No handouts in Detroit

Rookie head coaches are always excited. They scream more, they run up and down the field with their players and they’re full of abnormal energy on hot, humid days.

But they’re also just as much — if not more — demanding than their mentors who have made a living walking the sidelines for over a decade.

This is no different in Detroit, where Jim Schwartz has announced that he’s not setting a depth chart for his football team — something I find fascinating for a team that has everything to prove.

This is a classic tactic used by coaches around the league who are trying to create — or engineer — competition without handouts, without a free pass for a poor day at practice and without naming a starter based off last year’s performance.

APLions head coach Jim Schwartz

You see, Schwartz wasn’t just brought in to turn around this franchise and make it more competitive; he was also brought in to win — now — and we sometimes forget that when talking about the Lions.
We write them off in the NFC North because of their 0-16 record, but we also forget how that football team was coached differently, managed differently in the front office and prepared differently in the offseason.

This is a new football team, folks, and I would hesitate, if I were you, to write them off when it comes to the NFC North. I’m not ready to pick them as a division winner yet, but if you don’t think they’re going to play with energy and take responsibility for their actions on the field, you’re kidding yourself.

Plus, I don’t think Schwartz is bluffing when he says every position on this roster is up for grabs. As a player, this is what you want.

You want that opportunity to impress a new coach and his staff when it counts — in August.

And because of this, I think Schwartz is off to a good start in Detroit and will bring competitive football to Ford Field on Sundays. Let’s examine it from a player’s perspective.

Real Competition

Trust me, the days of actual competition on an NFL roster are gone.

Most coaching staffs and general managers in this league have pretty much set their rosters — minus a few spots that are open for back-ups and special teams guys.

That’s it. Sure, there are more quarterback competitions than we’ve seen in recent memory — with one being Daunte Culpepper and Matthew Stafford in Detroit — but beyond that, there isn’t much competition that will happen in August.

AP

But I honestly believe Schwartz is offering that to his players. We all know that Calvin Johnson is going to line up at wide receiver on opening day, and that Kevin Smith is going to get the majority of the carries and Ernie Sims and Julian Peterson will most likely start at linebacker.

But after that? Who will fill out the rest of the lineup, and the back-ups spots, and the coverage units on special teams?

Because as I see it, training camp this summer with the Lions will be the most competitive camp in the league. Positions will be up for grabs — actual positions — plus spots on the roster. If you want to see hitting and players fighting for every play, check out the Lions this summer because that’s what you’re going to get.

There will be no days off, and no days when veterans shut it down and coast to the finish line. Because a day off may slide you down the depth chart when Schwartz starts to weed out his roster.

I love this kind of coaching because as a player it gives you a chance to let your ability — not the size of your contract — determine your standing on the team. And I highly doubt that Schwartz cares about the contracts from holdovers of the Matt Millen era — and that puts very veteran on alert that their job is up for grabs.

Instead of going into camp and playing your best — knowing that you’ll still be a back-up come September — you’ll get rewarded in Detroit. Make plays in practice and make plays in the preseason games and you’ll play.

Sounds simple, right? Well, it should be if we think about it. This is a year-to-year league, where players are basically playing out a string of one-year contracts (minus signing bonuses), and every summer is a chance to prove your worth once again or move aside if you can’t make plays anymore.

No, we won’t see this happening in Pittsburgh or New England or Philly, but for a team like the Lions, this is essential for them to learn how to win and learn how to compete in not only every practice, but in every drill in camp and every rep they take.

And it will make them better, from the starting quarterback to the 53rd guy on the roster who runs into the wedge on kickoffs — because they will have earned it.

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