Lions training camp notebook: Evening time for the 1st time

There was quite the list of players who did not practice due to injuries. In no particular order:

QB Hendon Hooker

TE Sam LaPorta

DE James Houston

RG Kevin Zeitler

CB Carlton Davis

LB Malik Jefferson

LB Malcolm Rodriguez

DT Alim McNeill

LB DaRon Gilbert

DB Morice Norris

S CJ Moore

In addition to those players sitting out, three players left practice early, including the top two draft picks, CBs Terrion Arnold and Ennis Rakestraw.

Arnold was injured very early in the session when he had a big collision with a receiver in a drill. He slumped forward before walking slowly to the trainers and then leaving the field. The Lions termed it an upper body injury.

Rakestraw also got dinged up early, coming up gingerly in the same drill after getting beaten over the top by Jameson Williams on a deep route. After walking that off, No. 15 just didn’t seem right; he had his worst practice session of the entire offseason, including OTAs, but he was back in action. He left again during one portion of team reps and I didn’t spot Rakestraw again.

Second-year RB Jahmyr Gibbs left early on as well. I didn’t see what happened to No. 26, but there are reports (including this one from ESPN) that it’s a hamstring issue. Gibbs has been battling hamstring and leg issues all offseason. He was on the practice field long enough to embarrass safety Kerby Joseph in a one-on-one tackling tackling drill, leaving No. 31 grabbing at air with a smooth sidestep move.

The team period was often dominated by the defense, specifically the pass rush. In standing about 3 yards behind DL coach Terrell Williams, I can report the new coach was extremely pleased with his players, notably EDGE Marcus Davenport and veteran DT Kyle Peko. Each had a “sack” in the period, with Davenport blasting through tight end James Mitchell from the left side. Levi Onwuzurike and Pat O’Connor also bagged sacks, at least in Coach Williams’ eyes.

Aidan Hutchinson had another big win that probably should have stopped the play. After tossing Penei Sewell aside on the outside of the pocket, Hutchinson could have taken the ball out of Jared Goff’s hand like a Statue of Liberty play but eased off. Hutchinson also had a tremendous backside rundown on a David Montgomery run that had everyone in the media cluster slack-jawed in amazement. It was the kind of speed and power that Lawrence Taylor used to bring back in the day.

The offense had limited success, but there were some bright spots. Goff continues to look very sharp and in comfortable command of Ben Johnson’s offense. He and Amon-Ra St. Brown connected a couple of times on throws that spotlighted their easy familiarity and trust in one another.

It has been readily evident all training camp that the defensive depth is well ahead of its offensive counterparts, but this practice might have been the best indication that:
A. The Lions offensive line depth and TE blocking is largely abysmal
B. The Lions depth at DL and LB is really, really good–even with three LBs out
C. Some combination of the above

Going to roll over these in less detail in order to include more players…

DE Aidan Hutchinson--aside from the aforementioned huge plays, Hutchinson is simply operating at a different speed than anyone else on either side of the ball. If he lost one rep, it would be surprising. More noteworthy is that Hutchinson is consistently getting the better of Penei Sewell in pass rush situations, and that’s a lot more about Hutchinson than it is Sewell–the best right tackle in football.

CB Kindle Vildor--playing a lot more reps with guys above him sidelined, Vildor continues to play well this summer. He created an interception by Brandon Joseph with an excellent tip on a pass to Donovan Peoples-Jones up the right sideline. Vildor continues to be an aggressive, assertive tackler–just ask WR Jalon Calhoun.

DE Marcus Davenport--this Davenport is the one everyone wants to see: too powerful at his length to be stopped when he wants to bull, too quick with his hands and feet if he catches the tackle leaning. Great night for No. 92.

S Brian Branch–Branch created a spectacular takeaway by thriving the ball from WR Kaden Davis after a catch. It might have been an INT, it might have been a fumble that never hit the ground; either way, Branch wound up with the ball after Davis initially caught it and then tried to turn up the field.

