Around the NFC North: Training Camp Week 1

What can we overreact about this week? 

Depressed about Jordan Love not practicing (and now it might be weeks until he gets back)? Sick of reading about Sean Clifford interceptions? How would you like a bunch of bullet points about what's going on in training camp for the three inferior NFC North teams? Either way, that's what we've got. Let's talking about insane vomit numbers and sad torn ACLs. 

Lions

  • Every fantasy guy's favorite, Jameson Williams, was turning in a "bets shape of his life" plus "no drops" camp before leaving early thanks to vomiting several times, including during a touchdown catch. Williams looks to be ready to make the leap so far - let's see what happens when they put pads on.
  • Brian Branch, DJ Reader and Marucs Davenport were all placed on the PUP list to start camp. Only Reader, who tore a quad last season, is still on the list. 
  • Ennis Rakestraw - widely expected to play in the slot in the NFL - manned the outside today while Emmannuel Moseley played inside and Brian Branch played at safety. I'm sure there will be plenty of shifting around and some guys were held out of practice, but Moseley wasn't anyone's first guess for the Lion's slot corner on day 1 of camp. 
  • Interestingly, as the Packers move to a 4-man front the Lions have been testing out a five-man front. Odd fronts gained popularity in recent years to combat the rise of zone runs - so it may seem odd that a dyed in the wool 4-3 guy like Aaron Glenn would be moving to them now that many zone heavy teams have adopted duo and other gap runs specifically to combat odd fronts. I would guess that Glenn is using the 5-man front because his best second edge, James Houston, is small and all his inside guys are beefy run stoppers. This front allows him to continue stopping the run even with an undersized edge and potentially generate more pressure. 

 

 

Vikings

  • The Vikings win for most depressing news of the day. Second-year corner Mekhi Blackmon tore his ACL. Blackmon was meant to be a big part of an already pretty meh room. If Brian Flores wants to run his man-coverage schemes, the Vikings might need to make a trade. 
  • Probably bigger news is that the team made left tackle Christian Darrisaw the highest paid offensive lineman in the league with a new 4-year $113mm extension. Darrisaw is an all-pro level player and worth the contract. Probably the best part of this is that Trent Williams, the 49ers left tackle and ex-highest paid offensive lineman in the league, immediately started a hold out. While it's likely that Williams just wants more guaranteed money, it's funny to think that he is forcing the 49ers to have worse practices because of this Vikings' deal.
  • Sam Darnold hit a big throw to Justin Jefferson for a TD today and Jefferson later said it was the kind of throw most QBs don't make. Let's hope he tries it a few times at Xavier McKinney this year. 
  • Speaking of Darnold, he is the unquestioned starter at QB right now for the Vikings. This would undoubtedly be Darnold's best shot to make it as an NFL QB. He'll be playing with the best o-line, recievers, playcaller and RB he's ever played with (obviously last year with the 49ers doesn't count). If he can't get the team to a 10-win season or if he gets benched for McCarthy he's just not meant to be an NFL starter. 

 

