Lions G.M. sees “great progress” in Matt Patricia’s second year

[Roary]

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The Lions felt like they were stuck in mediocrity, fired coach Jim Caldwell, and promptly got worse.

But General Manager Bob Quinn told reporters he thinks the team has made “great progress” in the second training cap under coach Matt Patricia.

“You guys will judge progress with wins and losses, which we have to, too,” Quinn said, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “It’s a bottom-line business, we understand that.”

The Lions’ bottom line was bad last year, a 6-10 record after two straight 9-7s weren’t enough for Caldwell to keep his job. Players also bristled at Patricia’s trying-to-be-New England methods, and there was much grousing. But Patricia has adapted a few things, including schedule tweaks that made him more popular among his players.

Quinn said Patricia was “Way more comfortable” this year, and the G.M. likes the direction the young coach has put the team on.

“He’s taken a lot of input from the players, a lot of great conversations, I’d say, dating back to January, February, March, when the players weren’t even in the building about things that he was thinking about and wanted to get input from some of the veteran guys,” Quinn said. “So very reflective, very honest with himself. . . .

“I think the guys from the new guys to the returning guys, they just said, ‘You know what, we’re better than that. We’re better than what our record indicated last year,’ and we hopefully added some pieces that will supplement that. But I see the growth. I see the way the guys came in, in really good shape. I’ve seen the practices during training camp being more intense and just as physical as last year, and the guys just saying, ‘Hey, this is what it takes to win in this league.’ ”

Spending a pile of money on free agent pass-rusher Trey Flowers to help bring the Patriot way with him was one approach, even if it’s not the approach the Patriots have usually taken. But the Lions hope that adding guys like Flowers and Danny Amendola — along with Patricia modifying his methods — will help them get back to the level they were at when they last made a change.