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ALLEN PARK As he steps into his fourth NFL season and takes on the role of the Detroit Lions primary bell cow, Jahmyr Gibbs has taken a unique approach to his offseason workout regimen.
Speaking to reporters this week, Lions running back coach Tashard Choice said that Gibbs has taken up mixed martial arts training in California with Lions receiver Amon-Ra St.
Brown to prepare his body for the workload of a 17-game season.
When you train in the offseason, you put your body through different things so that you can handle the rigor of the season and how hard the season really is, Choice said.
So when you do MMA training ...
boxing, when youre punching, its all about hand placement and hand-eye coordination, balance, putting the weight on the balls of your feet the same thing you do in pass protection, the same thing you do when youre running and planting on the outside foot.
Choice suggested that athletes participate in multiple sports so they can gain an understanding of how they correlate with one another.
He feels it can also give NFL players such as Gibbs an edge mentally as theyre shaping themselves in April March in Gibbs case -- for the goal of being able to be a contributor in the months of January and February, which is when the NFL postseason takes place.
When you do MMA training, your abs, your core, striking, power through the ground, all those things affect kicking, extending your legs, hamstrings, your quads, all that stuff takes training, Choice said.
In an interview with ESPN, Gibbs alluded to the aspects of the training that Choice mentioned, saying its helping him with full-body control, his base, and blocking.
I feel like my bodys gotten in better shape, like physically it looks better.
And conditioning-wise, that conditioning is way different from here because you use nonstop movement in every muscle of your body, Gibbs said.
Out here (in football), you get more breaks and (there is) much more using your legs.
But there (in MMA), its just constant shoulders, knees, elbows, you go to the ground and all that, so out here I barely get tired.
As Gibbs steps into another season with the Lions, hell be without the familiar face of former Lions running back David Montgomery, who has since departed to the Houston Texans through an offseason trade.
For three years, the pair formed one of the NFLs premier backfield tandems, earning them the nickname of Sonic and Knuckles.
With Montgomery out of the picture, the Lions signed two-time Super Bowl champion Isiah Pacheco to a one-year deal.
While there are expectations that Pacheco will be a key piece to the Lions rushing attack, it wont be the same splitting of carries between RB1 and RB2, as Gibbs will be the primary running back.
Hes going to be our bell cow now.
He really became more of that last year, but were going to hang our hat on him quite a bit, Lions head coach Dan Campbell said.
Were going to do a lot of things we feel like he does well.
Because of the responsibility that Gibbs will assume this season, Choice was clear with what he wanted to see from the running back, which centered around starting the year faster.
So far, in Choices eyes, its the best hes seen Gibbs look in his pro career.
When the head coach tells you hes giving you the keys, you have the responsibility for everybody in the organization, every fan, every kid thats a Detroit Lions fan, Choice said.
My onus is to put that on him.
And he has to handle that; he has to handle that well.
So, for him to be in the best shape that he can be in, praying for no injuries at all, but the fact that hes smarter, he understands the offense, so Im excited for him.
He has a big role to play, and Im ready to see what level he plays at right now.
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