Durant off to productive start in Detroit

It took Lions OLB Justin Durant only a couple of practices to realize he had joined a club with vast potential. He recalls talking with MLB Stephen Tulloch, like Durant a new arrival in Detroit, about the subject early in training camp. Both linebackers, Durant told PFW this week, saw the Lions "(had) the ability to be a very good team." One of the reasons the Lions have delivered on that promise thus far has been the improved play of the defense, which includes an LB corps bolstered by Durant, formerly of Jacksonville, and Tulloch, who previously played for Tennessee. In Durant, Tulloch and OLB DeAndre Levy, the Lions have a starting trio well-suited for this attacking defense. Durant, who leads the Lions with 15 tackles through two games, has fit right in and enjoys playing in a defense that "frees me up a lot," he said. Durant says he's still mastering some of the "minor details" of the scheme but is comfortable playing in it, and he said Levy, the only returning starting linebacker from a season ago, has been a good resource. The opposition having to devote so much attention to a talented Detroit defensive line doesn't hurt the Lions' LB corps, which aims to be as much of a headache for opponents as Detroit's tackles and ends. "Us as linebackers, we have to try and make them block us," Durant said.

Source: http://www.profootballweekly.com/2011/09/24/durant-off-to-productive-start-in-detroit

Bill Willis Bobby Mitchell Paul Warfield Mike McCormack Frank Gatski Ozzie Newsome