Here are some observations from Day 12 of Lions training camp in Allen Park on Saturday.
The Lions held a glorified walk-through at Saturday’s practice. Today’s observations will be heavily slanted toward a newsy press conference from Lions coach Dan Campbell and the deployment of several players who returned from injury.
Interior offensive lineman Juice Scruggs returned to the practice field on Saturday. The team did very few 11-on-11 reps, but when they did, Scruggs manned the first-team reps. Lions coach Dan Campbell said that Scruggs is still very much a candidate to win the starting center job in Cade Mays’ absence. Former undrafted free agent Seth McLaughlin manned all the first-team reps last week, with Mays and Scruggs not practicing, and more than held his own in Detroit’s preseason opener against the Cincinnati Bengals.
While we haven’t seen it yet, Campbell also said he expects right guard Tate Ratledge to begin working at center, just in case they need him to play the position in a pinch. Ratledge began working at center for the first three days of last year’s camp before moving to right guard; we haven’t seen him take a snap at center since.
“We’re going to work him a little bit,” Campbell said. “I don’t know how much we’ll do in team (drills), but certainly we’re going to be snapping him some pre-practice. And then he’s been going through some of the calls, things like that. So, we’re just prepared. We have to be willing to go wherever we can go with this.”
With Scruggs and offensive guard Ben Bartch missing time early in camp, left guard Christian Mahogany has yet to have a true challenger for his job at left guard. Still, Campbell said his job is far from safe.
“This is still an ongoing battle,” Campbell said. “I think we’ll get Juice back today … and Bartch is back. He’ll be getting more and more reps. So, let Mahogany and Bartch go at it over there at the left guard, and then obviously, we’re evaluating Juice, too, at center with Seth — or is it Ratledge? We have got to find the five best. And so, this is an ongoing battle.”
Mahogany had a good showing when playing the first half of Thursday’s game against Cincinnati.
“Mahogany, I thought he was a physical force,” Campbell said. “And when he does it right, it’s pretty and powerful. It’s explosive. And in the pass game he’s got an anchor. And then sometimes it just gets a little out of sorts. So, it’s just the consistency of it.”
Rookie cornerback Keith Abney took some first-team reps late in practice after having what Campbell called a “good game” against Cincinnati. Abney had a fumble recovery and tied for a team-high five tackles.
“He feels like a football player. He’s felt that way out there, and I thought that showed up the other night. He’s got a knack, he’s pretty instinctive, plays aggressive, not too big for him,” Campbell said. “I thought he did some things certainly on defense, but special teams, too.”
In Saturday’s practice, Abney had a nice showing during one-on-one reps. He gave up a catch to wide receiver Tom Kennedy on his first rep but rebounded to break up a throw to wide receiver Malik Cunningham, in which he played through the ball, and later added a pass breakup against Kennedy to close the drill.
Not long after Campbell heaped praise on wide receiver Tarik Black, the lone Lions touchdown scorer on Saturday, Black got put into a box by Khalil Dorsey in one-on-one drills. Dorsey broke up the pass on all three reps against Black and added a win against wide receiver Malik Cunningham when the throw missed the intended target.
While we often try to avoid taking raw statistics during a training camp practice, it feels worth noting that of the 12 passes that were thrown during 7-on-7 drills, only one of them hit the turf — the last one, a throw from quarterback Josh Dobbs to Cunningham that was defended by cornerback Roger McCreary. The best catch was a one-hander from wide receiver Dominic Lovett.
Campbell was highly complimentary of the receivers last week, saying it’s the best receiver room he’s had in Detroit, and reiterated that sentiment on Saturday when discussing the performances from Thursday’s game.
Black, Kennedy, Tay Martin, and Cedrick Wilson Jr. all received shoutouts when asked whether anyone from the group distinguished themselves.
“That room right now is interesting. Tay Martin showed up again, blocking, made a one-on-one catch, separated, special teams. He forced a penalty, and that was just one play on special teams. He made more than that,” Campbell said.
“In the return units and the kickoff units, I thought Black showed up, made some plays. He’s intriguing. We got Cedrick back. … He’s a crafty, savvy veteran. Just knows how to play, man. He gets it. Smart dude, can play all the positions, goes up there and makes plays for us, and he’ll mix it up and block, and he’s played (special) teams before. We know Tom Kennedy, reliable, steady. So, I mean, those guys, that room right now, it’s an all-out (battle) right now.”
Defensive lineman Ben Stille had a fantastic day in linemen one-on-ones. He had an easy win over Michael Niese and manhandled McLaughlin. Edge defender Aidan Hutchinson and rookie tackle Blake Miller matched up twice; the first was somewhat of a toss-up, but the second was an emphatic win for Hutchinson. Offensive guard Tate Ratledge went two-for-two against Levi Onwuzurike and Alim McNeill, stalling both of them to get the win.
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This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Lions training camp observations: Left guard job an ‘ongoing battle’
Reporting by Nolan Bianchi, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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By Nolan Bianchi, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
