Teams across the NFL began their offseason programs last week, and they all had a choice: virtual lifting or virtual learning?
The Lions are going with the latter as they try to maximize their limited player access in an unprecedented offseason. Anything to get a leg up on the competition, says Matt Patrica.
"I think there’s probably a little bit of an edge that some teams will be able to get here this spring, based on the makeup of the team," Patricia said in a video call with local media Tuesday. "We’re going to try to get as much of that edge as possible, and a lot of that just has to do with the guys going out and doing what they’re supposed to do.
"As far as the offseason programming choices – being in the virtual classroom versus the virtual workout programs -- we elected to go with the virtual classroom because I thought the information was important for us to be able to talk to the players and communicate exactly some of the terminology, especially with two (new) coordinators."
Detroit has a new defensive coordinator in Cory Undlin and a new special teams coordinator in Brayden Coombs. So while some teams may prefer to focus on the physical side of things right now, Patricia and the Lions are placing an emphasis on the mental.
"Have full trust that our guys are going to do what they need to do from a physical standpoint," Patricia said. "I think that’ll be the biggest key for making sure they come back physically ready to go. But I think our guys understand what training camp looks like, and I think they understand what the demand for them physically is at this point. For us, it’s about getting the information out there."
Phase 1 of the Lions' virtual offseason program runs through this week, capped off by a three-day rookie minicamp this weekend. Phase 2 starts May 11, followed by Phase 3 June 1. Patricia and his staff are holding meetings with position groups and with individual players to try to replicate the normal teaching process this time of year.
That's not to say the Lions are neglecting the physical. Patricia said strength and conditioning coach Josh Schuler has developed individualized workout plans for each member of the team based on what they have access to in quarantine.
"Everyone has different setups. Whether you have gyms in your garage, you have equipment, you don’t have equipment. Honestly, some of our guys were stuck in apartments in the middle of New York City and they couldn’t go anywhere," Patricia said. "That’s a completely different set of situations than one of our players who might be in the middle of Arizona and he has a lot of space.
"We tried to go through and take a gauge of what’s everybody’s situation and just mark, ‘OK, what do you need? Is there something that you need that we can help you with to get you going?’"
"It’s almost like we’ve joined the era of these different companies that have virtual workouts online and (the players) can go in and grab one," Patricia said. "We have all that available to them, and then we try to track what they do so we can help guide them. 'Hey, you did this today, think about doing this tomorrow and kind of build upon it.’ Very individually based."
As impressive as Johnson's workout was, Patricia -- the engineering mind that he is -- couldn't resist giving him a hard time.
"I mean, it’s a Jeep, so once you get it moving the ball bearings kick in and the tires go," he quipped. "I was busting his chops about that a little bit."