ALLEN PARK – The Detroit Lions have an off-day Monday. By the end of Sunday’s practice, it became clear just how much they needed it.
Coach Matt Patricia said before practice that the withdrawal of Bo Scarbrough and tight end Hunter Brynt would not come up, although that was only the beginning of Detroit’s injury. This is especially true when running back, where rookies D’Andre Swift and Jason Huntley did not fit either, while Kerryon Johnson attended the practice, but was kept out of most teamwork.
That left the Lions short-handed in the position, with Ty Johnson getting a lot of first-team work ahead of Jonathan Williams and Wes Hills.
But the injury problems hardly stop there, especially on misdemeanors. Kenny Golladay, Detroit’s star receiver, left the practice early. Halapoulivaati Vaitai, the big gainer of free agent in straight approach, pulled back to the locker room after the end of the exercise. Right guard Jonah Jackson and left guard Joe Dahl did not serve that day either.
For those who score at home, this is Detroit’s no. 1-receiver, top three running backs and three-fifths of the projected offensive line who were not on the field at the end of the day.
The defenders were clearly outwitted by Desmond Trufant after 70 minutes. And Austin Bryant, a fourth-round pick last year, remains physically unable to make list. Considering how much time he also lost last year to injuries – he played just 133 snaps – Bryant has a lot of work to do to see the field in every capacity as the season opens in three weeks.
Here are some other observations from practice:
– Tracy Walker put in a lot of work another day with the defense of the second team. My gut tells me this is a situation where Detroit is just trying to get good jobs for guys like Duron Harmon, who was acquired in an offseason deal with New England, and Will Harris, a former pick of ‘ the third round fighting like a rookie last year. Then again, the season starts in just three weeks, and you would think Detroit would have its first-team defense on the field after coming within 64 yards of setting the franchise record for futility last year. The Lions could not stop anyone, allowed the most passing yards in the league and picked out the least passes. But outside of Darius Slay, there was no one better on defense than Tracy Walker. ‘It’s a bit strange that he spends so much time with the second team, although I think it’s too early to say that this is another Graham Glasgow situation, where the Lions chose to put their best player on’ to platoon the position.
For what it’s worth it, here’s Matt Patricia’s about the situation: ‘I would not be the first team, second team, all that game at the moment. We try to practice and do rotations, especially with a very deep safety group – Tracy, Will Harris, apparently Duron, (Jayron) Kearse, CJ Moore. Many times we want to spin the different matchups and the different groups, certainly the packages based on the situations we are in. So maybe we run out of a few different packages from that aspect of it, but everyone is in the competition, everyone is pushing through and certainly on the security position, there is a lot of communication taking place there in that group. Sometimes we like to change who practices together on different days to work at different levels of communication. ”
– Reggie Ragland was best known as a run-stopper in his young years in the league, but made the defensive play of the day through the air on Sunday. He stepped into the seven-on-sands for the Matthew Lineord pass for the goal line, grabbed the football with one hand, and then gave it 100 yards back for another side to score. See, every pass chosen could have been better, but it was also not a terrible throw. Give Ragland credit for just going up and getting the rock with one middle, and then the other side sprinting for the score. Although it is worth noting that Stafford sat back and got a hand on Ragland running up the sideline.
It’s hard to say whether Stafford Ragland would have gotten into a live situation, but the effort was there for sure, especially when you consider that it came at the end of the fourth straight day of practice, and on one of ‘ the hottest camp days. Asked if Stafford would have caught him in a game, Ragland did not fly.
“Damn skippy I would have,” Ragland said. ‘He told me in the closet that he would have caught me (if it was live). What? That he would not have. That’s what I’ll tell you. ”
– The Lions processed practice with one of my favorite drills from the Matt Patricia era. For the first time since compiling Sam Martin back in 2013, there is uncertainty at punter. Jack Fox and rookie Arryn Siposs immerse themselves in a good ol ‘fashion head-to-head track battle, and Patricia concluded Sunday’s practice by letting these guys leave mano-a-mano for the entire team. There was also a cool ripple where Patricia had players predict which man they thought would win. The whole hell started to break loose, with Fox’s supporters suddenly breaking into a song from ‘USA! USA! USA! ”(Siposs is from Australia.)
