I’m going to start the Morning Intel a little more seriously than usual. This is something that kind of slipped through the cracks that I think people should read. The Players’ Tribune is one of my favorite sites on the internet. It’s a site where a player in one sport or another will publish an article about….. something. It may be an aspect of their game that they don’t think fans really appreciate, the abuse that some hockey dads in Canada rain down on their sons in an effort to live out their dreams through their progeny, or just something they want to get off their chest. In short, it might be literally anything that a current or former player in a professional sports league can communicate eloquently. In this article, De’Andre Levy gives us his take on the culture of “Manliness” in athletics, and how it propagates a behavioral pattern of victimizing women. It is interesting to read Levy’s take from his personal experiences, seeing that it was only as he became much more exposed to the world that he recognized how wrong some of the things he had seen were. De’Andre Levy is rapidly challenging Chris Spielman as my favorite Lions of all time, and in both cases, it has nothing to do with their work on the field. As great as they both were in the Honolulu blue and silver, it’s their off-the-field prowess that elevates them above others. I’ll go back to lame Dad jokes and whining about how much I dislike the Freep now. Here is the rest of your Morning Intel:
Want to watch Taylor Decker work out? Well LeCharles Bentley’s O-line Performance off-season program wants you to as well. Decker, Larry Warford, and undrafted rookie Chase Farris all have worked with Bentley this off-season, and the history for players who have chosen to do so is very good. In the NFL an offensive line coach teaches a blocking scheme, not the fundamentals of the position. That’s a huge part of why very few “project” offensive linemen make it.
Want to hear a story about Miles Killebrew getting thrown out of a soccer game at age four? This made me chuckle and didn’t even make the list of five things to know about the Lions rookie. Good to know the scouting process is looking for strong safeties at age four now.
Ameer Abdullah also had some things to say about the way men relate to women. He spoke at a dinner recognizing the efforts of some students trying to change the culture in their neighborhoods.
There you have the most serious and non-football related Morning Intel you’re ever likely to see. Now go hug someone special.
