champion in July is either daring or dumb, I freely admit that. Most seasons in July team to beat was Ohio State. Under Jim Harbaugh Michigan was never the logical pick to win the Big Ten title. Until this season. I believe this is the season Michigan gets over-the-hump and beats Ohio State.

The college football landscape changes often. Making a prediction on what a college football team has  done over the past five to 10 years is not wise. What a team has right now is all that matters.

Heading into the 2019-20 college football season,  Michigan has fewer question marks in key areas than the rest of the Big Ten teams. The Wolverines have a senior quarterback, Shea Patterson, who helped them go 10-3 a year ago they also have a trio of the best wide receivers in the country. Two of the wide outs have NFL written all over them, Donovan Peoples-Jones and Nico Collins.

A painful fact from last season, Michigan was one of the slowest moving non option teams nationally and it showed in the Wolverines three losses. The defense was cripples by and offense that did all it could to play possession football.

Enter new offensive coordinator Josh Gattis who will be the lone offensive play caller. Jim Harbaugh will not step in. Now in Ann Arbor is a no huddle, spread based offense. Yet it will be set up by the run.

Michigan’s defense will not be as good as it was last season or the year before. Michigan does have eight players who have starting experience.  Serious question abound on the secondary and middle linebacker.

The schedule isn’t easy, but Michigan gets both conference rivalry games at home. Army and Notre Dame will be serious challenging non-conference teams but the results do not count in the Big Ten standings.

So here in July, Harbaugh’s football team has what it needs to win the Big Ten this year. They look like they are in a good position to win the elusive Big Ten title. But, a word of caution, looks can be deceiving.

 

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Detroit Red Wings defenseman Dennis Cholowski looks to improve and stick in Detroit

Embed from Getty Images Last season nothing came easy for Detroit Red Wings rookie defenseman Dennis Cholowski. After a solid start to the 2018-19 NHL season, Cholowski’s play had slipped a lot. Hot on his tail was another Red Wings rookie defender,  Filip Hronek who overcame his own shortcomings and earned more playing time. Dennis Cholowski found himself demoted to the Grand Rapids Griffins.

The Detroit Red Wings 2016 first-round draft pick, Cholowski, is viewed as a player who if he can stay mentally strong has another chance to make the Detroit roster out of training camp. That will be a tough road given the veteran depth at the defensive position.

Dennis Cholowski must show up and compete hard to avoid being  disappointed again. Dennis said he has spoke with Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman about his expectations for the young defensive player.

“It’s really just being more responsible, having the coach’s trust to be able to put me out and know that I’m not going to get scored on, that I can box guys out, that I can kill plays in the D-zone,” Dennis Cholowski told reporters. “If I can come in and do that, and then let my offensive side take over, I think I’ll be OK.”

Steve Yzerman has said he wants to see players earn their spots and that “the most competitive kids are going to make our team better.” Last season Cholowski’s mistakes outweighed his solid contributions to the team. At Christmas, Cholowski had 14 points in 36 games and was a team worst minus 11. From Christmas until Feb. 10, Cholowski had one goal and one assist in 16 games, and was  a team worst minus 9, a strong sign his defensive play was not where it should be.

Being mentally strong, being smart with the puck, being smarter with passes, will help Cholowski’s game improve. Consistent playing time will earn trust with coach’s and the general manager.

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Lessons learned from the Detroit Lions Legend camp

Featured photo by Erin Wallace

Sports are the bond that ties. For athletes no matter what sport they play. When they are drafted by a team it is so much more than just practice and games. It is the relationships that are formed and forged in the battles of training camp and the tough to swallow losses of a playoff game.

Hall of Fame Detroit Tigers short stop Alan Trammell said “You can take my World Series ring, the World Series Trophy, take my M.V.P. award and the Hall of Fame. But you can not have the relationships I have built playing with my teammates.”

As former Detroit Lions players rolled up to check in at the Detroit Lions Legends football camp, it was clear very early on, time has past but friendships remain. Strong. Big men embracing in a hug, there was no handshake, that would not be enough for these players to show the gratitude they have for one another.

In an instant, they were talking to each other  like they had just eaten breakfast together. The stories began to ooze out of them. The glory days, from playing at the Pontiac Silverdome.

So what did I learn? That is a loaded question. Lomas brown told me Barry Sanders was “One of the best teammates I’ve ever had. We knew Barry was good, Barry knew he was good. But he practiced like a rookie trying to make the team everyday. He did not like it when players dogged it.”

I learned that an offensive lineman (Scott Conover) and a linebacker (George Jamison) are so tight even though they were on different units they can finish each others sentences and thoughts. I also learned they enjoy feeding off of each other and sometimes at the expense of others, just for a laugh. Even if they are the only ones laughing.

I learned that thanks to Jeff Chadwick, playing wide receiver is a whole heck of a lot more than lining up and running a pass route. It is part knowing when to come out of your break, part hand eye coordination, part speed all rolled together at blazing speed, with seemingly no time to think.

Former Detroit Lions defensive assistant Don Clemons told a story of former Lions linebacker Chris Spielman. He said he and his wife, Chris and his wife and then Detroit left guard Eric Andolsek and his wife use to play board games at Clemons house. “I remember one time, it was late we were having  two-a-days (practices) everyone was beat. We finished the game in a three way tie,” Clemons started to smile and laugh. “Spielman stood up and said “CLEM!!!! no one is getting up from this table until someone wins. There are no ties!” Clemons was now in full-belly laughter.

I was blessed to attend and to be going back next year. I am blessed to call these former Detroit Lions players and the great Don Clemons, friends.

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Detroit Lions Legends football camp review

Featured photo by Erin Wallace

Jeff Chadwick, Lomas Brown, Luther Bradley, Scott Conover, Eric Hipple, Cory Schlesinger, George Jamison and Don Clemons. These are the former players and coach that made up the first Lions Legend Camp held in Clare Michigan. The camp was a huge success.

In the calm before the storm I was able to ask Jeff Chadwick a few questions about what has been the driving force behind starting a football camp with former NFL players teaching and encouraging middle and high school athletes. “I want to get kids off the devices,” Chadwick stated. “Teach kids hand eye coordination and help them understand training and just what it takes to play football.”

Photo by Erin Wallace

In today’s tech savvy world video games and smart phones rule many teenagers lives. While those games have a time and place. To be active and in structured sports helps bring kids the knowledge for how to get along with others and work together, not to mention how to be a good teammate and even a leader.

As they arrived the student athletes hands were marked with what position they play or are going to try out for. In my opinion what made the camp excel is that after being grouped by position the players rotated around and tried other positions. That can only help to bring a full understanding of what it means to be a team.

Former Detroit Lions players instructed the players as a group and also worked one on one with them. The student athletes ate up everything the players were telling them. As they should. It is not easy to get to the NFL. All the information handed out is a great benefit and you could see the players confidence grow as they applied what they were told.

On a side note, for former players who always seem to be busy to take time out of their schedules and away from family and pass on what made them successful was endearing.

The first Detroit Lions Legends football camp was a smashing success. It is a camp that will continue to grow. Jeff Chadwick and his outstanding support team should be proud. Just like training for a football season, the work Jeff and his team put in paid off.

Parents and coaches in and around Michigan should look into this camp for their children, players and teams.