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The Detroit Lions vs. Damon Harrison trade became official on Thursday morning and the threat of stopping a 355-pound defensive striker was playing Thursday and Friday for the home game against Seattle (3-3).
When asked Friday if two training sessions were enough to feel confident enough to play Sunday, Harrison said it would eventually be head coach Matt Patricia, but that he thought the last two days had been very productive.
"Our online coach has been very successful in making me aware of certain things," he said. "I know it will be a work in progress. I do not plan to pick up everything in a few days, but we work there day and night. "
Harrison's role will not be really defined until he puts the book into play, but history tells us that he can be a force in the center and a player who has an immediate impact.
"It's a big guy in the middle who can do a lot of different things," said Lions head coach Matt Patricia. "(He) is very good at defeating the blocks, playing with good technique, can bring down the line of scrimmage."
Will we see some of these traits on Sunday at Ford Field?
"Whenever we can prepare him to put himself at ease and to feel comfortable in the system – he just arrived here the other day, then we will try to do our best with that and we'll see how it goes, "Patricia said.
Da'Shawn Hand and A'Shawn Robinson, whom Harrison described as "these Alabama boys," were on the field on Thursday with Harrison and worked with him to try to make him more acclimatized.
Harrison has started 86 consecutive games in his career and could play 17 games this season, because the Lions had already lost their game and the New York Giants, no. Only a handful of players did it in league history.
"I'm coming into a new situation and I just want to do everything I can to get to the field and help the team win," Harrison said.
There is one thing we learned this week about Harrison. His new teammates are certainly happy to have him in Detroit:
- "I can not wait to watch it," said receiver Golden Tate.
- "He is a dominant force in the interior," said linebacker Devon Kennard. "It's hard to block two against one. Excited to have and see what he can do for us. "
- "That's exciting (…). He has long been a major playmaker in this league, "quarterback Matthew Stafford said. "I played him a few times, and (he's definitely a guy you play when you play against him and you understand what his strengths are, really happy to have him.") He's a major asset for our team. "
RED AREA CHALLENGE
The most effective team in the red zone for seven weeks this season is Seattle. The Seahawks score 73.3% of the time they reach the red zone.
The warning is that Seattle has only 15 homers in the red zone of the season, the fourth-worst in the league, but they are still taking advantage of the time they have accumulated on the other side.
This is an area that definitely concerns Patricia.
"This is the biggest problem we have today for practice," Patricia said Friday.
Seattle is the No. 1 NFL for the percentage of successful games (61.8%) by total offensive play in the red zone.
Their ability to run the ball with their backs and use the play option plays a role. The vertical speed of the players also plays into their success in the red zone. But the most important factor in Seattle's success in the red zone, at least according to Patricia, is quarterback Russell Wilson.
"Russell Wilson and his ability to extend games is the first thing that is so difficult to defend," said Patricia. "We're going to sit here and talk about it Friday, but Sunday will happen.
"He's amazing in his ability to slow down defenders, freeze them, get around them, take advantage, shove, extend and allow receivers to reach their different break points." in the field. They just fine-tune and do it better than probably most players in the league right now. So that's a big problem for us.
Detroit's defense has been very good in the red zone this season. They allow a touchdown only 47.3% of the time, making it the ninth best in the league.
TATE PUNT RETURNS
In the first game of Detroit without Jamal Agnew, the player who returns the most to the pestle, the Lions have called on veteran receivers Golden Tate and TJ Jones in their return missions of the kick against the Dolphins.
Tate came back two for 15 yards. Jones did not have the opportunity to come back.
"I have not been back for a year and a half," said Tate. "So, I did not know what to expect, but I felt very good."
Tate's longest come back on that fight was nine meters, but he was about to break it. He returned 92 shots in his career for an average of 10.6 yards per return. It has a length of 71 meters. He's dangerous with the ball in his hands – Lions fans have known it for years – so expect him to come back there and have the opportunity to send him back, he could make a difference.
"I can really see seams and holes that I could have benefited from," Tate said last week.
Can he take advantage this week and play an important role in special teams that could make the difference in a major home match?
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