lions tour 2021 documentary

2021 BRITISH & IRISH LIONS TOUR DOCUMENTARY TO BE AIRED ON ITV1

The British & Irish Lions in conjunction with The South African Rugby Union will release a much-anticipated three-part behind-the-scenes documentary of the 2021 British & Irish Lions Series.

Co-produced by Whisper and T + W, the documentary series ‘Two Sides’ explores what transpired in the Springbok and Lions camps during the 2021 Tour of South Africa.

Stepping away from the traditional format, ‘Two Sides’ tells the story of both the Lions and Springboks during the first Tour to South Africa since 2009. The documentary features fly-on-the-wall footage of both camps as they took part in a fascinating series of games, which was successfully completed against the hugely challenging backdrop of a global pandemic.

This is the latest in a long and critically acclaimed series of Lions Tour documentaries that includes the mould-breaking ‘Living with Lions’ released 25 years ago.

As well as illuminating insights into the teams’ preparations and what went on during the matches, the documentary will also give fans a rare glimpse into the workings of a unique and memorable sporting event.

The British & Irish Lions and The South African Rugby Union are delighted to bring this three-part series to supporters with our broadcast partner ITV and broadcast sponsor Vodafone. Details on where the documentary will be shown in all other territories will be announced in due course.

The three hour-long episodes of Two Sides, produced by Whisper and T + W, will be shown on Sunday 19 June (10.20pm BST); Monday 20 June (10.45pm); and Tuesday 21 June (10.45pm). The first episode airs on ITV1 at 10.20pm this Sunday (19 June).

Speaking on the new documentary, Ben Calveley, British & Irish Lions Managing Director, said: “The British & Irish Lions and documentaries are inextricably linked. Going back to 1997 with the unforgettable ‘Living with Lions’, the Lions have produced a documentary capturing behind-the-scenes moments of every subsequent Tour. This particular documentary shows how both sides rose to the unprecedented challenge of hosting a major sporting event during a global pandemic.”

South African Rugby Union CEO Jurie Roux added: “I know rugby fans are going to find this documentary fascinating and entertaining in equal measure, with the added twist this time of getting a fly-on-the-wall view of both camps involved in this unique tour. We are delighted to partner with The British & Irish Lions on Two Sides, which will act as a wonderful archive for rugby fans to look back upon for decades to come.”

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New documentary on 2021 British & Irish Lions Tour to be aired on ITV

Published Tue 14 Jun 2022

New documentary on 2021 British & Irish Lions Tour to be aired on ITV, with the first episode on Sunday 19 June at 10.20pm

The British & Irish Lions in conjunction with The South African Rugby Union will release a much-anticipated three-part behind-the-scenes documentary of the 2021 British & Irish Lions Series.

The documentary series ‘Two Sides’ explores what transpired in the Springbok and Lions camps during the 2021 Tour of South Africa.

 Stepping away from the traditional format, ‘Two Sides’ tells the story of both the Lions and Springboks during the first Tour to South Africa since 2009. The documentary features fly-on-the-wall footage of both camps as they took part in a fascinating series of games, which was successfully completed against the hugely challenging backdrop of a global pandemic.

This is the latest in a long and critically acclaimed series of Lions Tour documentaries that includes the mould-breaking ‘Living with Lions’ released 25 years ago.

As well as illuminating insights into the teams’ preparations and what went on during the matches, the documentary will also give fans a rare glimpse into the workings of a unique and memorable sporting event.

The British & Irish Lions and The South African Rugby Union are delighted to bring this three-part series to supporters with our broadcast partner ITV and broadcast sponsor Vodafone. Details on where the documentary will be shown in all other territories will be announced in due course.

The three hour-long episodes of Two Sides, produced by Whisper and T + W, will be shown on Sunday 19 June (10.20pm BST); Monday 20 June (10.45pm); and Tuesday 21 June (10.45pm). The first episode airs on ITV at 10.20pm this Sunday. Visit itv.com/hub/tv-guide/2022-06-19 for the full broadcast schedule.

