How Dan Skipper reported eligible and became a beloved Lion

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DETROIT -- JUMBO 13! After three plays spent standing on the sideline to start the Lions' first drive, Dan Skipper's number is called. He runs onto the field with one white-gloved hand raised. "It's calm until it's not," he says of his job as the Lions sixth offensive lineman. "It's just the burst. You have to stay locked in. You can't have the mental lull."

The first thing he must do during this burst, and within the 40-second play clock, is find the white hat, or the referee, which isn't as simple as it sounds. "Sometimes they're hiding," he says, so he keeps one eye on the white hat at all times, another on the offense and, somehow, a third eye on offensive coordinator…