When you go to a website you want content, man, you get it. Pride to Detroit dot com Holeak. Jeremy Riisman is a busy man, his fingers constantly typing, whether it's about the signing of Jake from it's about the injuries yesterday, the full list of Lions players injured missing from training camp, and then the bubble watch big shifting and defensive line, defensive back roster predictions. You can follow him on Twitter or on x however you want to call it at Detroit onlinon and he joins us here
on exis and Bros. Jeremy, thanks for taking time, Thanks for taking a breath. How are you today?
I'm doing all right, Steff. I appreciate the words.
Yeah, you bet man, good stuff. Before we dive into some of the things you've recently written, I do want to ask you about what you recently produced too, and that's the Matthew Stafford coming back to Detroit and the emotions and all the things that have been said about Detroit and the out and the atmosphere and so on and so forth. You saw the recent interview with Sean McVeigh and how he touted Ford Field as the loudest place he's ever been. What's your overall breakdown and take of that.
Yeah, I mean, I think it's humbling right to see the Lions fans is kind of excitement, and I guess just the impact that they can have on a game, from two sources that would know best on that sort of thing, it speaks I think to what we've all kind of known for a very long time, which is this is a football city through and through, and once they produced a winner, things are going to be kind of nuts here. And I thought I thought Stafford was
very mature about the whole thing. I know some people, you know, saw the micd Up thing where it looked like he got mad at all that sort of stuff, but I think, you know, he knows the city better than most people, and for him to come out and say like, yeah, this is this is what I expected. I knew Lion's fans would boom me because they're going to do anything to help their team win. And I was just the guy that day. So it was cool to see and I think staff was being mature about it.
And I think the city of Detroit got some well deserved praise for how they helped the team last year.
We talk about this quite a bit. Jeremy. I fear sometimes I'm too close and too emotional to it, so correct me if I'm wrong. I think the Lions are one of the blueprints in the NFL and perhaps all of sports on how they run their organization. Where am I right? Where am I wrong? In that?
Yeah? I mean I do think there are multiple ways that you can build and different kind of personalities you can put at the front of your franchise. But I do tend to think that they were a little bit ahead of the curve here when it comes to maybe, you know, filling your coaching staff with a bunch of
former players. They certainly weren't the first team to do that, but they took it to an extreme, right, Like the whole coaching staff essentially has played in the league almost and that certainly seems to be a trend that's on the rise. And then, yeah, putting your faith behind a guy like Dan Campbell, who I'm a very emotional leader, a very transparent guy, that's something that I certainly think
could could be on the rise. And again, I think the lines were maybe at the forefront of that wave, just because you look at the way that certain players are this year, Like you know, these days, the authoritarian type that you know, maybe you describe Matt Patricia as doesn't work as well. Players are a little bit more aware of their own strength and their own ability to to talk and and you know, put things out publicly.
And so maybe a guy that knows what that perild is like, knows what it's like to go through training camp, knows what it's like to go through injury, is a more apt guy to run a football team. And so yeah, I think a lot of ways that there are a lot of things that the Lions are doing right that that I think a lot of teams are going to
be looking at. You see their front office getting plucked by by several other organizations because they know that the that the personnel departments are are knocking it out of the park right now. So yeah, I think I think you're right in what you say there.
Or with Jeremy Rice and Priude of Detroit, what a great website. You can food him on x or on Twitter at Detroit on Lion. Check it out. Great information there. We'll get to what took place yesterday. He reported it first on the injuries to especially the rookies, we'll get to see how significant that truly is. But I wanted to ask you about where we were wrong, because when Dan Campbell was first hired, everybody made fun of the
kneecaps and the press conference sayings that he had. And now we realized that that, first of all, that's who he is. The second of all, his team has taking on his persona, and now we embrace it and love it. When did it turn for us? Do you think and all of us?
Oh, yeah, it's a great question, because obviously it wasn't right away. The Lions. You know, they go three thirteen and one that first year and they start the next season one in six or whatever it was, and you know, there were calls for Dan Campbell's head. There was calls for like, is this all kind of an act? It's all kind of you know, just you know, this raw, raw guy, but not the you know, intelligence behind him.
And then obviously things turned around in a hurry in that twenty twenty two season and it's been kind of on a huge upward trend since then. But I will say I probably changed before that in my tone and not that I was very critical of the higher at the time. I'm always very much a kind of like, let's see how this plays out type of thing. But when you saw that what he did in that opening press conference, like you said, was not an act, was not just him like flexing his muscles or trying to
raw raw or anything. That's just who he is on a daily basis. That sort of authenticity was not something that I don't think. It was not something that I think we've seen in Detroit in a while. Like I think we've seen a lot of tough guy attitude and things like that, but it didn't feel as genuine as as what Dan Campbell was giving out every single day and so on that once that it kind of be clean clear that that's just who he is on a daily basis, no matter what is it is, no matter
if the team won or loss. I was kind of buying into at least that sort of leadership. Whether it was eventually turned into wins or losses, I don't think anyone could really believe until it actually started happening. But I think seeing that authenticity from him on a day to day basis was something that kind of had me in his corner pretty early.
