Padded practice: After a four-day acclimation period and a day off on Sunday, the players returned Monday for the first padded practice of training camp. When the pads come on the energy and physicality ramps up and that was certainly the case Monday for the Lions. The team did a live tackling period, one-on-one pass-rush and one-on-one coverage drills which brought the highest intensity of camp so far.
Searching for an INT: I have it down as five practices in a row to start camp without the defense recording an interception in a team period. The streak was nearly broken Monday when defensive lineman John Cominsky tipped a pass at the line of scrimmage that fluttered in the air and right into the hands of cornerback Amik Robertson, who dropped it. Robertson was mad at himself after practice. He said he was telling everyone on defense he was going to get the first interception for the defense and then he didn't take advantage of his opportunity. He told me he'll still be the first defender to get one. We will see.
Pass-rush drill: I always head over to the pass-rush drill between the offensive and defensive linemen the first day of pads. That is where games are won and lost in this league. A few highlights from those reps:
- Center Frank Ragnow looks to be in midseason form. He won both his reps against Brodric Martin and Chris Smith.
- Penei Sewell vs. Aidan Hutchinson is must watch every day. They make each other so much better squaring off against one another as much as they do. The two split their two reps against each other in the drill. Hutchinson had a nice outside move on his win and Sewell planted and stood Hutchinson up on his win.
- Colby Sorsdal had two great reps against Josh Paschal and Nate Lynn. Sorsdal has played almost exclusively at tackle to begin camp and has played well.
- Veteran edge rusher Marcus Davenport is a big, powerful man. He had a great bull rush against Taylor Decker on one rep. If he stays healthy, he has a chance to make a difference opposite Hutchinson.
- I had rookie defensive lineman Mekhi Wingo winning both his reps against Kevin Zeitler and Ike Boettger. He's got a really nice first step.
Game of inches: Cornerback Carlton Davis was inches away from making two great plays back-to-back in a team period Monday. The first he came up just short of breaking up a Jared Goff pass to tight end Sam LaPorta over the middle. He and LaPorta arrived at the ball at the same time and ran right into each other, but LaPorta was able to hang on make a tough catch. The very next play Davis was running with wide receiver Jameson Williams down the seam and this time got his hand up and deflected the ball away. I thought it was Davis' best practice of camp so far.
Mr. Reliable: The team ended practice with a team period and the last two plays of practice were completions over the middle of the field to wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown totaling about 40 yards. St. Brown and Goff have such great chemistry and it still amazes me how open St. Brown gets time after time despite every defense knowing what's coming.
View photos from Day 4 of Detroit Lions training camp on Saturday July 27, 2024.
Detroit Lions defensive lineman Aidan Hutchinson (97) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions linebacker Jack Campbell (46) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (14) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (14), Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta (87), Detroit Lions tackle Penei Sewell (58), and Detroit Lions guard Kevin Zeitler (71) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams (9) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions safety Ifeatu Melifonwu (6) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions punter Jack Fox (3) and Detroit Lions kicker Jake Bates (43) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams (9) and Detroit Lions wide receiver Maurice Alexander (1) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions linebacker Alex Anzalone (34) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions kicker Jake Bates (43) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions offensive lineman Giovanni Manu (59) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions defensive lineman Aidan Hutchinson (97) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions safety Kerby Joseph (31) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta (87) and Detroit Lions safety Kerby Joseph (31) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions punter Jack Fox (3) and Detroit Lions long snapper Hogan Hatten (49) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions linebacker Alex Anzalone (34) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions defensive lineman Isaac Ukwu (45) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions running back Sione Vaki (33) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Antoine Green (18) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (14) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions cornerback Emmanuel Moseley (4) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (14) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions center Frank Ragnow (77) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions tackle Penei Sewell (58) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions linebacker Jack Campbell (46) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs (26) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (14) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams (9) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions running back David Montgomery (5) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions cornerback Emmanuel Moseley (4) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions Linebackers Coach Kelvin Sheppard during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta (87) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions defensive lineman Brodric Martin (99) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions tackle Penei Sewell (58) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions defensive lineman Kyle Peko (96) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions center Kingsley Eguakun (65) and Detroit Lions running back Sione Vaki (33) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions cornerback Ennis Rakestraw Jr. (15) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions linebacker Alex Anzalone (34) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Hockey connection: It's great to see how all four professional teams in Detroit support each other. Many Lions players have thrown out the first pitch at a Tigers game or sounded the horn at a Red Wings game. Wings general manager Steve Yzerman and assistant GM Kris Draper were guests of the Lions on Monday and took in practice.
Tackling drill: The team did some one-on-one open-field tackling Monday. It's a drill that usually gets the players pretty fired up pitting the offense vs. the defense. A couple offensive highlights included LaPorta putting a great juke on linebacker Alex Anzalone for a win, tight end Shane Zylstra getting his offensive teammates fired up with a good spin move to avoid a Jalen Reeves-Maybin tackle, and running back David Montgomery putting a good move on Jack Campbell to avoid a tackle.