Speaking on the new documentary, Ben Calveley, British & Irish Lions Managing Director, said:

“The British & Irish Lions and documentaries are inextricably linked. Going back to 1997 with the unforgettable ‘Living with Lions’, the Lions have produced a documentary capturing behind-the-scenes moments of every subsequent Tour. This particular documentary shows how both sides rose to the unprecedented challenge of hosting a major sporting event during a global pandemic.”

South African Rugby Union CEO Jurie Roux added:

“I know rugby fans are going to find this documentary fascinating and entertaining in equal measure, with the added twist this time of getting a fly-on-the-wall view of both camps involved in this unique tour. We are delighted to partner with The British & Irish Lions on Two Sides, which will act as a wonderful archive for rugby fans to look back upon for decades to come.”

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2021 Lions Tour Documentary To Be Shown On Virgin Media

23rd August 2022 11:58

The British & Irish Lions , in conjunction with the South African Rugby Union, have released a much-anticipated three-part behind-the-scenes documentary of the 2021 British & Irish Lions Series, which will be aired in Ireland on Virgin Media’s newest television station, Virgin Media Four .

The documentary series, ‘Two Sides’ , explores what transpired in the Springbok and Lions camps during the 2021 tour of South Africa and has already received rave reviews since airing on ITV 1 earlier this summer.

This is the latest in a long and critically acclaimed series of Lions tour documentaries that includes the mould-breaking, ‘Living with Lions’ released 25 years ago.

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‘Two Sides’ steps away from the traditional format, which has always concentrated on the tourists, and tells the stories of the Lions and Springboks during the first tour to South Africa in over a decade.

The tour was successfully completed against the hugely challenging backdrop of a global pandemic and the documentary features fly-on-the-wall footage of what was a gripping series.

As well as illuminating insights into the teams’ preparations and what went on during the matches, the documentary will also give fans a rare glimpse into the workings of a unique and memorable sporting event.

The British & Irish Lions and the South African Rugby Union are delighted to bring this three-part series to supporters with their broadcast partner in Ireland, Virgin Media.

The three hour-long episodes of ‘Two Sides’, produced by Whisper and T + W , will be shown on Virgin Media Four.

Virgin Media Four is Virgin Media’s newest television channel and the documentary will form part of its launch.

Episode 1 will be shown tomorrow (Wednesday) at 9pm, episode 2 on Wednesday, August 31 at 9pm, and episode 3 on Wednesday, September 7 at 9pm.

Episode 1 can be watched again on Virgin Media Four next Monday (August 29), episode 2 on Monday, September 5, and episode 3 on Monday, September 12 – all broadcast at 9pm.

Speaking about the documentary series, Ben Calveley , British & Irish Lions Managing Director, said: “We are delighted to give our fans in Ireland the opportunity to watch this brilliant documentary series.

“The British & Irish Lions and documentaries are inextricably linked. Going back to 1997 with the unforgettable ‘Living with Lions’, the Lions have produced a documentary capturing behind-the-scenes moments of every subsequent tour.

“This particular documentary shows how both sides rose to the unprecedented challenge of hosting a major sporting event during a global pandemic and I’m sure Lions fans in Ireland will really enjoy it.”

South African Rugby Union Chief Executive Jurie Roux added: “I know rugby fans are going to find this documentary fascinating and entertaining in equal measure, with the added twist this time of getting a fly-on-the-wall view of both camps involved in this unique tour.

“We are delighted to partner with the British & Irish Lions on ‘Two Sides’, which will act as a wonderful archive for rugby fans to look back upon for decades to come.”

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Two Sides documentary nominated for an Emmy

Two Sides, a critically acclaimed three-part behind-the-scenes documentary series on the historic 2021 British & Irish Lions tour, has been nominated for an International Emmy.

A co-production between South African production company T+W and Wales-based Whisper Cymru, the series ‘Two Sides’ has been shortlisted for Best Sports Documentary against just three other international nominations. The documentary was commissioned by, and made in conjunction with, the British & Irish Lions and the South Africa Rugby Union.

The documentary series ‘Two Sides’ explores what transpired in the Springbok and Lions camps during the 2021 Tour of South Africa. Stepping away from the traditional Lions doc format, ‘Two Sides’ tells the story of both the Lions and Springboks during the first Tour to South Africa since 2009. The documentary features fly-on-the-wall footage of both camps as they took part in a fascinating series of games that were successfully completed against the hugely challenging backdrop of a global pandemic.

