Lions
Lions OL Logan Stenberg let his emotions get the best of him in his first start of the season, which caused him to jump early and get flagged for a pair of false starts. Stenberg was returning from injury which cut his 2021 season short and he couldn’t wait to get back into game action.
“Yeah, I just wanted to run off the ball and kill somebody,” Stenberg said, via M Live. “It was all about I was just anticipating the snap count. That’s all that was.”
Stenberg added that he felt his technique was good in the run game but admitted that there was a few things in pass protection that he needed to clean up.
“Felt really good in the run,” Stenberg said. “Pass game, couple reps I wish I could have back, you know? That’s all technique. So we’ll just get it cleaned up. We already got it cleaned up in the meeting room, so we’ll get out there on the field and do it throughout the week.”
Lions OL coach Hank Fraley was not pleased that his unit endured back-to-back false starts but he left Stenberg in the game after a vote of confidence from the other linemen.
“You can’t imagine how pissed off I was,” Fraley said. “But we gotta stay even-keeled. We can’t go up, we can’t go down. If we do that as an O-line, you’re gonna fold…But you gotta love the O-line, because when they’re coming off, I’m just eyeing Logan. I’m eyeing him. And we scored, so it made it felt a little different, but the vets running by me was like, ‘Let him go.’ And that’s what you gotta love about the group, because they’re like, ‘That’s our guy, let him go.’ All’s I told him was, ‘Don’t let it happen again.’ And he didn’t get it the rest of the game.”
- The Lions gave RB Justin Jackson a $500,000 guarantee when signing him from the practice squad and he could see a decent amount of carries based on the health of RB D’Andre Swift. (Dave Birkett)
Packers
Packers QB Aaron Rodgers said that they must be patient with their younger receivers and is confident they’ll have things “figured out” by the end of this season.
“It’s not (the same as) throwing to older guys out there,” Rodgers said, via Jason Wilde of the State Journal. “It’s young guys who are very talented who are going to make some great plays sometimes, and there’s going to be times when they don’t make the right reaction. (It’s about) just having patience with that. Because I think by the end of the year, they’ll have it figured out.”
Rodgers reiterated that it is important to communicate effectively with younger players.
“The most important thing is to communicate with them. And figure out what style works best for them,” said Rodgers.
Rodgers added that having direct conversations with players is the best approach to helping them develop.
“There’s a standard I’m going to hold these guys to because I believe in them, but also there’s a patience that comes with the inexperience. I think I’ve learned how to balance that. But the direct conversations are the best way. These are good kids. They really are. They want to please, they want to do the right thing, they care about it. I’m going to figure out a way to continue to get on the same frequency with them, and at the core of it is just communication… At the end of the day, that’s how that trust is built, through that direct communication.”
Vikings
Vikings WR Justin Jefferson revealed that he thought the Eagles were going to draft him based on mock drafts and was shocked to be drafted by Minnesota, yet is pretty happy with how things have worked out as he prepares to play Philadelphia for the first time.
“Every mock draft had me going to Philly, so when Philly was on the board, getting the phone call, and it being Minnesota, it was definitely a shock. But I’m definitely happy — way happier — to be here than there,” Jefferson said, via Pro Football Talk. “I’m excited about it. I can’t wait.”
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