Bears
Bears OT Braxton Jones believes that playing with QB Justin Fields elevated his status last season given his ability to get out of trouble and run with the ball when the pocket is collapsing.
“As a young tackle, I had my rough times,” Jones told Heavy’s Matt Lombardo. “But, more than not, Justin got me out of some of those bad plays. When he does move a lot, it can go either way. Sometimes, you might run into one of those sacks where the defensive linemen can see better than I can where he’s going. And that’s tough. But, more times than not, Justin is helping the offensive line get out of those types of situations where maybe protection breaks down. He’s been great. It’s so fun watching him just start rolling down the field. There are multiple times when I’m trying to chase him, I can’t catch him at all, but I’m trying and cheering him on doing his thing.”
“Against Miami, Justin had a [61-yard] rushing touchdown,” Jones recalled. “But, I was getting edged a little bit, and him getting out of the pocket and running for the touchdown, it made it look like I had actually pancaked the guy. But, actually, I was getting edged and Justin saved me and ran for the touchdown.”
Lions
Lions third-round QB Hendon Hooker recently said that he’s “progressing really well” from his injury and is doing his best to learn from the sidelines, something that has been supported by QB coach Mark Brunell.
“I’m really just taking it day-by-day and continuing to build my body back up to where I want it to be and even better,” Hooker told Cora Hall of the Knoxville News Sentinel. “I love the Detroit staff. They’re very supportive. Always teaching and hungry to get better. There’s a competitive aspect from every coach that we have. It’s always a competition on the field. Offense, defense, it’s always going to be some chatter going back and forth, and I love that. I want to be a part of something that’s going to continue to progress to get better, and that’s what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to win ballgames.”
“If he didn’t have (a great work ethic), he wouldn’t be here. He’s a smart player, puts the time in. … The most important thing is him getting strong and healthy,” Brunell recently told The Detroit News. “But I’m really pleased with him. As far as the meetings are concerned, we throw a bunch of questions at those rookies and try to put them in a tough spot. And he always does a very good job, and it’s very clear that he’s putting the time in.”
Packers
Packers OLB Preston Smith wants the team’s defense to take a step forward this year in order to help QB Jordan Love show what he can on offense.
“Well, personally, we feel like last year was one of our best seasons as a defense,” Smith said, via NFL.com. “With so much talent on our defense, we know we have to step it up a lot, and knowing we have a young quarterback, we have to be tremendous this year. We have to make sure we step up and do our part to help (Love) to get comfortable out there on the field. Help him get the ball in great situations and get stops to let him get comfortable back there and make sure we put him in great situations. It’s not just about him putting us in great situations, but helping us be comfortable to put him in great situations with the ball in great field position and getting stops. So he can go down the field and get us touchdowns and do his thing and gain his confidence throughout the season.”
“Most people didn’t get a chance to really see Jordan and what he had to do (last year),” Smith continued. “Us seeing him in practice going against the scout team last year and when he got the chance. Jordan has a lot of ability, and we have a lot of confidence in him. He has a lot of things that could help this team and we feel like he has a lot of confidence. I feel like this is going to be a year for people to see what Jordan is really made of.”
Smith believes that Love has the ability to continue the Packers’ tradition of having great quarterbacks.
“Aaron has been here for 18 years, right? 18 seasons and when you hear about the Packers, it’s Aaron Rodgers and the Packers,” Smith added. “Now, there’s a new face at quarterback and now there’s more attention that needs to be brought to the quarterback position because before Aaron it was Brett. Then it was from Brett to Aaron, to now it’s Jordan, and if he’s going to live up to the legendary status and fall in line of the legends that came before him. I believe he has a lot of potential, athletic ability, throwing ability and, overall, he has a lot of great quarterback attributes. I feel like he’ll be great. You just have to let him get in there and get comfortable and get the floor. I have seen him make some great athletic throws. I’ve seen him do a lot of things in practice where I was like, ‘Aye, that kid is almost ready’ in the past. I feel like, now, the Packers believe in him, the team believes in him, a lot of guys believe in him. We believe he’s ready to lead this team on offense.”
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