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Footballguy
Devon: Cliff Avril came on strong again this year at the end of the season. Do you think that he is just an end of the year guy, or is he just adapting and learning the playbook by then? Do you see a big year from him?
Tom Kowalski: It was a tough year for Avril, who went through a hamstring injury that really affected his confidence. It wasn't from a physical standpoint, but mentally because he felt he was letting his teammates down. I remember talking to him at the time and he said that he was walking around and running around and he appeared to be 100 percent. However, the hamstring didn't allow him to get any explosion so it looked like he just wasn't playing well - and you can't walk through the locker room every day saying to every teammate 'Hey, I'm hurt, I'm hurt.'
There's another issue here, though. Defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham had high hopes for Avril going into the season and he just didn't live up to them (when he was healthy). All the physical skills are there, but Cunningham often said that Avril lacked that nasty streak that most of the great defensive ends have - something Avril didn't dispute. Avril, though, doesn't believe he needs to change his personality to be effective, but he does admit that he needs to take his game to the next level.
Going into training camp, a lot will depend on how fortunate the Lions were in landing some new defensive ends. If they get one in the second round - like Brandon Graham, for example - he's going to get a long look. The Lions still like Avril, but the coaching staff's patience will start to run a little thin.
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I really thought Avril had all the skills to really excel after his rookie year, but last year he was not effective. I'm not sure how much this "hamstring" injury caused his issues, but if he felt it did impact his abilities, perhaps you can get him from an impatient owner....
Tom Kowalski: It was a tough year for Avril, who went through a hamstring injury that really affected his confidence. It wasn't from a physical standpoint, but mentally because he felt he was letting his teammates down. I remember talking to him at the time and he said that he was walking around and running around and he appeared to be 100 percent. However, the hamstring didn't allow him to get any explosion so it looked like he just wasn't playing well - and you can't walk through the locker room every day saying to every teammate 'Hey, I'm hurt, I'm hurt.'
There's another issue here, though. Defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham had high hopes for Avril going into the season and he just didn't live up to them (when he was healthy). All the physical skills are there, but Cunningham often said that Avril lacked that nasty streak that most of the great defensive ends have - something Avril didn't dispute. Avril, though, doesn't believe he needs to change his personality to be effective, but he does admit that he needs to take his game to the next level.
Going into training camp, a lot will depend on how fortunate the Lions were in landing some new defensive ends. If they get one in the second round - like Brandon Graham, for example - he's going to get a long look. The Lions still like Avril, but the coaching staff's patience will start to run a little thin.
****
I really thought Avril had all the skills to really excel after his rookie year, but last year he was not effective. I'm not sure how much this "hamstring" injury caused his issues, but if he felt it did impact his abilities, perhaps you can get him from an impatient owner....
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