How much do you appreciate there is very little drama in camp. I mean, if you want to look at the fights with the Giants, go right ahead, but look at the drama that has taken place in Dallas, in New York, with the Jets in San Francisco. A. How impressed are you that there is very little of that? And B how much do you think those type of I'll use distractions as a word, affects a team compared to a team that isn't experiencing it.
Yeah, the second one is really tougher to answer. I tend to think we a little bit exaggerate the impact of things like that. You know, in the off season, there's not much else to talk about, so we get hung up on contract negotiations. You know, Green Bay was in the conversation of this, you know, three weeks ago, and then Jordan Love deal gets done and no one
cares anymore and they're fine. But when these things linger into the regular season, well you know that matters, right, Brandon Nyuk situation is lingering into the maybe into the season that matters. Dallas is lingering into the season, Maybe that matters. So from that aspect, yeah, sure, I think getting a deal done early, just so you don't have to worry about it. Leading into the regular season is great. I do tend to think though, we overexaggerate some of
those things. And for Detroit, I don't know if it was the plan to kind of get ahead of all that. It certainly helps to in terms of contract numbers, to get ahead of some of the other deals that are getting done, save yourself a couple of million a year by getting being the first one to set the market. But in general, I do think some of that stuff is a little bit overblown.
Are you broke it? Yesterday? You were talking about the rookies and the injuries. All right, jimyor Gibbs obviously not a rookie, but he suffers an upper body in injury, right, or I'm sorry, hamstring injury. Yeah. And then you get Terry on Ard upper body injury which sounds more like a hockey injury description anyway, because we're not specifical what that is. And then the ankle to Rakestraw. How concerned should Lions fans be with those three specific injuries?
Yeah, I mean, I'm not going to speculate on the severity of any of them, just because we don't know. You know, sometimes an injury can look really really bad in practice and then they're okay. That happened with CJ. Gerner Johnson last training camp, where it looked like, you know, he was going to be out for the season, maybe nikilles or anything like that, and he was back in
practice like three days later. But obviously you don't want those guys out very long, if at all, because you know, Terry on Unarn was going to be a starter, is set to be a starter. Hannis Rakestraw was essentially like the first guy off the bench to be a corner.
You lost the Manuel mostly last week for a long term, so what was a really deep cornerback room suddenly so like it could be pretty thin and maybe back at where it was last year, and considering all the effort and investments they put into that cornerback position, that's that would be pretty disheartening to not even get to week one and experience some of that depth that they added. As for Jamier Gibbs, you know, he hasn't had a
ton of work this training camp at all. You know, he started out training camp kind of limited in his role and so this is just him potentially missing more time,
which is not great either. Because this is a guy that you're trying to incorporate more into your passing offense, and that takes practice, that takes reps, and so if he's missing more of those reps, even if he doesn't necessarily miss a game, that's that's gonna be an impact, and that's that's frustrating in that that could hurt the team. But I will say that David Montgomery looks like he's in mid season form and don't underestimate his impact on the team because he's one heck of a runner.
Love him, absolutely love him. You wrote the Bubble Watch Defense Special Teams, great breakdown of every single play. It's amazing research and I don't want to suggest that you can summarize it quickly. But when you look at Marcus Davenport, who I think will be really important or at least somebody to help Aiden Hutchinson in rushing the quarterback, how imperative is it that you get him into this scheme and seeing what he can do and what he's going to provide for this club.
Yeah, no, it's huge, right. I think every Lions fan over the past two years has been looking for that guy opposite Aiden Hutchinson and to me, it looks like they might have their guy. I know, Marcus Davenport has battled injuries the last few years and a little bit of inconsistency, but this is a guy that had and half nine sacks this season, and I think he's very much capable of that if he's had a really strong
training camp, hasn't missed a ton of time. You know, they gave him the veteran roster treatment for the preseason game because they're that confident in what he's doing. And you know, I don't think he's on the roster bubble at all at this point. I think he is penciled in as as the starter as long as he can make it to week one. And so yeah, I mean it's huge because he he also brings something a little
bit different where Hutchinson is. You know, he's got speed, he's got athleticism, he can he can pretty much do everything.
The amount of power that Marcus Davenport plays with and violence is a whole nother thing that offensive lines are going to have to deal with, maybe with which is maybe something that they weren't getting from, you know, the likes of you know, the Aquaras or anyone who held that role in the past, so I think he's gonna be a very important piece to what they do defensively this year.
Who has surprised you most and who's impressed you most so far?
