00:00I'm not sure there's one real significant position battle at training camp.
00:05There are battles.
00:07For the Lions.
00:08For the Lions, yes.
00:08It opens on Saturday.
00:10There are battles.
00:12And there are battles?
00:14Well, but there's not.
00:15Are you going to go out?
00:16Every year.
00:17No, I'm not going Blaha.
00:18Blaha, who.
00:19The Tiger game, I'll go Blaha last night.
00:21There are wins, and then there are wins.
00:25But if you look at the Lions training camp,
00:27and you get into the position battles,
00:31it's kind of, it's not the way it's been in the past.
00:35Okay, well, on offense, is there only one position battle?
00:40And even that one, I think there's a high expectation that Blake Miller,
00:43the rookie, will start over Larry Boreham at right tackle?
00:46I think right tackle and left guard might be up for grabs a little bit.
00:51Okay, so Christian Mahogany, Ben Bartsch, maybe Miles Frazier,
00:56I think is working out at right guard, but don't hold me to that.
01:02Kang, are these real position battles, do you think?
01:05I don't think those, with those two spots in the offensive line,
01:09I don't think they're given, like Penesua left tackle and center, right?
01:12It was Mays.
01:13So, or even right guard with Tate Ratlidge.
01:16I think those are the three solid.
01:17You solidify those are ones.
01:18The other two positions, left guard and right tackle,
01:22I think you'd be disappointed.
01:23The average Lions fan would be disappointed if it wasn't Mahogany
01:26and Blake Miller.
01:27Yeah, it feels like maybe, I don't know that this is necessarily true,
01:31but my first thought is, if Mahogany and Blake Miller don't win those spots,
01:34then we kind of got a bit of a problem.
01:36Now, Boreham, they like Boreham at the tackle spot,
01:39and they did add some, I find Miles Frazier to be an interesting,
01:44possible candidate at one of the guard spots,
01:46but if he's not playing, if he's playing right guard, anyway,
01:48none of these feel like these critical, big position battles.
01:53They're important, but not like I can remember in years past.
01:57Maybe not.
01:58Also, it's interesting to note that the Lions have a tackle on the roster
02:02named Mason Miller also, which is also fun.
02:06Could potentially be a Tiger roster player.
02:09But yeah, it does seem like there are, I'm hoping,
02:14it does seem like there are fewer battles, which I think it's a good thing
02:19because the battles we're talking about, even we think the guy has it,
02:22but there's, hold on, there's a little bit of competition there,
02:25which helps to build.
02:27Locked in.
02:28Yeah, it helps to build up the depth, which is what you really need to do.
02:31It's, the teams that really advance in the NFL are the teams that can stay,
02:37certainly ones that can stay the healthiest,
02:39but if they're not going to be healthy, do they have somebody on the roster
02:41that can keep the, you know, the ship afloat and moving in the right direction?
02:46And you hope that that's the case, whether Larry Borum or Blake Miller
02:50wins the job at right tackle that, okay, if Borum wins,
02:53then do you feel good because, okay, he's the veteran he's supposed to
02:57and it's just a matter of time?
02:59Or do you feel good that if Blake Miller wins it,
03:02that do you feel good because, hey, they got a veteran like Larry Borum
03:04backing him up?
03:05Yeah.
03:06It sounds like it's good depth to have where it's not just a weak point
03:09in the offense.
03:10On the defensive side of the ball, I mean, Hutch, Tyleek Williams,
03:15and Aleem McNeil are your implied starters.
03:19Can Levi Onzerike, is Levi Onzerike and Tyleek Williams going to be a position battle
03:24or you just don't count on Levi Onzerike for anything?
03:28I, when it comes to the defensive, really anybody other than Aiden Hutchinson
03:34on the defensive line, those four spots, the other three spots,
03:39I feel like it's all rotational anyway.
03:42Like, I think McNeil, okay, pen him in, okay?
03:45He's a starting guy at the tackle position.
03:47But the other ones just feel like they're rotational at this point
03:49until somebody separates themselves.
03:51And even then, that's usually how you treat the defensive line anyway.
03:55Guys are coming in and out of the game all the time.
03:57Hutchinson is one of the rare breed that stays out there almost every play.
04:01So, I mean, even at the other end position, DJ Wanham, you know,
04:05I think he's going to be pushed a little bit from, hopefully, from Derek Moore.
04:08That Derek Moore shows some real chops as a pass rusher,
04:11and we're going to want to see him.
04:12And at least there will be this rotation.
04:14Like, these guys are there first and second down, and here third down,
04:17and we know who's coming in.
04:19So, I still would think that Tyleek Williams would be the guy over Levi Anzarike
04:25because Levi Anzarike just has not shown any ability to stay healthy
04:30or to really push things.
04:33Is this guy just like one of the, you know, they say practice players
04:35versus a game day or whatever?
04:37Yeah.
04:37Is Anzarike just like a, is he a training camp guy?
04:41Is that the only time we ever talk glowingly about Anzarike
04:43because the coaching staff says so?
04:45Kind of.
04:46Yeah, and then we get to the regular season, and he's nowhere to be found.
