Lions training camp notebook: Getting ready for the 2nd preseason game

It was a very welcome sight as I walked into the practice field on a perfectly still, sun-soaked morning. There was No. 2, back in his red jersey and throwing passes.

Hendon Hooker was back in practice for the first time since suffering a concussion in last week’s preseason opener in New York. Hooker advanced through the protocols and took reps with the third-team offense in his return.

There was some rust from Hooker. He threw a quick swing pass to the left to Donovan Peoples-Jones in team drills that should have been a pick-six for cornerback Steven Gilmore, but No. 24 bobbled away the opportunity. Hooker had a couple of too-low misses as well, though the second-year QB did follow the ill-fated dropped INT with a perfectly thrown deep strike to Kaden Davis over the top of the defense on a corner route.

After practice, Hooker met with the media and joked that his mom wants him to slide more to avoid further injuries. He said it’s something he’s going to try to focus on. He does expect to get some reps in Kansas CIty.

Starting quarterback Jared Goff had an up-and-down day, but man were his ups really impressive. Goff made some of the best throws I’ve seen from him in his four years in Detroit during teams drills.

After a slow start that saw Goff throw an interception to a stationary LB Jack Campbell and misfire on sideline routes to Kalif Raymond and Parker Hesse and a miscommunication with Jameson Williams where the coaching reaction indicated it was No. 16 and not No. 9 in the wrong, Goff fired it up.

A picture-perfect strike to Williams along the left sideline of the end zone between good coverage by Derrick Barnes and Brandon Joseph got Goff rolling and he didn’t look back. As he often does in games, Goff was picture-perfect working the middle of the field. Intermediate range throws to TE Shane Zylstra and Raymond moved the ball in team drills.

Goff then made the best throw I’ve seen from him, ever. He zipped a ball into a small window framed by three different defenders to WR Amon-Ra St. Brown on a deep slant that hit No. 14 on the dead run just as he emerged into the window. It’s an attempt that Goff either couldn’t hit or wouldn’t even try in the past, but No. 16 absolutely drilled it perfectly.

But Goff wasn’t done. He connected with Williams in the back left corner of the end zone on the ensuing two-point conversion, beating very good coverage from safety Kerby Joseph. Williams dove to catch the ball and hauled it in cleanly, then threw it a good 50 yards in celebration. He later hit Jamo on a post pattern that just barely lofted over Joseph and in front of a rapidly closing Joseph in deep coverage.

The defensive pass rush continues to be a very real thorn in the paw of the offense. That includes the first-team matchups, where DE Aidan Hutchinson and DT Alim McNeill have been besting their All-Pro offensive counterparts, Penei Sewell and Frank Ragnow, with regularity. That was certainly true on Wednesday.

Hutchinson had at least two sacks at Sewell’s expense, though with no contact allowed, the plays continued. McNeill got two as well, including one where he badly beat starting right guard Michael Niese and forced Goff to throw an interception to CB Amik Robertson in the short seam, but the coaching staff blew it dead and gave McNeill the sack.

It’s been an onslaught all of camp from the second-team and third-team pass rush against the offensive line depth, and this session was no different. EDGE Josh Paschal bagged one sack of Nate Sudfeld in his return to action and had a couple of quick pressures, too. Mitchell Agude, working as the second-team SAM backer behind Derrick Barnes, laid waste to a James Mitchell blocking attempt and forced a throwaway from Hooker. He lasted thumped RB Zonovan Knight in run defense, too.

It’s easy to see why Campbell canceled the scrimmage. So many players have been dealing with injuries, it was a challenge to keep up with all the lineups. All of these players were not participating

• Sam LaPorta
• Jahmyr Gibbs
• Terrion Arnold
• Ennis Rakestraw
• Kevin Zeitler
• James Houston
• Brian Branch
• Carlton Davis

There were a couple of brief injury scares in this practice too. Alim McNeill spent one series of reps in the presence of trainers, but he returned with aplomb. Cornerback Amik Robertson came up hopping and grabbing at his right knee after a play early in team drills. He hobbled off, spent one set of reps with the trainers and then was back in action with zero ill effects. It appeared he banged knees with another player as he tried to stop from hitting him.

