Lions back at work with renewed urgency after building foundation last season

ALLEN PARK — The Lions returned this week to the team facility for offseason workouts meeting new teammates, introducing themselves to new staff and getting down to business.

Coming off a 9-8 season definitely carries a vibe better than a year ago when they had won just three games the previous season.

While conventional wisdom from NFL prognosticators seems to be that the Lions could be the team to beat in the NFC North, that thought does not carry over into the locker room. 

Quarterback Jared Goff has heard the talk, but plainly said there are no favorites in April.

The Lions finished with an 8-2 record in their last 10 games and became media darlings of sorts, but they did not make the playoffs.

“I think the standards and expectations will continue to rise. I think the urgency in the building will continue to rise, I think it has already. All the way from the top down we realize that we’re ready to go…’’ Goff said on Tuesday.

This is Goff’s third preseason with the Lions and he said the offseason moves have been noticeably more aggressive.

“You can see the aggressiveness in them and it trickles into us. We see everything, a couple weeks the draft will come and there’ll be more of that there,’’ Goff said. “The aggressiveness of taking our shot and knowing that we have a team that can compete with anybody and we’re going to try to make some noise this year.’’

Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown has been with the Lions two seasons and he thinks the experience of those years will help himself and his teammates transform this year.

“I think, us as a team, we have a lot of young guys that we’ve had since we were here that are hungry, who saw what we did two years ago only winning three games my rookie year to last year to what we can do this year,’’ St. Brown said. “I think being a part of that journey is going to help us throughout the year.’’

Left tackle Taylor Decker, entering his eighth season with the Lions, is singing the same song. He’s excited to be back, sees the changes that have been made but can’t take anything for granted. He does not think the team will have to guard against thinking they are too good.

“I think everybody’s past experiences will take care of that. Players know that have been here, staff that has been here, the fans now,’’ Decker said. “There’ve been some tough years, some really tough years. I have the best job in the world, it’s amazing but you want to win.’’

Decker has made just one trip to the playoffs in his tenure in Detroit and that was his rookie season. He’s excited about this coming season but is mindful of what can be reality in the NFL.

“It’s nice to come into the building with expectations. Like it’s an enjoyable thing to look forward to next year knowing that we laid a foundation the prior year and that’s something we did together as a group,’’ Decker said. “There’s excitement for what the future could hold, but ultimately – it’s a dead horse statement, like beating a dead horse. You have to come in and on your first day of OTAs you have to do your testing, your stretching, your soft tissue, your lifting, your running. That’s what’s important today. That’s the thing about this league: Are you going to come to work every single day? Because if you don’t come to work now, if you didn’t start working out till just now then you aren’t going to have the results. There’s definitely excitement and that’s a great thing, we’ve laid the foundation. But let’s do the work now.’’

(Coming up: The Lions have two picks in the first round of the NFL draft which begins on Thursday, April 27.)

Lions cornerbacks coach Dre Bly a good fit for Dan Campbell’s staff

Five things to know as team prepares for offseason work

ALLEN PARK — When coach Dan Campbell added Dre Bly to the Detroit Lions coaching staff as cornerbacks coach, it seemed like a good fit. Almost natural. 

Bly, who played corner for the Lions in 2003-06, has connections with the coaching staff including defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn. Like Bly, several Lions coaches are former NFL players, including Campbell. 

Bly made the move from coaching cornerbacks at North Carolina where he found success and learned as a coach.

During a press conference on Wednesday, his excitement about getting going was noticeable. 

“We want these guys to learn from us but also have a chance to do what we weren’t able to do. That’s the whole point of us coaching, passing the torch,’’ Bly said.

Five things to know about Bly:

1. From his time in Detroit to now he said the fiery fans are the same, but the leadership is a lot different. “I’m actually a little jealous, just looking at how they finished last year, looking at all the excitement on the field, looking at how much fun they were having with Dan and the rest of the coaching staff,’’ Bly said. “They were on ‘Hard Knocks’, there was a lot of excitement … across the football world, there’s a lot of excitement. Me as a former player that’s something that you could wish to be a part of, I didn’t get a chance to experience some of that as a player. It’s pretty cool to be back on the other side and to see the drive that the guys have, the coaches, the camaraderie we have on top, the group of men that Dan has put together. It’s pretty cool to see.’’

