Lions' Larry Warford sees greatness in retooled OL

Larry Warford could have used injuries as an excuse and no one would have batted an eye.

After all, the Detroit Lions' third-year right guard missed four games with two separate knee sprains last fall and the ailments certainly affected his play.

But Warford was watching film of himself one day this off-season when he realized there was another reason he wasn't quite as effective blocking last year as he was during his standout rookie campaign.

"Last year, I think my biggest issue is I didn't like the way I was setting," Warford said. "I felt I was too soft. I was, not retreating, but I was setting too far and I was giving up too much push. It was more with my set angles more than anything is why I was giving up a little bit more push than I'd like to, so that's one thing I've been working on."

Warford made some minor technique adjustments this off-season, tweaking his set and hand placement, and he and offensive line coach Jeremiah Washburn agree that minutia has led him to have the best training camp of his career.

There's no guarantee Warford will return to being the dominant, road-grading guard he was in 2013, but it's welcome news for an offensive line that will debut starters at two new positions tonight in the exhibition opener against the New York Jets and just might takes its cues from Warford this year.

"(I want to be) just a rock," Warford said. "A rock that stays there, and then a boulder who rolls things over. An Indiana Jones boulder, if there's any other way to put it."

Warford, who has made 29 starts at right guard since the Lions took him in the third round of the 2013 draft, and left tackle Riley Reiff are the only veterans assured of starting jobs on a line that lost longtime staples Dominic Raiola and Rob Sims this off-season.

LaAdrian Waddle returns at right tackle, but he's still recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament and might not be ready for the regular season. Cornelius Lucas, Waddle's backup last year, will start at right tackle tonight.

Travis Swanson, who started six games including the playoffs between guard and center, is taking over for Raiola at center, and veteran Manny Ramirez is penciled in at left guard for now, though rookie first-round pick Laken Tomlinson could be manning the position by Week 1.

Warford, who Washburn said has taken a vocal and by-example leadership role this year, said he likes what he has seen of the new line.

"I'm not going to try to compare the groups," Warford said. "Last year was last year, and this is a whole different group. Our whole goal is to progress. It's always to get better from your previous years. You're always looking to improve. Common sense, that's always the goal. With this young group we have a lot of talent. Lost a lot of smart guys on there. (But) all those guys can start in that room, so there's definitely a lot of competition in that room right now and it's going to elevate our game for sure."

Washburn said he has started to see separation in position battles in recent days, but the Lions are a long way from firming up their starting five and backups.

Warford and Reiff have been their expected steady selves, and Swanson has impressed coaches with his smarts and aggressive play.

"I think there's a lot of good things we're seeing," offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi said. "Listen, we miss Dom, we miss Rob. They were great leaders, and they obviously had great careers here and they were good football players. But the young guys, we're happy with.

"I think Travis Swanson is doing an outstanding job. We're excited to see how he does this preseason. Manny Ramirez has been an excellent addition. He's not necessarily the young guys that you were asking about, but he's stepped in nicely and has got a nice veteran presence. We're excited about what we're seeing out of Laken. And Cornelius Lucas has really stepped it up. Not every day's perfect, but he's a lot improved from where he was a year ago."

Last year, the Lions ranked 28th in the NFL in rushing at 88.9 yards per game and gave up 45 sacks, more than all but 10 other teams.

Their inconsistent play, amplified by injuries to Warford, Waddle and Reiff, was a big reason why the offense regressed in points and performance.

This year, the line is one of the biggest wild cards on the team, though Warford said his room is doing its best to tune out the doubters.

"My expectations for this line is it's going to be above and beyond," Warford said. "So that's one thing I want to reach is those expectations and settle for nothing less. Doesn't matter what everybody else expects, what we expect is to be a great offensive line, and that's how we're supposed to play."

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter@davebirkett. Beat writer Dave Birkett will answer your Lions questions in a live chat at noon Thursday at freep.com/sports.Submit early questions here. Then come back fora live blog of the Lions-Jets exhibition opener Thursday night. And check out our new Lions Xtra app onApple andAndroid!

Fast facts

Matchup: Jets (4-12 in '14) at Lions (11-5).

When: 7:30 tonight.

Where: Ford Field.

TV: Channel 2.

Line: Lions by 31/ 2 .

Lions' tentative two-deep depth chart

Offense

QB Matthew Stafford, Kellen Moore

RB Theo Riddick, Ameer Abdullah

WR Calvin Johnson, Corey Fuller

WR Golden Tate, Jeremy Ross

TE Brandon Pettigrew, Jordan Thompson

TE Eric Ebron, Casey Pierce

LT Riley Reiff, Corey Robinson

LG Manny Ramirez, Laken Tomlinson

C Travis Swanson, Taylor Boggs

RG Larry Warford, Braxston Cave

RT Cornelius Lucas, Michael Williams

Defense

DE Ziggy Ansah, Larry Webster

DT Tyrunn Walker, Jermelle Cudjo

DT Caraun Reid, Gabe Wright

DE Darryl Tapp, Devin Taylor

OLB DeAndre Levy, Josh Bynes

MLB Stephen Tulloch, Travis Lewis

OLB Tahir Whitehead, Kyle Van Noy

CB Rashean Mathis, Josh Wilson

CB Darius Slay, Chris Owens

S Glover Quin, Don Carey

S James Ihedigbo, Isa Abdul-Quddus

Special teams

K Matt Prater, Kyle Brinda

P Sam Martin, Kyle Brindza

KR Jeremy Ross, Ameer Abdullah

PR Jeremy Ross, Ameer Abdullah