Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports
With Family Day in the books and a day off to rest and watch the first real football in months, it was back to fast paced Lions practice early in the morning today. The past few practices have seen an emergence of the Lions’ 2013 6th round receiver, some shaky OL work, and up and down fights in the defensive backfield. The coaches have been excited, the players boisterous, and the fans loud and ready for Lions football!
Stock Up!
Aaron Hester
Despite some shifty measurables casting doubt on his ability to play at cornerback, Hester has had a pretty decent camp so far. Coming from Denver in 2012 and UCLA before that, Hester is a big, physical presence at cornerback who lacked a good deal of coverage instincts in his previous stops.
He looks like an ideal fit in Teryl Austin‘s scheme today, as we were finally graced with watching the DBs press and redirect at the line. This was clearly his comfort zone as he was able to push and redirect every receiver he played against. His coverage wasn’t too bad either. While he was beaten by Corey Fuller on a deep go route, he ran stride for stride with Ryan Broyles on another, completely blanketing the receiver with little effort. He needs to work on getting his head turned around, but physicality can help his case to make the team as depth in a division like the NFCN.
Stock Down…
Chris Greenwood
The fan favorite was expected to share in the spoils of a day seemingly designed around his strong suit, press and redirect. The opposite occurred as he instead made plays that would have left even the most lenient of referee shaking their heads. There were only a few plays that Greenwood did not do something to draw a penalty and he was routinely beaten like a drum.
On one play in particular, he would have drawn three separate penalties, possibly a fourth, and still allowed a touchdown completion. Chris Greenwood swiped Corey Fuller’s helmet before getting beaten badly by the rising wide-out. Greenwood got a fist full of jersey bad enough to draw jeers from the crowd before finally catching his footing and pursuing. He grabbed Fuller’s jersey again when the receiver upshifted midway through his route, though that one he might have gotten away with in a game, then interfered badly without turning his head in the end zone. That one play perfectly encapsulated his day as he continued to show poor use of his hands, change of direction and anticipation, and coverage instincts. After a couple of alright days, this one is a day Greenwood should learn from.