Lions Get Tough Sign on Key Defensive Back
The Detroit Lions already lost one starting member of the secondary in Sunday’s win over the Cleveland Browns, and now could be at risk of missing a third for their upcoming game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Safety Kerby Joseph missed practice on Thursday, the second straight day that the starting safety was not able to practice. Joseph has been dealing with an injured knee and could be at risk of missing this week’s game, forcing the Lions to rely on their secondary depth.
Lions Could Turn to Veteran Backup
As John Maakaron of SI.com noted, Joseph has been dealing with an injured knee since training camp and the issue has flared up this week. If Joseph is not able to play this week, the Lions have a veteran backup ready to fill in.
“Avonte Maddox is a veteran the team has grown comfortable relying upon,” Maakaron wrote. “He filled in when Joseph missed action in Week 4. His versatility has given the coaching staff added comfort, should the team need to call upon him again this week.”
The safety group has been one of the biggest strengths of Detroit’s defense, with Joseph and fellow safety Brian Branch widely considered the best duo in the NFL. Before the season, SI.com’s Christian Booher noted the Lions have plenty of versatility with the pair.
The Lions have the league’s best safety duo in Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch. Joseph was an All-Pro selection last season after leading the league in interceptions, while Branch had another strong year showcasing his elite versatility,” Booher wrote.
Booher added that their ability to move around the secondary allows the Lions to take an aggressive approach against opposing offenses.
With the skill sets of both players, the Lions have plenty of options when it comes to alignment in the secondary,” Booher wrote. “Joseph has grown immensely as a tackler and can play in the box for a spell, and Branch has shown that he can play both in the box as well as the deep part of the field.”
Lions Dealing With More Injuries
While the Lions have not yet indicated whether Joseph could miss this week’s game, the team already ruled out one cornerback and could lose another. The team placed starter D.J. Reed on injured reserve this week with a hamstring injury, with the expectation that he will be able to return later this year.
Reed said he was initially worried that the injury was much more serious.
“I thought I tore it off the bone,” Reed told the Detroit Free Press. “I thought it was a wrap. But that’s not the case, thank God.”
Cornerback Terrion Arnold was also hurt in last week’s win over the Cleveland Browns, but he has been able to return to practice and has a chance of playing against the Bengals. The Lions did bring in some reinforcements, signing safety Loren Strickland and linebacker Ty Summers from the practice squad. The Lions also signed cornerbacks Tre Flowers and Nick Whiteside to the practice squad.
Serena Williams recalls sabotaging her rackets as a child to avoid training
Serena Williams and Venus Williams have been at the top of women's tennis for a long time. Their careers have been filled with trophies and successes, and most look back with nostalgia on their beginnings in the late 1990s. Serena Williams decided to put an end to her career three years ago, while her sister has continued playing tennis, despite being 45 years old.
Becoming a star involves a lot of training and spending time on the tennis courts, and the two looked back on their childhood and some of the difficult moments during an episode of the Stockton Street podcast.
Serena Williams once felt so averse to training that she decided to cut the strings on her rackets. However, after seeing her father's reaction, she never resorted to such methods again.
“Remember, I used to cut the strings in the rackets because I didn’t want to practice,” she said, as quoted by Tennis Gazette.
“I remember going to practice, we drove all this way, it was way far, Anaheim or something, and I was bad.
I took these scissors and I cut the racket, we got there, and dad pulled out the rackets, and all the rackets’ strings were broken.
I saw his face, and his face was heartbroken; he just looked so sad. I felt so bad, I never did it again.”
Serena believes that at some points they worked too much and admits that she hated training. However, looking from this perspective, he understands why they trained and how important every second spent on the field was.
Today, the popular tennis player shares the same advice to her daughter, wanting her to become world class. However, as a girl she didn't always understand some things, so now she understands that her daughter Olympia has similar thoughts.
“Absolutely, I felt like it was too much, I felt like it was unnecessary,” said Serena Williams.
“I hated practice, I really did.
But, looking back, we needed every second of that. In order to be the best, you have to put in the time, and you have to be willing to work harder than anyone else. I think those practices made me want to practice in the future. Once I became my own professional, I never skipped practice.
I always try to tell Olympia [her daughter], you don’t understand the benefits now, it sucks today, but tomorrow, you’re going to be so happy that you did it."
Venus Williams' views
On the other hand, her sister, Venus Williams, had a slightly different view. She admitted that she never thought too much about training and whether they were training too much, because she was focused on the present moment and did what she was told. However, she later said that they probably trained much more than necessary, but that training did not bother her because she knew that she would become a champion.
Their main source of motivation was also their father, who sent them a clear message: “You will become world number 1 and 2.”
This best shows how important parents can be for children, but on the other hand, sometimes it is important to have a measure and let children be children. Either way, the two of them have made a great career and really laid the foundation for the future of this sport.
