Lions camp observations: Bates has long-distance struggles, team unity remains strong after scuffles
Allen Park — Here are observations from Saturday’s training camp practice, which was exclusively open to season-ticket holders.
● I arrived at the Meijer Performance Center a quarter after 7 a.m., more than an hour before the start of practice. Even at the early hour, fans were already lined up back to Republic Dr. The stands ended up jam-packed, with 2,600 strolling through the gates.
The crowd was also lively, including a standing ovation for Jameson Williams when the third-year receiver came out to do some pre-practice warmups with position coach Antwaan Randle El.
● Running back Jahymr Gibbs and defensive end Marcus Davenport made their camp debuts in full-team work. Gibbs flashed his trademark burst on an outside zone run, cutting it back inside and exploding through the lane in the blink of the eye. Davenport, meanwhile, saw time with the top defensive grouping opposite Aidan Hutchinson.
Defensive back Brian Branch still remains limited to walkthroughs, but said he feels ahead of schedule with his recovery after practice. In those walkthroughs, he continues to line up as a first-team safety opposite Kerby Joseph.
● There’s still no sign of rookie offensive lineman Christian Mahogany, who is dealing with an undisclosed illness, according to coach Dan Campbell.
● It wasn’t the best day for kicker Jake Bates, who is currently unchallenged for the job after Michael Badgley suffered a season-ending injury this week. Bates made his first three kicks, squeaking 54- and 51-yard efforts just inside the left upright before piping one from 47 yards.
The Lions pushed him back to 60 yards to begin a second set and he sent the initial effort wide right, followed by a miss left from 55, then an overcorrection back too far right from 52. He finished the sequence with a make from 43.
Ultimately, those misses were all long kicks, but you’ll want to see him make better adjustments between tries as camp progresses.
● There were two minor scuffles with a couple receivers and defensive backs clutching jerseys and shoving after a run play. Later, offensive tackle Dan Skipper gave linebacker Derrick Barnes a little extra business at the end of a screen pass block, leading to the two rolling on the ground and Barnes throwing a forearm shiver at the blocker. Alex Anzalone, who wasn’t in the play, raced from the sidelines to join the fray, and the “benches” briefly cleared before cooler heads prevailed.
Both sequences ended comically, with Penei Sewell dramatically pretending to jump into the pile of DBs and receivers with a big smile on his face, while safety Kerby Joseph grabbed two water bottles and sprayed the pile of humanity like he was popping champagne at the club during the Skipper/Barnes tussle.
“I seen them boys got a little hot,” Joseph said. “I said, ‘I got y’all boys. I’mma cool y’all down.’”
After practice, both Skipper and Barnes talked. Under previous regimes, that probably doesn’t happen, but both said the right things about emotions getting carried away and there being no hard feelings.
“I love Derrick,” Skipper said. “No qualms about it. Sometimes things happen and here we are."
Barnes, who is genuinely one of the nicest guys on the roster, somehow manages to frequently end up in the thick of these things. He admitted he’s already been involved in three post-whistle incidents this camp and is planning to make a focused effort to cut it out because it’s not reflective of who he is and what he’s about.
● It felt like rookie cornerback Terrion Arnold had one of his best practices, particularly his defending of the deep ball. He had an excellent coverage transition from a Williams underneath route to pick up Amon-Ra St. Brown in a deep zone to knock away one bomb, earning a hug from the All-Pro receiver and a loud cheer from the crowd filling the stands along that sideline.
Arnold also shut down a deep shot to tight end Brock Wright after the defensive line jumped offside ahead of the snap.
● The ball continues to come out of Hendon Hooker’s hand well, but often not quickly enough. His adjustment to the speed of NFL defenders is going to be the key to him taking the next step in his development.
● I continue to be intrigued by edge rusher Mitchell Agude, who used his power and length to knock over Skipper with a long-arm bull rush.
● Undrafted receiver Isaiah Williams has been quiet going back to rookie minicamp, but he made an impressive, one-handed stab across the middle Saturday. Maybe that can be the spark for one of the Big Ten’s most productive receivers the past couple years.
● Another receiver who had a standout performance on Saturday was Maurice Alexander. He hauled in a well-executed wheel route after using a designed pick, then snagged an impressive back-shoulder throw downfield, perfectly timing his turn for the ball to get just enough breathing room from the blanketing coverage of cornerback Kindle Vildor.
Alexander also drew a clear DPI on another deep ball while working against second-year corner Steven Gilmore.
● The team did some one-on-one work with tackling angles in space. The practice segment was largely dominated by the defense, who found success with a downhill, no-hesitation approach during the drill.
The best two reps for offensive players belonged to Sam LaPorta and David Montgomery. LaPorta broke the ankles of Anzalone with a hard jump cut to the left, while Montgomery juked past safety Joseph.
My imagined visual of Kerby Joseph "[spraying] the pile of humanity like he was popping champagne at the club" is remarkably vivid.
You could feel the energy in the stands. Also, shout out to the team for making the upgrades and making watching conditions ideal. I was top row right where Jamo was doing his pre practice work and it was fantastic.