The answer to both those questions might be LEVI own Zaerike, because I think a lot of people had been, including myself, had pretty much buried his his NFL career after the back injuries kind of took a toll his first three years. But he has been a man on a mission. He has also been a guy that that's basically been a
starter all of trading camp and he's earned it. He's being disruptive on very much a daily basis and heading for what I think again is it is probably going to be a major role in transforming this defensive line into something that's a little more balanced across the board rather than just the Aiden Hutchinson show. But I'll throw another name out there that's impressed me, and that's a
Meek Robertson. And I think he's also a guy that, you know, if these cornerback injuries are bigger long term or wherever, he's a guy that can fill him in multiple spots. He was kind of headed to be the starting Nickels, especially with the Emmanuel Moseley injury. But he got a little work on the outside yesterday after the injuries, and that's something he played with the Raiders last year too, so he's also kind of set for Okay, he's going to be a part of this defense, whether it's on
the outside or whether it's nickel. Kind of we have to wait for the injuries to shake out, but he's he plays physical. He got a couple of pass breakups yesterday in practice. He's a guy that I think is consistently being good and he was great in the preseason as well.
As they get set for preseason game number two, what is the expectation in terms of playing time against the Chiefs? Do you think?
Yeah, it's hard to say. Dan Campbell basically said he wanted to see how yesterday's practice and Wednesday's practice plays out. You know, they plan on doing a scrimmage on Wednesday, So if he feels the you know, the first teamers get enough good work in those two days, then I kind of expect a lot of what we saw in
the first preseason game. But because there weren't joint practices, because you're playing the Chiefs, who notably do tend to play their starters for at least a driver to I think there's definitely an increased chance that we see some of the starters in this game. But also given some of the injury concerns that are creeping up, I wouldn't be surprised if the lines kind of dial things back and play it a little bit more conservatively.
On Saturday, Jeremyrisman proud of Detroit joining us here on Exus and Bros. You can fall him on X or on Twitter at Detroit Online on It's great stuff. There's a ton to sift through the various roster moves. You wrote this the other day, but Jake from signing what I think two oftentimes I really do. I think too oftentimes we focus on the quarterback, but look, Jeremy, because it's such an important position, and not just in football but in sports, our mind has to take us there.
So I was having a discussion the other day about if there's a guy like Ryan Tannehill available, why wouldn't the Lions go get him. My philosophy was, look, if if Jared Goff goes down tomorrow, do you think they're riding this season with Nate Sudfeld or Hendon Hooker or Jake from the answer to me would be no, So why not go out and get that guy? Now? Explain that that mindset for me and for our listeners and what you think about that whole take.
Well, I think their ideal scenario was a head and Hooker was going to make a ton of strides this offseason and put up a big training camp and just be that guy. And obviously it hasn't quite worked out that way. I thought he played relatively well on Thursday, but now with the concussion, looks like he's probably going to miss this entire week, including the preseason game, which
is you know, critical to his development. And so I do think there there is now a question of what the plan is here because I you know, I think they like Nate Subfeld a lot more than fans tend to do, and to be fair to Nate subfelt generally he's had a strong training camp, you know, the kind of training camp you'd like to see from a backup.
Not a guy where you expect him to challenge for the first string spot or anything like that, but a guy that can handle the offense, that knows where to let the ball go and and can make sure he's not making big mistakes. But unfortunately didn't play well in the preseason, hasn't looked great in training camp, the you know, the the following two days after that preseason game, and now now I think you do kind of have a little bit of a question on your hands on who
you can trust the most in Week one. I think Jake from is, to be quite honest, it is just here to have an extra body for the preseason game. And you know, whenever Hended Hooker is healthy, From's probably headed back to the to the waiver wire. But the problem with bringing in anyone, even if it is someone as veteran as a guy like Tanna Hills, It's going to take time for him to develop, you know, chemistry with the receiver. It's going to take time for him to
learn the offense. You know, every offense seems to have different verbiage, so it's going to take time for all that. Now he's a veteran guy, he could probably do it. It's just a matter of whether he would want to come here too. Is he is he interested in the backup job, is he interested in you know, uh, being that veteran guy who's a clipboard holder, or does he want a real chance to start her? Is he even
interested in playing at all? Maybe he's retired. So there's a lot of complications that we just don't know the answers to.
All Right, lastly, real quick, great answer, and I appreciate it. They did get rid of Antoine Green, which maybe surprised me just a little bit, although with the concussion and the issues that they can always bring him back. As as you pointed out on the website Pride of Detroit dot com, quickly, who's the lead candidate for the number three and four receiver in this whole group?
Yeah, I think you can count Kalie Fraeman in as either three or four, whichever one you want to call that. He's probably not going to generally start, but he's going to be a big part of this offense, and he's basically a roster lock at this point that that other spot is the challenge, and I think three Fountain is the leader. We heard Dan Campbell yesterday say basically, we need someone to show up. We're desperately seeking for someone
to show up. But three Fountain is the guy who's regularly been getting those first team reps and even though he's been inconsistent, I think he's got to be, you know, the leader in the clubhouse right now.
Interesting stuff. Hey really enjoy the website, really enjoy the insight as well. Thanks for taking time. I know you're busy. I know a lot of people are tugging at you. We appreciate you and taking the time out for our listeners here today. Have a great rest of your Tuesday and keep up the great work Jeremy YouTube CHEP.
Appreciate it.