BobbyLayne
Footballguy
Lions camp observations: Defense starts hot in scrimmage work, backup QBs pick offense up late
Allen Park — Here are some notes and observations from the Detroit Lions’ Tuesday morning training camp practice, conducted outdoors in a light but steady rain.
● As always, let’s start with a participation report.
Not practicing: Safety Kerby Joseph (knee), safety Morice Norris (concussion), wide receiver Malik Taylor, defensive tackle Brodric Martin, offensive lineman Trystan Colon (center) and defensive end Ahmed Hassanein (pec).
Returning to practice was tight end Sam Laporta, who missed the past two days of camp with an undisclosed injury. Additionally, defensive tackle Mekhi Wingo was activated off the physically unable to perform list. Not surprisingly, given the long layoff, he was limited to individual drills his first day back.
Encouragingly, Norris was running on the side under the supervision of a trainer, implying he’s slowly progressing through the return-to-play protocol after being taken off the field by ambulance during the team's second preseason game.
There were no major injuries during the long, physical, padded practice. Safety Brian Branch was in and out of the lineup in the back half of practice for precautionary reasons. Meanwhile, wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown had to get the thumb on his right hand taped after taking a ball awkwardly off it during individual drills.
● In terms of one-on-ones, I focused on a position mathcup I haven’t watched all camp: The linebackers and box safeties going toe-to-toe with the running backs and tight ends.
The work started with blitz pickup. The offensive players got off to a strong start with David Montgomery stalling out Jack Campbell, and the returning LaPorta stuffing Trevor Nowaskie. The defense managed to get on the board when undrafted rookie Ian Kennelly blew by Jahmyr Gibbs’ blocking effort.
Other offensive wins went to Craig Reynolds, who stopped Alex Anzalone’s blitz. Sione Vaki did the same to safety Loren Strickland. Defensively, Derrick Barnes got by tight end Gunnar Oakes with minimal resistance, and Grant Stuard plowed through Erick Hallett.
The competition shifted to receiving, where the offensive players predictably won most of the matchups. Tight end Shane Zytlra was a standout, winning both of his reps with easy separation at the top of his routes. He beat Anzalone on a dig pattern and Strickland on a go ball down the seam.
Meanwhile, Gibbs put Campbell in a blender, and Reynolds cooked Anthony Pittman running a slant.
Defensively, Stuard held up well. He gave up a contested catch to Montgomery, but blanketed the out route. The linebacker got the win on a second rep, breaking up a throw for tight end Zach Horton.
● Practice shifted to a full-team scrimmage with the defense dominating the early possessions. In the opening matchup between the first-team units, the offense went three-and-out. Barnes stuffed a Montgomery run on second down to set up third-and-4, with DJ Reed smothering St. Brown to force an incompletion on the play.
The second-team offense also went three-and-out with Sione Vaki getting stuffed on first and second down, once by Kennelly, and Tom Kennedy getting stopped short of the sticks on third-and-7. QB Kyle Allen tried to draw the defense offside on fourth down, but the front four didn’t bite on the hard count.
The first teams came back in, and a first down remained elusive. Reed broke up a second-down throw intended for St. Brown, and safety Rock Ya-Sin was in position to deliver a thunderous hit on a slant to Jameson Williams on third-and-9, but was a good teammate, holding up on laying the lumber.
● The offense finally got a “win” when Vaki broke contain for a huge gain around the left side of the formation. That led to a third-and-5 where Hendon Hooker sidestepped pressure in the pocket and squeezed a throw into a minuscule window to a crossing TeSlaa, who had almost no separation from cornerback Tyson Russell.
● Working the scenario of being pinned deep, the first-team offense was given the ball at their own 1-yard line. They crawled out of the hole with two Montgomery runs for 8 yards, followed by Goff hitting Williams across the middle for an explosive gain.
Gibbs gained another first down with three straight runs. Rookie defender Tyleik Williams got barked at for his gap discipline during that series of plays. Regardless, the defense turned the tide with Amik Robertson forcing an incompletion on a throw to Kalif Raymond and Moore contesting a sideline shot to St. Brown that the receiver couldn’t hang on to through contact with the ground.
