I can’t honestly say I’ve followed the terms of the lockout closely (though Zac has you covered on that) — mostly because I can’t listen to millionaires bicker with billionaires without having blood shoot out my ears — but I do know that Schwartz and the Lions had a brief window of opportunity to bring in Nick Fairley and the other rookies, show them the facilities, and let them grab a copy of the playbook. Wait, scratch that last bit:

When first-round pick Nick Fairley came to town for his introductory news conference last week, he spent some time inside the Lions’ practice facility watching tape and taking notes on the new scheme.

Fairley left without a playbook. Lions coach Jim Schwartz said the team didn’t try to overload its draftees with information in the brief window it was allowed to communicate with them.

Schwartz isn’t alone in doing this, and his reasoning is sound: Handing a 22-year-old an NFL playbook and expecting him, even with the help of teammates, to pick up on the minutiae required to fully grasp and master the team’s scheme will likely do as much harm as good. Teams sit through hours upon hours of meetings and film study and work endlessly on the same basic techniques so they are all on the same page, but without organized team activities and the ability to have a coaching staff oversee the proceedings, this can’t be done until the NFL resolves its labor dispute. (more…)

The Detroit Lions have two current job postings for internships at Ford Field. See both opportunities below:

(more…)