Lions Evaluate and Recharge During Bye Week

The primary focus for the Lions this week hasn’t been game planning for the opposition; instead, players and coaches are taking the time to evaluate themselves individually and as a team and are looking forward to a couple of days off to recharge both physically and mentally.

TE Casey FitzSimmons, who’s entering his seventh season in Detroit, feels that this year’s bye couldn’t have come at a better time.

FitzSimmons: “I think that this is the latest that I’ve ever had a bye since I’ve been here, but it’s probably one of the best positions for us to be in with Calvin (Johnson), Matthew (Stafford) and all those guys being banged up and injured.”

In years past the week of the bye has generally been a short practice week, wrapping up on Wednesday.

This year, the practice schedule was a little different as players had Tuesday off and a practice on both Thursday and Friday morning.

FitzSimmons: “If we’re not winning and not doing the things that we need to get done then obviously we’ve got to fix it. That’s what we get paid to do: practice and work. It’s our job, so for us to come out here during the bye week, I’m looking at it as a chance to get better and get this team on the right track and win some football games.”

For ninth-year veteran tackle Jeff Backus, the extra days of work this week have been beneficial, giving players an opportunity to reflect on the past six weeks.

Backus: “This is definitely a different approach than we’ve had the last few years and I think it will give us a chance to make some drastic improvements here in the second half of the season. There’s nothing wrong with putting in a little extra work and doing some self-evaluations and trying to get better.”