● After a special teams segment, the first-team offense went back to work from its own 40. Honestly, Branch should have been credited with ruining the drive. However, the coaches only rewarded him for one of two sacks on successful blitzes. Branch was also in a position to deliver a punishing hit to Williams, but the speedy receiver dropped the ball.
After that play, Branch left the field with his minor injury concern, giving way to Kennelly. That’s where things briefly clicked for the offense, with St. Brown getting free from the coverage of Arnold to convert a third-and-long.
Facing third-and-13 after Robertson stopped Montgomery for a loss on second down, St. Brown was stopped 2 yards shy of the sticks in the red zone. Going for it on fourth down, Zylstra popped free into the flat and coasted down the right sideline for a 17-yard touchdown, the first-team’s first of the day.
● The twos, with Allen at the helm, also found paydirt. Tim Patrick boxed out cornerback Allen George on a post pattern to move the chains. Still, the offense found itself in a second-and-20 hole after a holding call before Allen dropped a dime between layers of the zone coverage along the left sideline to Dominic Lovett, where the rookie receiver made a toe-tapping catch.
From there, a nice run and a screen to running back Jacob Saylors set up first-and-goal from the 2-yard line, with Vaki cruising around the right side untouched to put the finishing touches on the drive.
● Up next was red zone work, with the offense starting at the 20-yard line. The first unit stayed hot with Goff finding St. Brown for a 4-yard score on third-and-goal when the receiver easily shook the coverage of Arnold on a hitch to the front pylon.
Allen checked in with the second group and couldn’t keep things rolling, missing tight end Steven Stilianos on third-and-2 from the 11.
● Hooker came in for the third red zone series, leading the second-team offense against Detroit’s starting defense. The backup fighting for his roster life needed two plays to find the end zone.
It didn’t hurt that Craig Reynolds ran through a defender for a 10-yard gain on first down. Then, with first-and-goal from the 10, Hooker put a clean ball on the chest of Jakobie Keeney-James, who beat Robertson on a slant, losing a shoe as he plunged across the goal line.
● From there, the second-team defense got a crack at the first-team offense. Again, it was the backups scoring the win. After Montgomery converted a fourth-and-2 to the 7, Goff was flagged for delay of game. Working to third-and-goal from the 5, the offense tried to catch the defense napping with a handoff to Gibbs, but veteran linebacker Zach Cunningham met the back in the hole for a minimal gain, forcing a field goal.
Notably, during that series, cornerback DJ Miller perfectly played an out route to St. Brown and netted a PBU. The late-camp addition isn't going to forget that play any time soon.
● Worth noting, undrafted rookie Keith Cooper saw reps with both the first and second-team defenses and netted a couple of impressive run stops during this stretch, one from an edge alignment and another inside.
● Practice ended with two end-of-game situations. The first-team offense was given the ball at midfield, down three, with 56 remaining and one timeout.
It didn’t go well.
Goff was nearly picked by Hallett, playing safety, on a first-down slant to St. Brown. And the QB made every effort to turn it over again on second down, but Reed lost his footing on the wet grass, causing the ball to bounce off his hands.
Barnes should have been credited with a sack on third down. However, the play was allowed to continue, leading to a short throw to tight end Brock Wright that set up fourth-and-7, where Goff sailed a throw to an open St. Brown across the middle.
● The second team, led by Allen, started at their own 42, down a touchdown, with 1:06 remaining and two timeouts.
It wasn’t a smooth series, but the veteran QB got the job done, first by drawing defensive tackle Myles Adams offside on fourth-and-1 to extend the drive. The QB then connected with TeSlaa down to the 25, before finding Tom Kennedy on fourth-and-10, where the receiver juked past cornerback Nick Whiteside to secure the first.
