The Lions used Day 12 of training camp for a lighter tune-up, getting back on the field at the Allen Park Performance Center for a 75-minute practice without pads. Dan Campbell made it clear before practice that this one was going to be short on full-team work and heavy on technique.
“we're not going to do very much team, if any, today. We'll do a couple of situations, but really today is about individual, one-on-one and technique work. And then the next two days we'll really get going.”
That approach matched the day’s structure. Detroit worked through individual periods and one-on-ones, with several players returning to the field, including D.J. Reed, Jabari Small, Juice Scruggs, Sione Vaki, Malcolm Rodriguez and Derrick Moore.
Jimmy Rolder and Devin Cochran were not practicing, though both were seen working with trainers. The list of players not on the field also included Jacob Saylors, Isiah Pacheco, Jackson Meeks, Kye Robichaux, Cade Mays, Giovanni Manu, Payton Turner, Mekhi Wingo, Damone Clark, Loren Strickland, Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch.
Campbell said the Lions came away from the preseason opener against the Bengals with a lot to sort through, but also a useful set of situations that teams don’t often get in August.
“Thought a number of guys played really well, especially for their first time under the lights. I thought a number of guys got better.
There were some guys that weren't as good, but no matter who you are, it's about cleaning up the errors, learning from the mistakes, and then growing and getting betterm” said Campbell. “So, that's what preseason is all about.
And we were actually fortunate. We got a number of different situations, looks that you ordinarily don't get certainly in the preseason.
“But that first preseason game was a lot of end of half, end of game, just a lot of critical situations for us to be in defensively, offensively, the quarterback, special teams. So, it was good. It was good in that regard.”
One of the more interesting details from practice involved Tate Ratledge. The second-year guard is expected to get some work at center, not necessarily in team periods, but enough to keep Detroit ready if the line takes hits.
“We're going to work him a little bit. I don't know how much we'll do in team, but certainly we're going to be snapping him some pre-practice,” said Campbell.
“And then he's been going through some of the calls, things like that. So, we're just prepared.
We have got to be willing to go wherever we can go with this.”
On the field, Detroit’s offense showed well in end-of-game situations. The Lions ran six different scenarios, with Jared Goff repeatedly finding Jameson Williams and Amon-Ra St. Brown.
The most notable of those came in the third situation, when the Lions were down 23-21 with seven seconds left at their own 41-yard line. Goff hit Williams for 28 yards, and Detroit was able to use a timeout.
There were also some strong individual showings. Penei Sewell won notable one-on-one reps against Derrick Moore and Ahmed Hassanein, while Khalil Dorsey tightened up considerably in one-on-one work and was seen breaking up multiple passes.
Rookie Syler Gill-Howard also stood out, getting the better of Mason Miller and Melvin Priestly in one-on-one battles.
New running back Trayveon Williams was not made official and did not practice with the team.
The Lions’ next camp practice is scheduled for Sunday morning and will be open to loyal season-ticket members.
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