You may remember that longtime Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson left this offseason. I know, I'm trying not to either. But it happened, and we all have to live with it.
Johnson went to the Bears, where he'll deal with the enviable task of convincing the most paranoid city in the NFL that QBs really, actually, truly can be good. Sounds super fun! But things figure to look at least somewhat different in Detroit with new offensive coordinator John Morton, who's back in Detroit after spending two years as a passing game coordinator with the Broncos.
And while speaking with Kay Adams from the NFLPA Classic golf tournament down in Mexico (it's a real thing, I promise), Lions tight end Sam LaPorta talked a bit about what it was like to lose Johnson, and how the team's working to look forward. It's the most kinda-depressing boring quote you'll hear all day.
Sam LaPorta talking about Ben Johnson is making the room a little dusty
"Of course happy for Ben, he was one of the big reasons they brought me into the Lions," he said. "Nothing but respect for him. But again, on Sunday afternoons this fall, it'll be friends turned to enemies I guess ... It hurts, of course. You spend a lot of time with these people. You invest a lot of energy and effort and hard work together. You know, it's mutual. You're excited that he's going to go run his own team and organization. [He] has a lot on his plate. Just very exciting times for him, and it's exciting times for us too as we turn towards our new staff and have a bright future together as well."
Friends turned enemies is a great bit, and I particularly like how Adams immediately captioned the tweet with that after saying she wouldn't. What I need – what we all need – from LaPorta is more juice. I know they're friends, and I know they're always going to go play golf in Tahoe together, but I need this to have a little more zest. The whole smiling, "on Sunday afternoons, I guess" routine is absolutely not cutting it for me.
I don't want to tell anyone how to treat their friendships, but I have a lot of notes for how LaPorta should treat his friendships. If this is going to be the new-age NFC North rivalry, let's start treating it as such. No, you're taking this too seriously.
