Outside of Detroit, Lions assistant head coach and RB coach Duce Staley is best known for his impressive playing days as a Philadelphia Eagles running back. Staley played in Philly for seven seasons, topping 1,000 rushing yards in three of those. He also got his coaching start with the Eagles and has the Super Bowl ring to show for it, too.
So when the Lions play the Eagles, it’s special for Staley. Except last year’s game …
The Eagles ran the Lions off the field to the tune of 236 yards on 46 carries in a 44-6 romp. Staley is ready to exact some payback on Sunday in the season opener at Ford Field.
“Yeah, last year is last year. Of course, this is the first game, we want to come out and just start the season with a bang,” Staley said before Friday’s practice. “And of course, it would be real good to go out there and smack them in the mouth a little bit.”
The Lions have what looks to be a strong run game of their own. Staley is ready for his guys to show improvement over last year’s blowout loss, in which Detroit rushed 18 times for just 57 yards.
“Yeah, we’re not going to shy away from who we are. We’re going to run the ball, and that’s what we’re going to do,” Staley said. “Of course, last year getting behind, things change, you get off schedule. But you go back still to that game, we had some opportunities to take advantage of what they were doing, and we didn’t. Simple as that. They whooped us. New year, new day.”