GLOWING REVIEWS

In May 2022, Two Sides was broadcast across M-Net and SuperSport in South Africa, followed by ITV, UK and Virgin One, Ireland in June. The series attracted much social media interest and media attention. Reviews included:

“Quite simply the best documentary I have ever seen about rugby and indeed all sport... A masterpiece of documentary making." - Martin Hannan, The Herald

“Emotion, levity and turmoil, the latest Lions documentary is compelling viewing… a breath of fresh air.” - Ben Coles, The Telegraph

The British & Irish Lions, The South Africa Rugby Union and SuperSport funded and supported the series.

Rian Oberholzer, South African Rugby Union CEO: “Rugby fans will find this documentary fascinating and entertaining in equal measure, with the added twist this time of getting a fly-on-the-wall view of both camps involved in this unique tour. Two Sides will act as a wonderful archive for rugby fans to look back upon for decades to come.”

Rendani Ramovha, SuperSport CEO: “As a broadcaster, we constantly strive to tell the greatest stories in Africa, and from a sporting front there’s no exceptions. Two Sides showcases two world-class teams and gave us the opportunity to take viewers behind the scenes of a Lions tour that took place during the most difficult time for sport in recent memory. The nomination is testament to the hard work, planning, and execution from the production teams from both continents.”

Gareth Whittaker, T&W CEO: “An Emmy nomination is not something that comes around very often, much like the possibility of filming a once-in-a-lifetime tour. We pride ourselves on telling great stories, and the Springboks’ rivalry with the British and Irish Lions will always provide a brilliant first draft. Add the layer of Covid-19, empty stadiums, and a tour in jeopardy on top of that, and our work was cut out to ensure that no page was left unturned. Two Sides ranks as one of our greatest achievements, and the Emmy nomination is something we’ll not only treasure but hope to convert into a win!”

The British & Irish Lions tour docu-series on ITV

June 15, 2022

The British & Irish Lions, in conjunction with The South African Rugby Union, will release a three-part behind-the-scenes documentary of the 2021 British & Irish Lions Series on ITV.

The documentary series, called Two Sides , tells the story of both the Lions and Springboks during the first Tour to South Africa since 2009. The documentary features fly-on-the-wall footage of both camps as they took part in a fascinating series of games, which was successfully completed against the hugely challenging backdrop of a global pandemic.

The three episodes of Two Sides , produced by Whisper and T + W, will be shown on June 19th, 20th and 21st on ITV.

Ben Calveley, British & Irish Lions Managing Director, said: “The British & Irish Lions and documentaries are inextricably linked. Going back to 1997 with the unforgettable Living with Lions , the Lions have produced a documentary capturing behind-the-scenes moments of every subsequent Tour. This particular documentary shows how both sides rose to the unprecedented challenge of hosting a major sporting event during a global pandemic.”

South African Rugby Union CEO Jurie Roux added: “I know rugby fans are going to find this documentary fascinating and entertaining in equal measure, with the added twist this time of getting a fly-on-the-wall view of both camps involved in this unique tour. We are delighted to partner with The British & Irish Lions on Two Sides , which will act as a wonderful archive for rugby fans to look back upon for decades to come.”

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Springboks wing Makazole Mapimpi against the British & Irish Lions. Photo: Twitter @Springboks

TRAILER: Boks-Lions series documentary to premiere mid-May!

A documentary series of the 2021 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa, from the producers of ‘Chasing the Sun, will be released soon.

The documentary film series – titled ‘Two sides to every story’ will be aired on 15 May, and will cover the incredible on-field and behind-the-scenes story from the 2021 B&I Lions three Tests against the Boks.

The series was famously won 2-1 by the Springboks, but it was also filled with controversy, which ranged from a massive Covid-19 outbreak that threatened the entire tour, to the infamous Rassie Erasmus refereeing video that came to light.

