ALLEN PARK, Mich. (AP) -Jeff Backus has experienced a lot of misery on the football field since leaving Michigan and getting drafted by the Detroit Lions in 2001, losing 111 games and winning just 33 times.
This season, he insisted, will be different.
“There are a lot of reasons to be optimistic,” Backus said during the team’s last minicamp. “I think we finally have the players to turn things around.”
Backus and his teammates are due to report to training camp Friday, but there’s a chance first-round picks Ndamukong Suh and Jahvid Best won’t show up because they’re unsigned.
Detroit coach Jim Schwartz told reporters Thursday he hopes both players are signed in time to practice Saturday.
“Obviously, we hope they’re there,” Schwartz said. “But it’s the old cliche, we’re going to coach whoever we got.”
esday morning at team headquarters in Allen Park.
The Lions were very active in the offseason, acquiring much-needed talent on both sides of the ball.
They aggressively targeted defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch and receiver Nate Burleson as priorities on Day 1 of free agency and signed both veteran standouts.
Detroit also bolstered its starting lineup and depth chart with the additions of defensive tackle Corey Williams, offensive guard Rob Sims, tight end Tony Scheffler, cornerback Chris Houston and cornerback Dre’ Bly.
The Lions will have to replace a pair of relatively productive linebackers – Larry Foote and Ernie Sims – but didn’t lose any other significant players from last year’s two-win team.
“We didn’t spend a whole lot of money to make a big splash with a big name, but we got guys we know we can count on to fill some of the holes we had,” offensive lineman Jon Jansen said. “In the draft, we got some talent. I give Suh high marks so far. He’ll have to work on some of his techniques, but he’s going to be tremendous because he has a lot of physical ability. He’s not a fat, sloppy guy.”
Detroit drafted the 6-foot-4, 300-pound defensive tackle with the No. 2 overall pick, hoping to bolster a defense that has ranked among the all-time worst in points allowed the past two seasons. That led to being the NFL’s first winless team in 2008 and a 2-14 record last year.
d back into the first round to draft Best, whose speed gives them a playmaker in the backfield that they’ve lacked.
Best and Scheffler provide the team with talented options at running back and tight end as it slowly works Kevin Smith and Brandon Pettigrew back onto the field following major knee surgeries. The newcomers along with Burleson should complement star receiver Calvin Johnson, who has 3,000-plus yards receiving and has caught 21 touchdown passes in three seasons.
“We made a lot of good moves to get some talent here,” said quarterback Matthew Stafford, the No. 1 pick in last year’s draft. “We went out and got some guys and we’ll have a chance to spread it out more.”
Unlike Backus, Julian Peterson has been on successful teams in his decade in the league. He played in seven playoff games with San Francisco and Seattle and is confident the Lions can contend for a postseason berth because of the veterans they’ve added to lead the way for a talented, young group of players.
“Some of the key guys we got on both sides of the ball have been in our schemes before,” said Peterson, referring to Vanden Bosch and Burleson. “The guys that are still here from last year have a year of experience in this system. That’s just going to help us hit the ground running in training camp so that we can win a lot more games this season.”
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