Jahmyr Gibbs turned the corner and burst through the New York Giants defense on Wednesday afternoon. He was untouched, unbothered.
Then, David Montgomery had a massive gain through a massive hole, and Jared Goff hit rookie tight end Sam LaPorta for an easy touchdown, and Goff hit Amon-Ra St. Brown for an easy first down, and Marvin Jones Jr. caught a pretty ball, and then Montgomery had another big run.
Through another massive hole.
As the Detroit Lions and Giants faced off in different situations — from seven-on-seven to full team drills to red-zone work — I don’t know what was most impressive.
Gibbs’ burst, which is electric. Whoosh — and then he’s gone.
Or some of the holes created by the Lions’ offensive line on Wednesday.
Or the overall number of weapons the Lions rolled out, making everything look so easy.
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This offense is like a bunch of fancy cars parked in front of a sturdy brick home. The foundation is there — that offensive line is impressive. But the variety of the vehicles was fun to watch — some super-fast, some agile, some nimble, some quick but efficient.
“Yeah, good team,” Giants coach Brian Daboll said. “A lot of good talent, some explosive guys. It’s a good team to practice against.”
I lost track of the number of times I said, “Wow!” And it was usually watching Gibbs.
“He’s got a special burst,” Lions left tackle Taylor Decker said
Gibbs even made an incomplete pass look spectacular, rising up and coming down with the ball in traffic. I don’t care if a ref ruled him out of bounds (to the displeasure of several Lions). So be it. It was still a fantastic, incredibly athletic play. He’s gonna supercharge this offense, both running the ball and catching it.
“He’s got big burst,” Decker said. “He can get to the second level and make a guy miss and get to the third level and maybe hit a home run.”
This team has the dazzle — a long list of offensive weapons — but it starts with that offensive line. The foundation.
When you have both the weapons and the line, something special can happen.
Which is why there is so much hype around this team.
Best of all, so many of these playmakers are so young in their careers.
“I thought LaPorta showed up,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said Wednesday morning. “I thought Gibbs showed up. (Defensive back Brian) Branch did some things. (Cornerback) Starling (Thomas V), I saw growth. Those are the guys that really stand out to me. (Wide receiver Dylan) Drummond once again, out there making plays. We got a lot of young guys that I feel like are growing.”
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Hype train supercharged
After practice, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was talking to Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth — the NBC “Sunday Night Football” broadcast team.
No big deal, right? That happens every day at Lions camp.
Wait.
Check that. It’s actually a first for Whitmer to attend a Lions training camp.
Whitmer spent some time with owner Sheila Hamp and I overheard part of the conversation.
“It’s not one person — it’s the whole team,” Whitmer gushed.
“Good vibes,” Hamp smiled.
Yes, there are good vibes everywhere you look.
These are different days around the Lions — this team that drew about 2,500 fans to a mid-week practice in miserable, stifling heat; and I’m guessing they could have brought in twice as many if they had more room.
The excitement is real. The hype overflowing.
So is something else.
And Decker couldn’t care less.
“If I let the outside noise, or people come into practice, affect how I approach my job, and I shouldn’t have this job,” Decker said. “It’s great. And it’s cool. But that’s not going to affect my day to day of what I go out there and do.”
Yes, this is another reason to like this team.
It’s not just feel-good vibes.
Or the unmistakable overall talent.
It’s the determination. And the energy.
“I think that’s who they are,” Campbell said. “I’m who I am and that’s who they are, so I don’t feel like I have to preach high energy. I want us to focus on the details of what we do and the discipline as much as possible and then let them go play, I feel like (Lions GM) Brad (Holmes) has done that with who he’s acquired and who we’ve acquired. You get the right guys you don’t have to preach energy, they come with their own.”
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Trying to be skeptical but …
Yes, I know. It was just a practice.
No reason to go crazy in August.
But I keep thinking about that offensive line.
The holes it was creating.
“We have obviously another year of playing together,” Decker said. “And that level of familiarity with how one another plays is huge. … We can still be better, you know, we don’t want to be stagnant.”
There’s no doubt this offense will score.
My only question is: Will this team will make enough defensive plays?
But here is an interesting point.
Let’s call it the C.J. Gardner-Johnson effect.
Gardner-Johnson tied for the NFL lead in interceptions a year ago, and he’s having an impact on Kerby Joseph, who had four picks to lead the Lions in 2022.
“He’s a highly instinctive player,” Campbell said. “I think sometimes this may get lost with C.J. He’s an excellent communicator as well, excellent communicator and so, you just kind of see the growth of he and Kerby together and I believe it’s elevating Kerby’s game as well, and so I believe you potentially have a couple of dynamic safeties back there that have versatility, so that’s what we like about having him back there and knowing he can play nickel certainly.”
That’s another way to get game-changing plays.
A couple of ball-hawk DBs.
There is a part of me that wants to remain skeptical — I’ve seen enough promising seasons fall apart.
But when you see the balance.
When you see the weapons.
When you see all these young players making plays against a playoff team.
When you see the offensive line create massive holes.
When you see the Lions go out and get a veteran backup QB — hallelujah!
It’s hard not to believe.
This team is built to win now.
Contact Jeff Seidel at jseidel@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @seideljeff.