You can see the Boks-Lions documentary preview below:

There are '𝙏𝙬𝙤 𝙎𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙨' to every story. SuperSport's official documentary film series of the 2021 British & Irish Lions tour of South Africa premieres on May 15 🇿🇦🦁 pic.twitter.com/CoieCzYnUf — SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) April 5, 2022

READ |   RASSIE TAKES TO TWITTER AGAIN… THIS TIME IN VERNACULAR

Erasmus was able to resume most Springbok job-related activities from mid-January after serving the first part of his ban handed down by World Rugby in relation to the video criticising officials after the first Test, but he will only be able to be involved on the Boks’ match-days from October onwards.

The widely-circulated video led to one of the biggest controversies the game has seen, while in an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail , Erasmus recently revealed what a toll it took on him and his family.

“I want people to know that I’m not this monster that I’ve been portrayed as,” he said in an interview with highly-regarded England-based writer Nik Simon. “Did you know my sister lives in Reading? She’s a social worker for the NHS. Fully invested in the English life. She loves the Royal Family, sings God Save the Queen and would stand outside clapping for the old guy, Sir Tom, who walked up and down his garden 100 times during the lockdown. “After what happened during the Lions tour, it felt like her family in the UK were the only people outside of South Africa who didn’t hate me. How do you think that makes you feel? It feels awful, man….

“Listen, I have never been a suit-and-tie guy who claims to be a saint. I have never said I will be a life coach. I have never had slogans like ‘better people make better rugby players’. I have never said I’m the world’s greatest father. Yeah, I’ve always been a bit naughty and enjoyed a giggle but I’ve always been an honest guy. “People think I leaked that video. I didn’t. Who leaks something like that? Why would I screw up my whole career to do that? I’ve got twin girls, 18 years old, who are at school and they hear other parents telling them how their dad had f***** it all up.  “My mum is at an old-age home and they’re showing her articles saying, ‘Rassie’s lost it, he’s got depression, he’s drunk’. They think those things because they are indoctrinated that I leaked that video. I want to tell the world that, swearing on my youngest child’s life, I did not leak that video.  “Many people have already made up their mind. How do you change people’s perception when World Rugby have found me guilty and banned me for 12 months? I don’t want people to feel sorry for me. I just want them to know what really happened.”

READ |  WORLD RUGBY TO REVIEW ROLE OF ‘WATER CARRIERS’

Prior to the second Test between the Boks and the Lions, after the video had become public, Erasmus also reveals that he isolated himself away from the rest of the team.

“Before that second Test I was crying in my room. I cried out of fear. I was afraid. If we had lost the second Test can you imagine the s*** I would have got from my own people?  “I would have been the guy who messed it up. I would have been finished. It was the scariest night of my career. The most intense week of my life. I was too nervous to get on the bus with the players. I drove in a separate car.”

In the interview, Erasmus also explains how the video was sent and insists he was not responsible for the leak.

“I looked at the viewing history and eight of the first 35 views were in Australia. How? Why on earth would I leak it to guys in Australia? It comes out and suddenly I look like the villain. It just doesn’t make sense. “Listen, the mistake I made was not putting a password on the link. I didn’t think it was necessary. I compounded that by not warning that it was confidential. So I accept and agree with World Rugby’s finding that a public leak was almost inevitable. “I have to live with that and I unconditionally accept their verdict and the sanction imposed. I won’t challenge or criticise that in any way. But I repeat to you, I am not the person who leaked that video.”

READ |  FULL 80-PAGE RASSIE ERASMUS MISCONDUCT HEARING VERDICT

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Watch: 2021 Lions series documentary trailer

‘Two Sides’, SuperSport’s official documentary series of the 2021 British & Irish Lions tour of South Africa, is set to premiere in May.

ALSO READ: Roos is what Rassie is looking for

There are ‘??? ?????’ to every story. if(device_type != "desktop"){ document.write(' '); document.write(' '); googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('dfp-300x250-2'); }); document.write(' '); } SuperSport’s official documentary film series of the 2021 British & Irish Lions tour of South Africa premieres on May 15 ??? pic.twitter.com/CoieCzYnUf if(window.isMobile != null || window.isTablet != null){ document.write(' '); document.write(' '); googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1662106257214-0'); }); document.write(' '); } — SuperSport ? (@SuperSportTV) April 5, 2022 if(device_type != "desktop"){ document.write(' '); document.write(' '); googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('dfp-300x250-3'); }); document.write(' '); }

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Lions tour documentary review: Two Sides moves stale concept into professional era

The Lions 2021 tour documentary is a different beast and is better for it

• 14:39, 18 JUN 2022

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For the Lions tour unlike any other, it's fitting the documentary that follows is suitably unique.

