Mean tweets fuel Ebron's desire to improve with Lions

Eric Ebron is terrible.

Eric Ebron was a lousy draft pick.

Eric Ebron won't have a good season.

There. That should get Ebron through at least some bench presses and a few hammer curls.

The Lions' tight end hasn't spoken often with reporters this year, but in his first extended comments in a month, Ebron said he uses some of the criticism he gets on social media — and from professional media — as workout fuel.

"When I'm working out, I kind of get read (that) stuff to me," Ebron said. "My trainer's different, man. What he does is he finds every weakness that you have and he tries to break it in half. He's very good at what he does, and I'm well aware of the comments that people say."

Basically, Ebron's personal workouts in New Jersey are a version of "Mean Tweets" at the gym. And much like the popular segment on Jimmy Kimmel's talk show, the critical tweets ultimately elicit laughter from Ebron.

"Most of them are hilarious," Ebron said. "The other half are just ignorant, and you just laugh at that, too. And when somebody else says something, I just kind of look at it and laugh at that, too. And that's pretty much all I do is laugh at them — including ya'lls comments as well."

The last comment was directed at reporters who chronicled Ebron's struggles last year, when he was drafted 10th overall and put up less-than-stellar numbers among a sterling class of rookie pass-catchers.

Ebron's brash comments last year didn't help matters. But this year it's been a different story. He has pursed his lips off the field and has sharpened his focus on it.

"Last year, it taught me how to grow up and taught me what this league was about," he said. "I just take that into every aspect of life now. I mean, it helps you mature. This league will humble anybody that steps into it. So, that's all it's done for me."

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Wide receiver Calvin Johnson said he has seen that maturity manifest itself in Ebron through some simple but necessary habits.

"It's really just him being around, being around a lot of the veteran guys," Johnson said. "He spends a lot of time with us, whether it's coming in (to the facility). Like yesterday, we were here getting a workout in, taking care of our bodies just so we could be ready to go at full speed this week. Just those kinds of things."

Tight end is one of the hardest positions to master for young players because of the multiple responsibilities of being a receiver and learning the complex blocking schemes of the offensive line. Ebron was sometimes lost in the huddle last year.

"Last year he might be out there communicating or asking somebody, 'What do I have?' " Johnson said. "He has a better hold of everything that he's doing, whether it's blocking game or pass game. Really encouraging to see that guy out there flying around."

That is exactly what the Lions need out of Ebron, who said he has a firm grasp of offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi's system — another weapon as a complement to Johnson and Golden Tate in the passing attack. Ebron recites his role as though it has been printed on an index card for him, laminated twice and tattooed on the inside of his eyelids.

"We've got two very good receivers, and my job is to come here and to help take stress off of them," he said. "And that's what I'm going to do. Whether it's stretching the seam, whether it's doing this or whether it's doing that, my job is to take stress off of them. And by doing that it's for me to obviously be a threat. And so now I have to make myself a threat."

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Whether it's been veterans or coaches, or front-office personnel or pundits or fans, it seems everyone has weighed in on what Ebron needs to do to improve. Time will reveal whether Ebron has improved, but the steps he has taken have been evident.

"Certainly, we can see a change, and I think that's what happens to guys if they're serious about having a strong career in this league," coach Jim Caldwell said. "They look at it and understand where they can improve and want to improve, and I think he's set up to do just that. Not only his approach to the game, the mental aspects that are involved in that, then also from a physical standpoint. He's a different player physically than he was last year at this time.

"We anticipate he's been practicing well, that that's going to carry over. Now, do I think he's going to be perfect? Absolutely not. It's tough to be perfect in this league. Do I think he's going to have some ups and downs? Absolutely. Do I think he'll be better than he was last year? No question about it."

Contact Carlos Monarrez: cmonarrez@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @cmonarrez. Join us for a live blog of the Lions-Chargers game Sunday afternoon at freep.com/sports. And check out our new Lions Xtra app on Apple and Android!

For openers

What: Regular-season opener.

Matchup: Lions (11-5 in 2014) at Chargers (9-7).

When: 4:05 p.m. Sunday.

Where: Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego.

TV: Fox (Channel 2 in Detroit).

Line: Chargers by 3.