ALLEN PARK -- The Lions are a week into practice, working on drills, trying out new positions and doing all they can to get ready for what is about to be a new season marked by change. For the past two days of practice, that evolution has required the help of some outsiders in striped uniforms, equipped with flags and whistles.
The refs are here to help show them how the game is changing.
Rules change every year to some degree, and the game just keeps moving forward. But this is one of the rare offseasons where that forward place can feel a little new and different, almost like a football of the future.