Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs is good to go for Week 1, and aiming higher with David Montgomery in year two. He's no wide-eyed rookie anymore, which "feels way better" than flying blind.
For one, Gibbs has a firm grasp of the Lions' offense under Ben Johnson. That will allow him to "think faster" and play faster, he said, after he kicked it into gear midway through last season. Or better yet, to "play without thinking" at all.
For another, Gibbs understands the speed of the NFL, and what awaits him on the other side of the line of scrimmage. After starting slowly last season, he's prepared to hit the ground running: "Last year I didn’t know what to expect coming into the first game, but this year I know what it’s going to be."
"Knowing the offense more and being more confident, it helps overall with your performance," Gibbs said ahead of Sunday's season opener against the Rams.
He spoke with the media Tuesday for the first time since injuring his hamstring in the latter stages of training camp. Gibbs said that health wise, "I'm good." He admitted it was a challenge "to get back in football shape" after taking a couple weeks to recover -- "first day was rough, ain't gonna lie," he said with a laugh -- but he's back to where he wants to be.
Gibbs can't replace the reps he lost. That might limit his workload early on, especially in the passing game where the Lions are looking to expand his role. Gibbs was running routes with receivers at the start of camp and said that "it definitely hurt missing the practices and weeks that I did."
But on the ground, Gibbs is raring to go. He was one of the best rushers in the NFL last season starting with his Week 7 breakout against the Ravens, which set the stage for his national arrival a week later against the Raiders on Monday Night Football. He's the shake to Montgomery's bake, or as the latter likes to say, "peanut butter and jelly." The perfect pair.
"Being able to be each other's counterpart and kind of strike off each other is really big," Montgomery said this spring. "It's hard to find that in the NFL, two guys that are doing it that way. It's hard for teams to prepare for us."
The duo wound up rushing for 1,960 yards and 23 touchdowns, more than any other running back tandem in the league. But they expect so much of themselves that "both of us together, we didn't think (last season) was good enough," said Montgomery. "So we want to be better this year, and we will."
Their first goal, said Gibbs, is "getting things rolling early."
"Last year we got rolling late, so getting out to a fast start and consistently doing that every week," he said. "We rely heavily on the run game, so I think (the offense) revolves heavily through us and what we do on a consistent basis."
The Lions finished fifth in the NFL in rushing last season, their best ranking since the days of Barry Sanders. They also scored the fifth most points and gained the third most yards. Their 27 rushing touchdowns led the NFL.
"We scored a lot last year," said Gibbs, "so plan on scoring a lot again."