Mariucci impressed after minicamp

[The_Philster]

On the intensity level -- the one that goes into place when the Lions start training camp in July -- their three-day minicamp would hardly register a blip.

But as a starting point for a new coach with a rebuilding team, the five weekend sessions worked out just fine.

"I like the way we work," coach Steve Mariucci said after wrapping up the final workout Sunday. "I like these guys a lot."

Mariucci actually shortened the final session for a number of reasons -- to save the rookies' legs for the beep test, to get the coaching staff into an afternoon of evaluation meetings, and to accommodate some of the veterans' desire to get to the Pistons-Orlando playoff game. ....

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[The_Philster]

Mariucci puts zest in Lions

The last minutes of Steve Mariucci's first full-scale mini-camp as coach of the Lions could provide the best indication of the team's turnaround from last season.

While rookie defensive back Terrence Holt continued running on the way to breaking a record in a "beep test" conditioning drill, teammates and coaching staff screamed encouragement. It was pure, untempered enthusiasm. And Holt, a fifth-round draft pick, had been a Lion for all of seven days.

If Mariucci faced a challenge in sweeping away the residue of defeat that had settled on a team that won five games the previous two seasons, the mission has been accomplished.

Last year's 3-13 record, and the 2-14 record of 2001, are in the books but won't be an emotional weight on the back of Mariucci or his team...

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[The Spaz]

He better be impressed they can't get that much worse, can they?:) Go Bills!