Chicago Bears

  • Unlike the Vikings with J.J. McCarthy, the Bears are giving Caleb Williams full reigns on the offense. By all reports, Williams is excelling in the pre-pads version of this Chicago Bears offense. Like Darnold, Williams is floating into a pretty good situation here with a top WR corps and tight end, PFF's 11th best offensive line, and an innovative play caller at OC. Sure he is a rookie, but for someone as widely touted as Williams, you have to expect him to hit the ground running. 
  • For all the hullabaloo about the Bears having the best 3-man WR corps in the league, it's been Tyler Scott, a second year fourth round pick who played for Luke Fickell at Cincinnati, who has impressed the most so far. I don't know about him breaking into the normal starting lineup, but he was a special speed receiver in college, just small, I would expect the Bears to put in some plays for him. 
  • If you've been following Packers training camp news you've no doubt heard about the dominating stretch that Rashan Gary has had over the past few days, including 3 sacks in 4 plays at one point. It sounds like Montez Sweat is performing similarly for the Bears defense. Obviously, we'll get a better sense for both of these defenses as the pads come on and eventually they even scrimmage against other teams, but so far both defenses are looking to one-gap explosively and both may have a breakout season from their leading edge.   
  • To avoid being too positive about the Bears, the defensive play calling situation is a little weird. Last year the team's DC left under mysterious circumstances and the defense immediately improved with Eberflus designing it and calling plays. This off-season, they brought in Eric Washington from the Bills as DC to game plan and design the defense, but Eberflus would retain play calling which he does best. Well, it seems like Washington is already the play caller in camp. It could be a procedural thing for camp - to allow Eberflus to get his eyes on as many players as possible - but removing one of the better defensive play callers from that job again can only be good for us. 

   

 

 

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Mike Price is a lifelong Packers fan who recently moved from Utah to Stoughton (a Madison suberb). You can follow him on twitter at @themikeprice.

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Comments (6)

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GregC's picture

July 25, 2024 at 03:25 pm

Was hoping for worse news about our division rivals. While our QB holds out for a monster contract and our offense stagnates, they are all a full go.

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Brewcity_BearsFan's picture

July 26, 2024 at 08:41 am

Well, the Lions just lost their kicker. So there's that.

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Leatherhead's picture

July 25, 2024 at 06:26 pm

Great stuff!!! And at an excellent time..

Lions. If Jameson Williams catches more balls, then Amon-Ra and LaPorta will catch fewer. I DO like the 5 man front, which essentially is what the 3-4 was last year, except the outside backers/DEs don't drop off it coverage. They're in there to hold the edge and pressure the pocket. If you went by DVOA and stuffing the run, the Lions were a pretty good defense last year(7th). If you went by how many points they coughed up, it was 23rd. The Lions were last seen giving up 27 points in the second half of the NFCC to a team that struggled to score 24 in the entire game the previous week against the Packers. This was an epic, monstrous, spectacular collapse, One for the ages. And who was running the show during this flameout? That's right, Dan Campbell.

The Lions will not win as many games as they did last year.

Vikings. I seriously believe the Vikings will finish last in the division this year. Maybe it'll be injuries or bad luck or just their own natural stupidity, but this is going to be a tough year in Minnesota. Winter is coming.

Bears. I think the Bears were a decent team last year. They lost two games to the Packers and went 7-8 against the rest of the league, and the Packers beat the Bears twice and went 7-8 against the rest of the league. If I were the GM, I would have traded away the Williams pick for a bundle and I'd have put a real team around Fields, but that didn't happen. If Williams plays most of the games this year, I could see the Bears with a winning record.
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We should start a pool. How will the Lions screw this up? First prize would be a weekend in Detroit. Second place would be two weekends.

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Bitternotsour's picture

July 26, 2024 at 10:28 am

While I am a buyer of the Lions decline, I would welcome two weekends in Detroit. Motor city renaissance and all that.

I think the Bears did the right thing by keeping the #1 pick, but they'll fuck it up by putting him out there right away against NFL speed. I expect nothing less from the Bears. The Vikings fans are well aware that their franchise is the NFL equivalent of two monkeys fucking a football. Skol brothers.

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T7Steve's picture

July 26, 2024 at 08:11 am

It's early and all the players are fresh and still excited about where they are. Camp wears differently on players and it starts to shake out after a few weeks

Just want no injuries.

This is the first this site has worked well for me since yesterday. Hope they got everything worked out. Maybe Al can explain what happened.

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LeotisHarris's picture

July 26, 2024 at 08:36 am

Read a piece on Aaron Jones. He's saying and doing all the things that made him a great teammate in Green Bay. Total pro in every way. I certainly wish him and his family all the best. His hamstrings? Nope, a pox on those babies.

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