Sloppy day: There were an uncharacteristic number of mistakes and penalty flags at Thursday's padded practice. At one point head coach Dan Campbell got the team together to share his displeasure with the sloppiness after the field goal unit couldn't get set up in time and snap the ball before the clock ran down from 12 seconds in a team period.
"Obviously you saw coach Campbell today getting after us," veteran guard Kevin Zeitler said after practice. "You've got to be smart. Doesn't matter how hot it is, how late it is, how tired we are or how humid. You have to be able to compete. Average might have been good a couple years ago but that's not what we care about now. We have bigger goals."
One-on-one: During the first padded practice earlier this week I watched pass rush drills between the offensive and defensive lines. Thursday I had an eye on one-on-one cover drills with the receivers and cornerbacks. The play of the drill belonged to wide receiver Daurice Fountain, who continues to impress, as he made a terrific catch along the right sideline with cornerback Terrion Arnold draped all over him. On the defensive side of things, I continue to be impressed with rookie cornerback Ennis Rakestraw Jr. He's physical at the line but is always in control. I thought he had a couple good reps.
Open-field tackling: The team did some one-on-one tackling drills during practice. A few highlights from that period included wide receiver Jameson Williams putting his head down and running through a would-be Rakestraw tackle. Running back David Montgomery put an absolute sick juke on linebacker Jack Campbell that left him reaching for air. Arnold had a great tackle on wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. Safety Kerby Joseph also came downhill and knocked running back Jahmyr Gibbs back and to the ground, but Gibbs had some revenge on Joseph to end the drill, making a nice move to get by him. Running back Sione Vaki and Fountain played both sides of the drill and both did really well avoiding and then tackling the player across from them.
Head on a swivel: One of the funnier moments so far in camp came during a special teams kickoff drill Thursday when coordinator Dave Fipp let kicker Jake Bates experiment with some different kinds of kicks on the kickoff. Bates has a nasty knuckleball kick he can execute but one of them nailed cornerback Khalil Dorsey, who was lined up at the 35 to cover the kick, right in the back of the head. Even Fipp couldn't help but laugh. After that play every cover man had his head on a swivel looking back at the kick.
Team reps: It was good to see defensive back Brian Branch taking part in team periods for the first time in camp. He's been rehabbing an injury since the spring and before Thursday was taking part in walkthrough and individual periods but no team sessions. He played exclusively at safety Thursday, which seems like the plan for him moving forward.
Third running back: Veteran Craig Reynolds has held down the role of the third running back the last couple years and he certainly looks to be ahead of any challengers for the job at this point in camp. I thought he had a great practice Thursday which included a long catch and run for touchdown. Veteran Jermar Jefferson is also having a good camp. Vaki will be in the mix too, though he left practice Thursday to be evaluated for a shoulder injury and didn't return. It's a competition to keep an eye on as the preseason looms.
Red zone: The team worked through some red zone periods in practice. I thought the first-team defense got the better of the first-team offense with a Montgomery touchdown run being the only score for the offense in their handful of plays.
The second-team offense had more success, highlighted by a Gibbs touchdown grab lined up in the slot. That could be a real weapon for Detroit in the red zone this year. Rakestraw got an interception for the second-team defense after a receiver fell down on a route.
Quarterback Hendon Hooker made a couple nice throws for touchdowns for the third-team offense and used his legs to get into the end zone on another play.
View photos from Day 7 of Detroit Lions training camp on Wednesday July 31, 2024.
Detroit Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 31, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta (87), Detroit Lions linebacker Jack Campbell (46) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 31, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions defensive lineman Aidan Hutchinson (97) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 31, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions safety Brandon Joseph (40), Detroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold (0) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 31, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions quarterback Nate Sudfeld (8), Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16), Detroit Lions quarterback Hendon Hooker (2) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 31, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions linebacker Alex Anzalone (34) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 31, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions linebacker Alex Anzalone (34), Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs (26) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 31, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams (9), Detroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold (0) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 31, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 31, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions linebacker DaRon Gilbert (53) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 31, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Isaiah Williams (83) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 31, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions safety Chelen Garnes (35), Detroit Lions wide receiver Isaiah Williams (83) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 31, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions quarterback Hendon Hooker (2) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 31, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Tom Kennedy (85) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 31, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs (26) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 31, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs (26), Detroit Lions linebacker Alex Anzalone (34) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 31, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions running back David Montgomery (5) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 31, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Antoine Green (18) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 31, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions linebacker Jack Campbell (46), Detroit Lions linebacker Derrick Barnes (55) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 31, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta (87), Detroit Lions tight end Brock Wright (89), Detroit Lions Tight Ends Coach Steve Heiden, Detroit Lions tight end Shane Zylstra (84), Detroit Lions tight end James Mitchell (82) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 31, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions Assistant Head Coach/Running Backs Coach Scottie Montgomery during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 31, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin (42), Detroit Lions running back Jermar Jefferson (28) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 31, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions running back Sione Vaki (33), Detroit Lions running back Craig Reynolds (13) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 31, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions Assistant Quarterbacks Coach J.T. Barrett during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 31, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta (87) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 31, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold (0), Detroit Lions wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones (19) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 31, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions offensive lineman Colby Sorsdal (75), Detroit Lions tackle Dan Skipper (70) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 31, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions tight end Shane Zylstra (84) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 31, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold (0), Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (14) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 31, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions defensive lineman Marcus Davenport (92) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 31, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions tight end Parker Hesse (43) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 31, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions tackle Penei Sewell (58), Detroit Lions center Kingsley Eguakun (65) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 31, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions running back David Montgomery (5) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 31, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs (26) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 31, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs (26) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 31, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/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 31, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions tight end Brock Wright (89) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 31, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions linebacker Derrick Barnes (55) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 31, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Isaiah Williams (83) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 31, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions safety Kerby Joseph (31) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 31, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez (44) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 31, 2024. (Jeff Nguyen/Detroit Lions)
Situational football: The team ended practice with some situational drills where I thought the defenses dominated.
Jared Goff and the first-team offense had the ball at the opponent's 41-yard line with 31 seconds left down 30-24 with two timeouts. They eventually moved their way down to the 10-yard line with one second left, but Dan Campbell let them play through two obvious sacks from Levi Onwuzurike and Aidan Hutchinson, the latter on the final play that ended up being a St. Brown touchdown in the back of the end zone. The play of the defensive line has been a big story in camp so far. They've been really good.
Nate Sudfeld and the second-team offense started with the ball on their own 48-yard line with 44 seconds on the clock down 23-20. A sack and three incompletions ended the drill rather quickly.
Hooker and the third-team offense started at their own 30-yard line down 28-21 with one minute and 31 seconds on the clock and a couple timeouts. Hooker made a terrific throw to tight end Shane Zylstra down the seam for 30 yards to put the offense in business on the defensive side of the field. That unit eventually got inside the 10-yard line with still around a minute on the clock, but Hooker seemed too rushed with the field position they had and time on the clock. He made a big error throwing behind a receiver on an out route that was picked off by linebacker Malik Jefferson who had only Hooker to beat for a pick six before the whistle blew.
