Head Coach Jim Schwartz and his coaching staff are back in the building after spending the past few days in Mobile, Alabama for the Senior Bowl, which will take place this Saturday.After coaching the North team last year, the Lions’ staff wasn’t able to get as in-depth with the players, but still got a lot out of the three days observing practices and meeting with some of the guys.
“Coaching it last year, we had a great opportunity to interact with the players day-in, day-out in meetings, how they learned in the classroom, how they interacted at lunch,” said linebackers coach Matt Burke.
“It’s obviously not as in-depth, but you still pick up a lot from seeing how they are on the field.”
Football evaluation is always a priority, but character evaluation tends to be more significant at events like the Senior Bowl.
Coaches will watch game film of players leading up to the draft, but can only get a feel for practice habits, personality and other intangibles through observing the players on the field and in interviews.
“You can still see body language on the field – whether they are finishing plays, what their effort is,” said Burke.
“You get to see how they respond being out of their comfort element a little bit. They’re not with their teammates, they’re with some of the best players in the country – how do they compete at that stage?”
With the Senior Bowl evaluation process in the books, Burke and the rest of the coaching staff will move on toward the NFL Scouting Combine at the end of February.
“The Senior Bowl has most of the top senior talent in the country, so that’s a good introduction to who’s considered the elite players at their position,” said Burke.
“From there we will look at some of the juniors who have declared and players who weren’t at this game. Then we get into the combine and it is really the start of the evaluation process.”
Looking Back at 2010
Burke’s linebackers faced significant adversity last year due to injuries.
Within the linebacker group, there were seven different starting-line-up combinations over the course of the season.
“The group came together well because everybody was being counted on,” said Burke. “There were games we played six or seven different linebackers, so those guys all knew they had to be ready play inside or outside and we were moving guys around constantly.”
Players had to be versatile, giving each player experience at each position.
At the same time, that group was helped by the defensive front, which put together an impressionable 2010 season.
“It’s immeasurable what they did for us,” said Burke.
Because of the pressure the line provided, the linebackers were free to cover in the passing game knowing the quarterback would have limited time to get the ball out.
In the run game, the defensive line kept opponent linemen from reaching the second level, freeing up the linebackers to make tackles, fill gaps and play downhill.
“It’s a pleasure, I know, for our guys to play behind that front,” said Burke. “It’s only going to get better.”