For starters, this isn't the usual feature-length one-and-done documentary that has followed previous tours - starting with the superlative Living with the Lions that chronicled the 1997 tour. Instead, it takes the form of a three-parter.

In South Africa, those three episodes aired weekly. When it is broadcast on ITV from Sunday night, it will be nightly - aired over three consecutive nights.

Read more: Lions tour 2021 documentary to finally air in UK this weekend

The other novelty for this series is, as the title Two Sides suggests, it's not just pulling the curtains back on the tourists, but the hosts as well. For the first time, we see into the Springbok camp.

And, while this series doesn't have the same humour as those earlier documentaries, that decision alone to look at both sides breathes life into a concept which, in recent outings, had become a bit stale. This format, coupled with the drama that unfolded due to the unprecedented challenges of Covid-19, makes for interesting, if slightly different, viewing.

If the original documentary was borne out of the amateur era, with what followed simply trying to recapture that magic, then this one certainly feels like the first properly tailored for the professional era.

There's no clips of kangaroo courts or raucous drinking sessions. Instead, there's moments of genuine intensity and high stakes mixed with family features that only serve to illuminate the sacrifices it takes to be on a Lions tour.

"We're going to win the f*****g tour," Warren Gatland says enthusiastically before the journey has begun. "The challenge is about us fronting up physically, about us seeking those sorts of challenges, about expectations that we have in this squad about winning the series."

There are nice pieces with Josh Adams' partner and Liam Williams' family and friends, with the former elaborating on the birth of daughter Lottie that became a plotline throughout the tour. The latter is interspersed with an interview with the mother of Springbok centre Lukhanyo Am, demonstrating the varied paths both have taken to the top.

However, perhaps the most revealing part of the first episode is simply how close the plug was to being pulled on the whole tour.

With Covid having ripped through their squad, Director of rugby Rassie Erasmus said at one stage the players and management held a meeting with SA Rugby CEO Jurie Roux where they felt they couldn't go ahead with the tour.

"Then we basically gave up," Erasmus says. "I called the players together and said: 'Guys, I'm going to call these guys and say the tour's off... if we've got stay here again and miss that SA A game. We would basically have played one match against Georgia'.

"I'm going to f*****g phone Jurie now and ask him, because we can't do it man. We're playing in two days' time."

There's little insights into a fraught Zoom call between Lions and Springbok management over the future of the tour, with Gatland revealing "he (Rassie) was saying his players were going to walk out of the squad".

Obviously, a resolution was found, but it's fascinating to see just how dramatic some of these moments were. So too the effect of positive Covid tests in camp.

While it certainly seemed dramatic last year when players were dropping out of squads at the last minute, the reality of the situation in camp didn't always shine through. It does here, especially with the Boks.

We get a closer look into what quarantining in their rooms looked like weeks out from their biggest Test series in over a decade. Assistant coach Mzwandile Stick calls it the "closest thing [to] being in jail".

The first episode builds to the Lions' sobering defeat to South Africa 'A', made up largely of Springbok stars. It is, of course, the game that set the Test series up nicely and there's nice, little moments of dressing room talk that hint at what's to come.

"Boys, they are s**t scared," declares Erasmus.

In the Lions huddle, stand-in captain Conor Murray gives his own impassioned speech. "They'll f*****g go away if we f*****g attack them in the first 10 minutes, yeah? They won't want to f*****g know about it.

"We f*****g go violent in that f*****g breakdown."

The end of the first episode is something reminiscent of a Bond film. Having seen tour captain Alun Wyn Jones a broken man after his seemingly tour-ending injury against Japan, with one shot just lingering on a solitary Jones with his head in his one good hand after requesting to be alone, the episode ends with news reports on his startling recovery.

And then, a simple shot of the Wales lock letting out a grin. Not a bad way to end an episode.

With the return of Jones and Rassiegate, there's more than enough for this documentary to get its teeth into in episodes two and three.

