Allen Park — Two years after unseating longtime Detroit Lions long snapper Don Muhlbach, Scott Daly finds himself on the other side of a training camp competition. Operating as the incumbent this time around, he’s the one trying to fend off a challenger, two-time Pro Bowler Jake McQuaide.
Barring a colossal blunder, long snappers often go unnoticed. And while there was nothing Daly did wrong to draw the ire of the fan base, special teams coordinator Dave Fipp acknowledged Saturday that Daly hadn’t taken the big jump in development and consistency the team had wanted to see during the 2022 season.
“We thought he got better, but he could get better at a faster rate, and sometimes competition helps accelerate that process,” Fipp said.
An offseason plan was made to bring in a challenger for the role, but the expectation was it would be a young guy, until the opportunity to add McQuaide fell in Detroit’s lap.
“McQuaide ended up really reaching out to us and he wanted to be here,” Fipp said. “His family is down in Ohio and not too far away and so for him this place made sense for him.”
Normally, when a team brings in a former Pro Bowler, regardless of position, it’s easy to assume it’s his job to lose. That’s not the case in this instance. Fipp made it clear to McQuaid he’ll need to prove he’s clearly the better option. If the competition is close, Daly will be the one who sticks.
And the initial results of McQuaid being in the building has had the desired impact, getting Daly to sharpen his focus and take his performance to a higher level.
“I feel like Daly’s game is elevated,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “He’s gotten better — his speed of his snaps, location, getting out of his stance and protection are showing up.”
Daly has spent the offseason focusing on the little things. He’s been working on his lower body strength and transfer of power to add that speed to his snaps. Additionally, he combs over the film daily to unearth any wasted movements in his technique, from snap to blocking stance, to get to as close to perfect as he can.
And while having the unquestioned job security he had last season would be nice, Daly has tried to view the addition of McQuaid through a positive lens.
“It intensifies things, for sure,” Daly said. “You definitely try to keep the same mindset, regardless if someone is in the building or outside the building. I’m always trying to push myself to my standard and trying to reach that standard each or every day if someone else is here or not.
“I just try to look at the bright side,” Daly said. “It’s definitely helped me, definitely kept me on my toes and made me a better snapper overall, both mentally and physically. I’m grateful for it. Competition makes everyone better. We’re all trying to go to the same place and push ourselves to our very best.”
Plus, McQuaide’s presence is another opportunity for Daly to pick the brain of a veteran who has played at a high level in the NFL for a long time.
“You can tell he’s a pro,” Daly said. “From the second he came in here, day one, you could tell there’s a reason he’s been in the league as long as he has. He’s doing a great job and I’m grateful to be able to learn from him, little things here and there about how he goes about his business and how he prepares himself. That’s definitely helped me in my preparation on the field, off the field.”
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @Justin_Rogers