With 10 seconds remaining from the 14, Allen quickly went to Kennedy, who got out of bounds after a 10-yard pickup. Allen then capped the scoring drive by hitting Patrick along the back line of the end zone after the veteran got separation on Whiteside.
● As always, let’s start with a participation report.
Not practicing: Safety Kerby Joseph (knee), safety Morice Norris (concussion), wide receiver Malik Taylor, defensive tackle Brodric Martin, offensive lineman Trystan Colon (center) and defensive end Ahmed Hassanein (pec).
Returning to practice was tight end Sam Laporta, who missed the past two days of camp with an undisclosed injury. Additionally, defensive tackle Mekhi Wingo was activated off the physically unable to perform list. Not surprisingly, given the long layoff, he was limited to individual drills his first day back.
Encouragingly, Norris was running on the side under the supervision of a trainer, implying he’s slowly progressing through the return-to-play protocol after being taken off the field by ambulance during the team's second preseason game.
There were no major injuries during the long, physical, padded practice. Safety Brian Branch was in and out of the lineup in the back half of practice for precautionary reasons. Meanwhile, wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown had to get the thumb on his right hand taped after taking a ball awkwardly off it during individual drills.
● In terms of one-on-ones, I focused on a position mathcup I haven’t watched all camp: The linebackers and box safeties going toe-to-toe with the running backs and tight ends.
The work started with blitz pickup. The offensive players got off to a strong start with David Montgomery stalling out Jack Campbell, and the returning LaPorta stuffing Trevor Nowaskie. The defense managed to get on the board when undrafted rookie Ian Kennelly blew by Jahmyr Gibbs’ blocking effort.
Other offensive wins went to Craig Reynolds, who stopped Alex Anzalone’s blitz. Sione Vaki did the same to safety Loren Strickland. Defensively, Derrick Barnes got by tight end Gunnar Oakes with minimal resistance, and Grant Stuard plowed through Erick Hallett.
The competition shifted to receiving, where the offensive players predictably won most of the matchups. Tight end Shane Zytlra was a standout, winning both of his reps with easy separation at the top of his routes. He beat Anzalone on a dig pattern and Strickland on a go ball down the seam.
Meanwhile, Gibbs put Campbell in a blender, and Reynolds cooked Anthony Pittman running a slant.
Defensively, Stuard held up well. He gave up a contested catch to Montgomery, but blanketed the out route. The linebacker got the win on a second rep, breaking up a throw for tight end Zach Horton.
● Practice shifted to a full-team scrimmage with the defense dominating the early possessions. In the opening matchup between the first-team units, the offense went three-and-out. Barnes stuffed a Montgomery run on second down to set up third-and-4, with DJ Reed smothering St. Brown to force an incompletion on the play.
The second-team offense also went three-and-out with Sione Vaki getting stuffed on first and second down, once by Kennelly, and Tom Kennedy getting stopped short of the sticks on third-and-7. QB Kyle Allen tried to draw the defense offside on fourth down, but the front four didn’t bite on the hard count.
The first teams came back in, and a first down remained elusive. Reed broke up a second-down throw intended for St. Brown, and safety Rock Ya-Sin was in position to deliver a thunderous hit on a slant to Jameson Williams on third-and-9, but was a good teammate, holding up on laying the lumber.
● The offense finally got a “win” when Vaki broke contain for a huge gain around the left side of the formation. That led to a third-and-5 where Hendon Hooker sidestepped pressure in the pocket and squeezed a throw into a minuscule window to a crossing TeSlaa, who had almost no separation from cornerback Tyson Russell.
● Working the scenario of being pinned deep, the first-team offense was given the ball at their own 1-yard line. They crawled out of the hole with two Montgomery runs for 8 yards, followed by Goff hitting Williams across the middle for an explosive gain.
Gibbs gained another first down with three straight runs. Rookie defender Tyleik Williams got barked at for his gap discipline during that series of plays. Regardless, the defense turned the tide with Amik Robertson forcing an incompletion on a throw to Kalif Raymond and Moore contesting a sideline shot to St. Brown that the receiver couldn’t hang on to through contact with the ground.
