Allen Park — Here are some notes and observations from Tuesday’s Detroit Lions training camp practice.
▶ With camp winding down, the Lions took the opportunity to get in an intense practice before shifting into preparation mode for the regular season opener against Kansas City. The team ran a fully padded, tackle-to-the-ground scrimmage lasting two hours, which pitted the offense against the defense in a modified scoring system that rewarded the defense three points for a stop (including missed field goals), five for a turnover on downs and seven for a traditional turnover.
▶ The first-team offense came out swinging with a 13-play touchdown drive. Marvin Jones was the recipient of two third-down-converting passes, while rookie Jahmyr Gibbs kickstarted a strong day with a 14-yard run into the red zone.
A pass interference penalty, committed by cornerback Jerry Jacobs in the end zone, set up David Montgomery for the finishing touches on the drive, a 1-yard plunge across the goal line.
▶ The second offensive grouping, led all day by Teddy Bridgewater, also found its way into the red zone after Dylan Drummond got behind the coverage of Will Harris for a long gain on third down. But the drive stalled out when linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez delivered a stiff, but textbook open-field tackle on Drummond, leading to a short field-goal attempt that Parker Romo missed off the right upright.
▶ That missed kick set up a string of defensive wins for both the first- and second-team groupings. Cornerback Brian Branch forced the first punt, breaking up a pass across the middle to Kalif Raymond. It was the first of several stellar plays by Branch, who also had a lightning-quick gap fill on a draw, which resulted in a loss of yardage, and a perfectly executed coverage drop where he picked off a Jared Goff pass intended for Raymond.
▶ The second offensive group then had to punt when receiver Chase Cota dropped a slant on third down. Tight end Brock Wright also dropped a pass on third down that ended a possession for the first-team offense.
▶ The Lions were relatively healthy coming into the practice. Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown was held out with an ankle injury, and safeties Ifeatu Melifonwu and Saivion Smith also were sidelined. With the oft-injured Melifonwu, he was working out with a trainer on the side (and moving well) with a wrap on his upper left leg. It’s of note that he missed several games during his rookie season in 2021 with a left quadricep issue.
There were several players who got banged up during practice, but were able to finish out the day. Safety Kerby Joseph had to briefly exit to get his thumb taped, Levi Onwuzurike had an issue with his left arm that required some attention from the trainer, Derrick Barnes rolled an ankle and C.J. Gardner-Johnson was slow to get up with an unknown issue on the final play of practice.
▶ Onwuzurike saw some reps with the first-team defense and had an impressive snap where he bowled over Pro Bowl center Frank Ragnow, drawing a holding penalty in the process. That was also the play where Onwuzurike hurt his arm.
Regardless, it set up third-and-long, where Bridgewater didn’t see rookie safety Brandon Joseph underneath on a crossing pattern shot to Maurice Alexander, resulting in another interception for the defense.
▶ The special teams got in some good work, successfully executing a fake punt on fourth-and-short, but couldn’t similarly come away with a surprise onside kick. The ball was corralled by tight end James Mitchell after a big hop.
▶ Linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin popped multiple times, coming up with a trio of drive-ending run stops on third-and-short. It speaks to the depth the team has built at the position that he’s No. 5 on the depth chart.
Former University of Tennessee teammate Cam Sutton also had a nice play, leaping up and getting a fingertip on a fourth-down throw to Jones. The deflection altered the trajectory just enough to cause the veteran receiver to put it on the ground.
▶ Gibbs, Montgomery and Craig Reynolds all ripped off big runs during the scrimmage. Gibbs took a handoff going right and cut back inside, making defenders miss in each level for an impressive 25-yard score. Meanwhile, Montgomery took an handoff off right guard with the offense backed up against its own goal line, cut hard through the lane and bounced left, beating the second-level defenders to the sideline for a gain of 30-35 yards.
Reynolds, meanwhile, got around the right edge twice for explosive gains. On the first, he was brought down by a flagged horse-collar tackle from safety Tracy Walker.
▶ Using the custom scoring system, the defense held a 28-14 lead at the half, where the entire roster actually went into the locker rooms for a 10-minute break. Sadly, there was no halftime entertainment. When action resumed, the defense continued to pour it on, running up the final score, 63-27.
▶ Among the big defensive plays in the “second half,” Aidan Hutchinson got a fourth-down stop on Gibbs, Gardner-Johnson intercepted a deflected wheel route to Gibbs where Barnes had excellent, stride-for-stride coverage, and linebacker Jack Campbell showed eye-popping closing speed to blow up a receiver screen to Josh Reynolds.
▶ The only touchdown after the break came courtesy of receiver Antoine Green, who beat cornerback Steven Gilmore on a shallow cross in the red zone.
▶ Read into it what you will, but quarterback Nate Sudfeld was dressed, but didn’t take a snap in the scrimmage.
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
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