ALLEN PARK, Mich. – Matt Patricia came bounding into the media room at the Lions practice facility a half hour before practice Wednesday morning with the energy of a middle schooler running through the halls at 3 p.m. on the last day before summer break.

The heavily-bearded, 42-year old coach, less than a week into his first training camp at the helm of an NFL team, chided reporters, good-naturedly, for their relative lack of vim, verve and enthusiasm for the imminent daily press conference, to be followed two-plus hours of football drills. If the Ford family was looking for a polar opposite of Patricia's staid, reserved, restrained predecessor, Jim Caldwell, they certainly found it. Everything about Patricia's messaging and personality and delivery is a stark departure from the way things had been done around here, to say nothing of the dichotomy in age from Caldwell and the fact his forte is the defensive side of the ball. The way the coach interacts with players, his more natural ability to connect and identify with those darned millennials is different, while Patricia is also quick to allow his inner tech-geek out as well, with the Lions now suddenly more at the vanguard of the use of tablets and replay screens in real-time to provide players with immediate assistance during practice.

"He has a lot of energy," receiver Golden Tate told me. "Every single day. He brings it and he expects us to bring it."

Whether or not all of this results in the Lions finally developing a run game, cultivating more pass rush and getting beyond last season's 9-7 results, obviously, remains to be seen. But they are certainly going about things differently with the former aeronautical engineer. 

"The technology art of the game has rapidly changed, quickly, and it just keeps adding from that standpoint," Patricia said. "When I got into coaching that was sort of my niche … some of the different computer systems and data-analysis stuff at that time ... And as you go up the coaching ranks you kind of get away from some of that cutting-edge technology and you kind of get behind. So really what you try to do is get back into it as much as you can and see if there are different ways out there that coaches are coaching and teaching their players.

"I think the biggest thing for us right now is trying to give the players immediate feedback. It's like anything when you teach somebody they try to go execute it alone, and if they make a mistake, I think that immediate correction has proven to be the most effective. And you can educate them at a higher level. That's just the way the brain works and connects all of those things together ... We're trying to use as much of the technology as we can."

The players are responding well to the new emphasis on tech.

"It's been helpful," Tate said. "The more you can do in this program the better, and we've got all the technology. That gives us everything we need to be great and we chase it every single day. The technology keeps growing, too."

Patricia's staff had to toggle between the desire to work quickly with a player in the brief moments between drills, but also not bog down the tempo of the practice itself. They want the tablets to be ready and available, but not at the expense of other teaching and instruction. They also hope the players are starting to naturally utilize the large portable replay screens stationed at practice to make corrections themselves.

"A lot of times guys may have a play or make a play," Patricia said, "and it might be in between the next play without a coach around, and they can just look up at the video board and watch the replay. They may not have known exactly what happened on that play, but now it's 'Okay, hey I got it.' And it kind of triggers them right in. We're just trying  to get that availability to them so maybe they start training themselves to do that."

Patricia is more direct, and in some ways seems more hands on at practice, and he made a few headlines for the emphasis on conditioning in the spring. He is certainly going to push this group and will be anything but laid back and laissez fare. Wednesday's practice wasn't particularly aggressive, but it sounds like the tenor may be picking up again shortly.

"We'll have another stretch here where we will be in pads for a lengthy bit," Patricia said.

He and Quinn speak the same language and share a similar vision and are at similar stages of their lives and careers. Many in the NFL figured this coupling of coach and GM was inevitable from the time Quinn got hired here several years ago, and while there are certainly some major questions about this team, they do have a franchise quarterback in Matt Stafford and sufficient building blocks. Could well be that Patricia and the Lions end up with the same record as the 2017 team, but the future looks promising with him at the helm.

Observations 

  • The Lions will run the ball better this year. Finally. I promise. They have to. Running back actually may be the deepest spot on the roster – the secondary looks good on paper, too – and some in this building believe they have six tailbacks who belong on NFL rosters. A year ago the Lions kept five at that position but it's a luxury the front office realizes it probably doesn't have in 2018. They are super high on rookie Kerryon Johnson, from Auburn, and will have a defined role for bruising veteran back LeGarrette Blount, whom they know well from his New England days, and Theo Riddick can be a difference maker in the pass game. I smell a late summer trade here and some teams were already identifying Detroit as a potential trade partner back in the spring. Maybe Quinn can deal out a depth back for an addition to the defensive line.
  • Tate has been upfront about not complaining about his contract despite the wide receiver market going bonkers this offseason and many, many lesser pass catchers getting rewarded. He's willing to play out all five years of the deal, but may not have to. There have been at least preliminary talks with his agents about an extension, I'm told, and it's a prospect they are open to. It's not out of the question at the right price. Tate and Matt Stafford have a good thing going and he's been a great fit here. "I definitely noticed (the market explosion) and I definitely see the articles and things popping on my Twitter at night. So it's a good problem to have as a receiver … I'm just going to keep working and let it all work out how it is supposed to work out."
  • The Lions believe corner Teez Tabor is ready to take a step up this season. There are a lot of parts to juggle on the back end but Patricia and his staff are making a concerted effort to find defined roles, and Tabor's length is something coveted in this scheme. How well Tabor matures and grows could have a big impact on how much this defense improves.
  • I do have concerns about the pass rush. Ziggy Ansah, with a troubled injury history, is not practicing yet (seems like a yearly rite of passage) as he does individual work while on the Active/Physically Unable To Perform list. There isn't much else. Good luck finding a proven impact commodity in the rest of this line group. This could be Patricia's biggest on-field project and given how good the NFC North is, and the quarterbacks who play there, developing pass rush and cultivating some complimentary edge presence is a must.
  • Patricia, with his Patriots background, is accustomed to having quality kickers and punters around, and that should be a strength of the Lions again. Matt Prater continues to push his body to stay among the best in the kicking game, and given the emphasis that Patricia's mentor, Bill Belichick, puts on special teams, it's paramount to this coach, and Lions GM Bob Quinn – a former Patriot staffer, too – as well. "Fundamental philosophy – you can't really be good on special teams unless your specialists are good," Patricia said. "And we've got three outstanding specialists.  "Your entire season can come down to that one play," Patricia said, alluding to some game-winning playoff kicks from his long tenure with the Patriots.
  • First-round pick Frank Ragnow – who played mostly center at Arkansas – is working in at starting left guard. But a return to center is possible and something the Lions are mulling. They want to get a good look at him at guard given his versatility, while 2016 third-rounder Graham Glasgow works at center, but they could shift roles depending on how each progresses. "The hardest thing. "We're trying to put him in there and let him compete," Patricia said.