Rebuilding Traditions

Killer writes a story about the Thanksgiving game.

Schwartz has stressed the history and legacy of the Thanksgiving Day tradition to his young players and the rookies have taken note.

"He explained the importance of it and that our backs are against the wall to keep the legacy going. It's a national spotlight,'' said running back Aaron Brown, a sixth-round draft pick. "Coach Schwartz broke down the tradition to us the other day and we know it's a big deal to the Lions family. We're trying to take the momentum we built in the last game and push it on to this game.''

It's still uncertain whether rookie quarterback Matthew Stafford (left shoulder) will play in the game, but he wants to become part of the game's history.

"This game has been going on for such a long time and it's a great chance to be on national TV and it shows the nation what we're all about,'' he said. "It's just something you want to keep around -- you want to play on Thanksgiving Day. It's a great opportunity, it's great fun and it's awesome to be able to say that you're a part of two teams that get to do it every year."

"I've watched the Lions on every Thanksgiving since I can remember and watching Barry Sanders hold that turkey leg (as the game's MVP),'' said rookie linebacker Zack Follett, a seventh-round pick. "Not to lie, I've kind of had my fantasies during meetings of what I've got to do to get that turkey leg. I'm excited.

"There's such history. It's been around since 1934 and a lot of history comes with it. The coaches haven't had to coach effort this week.''

Schwartz isn't doing anything that other coaches haven't done - even as it is great that this is a point of emphasis this week. This speaks more to how complete the rebuild of this team is, they are so far down that even the traditions have to be rebuilt.

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Salary Cap Forum Updated - PREMIUM

• 2009 Dead Cap Updated
• Keith Smith Player Cost
• Shaun Smith Player Cost
• Chuck Darby Player Cost
• Aveion Cason Player Cost
• Ramzee Robinson Player Cost
• Lydon Murtha Player Cost
• Zack Follett Player Cost
• Dan Gronkowski Player Cost

Follow Detroit's salary cap with expert George Ketchman here. (Requires premium membership to RoarReport.com)

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The Pain Train is coming

According to Adam Caplan, the Lions have signed seventh-round draft choice Zack Follett to a three-year deal.  Known as the “Pain Train” to his Cal teammates, Follett has said that he patterns his game after the original Pain Train, Terry Tate. 

Coming out of Clovis, CA as a four-star recruit—the 40th-ranked linebacker in the nation--Follett immediately made an impact at Cal with his speed and aggressiveness.  Playing in every game as a true freshman, he had 32 tackles and 2 sacks.  As a sophomore, he only started one game, yet lead the team in tackles for loss (12.5), tied for the team lead in sacks (5.5), led the Pac-10 in forced fumbles (4), had 62 total tackles, and was honorable mention All-Pac 10.  As a junior starter, he was second-team All-Pac 10; again with 12.5 TFL and 5.5 sacks, plus 64 total tackles.  However, his season was interrupted by a neck stinger, caused by the aggravation of a bulging disc discovered in high school.  Just prior to his senior season, Cal switched to a 3-4 alignment, partially to maximize Follett’s explosive, attacking style:

I would say they were successful. Follett finished fourth in the Pac-10 with 10.5 sacks.  He also led the Pac-10 in tackles for loss (23) and forced fumbles (5).  He was named first-team All Pac-10, in a conference rife with NFL linebacking talent.  He was also MVP of the Emerald Bowl after racking up 9 tackles (8 solo), four of them for losses (-33 yards).  That also includes two sacks, one of which forced a fumble.

As easy as it is to get pumped about Follett’s amazing hits, huge plays, and passion for football, there are several drawbacks to his game.  Follett’s far from a complete linebacker; he was asked to do little more than blitz in college. He lacks the coverage skills to be a traditional 4-3 strong side OLB, and there were multiple reports from minicamp that he’s having difficulty picking up Gunther Cunningham’s scheme.  While it’s tempting to compare his skill set to OLB Julian Peterson, a more apt comparison would be former Buckeye and Patriot Andy Katzenmoyer, whose explosive highlight-reel hits in college failed to translate into excellent all-around play in the NFL . . . and whose career was also sidelined by neck stingers.

Follett’s only saving grace may be that he won’t be asked to be a traditional strong side OLB; the Cunningham-Schwartz scheme will feature a lot of blitzing, as high as forty percent of snaps.  If Follett can prove to be a situational threat when blitzing, and a special teams demon, he could yet make the roster—and be the next against-the-odds fan favorite, in the mold of David Kircus, Greg Blue, and “Blue” Adams.