• 'Two Sides', produced by Whisper and T + W, will be shown on Sunday 19 June (10.20pm BST); Monday 20 June (10.45pm); and Tuesday 21 June (10.45pm) on ITV1
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Lions Tour documentary Two Sides receives rave reviews

Two Sides, the behind-the scenes documentary of the 2021 British & Irish Lions Tour of South Africa, has attracted rave reviews from critics and rugby fans around the world.

Exploring what transpired in both the Springbok and Lions camps during last year’s Tour, the fly-on-the-wall documentary was broadcast on ITV in three hour-long episodes.

And the reception to Two Sides has been overwhelmingly positive with in excess of 2m people viewing it so far.

Writing in the Scotland Herald, Martin Hannan said: “The documentary about the British & Irish Lions’ tour of South Africa last year is quite simply the best documentary I have ever seen about rugby and indeed all sport – it really is up there with the extraordinary Senna about the life of the Brazilian motor racing legend, and that’s the biggest compliment I can pay.”

He added: “The filming is of the highest quality so that you can really feel the intensity of the hits on the field of play and sense the many tensions off the pitch in both camps.”

Two Sides is the latest in a long and critically acclaimed series of Lions Tour documentaries that includes the mould-breaking ‘Living with Lions’ released 25 years ago.

But unlike previous documentaries, this one stepped away from the traditional format to provide insight into both the Lions and Springbok camps as they dealt with the challenges provided by the hugely challenging backdrop of a global pandemic.

The story of the 2021 Tour

This format change was welcomed by rugby reporter Ben Coles, writing in the Telegraph that Two Sides “serves up another behind-the-scenes tale that packs a punch”.

He writes: “With a tweak to the usual format, focusing as the title suggests on both sides this time, the Lions documentary gets a breath of fresh air.

“There are interviews at the family homes of as many Springboks as Lions players. We see what it means to see a son playing in a Lions series, while features with Stuart Hogg, the parents of Springbok No.8 Jasper Wiese and family of Lions wing Josh Adams are all particularly moving.

“Adams was selected for the tour while his partner, Georgia, was heavily pregnant with their first child, which ends up becoming a compelling narrative across the three episodes.”

Coles concludes: “Given all the off-field turmoil and well-made background segments, this will make for a compelling few hours for non-rugby devotees as much as the fans who chewed their fingernails off last summer.”

As well as illuminating insights into the teams’ preparations and what went on during the matches, Two Sides also gave fans a rare glimpse into the workings of a unique sporting event.

Writing for Wales Online, Ben James said: “If the original documentary was borne out of the amateur era, with what followed simply trying to recapture that magic, then this one certainly feels like the first properly tailored for the professional era.

“There’s no clips of kangaroo courts or raucous drinking sessions. Instead, there’s moments of genuine intensity and high stakes mixed with family features that only serve to illuminate the sacrifices it takes to be on a Lions tour.”

Former players also took to Twitter to hail the documentary series, with Stephen Ferris – a tourist when the Lions previously visited South Africa in 2009 – singing its praises.

Sacrifices. Great watch this https://t.co/En6kG3kbds — Stephen Ferris (@StephenFerris6) June 21, 2022

Fans were also fulsome in their praise of the documentary, which is now available on the ITV Hub.

What a great documentary #TwoSides was. So nice to get behind the scenes. Wales touring SA next so maybe just maybe they’ll be something from that? Great way to get eyes onto rugby too. — Carrick Blake (@analysisguy0502) June 21, 2022

Watched Ep1 of the “Two Sides” @lionsofficial documentary… blydi hell, it’s exceptional! Love the two teams insight. Vintage living with the lions, but with the drama of covid-19. Incredible. #TwoSides #Lions — garbate (@garbate) June 21, 2022

This is incredible. 😮 The best Lions doc ever so far. 🦁 Getting Chasing the Sun feels off it. 🇿🇦 Let SuperSport make every rugby documentary from now on! #TwoSides — RugbyLAD (@RugbyLAD7) June 19, 2022

This Lions documentary is CLASS #TwoSides — Anna Hutchinson (@annahutch7) June 21, 2022

#twosides what a brilliant documentary. So nice to have the opposition point of view, not just the Lions! Wales have a hell of a task next month! #walesrugby — Owain Jones (@dowainjones) June 24, 2022

