The Lions had their first offseason workout Monday which included a team meeting prior. In that meeting Lions head coach Jim Schwartz addressed some of the off the field issues that Johnny Culbreath, Mikel Leshoure and Nick Fairley has had this past offseason. All three of those players were arrested for marijuana possession with Leshoure being arrested twice in a two month span.
Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford attended Monday’s meeting and said Schwartz’s message to the team was simple.
“We’ve come so far. We don’t want anything to hold us back,” Stafford said. “I think everybody knows that. We’re a mature team. Obviously, some of the guys having trouble off the field were younger guys. They’ll figure it out. We’ll be there to help them along.”
Stafford, who was also elected as a team captain said he would address the issues with each individual player.
“You talk to them,” Stafford said. “It will come up at some time, but these guys are mature enough to understand what’s going on and what they need to do better to help us out.”
Lions receiver Nate Burleson also mentioned during an interview on the NFL Network that he too would address the issues with each individual player.
“I’m just going to say, ‘Tighten up’,” Burleson said. “We’ve done too much to get to where we’re at. There’s been a black cloud hanging over Detroit for so long, so for us to go from 6-10 to 10-6, and I feel like we’re heading in the right direction, and for a few mistakes to happen, we’ve got to tell the young guys to get it together.
“Here’s the thing, with a football analogy, I really believe you need to fumble to learn how to have great ball security. In life, these guys have to stumble a little bit You know, as a young guy in the league, you’re going to make those mistakes. Hopefully, this is just one thing that happens, and doesn’t happen again, for a lot of these guys.”
Ref: Mlive.com