Frequent readers might note this is Vildor’s second appearance in five practices as the secret superstar, but the cornerback earned it once again. In the midst of a truly impressive training camp, Vildor is making a very strong push for playing time even with the position overhauled around him.

Vildor has taken to the greater emphasis on jamming at the line and inside technique for outside cornerbacks (forcing the receiver to the outside) like a duck to water. He eliminated Williams from a go-route early on, never letting Jamo get off the jam. On another rep, he forced Raymond to go a lot wider on a hook route than he wanted with great technique and body control, forcing an incompletion.

Later in practice, Vildor got a pass breakup in the corner of the end zone on Amon-Ra St. Brown. Perfect coverage, step for step with the All-Pro, and Vildor had the wherewithal to turn his head and make a play on the ball from Goff. Vildor let St. Brown know it, and No. 14 responded with a respectful helmet tap and handshake. This was the play that led LB Alex Anzalone to demand more respect from the fans in attendance.

Vildor continues to thrive in kick coverage and punt coverage drills and reps, too. A lot of Lions fans won’t ever let go of his terrible gaffe in the NFC Championship game, but Vildor has definitively elevated himself into the No. 5 CB role behind Carlton Davis, Terrion Arnold, Amik Robertson and Ennis Rakestraw.

–Lions legend Calvin Johnson was out at practice and spent much of the session on the sidelines, greeting players and talking with coaches. He was met with “Calvin” chants from adoring fans every time he walked anywhere.

–Also in attendance: new Detroit Pistons GM Trajan Langdon. He spent several minutes talking with Lions GM Brad Holmes after practice.

–Anzalone had perhaps his best practice of the summer. No. 34 was everywhere in coverage and looked very quick and disciplined in run fits.

–Michael Niese continues to get all the first-team reps at right guard with Kevin Zeitler sidelined. Niese is similar to former Lions lineman Evan Brown in that he can play center or guard and is capable in pass protection but is a very big downgrade in run blocking. No. 62 really lacks power even when his technique is perfect–which it often is.

–Brandon Joseph once again took all the Brian Branch reps at first-team safety, ahead of Ifeatu Melifonwu. Joseph just missed two different interceptions, but his overall coverage awareness and range are definitively superior to what Melifonwu offers. That was on full display on a backside swing pass to RB Craig Reynolds, where Melifonwu did not react or move until Reynolds–his only coverage responsibility in the set–had already run well out of his range.

–Speaking of Reynolds, he’s a lot closer to Gibbs and David Montgomery at the top of the RB depth chart than anyone below him on the depth chart is to No. 13, including rookie Sione Vaki. Reynolds is having a great all-around camp and had another big day on Wednesday.

–Kalif Raymond was the only wideout to take first-team reps with Williams and St. Brown when the Lions went to a three-WR set. Raymond caught a 4th-down pass in a late drill that proved Goff’s trust in him. For most of camp, Daurice Fountain, Donovan Peoples-Jones or even Tre’Qun Smith have worked in a smattering of first-team reps, but Raymond got them all here.

–Parker Hesse was the sole TE on the field with the first-team offense (LaPorta being out) on the first two reps.

–As they’ve done frequently in the last few practices, the Lions deployed a lot of three-TE sets with the first-team offense. The TEs mix across the gamut of the depth chart, though it’s frequently Brock Wright in the slot and Shane Zylstra lined up wide, almost always with St. Brown on the field. Wright had a rough day, dropping one pass and turning the wrong way on another route that nearly got Brandon Joseph a gift INT. I don’t have the exact rep counts to be sure, but I would suspect that the use of three-TE sets is close to the same as three-WR sets in the team drills on Monday and Wednesday this week.

–After three perfect days, kicker Jake Bates had a rough Wednesday morning. He missed the first extra point attempt of the session. Bates later doinked a FG from around 52 yards off the left upright and yanked another FG attempt from around 47 yards very wide left.

—Newcomer Essang Bassey saw a lot of action at third-team cornerback. Wearing No. 17, Bassey’s head was spinning a bit on defense, but he won every rep he was in on during special teams drills.

–Fun moment as Dan Campbell walked to the locker room following practice. A reporter pointed out that Campbell was drenched in sweat. Coach Campbell smiled and quipped, “I never knew blowing a whistle was so strenuous.”