ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- Many times Detroit Lions defensive tackle Mike Daniels can't help but think back.
Sometimes it’ll happen before a workout or a film session. And before every game, he reflects on these experiences that shaped him. Even though he’s a decade removed from growing up in Stratford, New Jersey, he has never forgotten where he has come from.
Daniels embodies Jersey to its core, the specific take-no-crap attitude the northeast is known for. It’s how he lives. How he plays. A weekly set of meditation and prayer brings him there, back to the mindset of coming from the suburbs of Philadelphia, where he’ll get to play for the second time as a pro Sunday against his hometown Eagles.