Detroit — Finally, actual football, and a lively crowd showed up at Ford Field Friday night to see their Lions, although mostly backup Lions. OK, mostly one Lion.
The fans weren’t there to see Nate Sudfeld throw interceptions, although he did toss two. They weren’t necessarily there to see unheralded Maurice Alexander return a punt 95 yards for a touchdown, although he did. And they probably weren’t there to see Adrian Martinez score on a 1-yard sneak, although he did with 1:51 left to beat the Giants, 21-16, in the preseason opener.
Safe guess, a big chunk of the crowd was there to see the one player they’ve been waiting to see for a year and a half. Jameson Williams was visible, that’s for sure. And occasionally invisible. Dan Campbell had promised to “douse” the second-year receiver with game reps, and he sure did. Williams played a ton, almost the entire first three quarters, but didn’t do a ton. If the goal was to douse flickering flames of concern about the former first-round pick, well, that didn’t happen.
One preseason game never means much. But this one meant more for Williams, who missed most of last season recovering from knee surgery and will miss the first six games this season with a gambling suspension. He played virtually every snap Friday night until 23 seconds remained in the third quarter. He was targeted by Sudfeld on seven passes and caught two for 18 yards.
The highlight was a slick grab on a 2-point conversion, when Williams feigned a block and slipped open on a shallow crossing pattern. He snared the ball with one hand, then raced to the sideline and celebrated with Alexander, who had just scored on the punt return. I’d dare say the ovation for Williams’ 2-pointer was almost as loud as it was for Alexander’s scintillating run.
A step in a direction
Everyone in Detroit can recite the Jamo story, and unfortunately, fans are prone to choose sides. One side says Williams is immature, evidenced by his suspension and his unfiltered social-media musings. The other side kindly asks everyone to shut the (blank) up and let the guy get acclimated to the NFL. There are shards of truth in both perspectives, and for certain, Williams has some growing up to do.
He missed all of training camp last year, has missed a couple practices this camp, and has alternated bursts of speed with blips of nothingness. That’s pretty much what he did against the Giants. Nothing overly egregious — except for dropping a potential 42-yard touchdown pass — and nothing overly spectacular. Both of Sudfeld’s interceptions were thrown toward Williams, and neither was thrown well. On the first one, Sudfeld was clobbered as he threw and Williams was blanketed by cornerback Tre Hawkins III. Safety Jason Pinnock swooped in for the pick.
The second interception came on a middle pass that sailed over Williams’ head. He leaped in vain and safety Dane Belton plucked it. Campbell alluded to miscommunication between quarterback and receiver, which appeared to happen a couple times.
Was Jamo’s performance shaky enough to add to the concern? I think so. Enough to freak out? Not yet.
“I feel like his approach has been really good the last seven days,” Campbell said. “I mean taking a total leap. It’s all about getting better and growth, and this was step one. Man, he needed this. He didn’t have a preseason last year. I kind of feel like he’s starting from square one, so this is a step in the right direction.”
Campbell was being charitable about Williams’ performance, focusing on the positive, which is the right way to handle it. Any step in any direction at least is a sign of movement, and for a guy who runs blazingly fast, Williams isn’t moving swiftly into the pro game.
I watched Williams on every snap, and he played approximately 50 of them. For comparison, he averaged about 12 snaps in six games last season and caught only one pass. Campbell and his staff believe it’s time to start force-feeding a bit, but both of Williams’ catches were short routes in the flat. He was not running wide open on the other snaps. He was a willing blocker on some running plays, not on others. He did slip behind cornerback Deonte Banks once, and Sudfeld dropped a nice deep pass onto Williams’ fingertips. The ball fell to the turf inside the 10, a clear drop.
Maybe the next step will be a bigger one, with newly signed backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater expected to step in against Jacksonville next Saturday. There aren’t a lot of steps available, with two preseason games left. When on suspension, Williams can’t be at the Lions facility for the first three weeks, and can resume practicing the final three weeks.
Time to see it
When Williams has spoken, he’s handled the questions well. He doesn’t want to be judged by his unpolished social-media persona, which he says he doesn’t take seriously, it’s not real life. I think a lot of people are willing to accept that perspective and would prefer to simply judge him on the field. There just hasn’t been much to judge.
Williams left the locker room without speaking to the media Friday night, and if he feels overly scrutinized, that’s understandable. But it happens when a team trades up 20 spots to draft you at No. 12, and counts on you to be its game-breaking playmaker, like he was at Alabama.
He’s battled through injuries, and it’s taken a while for him to trust his knee. He also needs to trust his hands, which have been less than stellar. Williams has been doing specialty drills with receivers coach Antwaan Randle El, and Campbell sees progress.
“I do believe he wants it,” Campbell said earlier in the week. “I do believe he wants to get better. So he’ll grind through this and let’s see where we can go with it.”
You wonder if Williams perhaps is affected by the heat of the scrutiny. Jahmyr Gibbs, the first-round flash, is the new football hotness, and he rushed six times for 19 yards against the Giants. His slate remains clean. Williams’ slate was muddied by injury (not his fault) and suspension (his fault). I asked Campbell if he thinks Williams feels the pressure.
“I don’t know, maybe a little bit, but he’s done a pretty good job at blocking things out,” Campbell said. “I know there’s a lot of stress or pressure that can be applied there, but it’s like we tell all our guys, you can’t listen to what’s going on in the outside world. Listen to us. Honor the tape and let’s get better and he’s done that, man.”
A larger-than-normal preseason crowd of 48,872 came out to see what the Lions’ commotion was all about. They weren’t necessarily there to see the defense sack Giants backup quarterback Tommy DeVito five times, although they did, three by Julian Okwara.
They desperately want to see Williams succeed, captivated by his speed, as GM Brad Holmes was. Williams isn’t here to blend into the background, but attracting the spotlight is not the same as earning it. The Lions hope he settles in and figures it out. They probably hope fans cut him some slack too.
That sounds fair — for now. The Lions are expected to do big things this year. The days of pleading for patience are fading, as Williams is discovering.
bob.wojnowski@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @bobwojnowski