04:52In the secondary, Rocky Asin and Ennis Raikstra, are they battling for a spot?
04:58I feel like DJ Reed, if healthy, is a starter.
05:01Can we agree on that?
05:02I think so.
05:03Rocky Asin and Ennis Raikstra, is that a legitimate position battle?
05:08Keith Abney?
05:09Well, somebody's going to back up DJ Reed, but yeah, it could be Keith Abney.
05:14You're right.
05:14This could be a position battle.
05:17I think that's one to watch out for is who gets the other corner position.
05:21I think that's legit.
05:22I feel like Rocky Asin's the implied starter, but...
05:26It's interesting.
05:26If you look at ESPN's depth chart, they have Keith Abney as the starter at right corner,
05:32and Rocky Asin backing up DJ Reed.
05:35But of course, these are just depth charts.
05:38I love depth charts, but this is not a Bible.
05:41Not at all.
05:42But does that leave us to think that, okay, that position is up for grabs, and we think
05:48it's Rocky Asin, but there's Keith Abney on ESPN's list, but there should be competition.
05:53And it's unlikely that Kirby Joseph and Brian Banch will be ready to go.
05:57Do we count on Christian Isian and Chuck Clark?
06:00Are those going to be the starters at safety?
06:02Is Thomas Harper in the mix?
06:03Avanti Maddox in the mix?
06:05I don't think you sleep on Lauren Strickland as a possibility.
06:08I think the safety is going to be interesting mix and match of who ends up winning those jobs.
06:15There's a mix of veterans and unprovens and guys that are just, you know, they're veterans,
06:21but they didn't play a whole lot in their careers as starters.
06:25I'm curious how that shakes out.
06:27And then is Kirby Joseph going to be healthy enough to start the season anyway?
06:30He might be.
06:32Kang, are we missing anything that we're discounting that is a bigger storyline than we're saying
06:38as far as position battles?
06:39I think the opposite corner of DJ Reed is something to keep an eye on.
06:43Like, where if Rakusin, I think he would be the, you know, right now, if you had to start
06:47a game today or tomorrow, Rakusin would start opposite DJ Reed.
06:51But, you know, we have a training camp.
06:53We have, you know, preseason and all that stuff.
06:55I think if Abney won it, I'd be kind of excited.
06:58Like, I feel like it wouldn't necessarily mean like Rakusin's done.
07:01Rakusin's done because he's getting older.
07:02But maybe because they would trust a veteran, you would assume.
07:05But if they gave it to Abney, I'd be like, maybe he's shown enough.
07:09If we're already early, like, hey, this guy might be able to handle more.
07:12It's not crazy to think, you know, mid-round cornerbacks or secondary guys to start week
07:16one.
07:16It happens in this league, you know.
07:18And Gator, you always talk about attrition and spots.
07:20Like, I think, like, maybe you found something in Abney that, hey, because he was highly,
07:25you know, rated.
07:26He was very highly rated.
07:27And then it slipped in the draft for whatever reason.
07:29And when the Lions took him, everybody said, well, that looks like a steal.
07:33You don't have to be a first or second round pick to start at cornerback in this league.
07:36No, you don't.
07:37And, I mean, the truth is, it's kind of the same thing to be said for Miles Frazier.
07:41We haven't really seen him yet.
07:43But one of the reasons we're intrigued by Frazier is pre-draft scouting reports.
07:48So, see how it plays itself out.
07:50But it's kind of a weird training camp in that there's nothing really major.
07:53There's some, I guess we just named some position battles.
07:57But it doesn't feel like there's massive storylines here.
08:00At least when we're accustomed to.
08:03But Blake Miller, get our first look at him.
08:06Get our first look at Keith Abney.
08:07Get our first look at Derek Moore.
08:10Coming up this weekend.
08:12Jimmy Rolder.
08:13Yeah, huge.
08:14I mean, Rolder's pretty much a backup, right?
08:16You'd think, but who's he backing up?
08:18Malcolm Rodriguez.
08:18Malcolm Rodriguez, do you look at him and say that's a definite starter?
08:22I do, but maybe I shouldn't.
08:24Should I not say that?
08:26I'm just saying there's competition there.
08:28We'll see.
08:28I mean, Rodriguez, when he's healthy, there's a lot to like.
08:32He looks like this heat-seeking missile out there and in good form and all that.
08:37But Rolder is a guy that seemingly got better each week at Michigan.
08:42And may have a little chip on his shoulder.
08:44Could be.
08:45All right.
08:46Boy, when he was healthy, he was really good.
08:48When he got banged up, you know, for Michigan last year, it sucked.
08:53Because his healthy version of Jimmy Rolder, which he wasn't enough when he was at Michigan,
08:58he was finally healthy, was damn good.
09:01All right.
09:01Straight ahead.
09:02Our guy, Jared Goff, just spoke.
09:04Hear what he had to say.
09:06And coming up next hour, on Gator's Take on the World Cup, and we got a food topic.
09:12It's always popular.
09:13It is.
09:14Carson Anderson on 97.1.
09:16You
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