BobbyLayne
Footballguy
Lions OTA observations: Energy sky high, absences plentiful, defensive line productive
Allen Park — Here are some notes and observations from the Detroit Lions’ OTA practice on Friday, the first of the offseason open to the media.
● Let’s start with a vibe check.
Somewhat surprisingly, given it’s still May, the energy for this practice was off the charts, in large part due to the revamped coaching staff constantly bickering with each other before, during, and after snaps. That carried over to most of the players on the sidelines, who were animatedly reacting to the result of each play.
The energy was generally positive, and there were minimal instances of post-whistle extracurriculars. Linebacker Grant Stuard took exception to the way Taylor Decker picked up a blitz, with the defender losing his helmet while being held back by teammates, and tight end Brock Wright and safety Morice Norris got tangled up for several seconds after one play was blown dead.
Still, if this intensity carries over to camp, it wouldn’t be surprising to see things getting a little more heated between the offense and defense than in years past.
● There was a large group of players not participating in practice. Coach Dan Campbell rattled off a list before the session, comically injecting special adviser to ownership Chris Spielman and Hall of Famers Barry Sanders and Calvin Johnson into the rundown.
Here’s who actually didn’t practice on Friday: David Montgomery, Sione Vaki, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Isaac TeSlaa, Myles Frazier, Frank Ragnow, Alex Anzalone, Malcolm Rodriguez, Derrick Barnes, Terrion Arnold, Khalil Dorsey, Brian Branch, Gavin Holmes, Alim McNeill, Levi Onwuzurike, Mekhi Wingo, DJ Reader and Josh Paschal.
“Look, some of them are so minor,” Campbell said. “Like the rookies, they’ve been training for the combine, all this. We’re just trying to get some of these guys right physically. We’re working with them, (director of player health and performance Brett) Fisch (Fischer) is working with them, (director of sports performance) Mike Clark and that crew. Let’s get their bodies right, everything aligned right, and then they’ll be ready for training camp.”
The only two players not in the building were Anzalone and Ragnow. Campbell said he’s been in touch with both.
“I know who they are, I know where they are at, I’ve talked to them, and we’re all good.”
● Practicing and showing no sign of limitation was defensive end Aidan Hutchinson. He was wearing a full-length compression sleeve on his left leg, but there were no signs of concern.
The rep that caught my eye was an individual drill. Hutchinson dropped back 10 yards into space from his edge alignment. However, when he went to break back toward the line of scrimmage, he lost his footing. Catching himself before hitting the ground, he quickly recovered and showed impressive burst after the slip.
● Another miscue during individual drills saw Sam LaPorta collide with offensive coordinator John Morton, who had lost track of the tight end’s route while drifting in the middle of the field.
Surprisingly, Morton kept his feet while LaPorta tumbled to the ground. Quarterbacks coach Mark Brunell found the whole scene hilarious, especially when LaPorta jumped back to his feet, grabbed a towel from his back pocket and threw it in the air, simulating a penalty flag against the OC.
● Obviously, there’s going to be a lot of intrigue with the offensive line rotation. It’s clear we’re going to see a lot of moving pieces as Detroit determines the best course of action.
In terms of backfilling Ragnow’s absence, those starting center reps went to rookie Tate Ratledge, with Christian Mahogany at left guard and Graham Glasgow getting most of the work at right guard, occasionally rotating out with Awosika.
● One of the bigger surprises of the day was Colby Sorsdal getting a look at center. The third-year lineman has seen snaps at every other spot along the offensive line, but center is new this offseason.
● With the defensive line depth depleted due to injury, Roy Lopez and rookie Tyleik Williams got the first-team work on the inside. Lopez had a nice rep, generating inside pressure and forcing a throwaway.
● The defensive line won more than its fair share of snaps across all the units, putting steady pressure on the quarterbacks. Marcus Davenport batted a pass down, rookie Ahmed Hassanein was in the QB’s face more than once, and Isaac Ukwu got the corner a couple times, to highlight a few examples.
● The deep ball chemistry between the quarterbacks and receivers was predictably shaky at this stage, with several balls being overthrown or underthrown, with the target failing to locate and adjust.
● With St. Brown sidelined, veteran Tim Patrick was a more popular target for Goff. The two connected multiple times across the middle. The receiver got the best of Ennis Rakestraw, who was working with the starters in place of Arnold.
It was a shaky day overall for the second-year cornerback, who got beaten a handful of times and dropped an interception throw directly to him.
● Rakestraw and Rock Ya-Sin got the first reps at gunner on punt coverage.
● Punter Jack Fox was toying with a new style punt, which, for lack of a better description, comes off his foot spinning sideways like a helicopter.
When he was able to control it, he could drop it inside the 5-yard line, and it would bounce horizontally.
The return men were also struggling to gauge the depth of the kick and were late coming up to field it, leading to multiple muffs. If Fox can harness it, it could be a valuable addition to his arsenal.