Watching #TwoSides the official Lions tour of South Africa 2021. Really interested background to the training and coaching. #Rugby — Mr Tweed (@MinistryofTweed) June 22, 2022

Find me a better rugby documentary ever than #twosides – telling player back stories was inspired – #jasperwiese parents talking about their daughter was raw, emotional & gut wrenching; everyone can now see what the #bokke mean to #RSA & its people…astoundingly good 👏👏 — neilbaskerville (@baskers_ct) June 23, 2022

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Count the Lions As a Team That Listens to Nick Saban

Detroit has selected the former Alabama coach’s favorite player in the NFL draft two consecutive years. Plus, more on Travis Kelce’s new contract, and the fifth-year option deadline.

• Author: Albert Breer

Five years ago, in “The Art of Coaching” documentary that highlighted the bond between Bill Belichick and Nick Saban, the then-Alabama coach ripped off a rant on NFL teams, and how they handled evaluating his players ahead of the draft.

“One thing that you do, that a lot of the NFL guys don’t do, I don’t know that you’ve ever picked one of our guys if you never talked to me before picking him,” Saban said to Belichick. “And there’s a few other guys in the league that do that. But then there’s another 30 teams that I never hear from, and then they pick somebody and I’m saying, ‘They picked that guy?’ And then they say, ‘Well, we didn’t know this.’ Well, all you had to do is call and I would have told you the good stuff and I would’ve told you any issue.”

Count the Detroit Lions as a team that listens to Saban.

Two consecutive years, they’ve come away from the NFL draft with the guy NFL folks had tabbed as the legendary coach’s favorite in the class. Last year, it was Brian Branch, who became an integral part of the Detroit defense, and a Swiss Army knife for defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn. This year, it’s Terrion Arnold, a corner the Lions never thought would be there in the 20s.

Detroit had actually laid groundwork for a trade up—I believe Missouri DE Darius Robinson was the target—which made it easy to pivot and get aggressive in going up from No. 29 to No. 24 to land a falling Arnold.

For his part, Saban loved how Arnold took hard coaching, and attacked the challenge the coaches put in front of him, in sticking with him at corner rather than projecting him to safety like other schools had in recruiting him. Also, Detroit took note of how Saban played him at the “star” position (nickel corner), as well as outside corner. As the Lions see it, being deployed as the star at Alabama is a huge sign of trust and respect from Saban, because of the mental and physical burden he puts on that spot, and the versatility he demands from it.

Branch, for what it’s worth, played a lot there, too.

In this case, it wasn’t like it had been the year before, where GM Brad Holmes personally connected with Saban (they’d talked about Branch and Jahmyr Gibbs last year). But Detroit did have a couple of high-level staffers get to Saban on Arnold, confirming what they’d seen. Which, in the end, made going after Arnold a no-brainer when he slipped.

• There are a lot of stories where a fortunate twist can play into a team drafting a certain player—and the Chargers will have one of those from 2024 if, years from now, OT Joe Alt becomes the sort of franchise cornerstone Joe Hortiz and Jim Harbaugh think he can be.

The fact that the GM and coach were new did limit, to a degree, what they were personally able to do during this draft cycle. But the Chargers were able to get guys out on the road enough, both on the coaching and scouting side. And one such lieutenant that traveled around was veteran line coach Mike Devlin.

As luck would have it, he was assigned to run drills for the offensive line prospects at Notre Dame’s pro day in March. That allowed Devlin to challenge Alt, and to also get to know him better with the extra time he’d get with the Irish captain. Now, it’s not like there were too many revelations on the visit. Everyone knew what sort of player he was. But with the Chargers also liking Alabama RT JC Latham, the little things did make a difference.

The biggest question now is where Alt will fit on the line. All 33 of his starts at Notre Dame came at left tackle, the position Rashawn Slater plays for the Chargers. The plan is to let Alt compete for the starting right tackle spot. That said, he played tight end in high school, and wound up starting at left tackle as a true freshman at Notre Dame. So the lift might not be as heavy for Alt as it would be for others.

