Linebacker Ernie Sims said it didn't take long for him toget over the sting of last year's 0-16 season.

“I went home and went in the country and didn't come out and didn't talk to nobody and now I'm back,” Sims said Thursday.

Sims spent most of the offseason at his home in rural Florida. He went hunting and fishing, where he caught a 10-pound bass, and spent the past 2 1/2 months relaxing and letting his body “heal up.”

The fourth-year pro is coming off his worst season individually, but he still ranks as one of the Lions' top defensive playmakers and will be a key component of any turnaround. He said he doesn't have a good idea how or where he'll fit in new coach Jim Schwartz's system yet, and while he's “comfortable” with the personnel changes around him he's taking a wait-and-see approach to the season.

“I'm being real,” Sims said. “It might look good on paper right now and it might look good because they're running good in offseason training, but it really matters on Sundays when the lights are on and it's game time.”