SI.com’s Damon Hack was dispatched to Lions’ training camp and here are some of the three important observations that he had while there.

1. Matthew Stafford looks like he is ready to take a big step in his second season in the NFL.

“Matt’s in a completely different place this year,” Schwartz said. “Last year, he was splitting reps, our top three receivers weren’t practicing with him [due to injury], he was trying to earn a starting position, he was trying to learn the offense, he was going through his very first NFL training camp, and all of the things that go with that. Now, he’s been through it. We’ve cleared his plate. Now, he’s concentrating on football and not looking over his shoulder.”

2. The Lions are building an aggressive front four on defense. Ideally what the Lions are planning to do with this front four is take the pressure off a still pretty week defense. Here is what Jim Schwartz had to say about the connections back to his strong defensive line in Tennessee that also including current Lion Kyle Vanden Bosh…

“The philosophy brought here from Tennessee was, if you’re strong up front, if you can rush with four, you don’t have to blitz as much to put pressure on the quarterback. If you’re good on the defensive line, you may not have to spin that safety into the box to get an eight-man front to stop the run. It all works together. If you’re building a good defense, it doesn’t hurt to start up front.”

3. Improvement on last season 2-14 season is strong on both sides of the locker room.
“It’s the next day, the next play, the next practice, and making sure you’re ready for all of it,” Stafford said. “They play the games for a reason. Everybody’s at 0-0 right now. Come the first Sunday, go out there and prove it and see what you can do.”
Other Observations
  • WR Nate Burleson who was signed during the of from Seattle should compliment Calvin Johnson nicely and have an immediate impact on the offense. This impact should limit the double teams on Johnson which we often saw last season.
  • Lions rookie RB Jahvid Best continues to impress Head Coach Jim Schwartz. “His ability to make a play as a receiver on a screen pass and not just gain three or four yards but be able to go the distance,” Schwartz said. “We’ve seen how that can affect a football team. Chris Johnson in Tennessee. I think [Best] is going to be a good acquisition for us.”
  • Dre Bly is going to have to be a leader in his second stint with the Lions instead of a nuisance when he criticized Joey Harrington off the field.
  • Matthew Stafford is expected to lean on two TE weapons in Tony Scheffler (who was acquired during the offseason from Denver) and last seasons first round pick Brandon Pettigrew who had some injury trouble last year but is now cleared to play.
  • How many kicks does longtime kicker Jason Hanson have left? He had surgery on his left non-kicking knee this past week which was a similar surgery that he had during last seasons training camp on his right knee. The Lions do have a second kicker in camp which is rookie Andrew Pettrey from Ohio State.

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