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Here are some observations from Day 9 of Lions training camp in Allen Park on Sunday.
▶ Running back Jahmyr Gibbs, tight end Tyler Conklin and offensive lineman Ben Bartch were participants in team periods for the first time all camp. Gibbs looked like the happiest player on the field on Sunday, weaving in and out of cuts with a smile on his face after sitting out the first week of practices while holding in for a new contract, which he signed on Friday. Gibbs told NFL Network's Brian Baldinger last week that he didn't even want to miss any practices at all.
"I didn't want to do it in the first place, I ain't gonna lie," Gibbs said of his hold-in. "It was extremely hard. I always want to be out there with my teammates, having fun. I was bored."
Lions coach Dan Campbell said Sunday that the team wants to push Gibbs to see how much he can continue to grow after putting together one of the best three-season stretches a running back has ever had to begin his career.
"We're going to push him because we think this kid can be one of the best, if not the best," Campbell said. "So, we're going to push him to get there. We're going to see what he's got now. I'm glad we got (Isiah) Pacheco, and he's going to very much be a part of what we have, but we need to see where we can take Gibbs now.
"We've only scratched the surface of him.”
▶ Several veteran Lions starters participated in warmups and walk-throughs but took the rest of practice off. That list includes offensive tackle Penei Sewell, tight end Sam LaPorta, wide receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams, defensive tackle Alim McNeill, edge defender Aidan Hutchinson and linebacker Jack Campbell. Hutchinson and McNeill actually did a couple of team reps at the start of practice but didn't participate long.
▶ The news that quarterback Teddy Bridgewater was stepping away from the team renewed a focus on undrafted rookie quarterback Luke Altmyer, who was temporarily moved up the depth chart. Altmyer is your prototypical undersized, game-manager quarterback who has shown some ability to step into throws downfield, such as when he hit Dominic Lovett for a gain of about 20 yards during one of the final team periods of the day. He's also shown a weakness in that area, such as when running back Jacob Saylors beat linebacker Trevor Nowaske on a wheel route but couldn't haul in the overthrown pass.
▶ Rookie offensive tackle Blake Miller lost his first one-on-one rep against edge defender Ahmed Hassanein, who cleanly got past Miller with a double swipe. Miller also lost pretty emphatically to undrafted rookie Anthony Lucas and finished the drill with a stalemate against seventh-round rookie Tyre West.
▶ Saylors has been the de facto RB2 in Detroit's offense with Sione Vaki and Pacheco on the shelf. He continued to make big gains while running the football and had a sick blitz pickup against linebacker Derrick Barnes that led to a completion, but one play later, he was flagged for a false start. He'll need to continue to clean up the details to be in a spot where the coaches can trust him to play a legit role in the offense.
▶ The final drill of the day was a situational drill. The offense started at its own 19-yard line with 59 seconds left, one timeout and down 24-20, needing a touchdown to win. Without St. Brown and Williams, it was a little bit of a slog getting down the field. Jared Goff missed his first two throws to wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa, either because of miscommunication or poor timing, before connecting with Gibbs on a wheel route that went for 17 yards and a new set of downs.
After hitting wide receiver Greg Dortch — against cornerback Roger McCreary — on a post route for 31 yards, Goff delivered another quick completion and spiked the ball at the opponent's 23-yard line with 11 seconds left. Goff's first heave to the TeSlaa in the end zone hit the crossbar, and his second — either to TeSlaa or Tom Kennedy; it was hard to tell — was intercepted by cornerback Nick Whiteside, who received praise for the situational awareness to immediately fall to the turf after making the play.
▶ TeSlaa made a really feisty catch against cornerback Rock Ya-Sin in team periods, fighting off the press coverage to make a catch while falling to the ground.
▶ After a quiet start to camp, defensive lineman Skyler Gill-Howard has started to make some plays. He had a sack in team periods and beat starting guard Tate Ratledge in his first one-on-one rep. But he also has plenty of work to do; he lost his final three one-on-one reps to Christian Mahogany, Melvin Priestly and Michael Niese.
▶ McCreary had another loud performance on Sunday, and not in a good way. He got "Mossed" by wide receiver Malik Cunningham in a throw downfield by Altmyer — a really nice throw by the rookie — in addition to two critical mistakes during the situational period, which included a defensive penalty that gave the offense an automatic first down. In a gunner drill that favors the gunner, McCreary got stood up by Ya-Sin and struggled to hold Ya-Sin up when the roles were reversed. He really needs to turn it around quickly.
▶ Defensive back Avonte Maddox has continued to look good while repping at the first-team safety position. His notable play of the day was an excellent pass breakup against Goff on a deep shot to Lucky Jackson.
▶ In Sewell's place, the Lions featured Larry Borom and Miles Frazier at left tackle. With Juice Scruggs out, Mahogany took most of the snaps at first-team left guard but gave up some to Bartch.
▶ Hassanein, one of the biggest risers in camp thus far, was banged up during a team period near the end of practice. He was tended to by trainers for several minutes but didn't go back to the locker room early and told The Detroit News that he was fine on his way off the field.
[email protected]
@nolanbianchi
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Lions training camp observations: Jahmyr Gibbs full-go in practice
Continue reading...
