Eric Ebron On Criticism About Drops: 'I Love It - Every Bit Of It'
By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak
ALLEN PARK (CBS DETROIT) - As Eric Ebron finished up a drill following Monday's practice, he wondered aloud if his lack of drops that day would create as much buzz on Twitter as his drops.
The remark got a few laughs, but Ebron later said he was serious. While he does not look for the criticism, people often bring it to his attention. He uses the negativity as fuel, and he says he enjoys doing so.
"I love when people talk about me," Ebron said, smiling. "That way when I prove you wrong, it looks bad on you, not me. I love it. Every bit of it."
With offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi spearheading an offense similar to the offense of the New Orleans Saints, which prominently features tight end Jimmy Graham, Ebron has drawn plenty of comparisons to Graham. Ebron said he sees himself more like Vernon Davis, whom Ebron has studied since high school, but he likes the comparisons to Graham.
"Different players, same mentality," Ebron said. "I can't hate it. You're getting compared to somebody, so it's great. It's not like you're getting compared to somebody that no one's ever heard of. You're getting compared to someone that's great. You just got to make the adjustments, hopefully live up to it."
Even on a team with plenty of offensive weapons, Ebron has a solid chance at significant playing time. The Lions re-signed veteran tight end Brandon Pettigrew this offseason, and Joseph Fauria created a niche for himself as a rookie last season thanks to a series of touchdown catches, but the three players differ enough that the message from the staff has been there is room for all of them.
"Coach Lombardi loves his tight ends," Ebron said, "and that's what I believe is the go-to formation, I guess, one of our key formations, one of our new adjustments, to have all three tight ends in the game because we can all do something."
Clearly confident, Ebron still knows he has plenty of room for improvement, but making such improvement is the point of preseason.
"You learn something every day," Ebron said. "Every day, every receiver, especially us rookies, has something to work on - timing, route running, hand-eye coordination. Every day. There's a learning process. It's a learning curve. But that's why we're here. That's why we have training camp. That's why we have OTAs. That's why we have things like that that are put in place for us to learn that stuff."
