The Lions announced Thursday that they acquired defensive tackle Damon "Snacks" Harrison via trade with the New York Giants for an undisclosed draft pick.
Harrison, who spent the past three seasons with the Giants, should provide a boost to the Lions' 30th ranked rushing defense.
"Everybody pays attention to who Snacks is," defensive tackle Ricky Jean Francois said of his new teammate. "Everybody's seen what he's done in the game. His name rings bells, especially in the run game. He can come in and help us. I just have to see how he fits in."
Harrison took part in practice Thursday and Friday, and is ready to help the team however he can.
"Our d-line coach has done a pretty good job of getting me up to speed on some things," he said. "I know it'll be a work in progress. I don't expect to pick up everything in a couple days, but we're working at it day and night."
Bringing Harrison to Detroit is a sign the Lions are in the race to win, not just compete.
"You know [GM] Bob Quinn's on the phone – you know he's doing something," Jean Francois said. "All I can say is, he's going to make this team better. He's not going to get in the phase of rebuilding. You'll never hear him say anything like that. He's just into the phase of, 'We've got to win now.'
"Whatever he can do to make the team better, he's going to do that. It's about the team --- the team first."
"It's always a good question," head coach Matt Patricia said when asked Friday. "When you get guys that come in the building, (you have to) understand that you have to look at it from their perspective. They walk into a building one day and the next thing you know, a couple hours later, they're in a different building. That's a pretty hard transition to make.
"It's obviously a lot to deal with in a very short amount of time, so we're just trying to do the best we can to go through the process. The good thing for us is we have a couple days here. We'll do the best we can to get him up to speed and we'll see what it looks like for the game."
SCOUTING THE SEAHAWKS
This week's opponent, the Seattle Seahawks, are brining a tough defense to Detroit. Seattle ranks sixth in yards allowed per game (326.7), fifth in points allowed per game (19.5) and third in passing yards allowed per game (206.0).
"I've been on that side of the ball for a long time," Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said via conference call. "Going back to our college days, it was really one of the drumbeats of the whole program, was how you play defense.
"It's always been a huge emphasis for us, and we've always counted on it to be a big part of our formula."
The one weakness of the Seahawks' defense comes against the run. They currently rank 24th in that category, giving up 120.7 yards per game on the ground. The Seahawks will have to account for the Lions' running threat, something they haven't really had to worry about in past matchups.
"They've always been a big-time offense," Carroll said this week. "When you have Matthew Stafford there, you have all the firepower you need. But whenever you have balance, it makes it that much better."
For Mike O'Hara's full scouting report on the Seahawks, click here.
THREE LEGENDS JOIN PRIDE OF THE LIONS
The Lions will be inducting three Legends into the Pride of the Lions during a halftime ceremony at Sunday's game. Check out highlights and interviews for all three players ahead of their induction:
OTHER NOTEWORTHY ITEMS
- Guard T.J. Lang sits down with running back Kerryon Johnson for the third episode of Talkin' with T.J.
- What's the status of defensive end Ziggy Ansah? Patricia covered that and more in his Monday press conference.
- Tim Twentyman takes a look at the biggest headlines surrounding each of the four teams in the NFC North.
- Catch up on all the news from Jim Bob Cooter and Paul Pasqualoni's Tuesday media sessions.
