DETROIT -- For the past few weeks, the Detroit Lions coaching staff -- and Alim McNeill himself -- talked at length about how impressive he looked in practice and how ready he was to make his season debut.
The fourth-year defender hadn’t played a down of football since tearing his ACL last season in a Week 15 loss to the Buffalo Bills at Ford Field.
So it was only fitting that he made his season debut in the same building where he took his last snap, in front of the Lions faithful, playing a key part in their 24-9 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In the week leading up to the game, Lions coach Dan Campbell said McNeill could see 20 to 25 snaps.
“I blew that out of the water. I probably had double that,” McNeill told reporters. “It felt good, though. It felt like I needed to get a little bit more wind back — obviously, I haven’t played. But it really felt like how a game would feel when I was regularly in the fold, in the mix. So credit to the strength coach here and to the training staff for getting my conditioning and everything right with the workouts we were doing.”
McNeill played 45 total snaps, recording one tackle, one pass defended and three pressures. Facing double teams throughout the evening, he showed how his presence drastically improves the defensive line.
And in return, the Lions fans let McNeill know how much they missed seeing him out there.
“It felt really, really good. It was just good to be out there, to be honest,” McNeill said. “Just playing football, and then I’m out there in front of all the fans -- I forgot how that felt. Watching the game on the sideline, whatever it was, it was just like watching it on TV.
“But being in it is so much different. That joy is what I was deprived of. I forgot how much I really, really, really love this game.”
Staying self-aware, McNeill knows that his body is going to feel better than his teammates’. After all, for most of them, it was their seventh game of the season, while it was his first.
So his fresh legs were a welcome addition to the defensive front.
“I had some bull rushes today that I probably have never had before,” McNeill said. “It was just straight strength today, so I really felt it in my legs. I was getting off the ball -- and granted, I had fresh legs too, it was my first game -- but I really felt a lot stronger out there today.
“… And then, just mentally, I felt a lot stronger too -- just seeing plays and seeing things break down. I’ve always been locked in on what the down and distance was, but now it means a little bit different because I know the different things they’re trying to do in this down and distance versus that one. So just a few small things I picked up while being out. And then, I’m in year five now -- experience -- and just listening to (defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard) and (defensive line coach) Kacy (Rodgers).”
McNeill will now get a chance to rest up again as the Lions head into their bye week with a 5-2 record and still among the NFC’s best teams following Monday’s victory.
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