ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- Three times in the past five years, the Detroit Lions have drafted an offensive lineman in the first round.Now its time for that young group to show some real progress.One of the things youre going to notice is that were bigger and stronger. Its going to be more competitive, coach Jim Caldwell said recently.We have a couple spots were going to be fairly young, but I think in the grand scheme of things if we can keep them all healthy, keep them battled and fighting, were going to come out of there with a really big unit up front. Im certainly convinced of that.With Calvin Johnson lost to retirement, the Lions still have their share of skilled offensive players in Matthew Stafford, Golden Tate and Ameer Abdullah.The big question is whether Detroit can build on its encouraging finish in 2015 -- or whether the offense will look as it did when the team lost seven of its first eight games.A lot will depend on the offensive line.The Lions have had to reshuffle their line quite a bit over the past few seasons, with Jeff Backus, Rob Sims and Dominic Raiola having moved on into retirement.Detroit used valuable first-round draft picks on tackle Riley Reiff (2012), guard Laken Tomlinson (2015) and tackle Taylor Decker (2016) -- and the Lions also took guard Larry Warford (2013) and center Travis Swanson (2014) in the third round.Those five players all figure to play significant roles this season as Detroit tries to recover from its disappointing 2015. Stafford was sacked 44 times last season, bringing his total to 89 over the past two years. The Lions also averaged only 83.4 yards rushing per game, the worst mark in the NFL.Both those stats were a bit of an indictment of the offensive line.We learned from the mistakes we made, and weve moved on, Warford said. Weve got to focus on what were doing now as a group.Reiff has started every game hes played for the past three years, and Tomlinson was a starter for most of last season. The Lions have high hopes for Decker -- Caldwell said he could play either left or right tackle.Reiff now seems like the veteran of the bunch, and Caldwell said he expects plenty of intensity from the 27-year-old tackle no matter which side of the line hes on.Riley is a warrior. Riley does not care about anything other than wanting to play his position and play it well and he doesnt care where he plays, Caldwell said.Hes a talented guy thats tough and hard-nosed, the exact kind of guy that youre looking for to lead your group.Much of Detroits resurgence toward the end of last season could be attributed to a schedule that eased up down the stretch, but the Lions hope that improvement was a sign of things to come.In late October, Detroit fired its offensive coordinator and two line coaches. Tight ends coach Ron Prince took over the offensive line.Now the offensive linemen have had a chance to work with Prince for a while and become comfortable with Jim Bob Cooter, who was promoted to offensive coordinator during last years shakeup.That familiarity -- and the natural maturation process with top draft picks -- could pay dividends at the line of scrimmage this season.With offensive line play -- in all of football -- theres two aspects, theres mental and physical, Warford said. When you start getting the plays down, it enables you to play faster.Game notes The Lions removed S Don Carey from the active/non-football injury list, and they put WR Ryan Spadola on injured reserve because of a torn pectoralis. Spadola was waived/injured on Tuesday.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Fake Air Max 95 . PAUL, Minn. Fake Air Max 95 Online . 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HAMDEN, Conn. -- Anthony Lamb scored 23 points and had eight rebounds while Payton Henson had 19 points to lead Vermont past Quinnipiac 94-70 in the season opener for both teams on Saturday.Trae Bell-Haynes scored 16 points and eight assists and Ernie Duncan added 13 points for the Catamounts who shot 33-for-54 (61.1 percent) from the floor.Duncans 3 with 12:09 left before halftime gave Vermont an 11-10 lead it never surrendered. The Catamounts outscored the Bobcats 32-15 before intermission.Another Dunncan 3 early in the second half pushed the lead to 50-28.dddddddddddd Lamb, Henson, Bell-Haynes, and Duncan combined to shoot 25-for-38 from the floor with Henson converting all eight of his free throws.Reggie Oliver led Quinnipiac with 15 points and Chaise Daniels added 11.With the win, Vermont improved to 8-3 against Quinnipiac in a series dating back to the 1942-43 season. ' ' '