▶ Running back Jahmyr Gibbs, tight end Tyler Conklin and offensive lineman Ben Bartch were participants in team periods for the first time all camp. Gibbs looked like the happiest player on the field on Sunday, weaving in and out of cuts with a smile on his face after sitting out the first week of practices while holding in for a new contract, which he signed on Friday. Gibbs told NFL Network's Brian Baldinger last week that he didn't even want to miss any practices at all.
"I didn't want to do it in the first place, I ain't gonna lie," Gibbs said of his hold-in. "It was extremely hard. I always want to be out there with my teammates, having fun. I was bored."
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Lions coach Dan Campbell said Sunday that the team wants to push Gibbs to see how much he can continue to grow after putting together one of the best three-season stretches a running back has ever had to begin his career.
"We're going to push him because we think this kid can be one of the best, if not the best," Campbell said. "So, we're going to push him to get there. We're going to see what he's got now. I'm glad we got (Isiah) Pacheco, and he's going to very much be a part of what we have, but we need to see where we can take Gibbs now.
"We've only scratched the surface of him.”
▶ Several veteran Lions starters participated in warmups and walk-throughs but took the rest of practice off. That list includes offensive tackle Penei Sewell, tight end Sam LaPorta, wide receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams, defensive tackle Alim McNeill, edge defender Aidan Hutchinson and linebacker Jack Campbell. Hutchinson and McNeill actually did a couple of team reps at the start of practice but didn't participate long.
▶ The news that quarterback Teddy Bridgewater was stepping away from the team renewed a focus on undrafted rookie quarterback Luke Altmyer, who was temporarily moved up the depth chart. Altmyer is your prototypical undersized, game-manager quarterback who has shown some ability to step into throws downfield, such as when he hit Dominic Lovett for a gain of about 20 yards during one of the final team periods of the day. He's also shown a weakness in that area, such as when running back Jacob Saylors beat linebacker Trevor Nowaske on a wheel route but couldn't haul in the overthrown pass.
▶ Rookie offensive tackle Blake Miller lost his first one-on-one rep against edge defender Ahmed Hassanein, who cleanly got past Miller with a double swipe. Miller also lost pretty emphatically to undrafted rookie Anthony Lucas and finished the drill with a stalemate against seventh-round rookie Tyre West.
▶ Saylors has been the de facto RB2 in Detroit's offense with Sione Vaki and Pacheco on the shelf. He continued to make big gains while running the football and had a sick blitz pickup against linebacker Derrick Barnes that led to a completion, but one play later, he was flagged for a false start. He'll need to continue to clean up the details to be in a spot where the coaches can trust him to play a legit role in the offense.
▶ The final drill of the day was a situational drill. The offense started at its own 19-yard line with 59 seconds left, one timeout and down 24-20, needing a touchdown to win. Without St. Brown and Williams, it was a little bit of a slog getting down the field. Jared Goff missed his first two throws to wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa, either because of miscommunication or poor timing, before connecting with Gibbs on a wheel route that went for 17 yards and a new set of downs.
After hitting wide receiver Greg Dortch — against cornerback Roger McCreary — on a post route for 31 yards, Goff delivered another quick completion and spiked the ball at the opponent's 23-yard line with 11 seconds left. Goff's first heave to the TeSlaa in the end zone hit the crossbar, and his second — either to TeSlaa or Tom Kennedy; it was hard to tell — was intercepted by cornerback Nick Whiteside, who received praise for the situational awareness to immediately fall to the turf after making the play.
▶ TeSlaa made a really feisty catch against cornerback Rock Ya-Sin in team periods, fighting off the press coverage to make a catch while falling to the ground.
▶ After a quiet start to camp, defensive lineman Skyler Gill-Howard has started to make some plays. He had a sack in team periods and beat starting guard Tate Ratledge in his first one-on-one rep. But he also has plenty of work to do; he lost his final three one-on-one reps to Christian Mahogany, Melvin Priestly and Michael Niese.
▶ McCreary had another loud performance on Sunday, and not in a good way. He got "Mossed" by wide receiver Malik Cunningham in a throw downfield by Altmyer — a really nice throw by the rookie — in addition to two critical mistakes during the situational period, which included a defensive penalty that gave the offense an automatic first down. In a gunner drill that favors the gunner, McCreary got stood up by Ya-Sin and struggled to hold Ya-Sin up when the roles were reversed. He really needs to turn it around quickly.
▶ Defensive back Avonte Maddox has continued to look good while repping at the first-team safety position. His notable play of the day was an excellent pass breakup against Goff on a deep shot to Lucky Jackson.
▶ In Sewell's place, the Lions featured Larry Borom and Miles Frazier at left tackle. With Juice Scruggs out, Mahogany took most of the snaps at first-team left guard but gave up some to Bartch.
▶ Hassanein, one of the biggest risers in camp thus far, was banged up during a team period near the end of practice. He was tended to by trainers for several minutes but didn't go back to the locker room early and told The Detroit News that he was fine on his way off the field.
[email protected]
@nolanbianchi
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Lions training camp observations: Jahmyr Gibbs full-go in practice
Continue reading...