Discuss it here, in The Den!

Salary Cap Forum Updated - PREMIUM

Zach Follett player cost . . . Lions Cap Status updated . . . Follow Detroit's salary cap with expert George Ketchman here. (Requires premium membership to RoarReport.com)

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Lions quietly cut LB Alex Lewis

You won't find a news story out there on this one, as far as I can find.

But astute Den-izen ENLIONS found buried on the Lions transaction list on the team Web site word that Lewis was cut on July 3.

Your Blue Blog had earlier posted speculation that this could happen.

Is this good news for second-year LB Jordan Dizon, and/or rookie LBs DeAndre Levy and Zack Follett? What about Cody Spencer? Will the Lions look to sign more LBs now?

They're talking about it in The Den!

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Follett wants pads, hitting, pain infliction

Minicamp's all well and good. But Lions rookie LB Zach Follett really has his eye on the start of training camp July 31 -- when the players go into full pads and start hitting, Tom Kowalski reports at MLive.com.

"I'm just excited to get pads on and see what I can do," Follett said after Tuesday's morning workout. "It's coming through and hitting people and that's what I do best. I'm not going to be scared going into any hole against anybody."

As a seventh-round draft pick, Follett knows he's buried on the depth chart. And he admits that he's got a lot of learning to do:

"Any position from college is new to me because I was more outside and coming off the edge every play,'' he said. "I played inside backer in high school and the beginning of my college career and I'm starting to dust the cobwebs off and get a nose for the ball and how to play inside and read blocks. It's coming along."

"The pace of play has been fine. It's just getting a whole new system down and playing the position these coaches want you to play. I had three linebacker coaches when I was at Cal and I had to adjust to a new system and this is a whole new one as well. That's four different ways of learning how to play the position."

I've said it before and will say it again -- even if Follett only turns out to be a special teams demon, that's pretty good for a last-rounder.

Talk about it in The Den!

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FOXSports writer labels Follett "can't-miss"

"Can't-miss" isn't a phrase usually associated with a seventh-round draft pick. But Ed Thompson at FOXSports.com in his latest "7 points," gives Lions rookie LB Zack Follett that label. Says Thompson:

I was stunned as I watched the former University of California linebacker slip into the seventh round of the NFL Draft back in April. If you've seen him play, Follett is a fiery, old-school style linebacker, who loves to put the biggest hit he possibly can on the poor sap running with the football. And the energy level you see on the field isn't that far off from what you'd experience if you talked to him face-to-face off the field. You see, Zach Follett is simply a live wire. But what do you expect from a guy who picked Terry Tate, Office Linebacker, as his hero while he was growing up? NFL rookies are expected to contribute right away on special teams if they want to earn a roster spot. And Zack Follett is a player who will strike some fear into his opponents as he flies down the field with kamikaze-like abandon, ready to do whatever it takes to find the ball carrier and drop him in his tracks. Detroit Lions fans are going to love watching this guy in training camp. He gets my vote as the seventh-round pick who is most likely to make his team's 53-man roster this September.

Follett had some neck stinger issues in college; maybe that scared teams away. But I personally can't wait to see what some NFL-level linebacker coaching does for the kid. If he only turns into a special teams beast, that's still pretty good for a 7th-rounder. Discuss in The Den!

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Follett finished with school, but just starting education

When Larry Foote was asked about how he was handling the transition from from a 3-4 ILB to a 4-3 MLB, he said, "I had my first meeting with the linebacker coach, and we put in a couple of the base defenses and it was similar to some of the stuff that we did at Pittsburgh.  My mind wasn't as lost as the other guy who was next to me."  Foote declined at the time to mention who that other guy was--but now, we can guess.  Nick Cotsonika of the Detroit Free Press has posted an article about rookie OLB Zack Follett, who's still trying to wrap his head around Gunther Cunningham's playbook.  Follett's not stupid--his woodworking skills reveal a creative brain--but thanks to NFL rules and Cal's academic schedule, today is the first day he's allowed to formally work out with the team.  After struggling in minicamp, he's already a couple of days behind on the OTAs.  Still, if he can keep his head above water, Follett's straight-line speed, playmaking ability, and love of the big hit make him an excellent fit for this defense.

Discuss this in The Den!

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