Q&A: Penei Sewell Says Run Game 'Not Really to Our Standard'

Here is a Q&A with Detroit Lions right tackle Penei Sewell.

The Detroit Lions offensive line does not get caught up in hype or any sort of outside noise. 

For second-year right tackle Penei Sewell, each day is meant to strive towards becoming one of the National Football League's all-time great offensive linemen.

“I know he has his own goals and aspirations as an individual and he can, his ceiling’s pretty high. He’s just still tapping into it," offensive line coach Hank Fraley told reporters last month. “He’s a young player and there’s guys that, you got to challenge players like that, too. ‘How good do you want to be? Is it good or great?’ And I think he wants to be one of those great ones, but he’s far from there but he can be a great one.” 

Despite receiving early accolades in his career, Sewell still considers his play to be "average". 

Here is the conversation that Sewell had with All Lions, discussing his second season, following practice this week.

*Questions and responses have been lightly edited for clarity. 

What was last week like, being away from practice and still preparing for an NFL game?

Penei Sewell: Obviously, time away from the facility, but it was not really different, to be honest. It was just not being at practice and getting the reps, because I was still watching film, still on top of everything. So, other than that, just not being at practice, everything was normal.

What did the win over the Packers do for the morale in the locker room?

Sewell: It changed the energy, I think, and the approach that some dudes may have coming in during that losing streak. Just created a different energy and everyone comes to work with joy, and everyone’s with a purpose. So hopefully, we can keep on continuing and doing that.

This week, you have another divisional matchup against the Chicago Bears, and are looking for two wins in a row. What is your early impression of their defensive line?

Sewell: Man, across the board, they’re young and hungry, and that shows on the tape. I know (Trevis) Gipson from last year, but the other ones are fairly new. Under that new defensive coordinator (Alan Williams) that they have, they all kinda seem to jell well together and play off of each other. So, we’ve just gotta match their intensity and go from there.

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How would you evaluate your performance currently in your second year as a pro?

Sewell: Average, I would say. There’s still things I’ve got to work on technically and consistently, and go from there.

Are you hard on yourself when evaluating your performance?

Sewell: In my eyes, I would say I’m regular, because every day, I’m always trying to find something to improve. Whether it’s as small as hand placement or feet quickness and stuff like that. So, in my eyes, I see it as regular. Just trying to improve each and every day and be the best there is.

How are you feeling about your team’s running attack right now?

Sewell: I feel like it’s not really to our standard. There’s still more out there that we can get. There’s still more out there that we can do. So, just, this next game, we’re just gonna keep doing what we’re doing, and just capitalize on those runs that we can make into big ones.