RB David Montgomery--the Lions ran a one-on-one open-field run/tackle drill, and Montgomery looked great. I didn’t catch every rep but I saw him obliterate Jack Campbell with a shoulder drop and, on his next rep, lay waste to Branch. Montgomery also plowed in for a 13-yard TD run, nicely angling off a great Frank Ragnow block to keep a good angle on the closing defender.

K Jake Bates–Bates didn’t get a lot of action but made every kick he attempted, and with very little drama on any of them. No attempts longer than 41 yards, but those are the ones he absolutely has to hit. I talked to special teams coach Dave Fipp after practice and he’s still bullish on the greenhorn Bates; look for that write-up soon.

TE Shane Zylstra--No. 84 made a one-handed catch in the back of the end zone in a red zone drill. He bobbled it at first but hauled it in over the outstretched arm of Derrick Barnes. Zylstra needed the receiving glory after watching him fruitlessly attempt to block anyone even remotely effectively in another drill.

LB Ty Summers–New guy alert! The Lions signed Summers earlier in the day. Wearing No. 25, he got a bit of a freebie, thanks to Nate Sudfeld. The backup QB lost control of the ball as he started to cock his elbow to throw and bounced off his own chest and rolled away, with Summers scooping it up on the dead run for a would-be defensive TD.

S Ifeatu Melifonwu–after a great start to training camp, No. 6 has been struggling of late. On this night, RB Craig Reynolds slammed him to the side with a great stiff arm in team drills. Melifonwu was very late to identify his coverage mark on completions to Donovan Peoples-Jones and Parker Hesse, who then ran past him thanks to a bad angle. Melifownu is consistently repping behind Brandon Joseph now as the No. 4 safety, behind starters Branch and Kerby Joseph.

LB Jack Campbell–Campbell just didn’t have the radar dialed up on run defense all night. One rep, No. 46 flew past his gap and couldn’t find the air brakes in time. Another, he ran smack into a block from Hesse and got stood straight up. On Montgomery’s TD run, Campbell chose the wrong hole and got far too deep in it to get out of it.

WR Jameson Williams--a day after putting four passes on the ground, Williams had at least two more drops. Getting open is not an issue for No. 9, but he’s struggling to catch the ball when he’s wide open. To his credit, Jamo did make an outstanding catch on a hard-thrown ball that he wasn’t expecting to come his way.

The entire non-starting offensive line, but especially OT Colby Sorsdal–it’s hard to single out one faulty spoke in a broken wheel, but Sorsdal really struggled in all phases in this one. Like Melifonwu, his impressive start to camp has simply not sustained itself. The best reserve lineman at practice, in my estimation, was young guard/tackle Jake Burton, primarily playing RG on the third-string offense.

Knight is competing for reps and attention as a depth running back, and he commanded both on this night. He pulled out a nasty head fake in the run/tackle drill that sent safety Loren Strickland sprawling to the ground without even touching No. 27. I had Knight down for two other wins in the same drill. He also maximized yardage nicely on runs behind a very overmatched third-team offensive line.

Toward the end of practice, a family with a disabled man was escorted down to the media area behind the end zone. Lions legend Barry Sanders then emerged and spent a good 15 minutes in something that was far deeper than a standard meet-and-greet. He sat down and talked with the family, appearing to be genuinely interested and appreciative.

When former Lions WR Golden Tate, now on the team’s preseason television broadcast, walked by, Sanders grabbed him and introduced Tate to the family, remembering everyone’s names and enthusiastically sharing what they’d been talking about. Tate then stayed with the group for a few minutes and took photos.

This was not designed to be something anyone else saw. Jeff Seidel of the Detroit News and I were the only media members in the general vicinity when it started, and Sanders isn’t the kind of person who needs manufactured positive press anyway. It was a genuinely cool moment that showed Sanders’ (and Tate’s) graciousness and humility.