It seemed like there was about a 50-50 split for Fox and Siposs, a good indication of how close that competition has been. You could feel the energy ratcheting up, with a lap around both practice fields at stake. The competition considered hanging time, distance and accuracy at the goal line. It was difficult to see exactly where the points landed from the starting point of the media, but Siposs won the battle, forcing Fox and his fans to practice with a walk around the yard.
– Fox was the favorite to win Detroit’s points job at the start of the game, but as the point-off showed, the competition is still cookin ‘. Whatever happens, I would not be surprised to see the loser still make the extended practice squad. In times of corona, teams are just one positive test for COVID – or perhaps a false positive for COVID – of losing a quarterback as a kicker or punter or other specialist. Expect to see a lot of specialists on rosters this year, one way or another.
– Detroit was a top-three passing team with Matthew Stafford on the field last year. Through a week of practice, I have seen nothing to discourage me from the idea that they might be just as good this year, if not better. Marvin Jones probably made the two best catches in camp, crawling for a one-handed 40-yard touchdown on the first day of pads, and then straining to snag another ball with his left hand today. Poor Jeff Okudah was in tight coverage and all, and had to shake his head when he turned around and realized that Jones had somehow kicked the ball out of the air with his 30-yard off-hand downfield.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is not even Detroit’s best receiver. Kenny Golladay has been an impossible matchup when healthy, but I do not know how defenses will be able to double him if Jones looks on the opposite side of the field. And that does not even hit Danny Amendola in the end, where he remains under a real problem. It also does not apply to Marvin Hall, who last year averaged nearly 40 yards per catch from the bench, and now looks much more developed on his intermediate routes. I think his playing time will grow this season. Given rookie Quintez Cephus, who has one of the best players in the camp, and the rapid development of Jamal Agnew, I would not be surprised to see Detroit roll six deep on the position – and one of the deepest receiver corps have in the league.
– The receivers have really dominated most of camp, although one cornerback who has caught my eye is Tony McRae. He broke a few more passages today while working in red zone, including PBUing Jamal Agnew at the goal line. And again, Agnew did some very good work, including reversing direction to catch a pass that was ultimately behind him. He just looks so much more fluid than you would expect for a man who has just moved full-time to the position – yet McRae got the best of him in the red zone. The corner also treated Geremy Davis, a much bigger player, during their one-on-one field battles. If you consider his contributions from special teams – including playing for coordinator Brayden Coombs in Cincinnati – and all the guaranteed money he has received, I think McRae is in a good position for a reserve job.
– I found myself writing ’53 ‘in my notebook today, not what you normally do when you look at some misdemeanor. But let me tell you something, Jason Cabinda – a former linebacker-turned-fullback – has some nice wheels and surprisingly soft hands. He could be good for a few unexpected plays this fall when Detroit hits a defense.
– Matt Patricia loves situational work, although the end-of-half drills were a mixed bag that led to many field goals today. One series started on the 35-yad line with 1:33 left. Stafford’s first pass was intercepted by Amani Oruwariye, then the second fell incompletely when Jahlani Tavai slipped the ball from Ty Johnson. Quintez Cephus moved the chains on third down, Marvin Hall kept the drive alive with another, but Stafford missed Jones and Amendola, killing the station on the opponent’s 31-yard line. Prater converted from 48 yards, then again from 55 when it officially fell short of the second team from the end zone.
Later, the foul started at the 33-yard line, while kicking 30-28 and showing 58 seconds on the clock. Stafford got things going with nice compliments to Tom Kennedy and Marvin Jones, giving Detroit a first on the opponent’s 38-yard line. But then Stafford missed TJ Hockenson deeply, connected with Marvin Hall briefly, and was then dropped on a third-and-4 by Romeo Okwara. Prater connected again, this time from 49 yards. That was good for a score going forward in this situation, although you would always want to see a touchdown there, and Detroit did not score at all during the work at the end.
– There were some mental errors during practice, including Halapoulivaati Vaitai and TJ Hockenson both running to jump early on the same play. Later, Quintez Cephus – who has a great rookie camp – had to run a round after putting a ball on the ground.