● After a special teams segment, the first-team offense went back to work from its own 40. Honestly, Branch should have been credited with ruining the drive. However, the coaches only rewarded him for one of two sacks on successful blitzes. Branch was also in a position to deliver a punishing hit to Williams, but the speedy receiver dropped the ball.
After that play, Branch left the field with his minor injury concern, giving way to Kennelly. That’s where things briefly clicked for the offense, with St. Brown getting free from the coverage of Arnold to convert a third-and-long.
Facing third-and-13 after Robertson stopped Montgomery for a loss on second down, St. Brown was stopped 2 yards shy of the sticks in the red zone. Going for it on fourth down, Zylstra popped free into the flat and coasted down the right sideline for a 17-yard touchdown, the first-team’s first of the day.
● The twos, with Allen at the helm, also found paydirt. Tim Patrick boxed out cornerback Allen George on a post pattern to move the chains. Still, the offense found itself in a second-and-20 hole after a holding call before Allen dropped a dime between layers of the zone coverage along the left sideline to Dominic Lovett, where the rookie receiver made a toe-tapping catch.
From there, a nice run and a screen to running back Jacob Saylors set up first-and-goal from the 2-yard line, with Vaki cruising around the right side untouched to put the finishing touches on the drive.
● Up next was red zone work, with the offense starting at the 20-yard line. The first unit stayed hot with Goff finding St. Brown for a 4-yard score on third-and-goal when the receiver easily shook the coverage of Arnold on a hitch to the front pylon.
Allen checked in with the second group and couldn’t keep things rolling, missing tight end Steven Stilianos on third-and-2 from the 11.
● Hooker came in for the third red zone series, leading the second-team offense against Detroit’s starting defense. The backup fighting for his roster life needed two plays to find the end zone.
It didn’t hurt that Craig Reynolds ran through a defender for a 10-yard gain on first down. Then, with first-and-goal from the 10, Hooker put a clean ball on the chest of Jakobie Keeney-James, who beat Robertson on a slant, losing a shoe as he plunged across the goal line.
● From there, the second-team defense got a crack at the first-team offense. Again, it was the backups scoring the win. After Montgomery converted a fourth-and-2 to the 7, Goff was flagged for delay of game. Working to third-and-goal from the 5, the offense tried to catch the defense napping with a handoff to Gibbs, but veteran linebacker Zach Cunningham met the back in the hole for a minimal gain, forcing a field goal.
Notably, during that series, cornerback DJ Miller perfectly played an out route to St. Brown and netted a PBU. The late-camp addition isn't going to forget that play any time soon.
● Worth noting, undrafted rookie Keith Cooper saw reps with both the first and second-team defenses and netted a couple of impressive run stops during this stretch, one from an edge alignment and another inside.
● Practice ended with two end-of-game situations. The first-team offense was given the ball at midfield, down three, with 56 remaining and one timeout.
It didn’t go well.
Goff was nearly picked by Hallett, playing safety, on a first-down slant to St. Brown. And the QB made every effort to turn it over again on second down, but Reed lost his footing on the wet grass, causing the ball to bounce off his hands.
Barnes should have been credited with a sack on third down. However, the play was allowed to continue, leading to a short throw to tight end Brock Wright that set up fourth-and-7, where Goff sailed a throw to an open St. Brown across the middle.
● The second team, led by Allen, started at their own 42, down a touchdown, with 1:06 remaining and two timeouts.
It wasn’t a smooth series, but the veteran QB got the job done, first by drawing defensive tackle Myles Adams offside on fourth-and-1 to extend the drive. The QB then connected with TeSlaa down to the 25, before finding Tom Kennedy on fourth-and-10, where the receiver juked past cornerback Nick Whiteside to secure the first.
With 10 seconds remaining from the 14, Allen quickly went to Kennedy, who got out of bounds after a 10-yard pickup. Allen then capped the scoring drive by hitting Patrick along the back line of the end zone after the veteran got separation on Whiteside.