2. Bly checked many (if not all) of the boxes that Campbell sought in a cornerbacks coach. “Me being who I am, I wasn’t the tallest player, I wasn’t the fastest, I was able to do some things in this league because I was instinctive, I was smart and I was very confident and competitive. That was one of the first things that Dan said he was looking for out of his corners coach was a guy who was very compeittive, a guy who had a certain amount of confidence about himself,’’ Bly said. “A lot of times we are creatures of habit. If your leaders are a certain way then the guys that are around him will move the same way. That’s why you were able to see the Lions last year play the way they played because Dan moves a certain way, AG (Glenn) moves a certain way. That’s the way I move, we have a lot in common. I think I bring something unique to the position, to the room, instant credibility. A guy who’s very passionate, a guy who’s very relatable. I like to interact with players. I’m still in shape, I can move, I can get out and teach technique. I would agree we’re a group of guys who have a lot to give to the game.’’

3. Bly’s connection with Glenn goes back to when he was assigned No. 31 at North Carolina. He sought out someone in the NFL with the same number who maybe he could look up to. “AG at the time might have been the only guy who resonated with me and that number. Our games were very similar. He was a guy who was dynamic as a player, he was explosive, he was a kick returner, he made plays,’’ Bly said. In 2017 he was able to shadow Glenn, who was with the Saints, for the entire preseason. Campbell was also on the Saints’ staff at the time.  Bly and Glenn stayed in touch. “He knew I had a passion to get to the NFL. The league is about teaching. The men who are here I have a lot in common with. College was great, I loved it, did a lot of great things in Chapel Hill, had a chance to mentor some players and learned a lot from Mack Brown,’’ Bly said. “To have a chance to teach ball for 24/7 is something that I love to do. I’m excited to be here …’’

4. Bly, a two-time Pro Bowl player, is excited about the three veteran free agent defensive backs that the Lions have added — Cameron Sutton, C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Emmanuel Moseley. “We’ve been able to bring in three guys that have been highly productive, they’re around the football,’’ Bly said. “That’s one of the things we were looking for, along with the rest of the guys that we have to add to the fold. We’re excited. Three veteran players, guys who have been successful in this league, cerebral players, smart, good leaders in the meeting room and off the field.’’

5. Bly is still in shape and said he’ll be able to teach technique on the field. As a player, he won a Super Bowl ring as a rookie with the St. Louis Rams. In fact, two of his first three seasons he played in the Super Bowl. Then the following eight seasons — including the four with the Lions — he didn’t even make it back to the playoffs. Now he’s on a new mission — getting back to the postseason as a coach.

(UPCOMING: Players report for offseason workouts on Monday, April 17. The NFL draft takes place April 27-29.)

Lions LB Alex Anzalone says focus is to win playoff games

He signed 3-year deal with $18.75 million

When was the last time the Detroit Lions won a playoff game?

Jan. 5, 1992.

Lions linebacker Alex Anzalone confessed to not knowing exactly when that occurred, but he knew it had been a while, and said on Wednesday, that the team’s goal is to win playoff games. Period.

Anzalone is considered a veteran — he’s 28 — on the Lions’ roster. He laughs it off about being the old guy, but re-signing the linebacker was key to keep Detroit’s defense on track to take another step forward in the 2023 season and beyond.

Anzalone, who was signed on one-year deals with Detroit for the past two seasons, has agreed to a three-year, $18.75 million extension. He spoke to the media on Wednesday at the practice facility, saying that signing the multi-year deal brought a sense of relief.

“I really felt like I’ve found a home,’’ said Anzalone who was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the third round of the 2017 draft out of Florida. He played there for three seasons before signing with the Lions in 2021.

With the nex contract, Anzalone said his personal goal is to be more consistent at a high level.

He started all 17 games last season, finishing with 125 tackles (a career high), 1.5 sacks, seven quarterback hits, one interception and a forced fumble.

The Lions finished the season winning eight of the last 10 games, finishing with a 9-8 record.

“The development of young guys is not an excuse (any longer),’’ Anzalone said.

Most of them, including Anzalone, were not born at the time of the last playoff win, but they know it’s up to them to take the team to the next level.