Bears
Bears DL Gervon Dexter said that DC Dennis Allen‘s scheme is very complex and requires more attention to detail than what he’s formerly been accustomed to.
“I think Coach Allen’s defense is ‘a lot of different,’ you know what I mean?” Dexter said, via ESPN . “He throws in a lot of different fronts, a lot of different ways to get after the quarterback, so I think the type of guy I am, I could play in a lot of those different fronts. So, just being in it and the way he’ll move guys around, the way he’ll switch it up on the offense, it’ll be good for not only me but everybody on the defensive line in this defense.”
Bears DB Jaquan Brisker is excited to display his versatility in a multitude of different spots in the secondary.
“[To] show I’m a Swiss Army knife,” Brisker said, “how he moves pieces around, and how we run so many different things, and we can all make it look the same or vice versa. Things like that. That’s what I love about it. DA is smart. I know he’s going to put us in the right positions.”
Bears CB Tyrique Stevenson is excited to be involved in a press-man scheme that will allow him to prove his value as a premier perimeter defender.
“Honestly, how I look at it, he allows us to make our money,” Stevenson said. “You’re a corner, you’re a cover corner and you’ve got to cover the guys in this league. His defense allows you to go out there and build your confidence up week after week, playing man after man on any receiver. Building that confidence up allows you to go make the plays or take certain risks that you wouldn’t take if you were never put in that position before.”
Lions
Lions TE Sam LaPorta believes that new OC John Morton can continue the team’s status as one of the top offenses in the league.
“It might be a little bit different,” LaPorta told Jim Rome on Wednesday . “Fortunately, we kept a couple of our position coaches. Specifically, our offensive line coach. We promoted Hank Fraley to our run game coordinator. So, fortunate for me, we have the same run game system this year, same verbiage, which, as you can imagine, is a lot. But Johnny Mo, pass game coordinator his whole life. Brilliant mind, I think he’s gonna call the offense great.”
“It goes hand in hand with the players that are out there, of course, winning the game,” LaPorta added on HC Dan Campbell . “People always say it’s a player’s game. Brad Holmes has been the best at finding guys in the league that fit the culture in Detroit and are damn good football players at the end of the day, as well. So it starts with Dan, Brad, and then it works its way down to the players.”
- Lions LB Alex Anzalone didn’t attend practice, yet HC Dan Campbell refuses to believe that it’s a “hold-in” situation due to his contract. (Eric Woodyard )
- Campbell says LT Taylor Decker returns after the Hall of Fame Game following a clean-up surgery. Meanwhile, DE Josh Paschal will not be returning soon. (Colton Pouncy )
- Campbell on his biggest concern with the team heading into training camp: “My eyes are on the o-line.” (Justin Rogers )
- According to Ian Rapoport , Lions CB Ennis Rakestraw Jr. is believed to have suffered a chest contusion in practice, which is relatively good news considering it could have been worse.
Vikings
Vikings WR Justin Jefferson says that he and QB J.J. McCarthy are making up for lost time this season and are focused on building chemistry, even to the point of having lockers next to each other.
“As his teammate and as a captain of the team, just trying to make him dialed in every chance that I can,” Jefferson told Yahoo Sports’ Jason Fitz . “Our lockers are right next to each other, so every chance that I get to talk to him about football, about anything that goes on outside of football. Just try to get to know him as much as I can because when the season comes and whenever we’re locked in, I want him to be just as confident as I am of him to make the plays out there.”
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