And that’s what made this pick so easy for the Chargers. Alt will figure it out, and at a baseline be a really good pro with a chance to be much better, making him the rare high floor-high ceiling prospect. He has some stuff to work on such as his ability to anchor (though the Chargers would tell you to watch how, in those spots, he bends and recovers). But with the presence and intelligence he showed the Chargers in meetings, it’s a good bet that Alt will keep ascending.

The Chiefs guaranteed all $17 million of Kelce's salary for 2024.

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

• The Chiefs did right by Travis Kelce, giving the future Hall of Famer what amounts to a plain-old raise Monday—usually teams will require adding years to a player’s contract in exchange, or moving money away from a future year, for giving them this sort of pay bump.

Kelce’s existing contract had a $12 million base salary for this year, with another $750,000 in per-game roster bonuses, and a $250,000 roster bonus. The Chiefs gave him another $4 million, guaranteeing all $17 million for 2023. They left his $17.25 million for 2025 intact, added a trigger that’ll guarantee most of it in March (in the form of an $11.5 million roster bonus due on the third day of the league year), and force the team to make a decision on whether to keep him at the start of free agency.

The two-year deal makes Kelce the highest paid tight end in the NFL heading into a season in which he’ll turn 35. It’s also, truth be told, not that big of a number. He’s making less, in fact, on an APY (average per year) basis than Cleveland Browns WR Jerry Jeudy. Which is to say everything is relative, and in that sense a great tight end is a much better deal in today’s NFL than is a good receiver.

• As happy as the Minnesota Vikings were to get J.J. McCarthy where they did with the 10th pick, I’d say they were more surprised that pass rusher Dallas Turner slipped as deep into the teens as he did, which prompted the reaction from Kevin O’Connell that the team’s in-house crew captured.

In the end, they got two guys who were projected in the top 10 in a series of trade-ups without giving up an additional first-round pick to do it. The downside? It comes in volume. They wound up with seven picks after coming in with nine, and none of those picks came on Day 2 (they had one pick between 17 and 177, and that was at 108). As it stands now, they will have only four picks next year—their own first-rounder, a third-round compensatory pick for Kirk Cousins, their own fifth-rounder, and another fifth-rounder they acquired in the Za’Darius Smith trade.

• With the deadline Thursday, we know that nine of the top 12 picks in the 2021 draft have had their fifth-year option picked up. The three that haven’t, and won’t, are all quarterbacks who have been traded—Zach Wilson, Trey Lance and Justin Fields.

The teams that took those three certainly felt the pain of the misses, but each has recovered nicely. And throw Mac Jones in there, and you have four of five first-round quarterbacks from that year’s class dealt, without a single Day 1 or Day 2 pick included in any of the four trades.

• Interestingly enough, only six of the remaining 22 first-rounders from that year have had their fifth-year options picked up.

• Ezekiel Elliott showed last year with the New England Patriots that he can still play. That said, the Dallas Cowboys can’t run him the way they did in Elliott’s previous stint. I was pretty surprised, as such, that the Cowboys didn’t use one of their eight picks on the position, though they do think highly of Rico Dowdle and Deuce Vaughn.

• It wasn’t a huge surprise that the New York Giants punted on quarterback with Drake Maye three picks before their first-round selection at No. 6—word circulated around the NFL that New York had become a Maye-or-no-QB team over the couple of weeks leading up to the draft. And since they did offer their 2025 first-rounder to get to No. 3, you can see New York saw a gap between the top three and the next three in the class.

• As for how the teams had the guys ranked, the Vikings really dove in on the guys after the top two, and had Maye (for whom they offered 11, 23 and a 2025 first-rounder, with pick swaps favoring them bringing some value back), then McCarthy . The Falcons had Michael Penix Jr. behind Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels (with a few folks in their building personally having Penix second). And Denver had Nix behind only Williams and Daniels.

Latu could be a huge get for the Colts if his neck in healthy.

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

• I can appreciate the video of Colts GM Chris Ballard saying the Indianapolis Colts got the draft’s best pass rusher in Laiatu Latu. Most people, maybe all, I talked to about the UCLA star before the draft told me his tape was the best among the pass rushers. But that’s not the question with Latu; it’s the condition of his nick. But if he’s healthy? Paired with DeForest Buckner in that front, look out.

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