NFC North Blog

Making quick recoveries from ACL surgeries is all the rage these days. Lions wide receiver Ryan Broyles is a little more than six months removed from his own operation, and he was running routes with the team during Tuesday's practice. Quarterback Matthew Stafford liked what he saw out of Broyles.
"He looked pretty good," Stafford said via Tim Twentyman of the Lions' official website. "I didn't know he was going to be going today. I think it was kind of a last-minute decision for him. I think he felt pretty good and made some plays, which is a positive sign for us."
Running back Mikel Leshoure was also on the field during team drills. He was limited during voluntary OTAs due to a hamstring injury that the Lions wanted to be cautious with.

The Pro Bowl is often a hard-to-watch football exhibition which may not live that much longer. But if you are looking for a case in which the Pro Bowl really helped a player, looked to Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph. His head coach, Leslie Frazier said that winning the MVP of the 2012 Pro Bowl really helped Rudolph realize how good he can be.
"He knows he has a chance to be a premier tight end in this league after what he did over there being MVP, and it's evident by the way he's practicing, the way he runs his routes, the control he has in the meetings."
Frazier said Rudolph's confidence in himself is "night and day" compared to last season. Mike Wobschall of Vikings.com has observed that Rudolph has been on the same page with quarterback Christian Ponder more than any receiver in camp.