The Detroit Lions held a scrimmage-like practice on Day 9 of training camp, and we charted all 22 of the drives from Friday’s practice.
The Detroit Lions ended Week 2 of training camp with a high-intensity scrimmage.
“I’d like to put about 35 or 40 reps on them and we’ll go, and we’ll compete, so we’re pretty excited about this day,” coach Dan Campbell said prior to practice.
In all, we tracked a total of 22 drives from practice. And rather than give vague observations, we opted to chart the results of every drive, and highlight the key plays from each series.
Drive 1 (starters)
Result: Three plays, 2 yards
- Practice kicked off with a big tackle for loss from Emmanuel Moseley to put the defense behind.
- While the Lions got into a third-and-manageable, Jared Goff couldn’t find Jameson Williams for the third-down conversion.
Drive 2 (starters)
Result: 10 plays, 70-ish yards, TD
- Alim McNeill lined up at the 3-technique and looped around the edge for a sack—A wonderful display of athleticism.
- Jared Goff connected with Sam LaPorta on a deep pass, but it probably should have been called back because Taylor Decker held Aidan Hutchinson.
- Hutchinson continues to whip tight ends when they are assigned to block him, even Brock Wright struggled against the former second-overall pick.
- Goff connected with Daurice Fountain on a 15-yard touchdown, after the receiver sliced through loose zone coverage, most notably from Ifeatu Melifonwu, who failed to pick him up.
Drive 3 (second-team)
Result: 8 plays, 27 yards, missed FG (51 yards and 46 yards)
- A Hendon Hooker overthrow to the flats and a bobbled catch out of bounds for Kalif Raymond doomed this drive. Jermar Jefferson had a terrific blitz pick-up on this play, as his pass protection continues to impress.
- Not only did Jake Bates miss the 51-yard field goal, but there were too many men on the field for the defense. When they lined up at 46 yards, Bates missed again.
Drive 4 (third-team)
Result: 6 plays, 15-ish yards
- Ennis Rakestraw (playing in the slot) fought through a block for a tackle for loss on a bubble screen.
- Kindle Vildor locked up Donovan Peoples-Jones and executed a textbook third-down pass breakup to end the drive.
Drive 5 (first-team offense vs. second-team defense)
Situation: Starting at 50-yard line
Result: 6 plays, 50 yards, TD
- After a couple successful runs from David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs, Goff found Williams for a 20-yard gain with Rakestraw all over his back. Nice, contested catch win from Williams.
- After “The Brock Wright Play” from the veteran tight end, Jahmyr Gibbs bounced outside for an easy 5-yard score.
Drive 6 (second-team offense vs. first-team defense)
Situation: Starting at 50-yard line
Result: 3 plays, 4 yards
- Antoine Green had an easy first-down opportunity—with no defender within a few yards—but bobbled the catch and couldn’t corral it until he was out of bounds.
- On the next play, Kyle Peko and Aidan Hutchinson combined for the drive-ending sack.
Drive 7 (second-team offense vs. first-team defense)
Situation: Starting at 50-yard line
Result: 1 play, 50 yards, TD
- Jermar Jefferson found daylight after a block by Kalif Raymond helped set the edge. Jefferson beat Brian Branch in the open field, angled to the sideline, and scored.
Drive 8 (second-team offense vs. first-team defense)
Situation: Starting at 50-yard line
Result: 3 plays, -7ish yards
- Branch rebounded on the next play, locking up Shane Zylstra and forcing an incompletion.
- Two more sacks from the defense ended the drive. On the first, Alim McNeill collapsed the line for Jack Campbell to loop around for an untouched QB hit. On the second, Aidan Hutchinson and Derrick Barnes met at the quarterback.
Drive 9 (third-team)
Result: 5 plays, 15ish yards
- Kindle Vildor picked off Nate Sudfeld, but it was called back due to a holding on defense that I didn’t see, but the drive didn’t last long anyway, after a block in the back call on Bryan Hudson.
Drive 10 (first-team)
Situation: Starting at opponents’ 25-yard line
Result: 2 plays, 25 yards, TD
- Detroit picked up 19 yards on a nifty trick play, but I cannot divulge the details.
- Jahmyr Gibbs caught a swing pass/wheel route touchdown pass where Levi Onwuzurike was in phase for an interception, but he couldn’t find the ball.
Drive 11 (first-team)
Situation: Starting at opponents’ 25-yard line
Result: 3 plays, 25 yards, TD
- Jameson Williams had a rough drop after sticking his route in the open zone, but…
- Amon-Ra St. Brown followed it up with a 21-yard touchdown catch. Melifonwu jumped the route perfectly but failed to connect with the ball.
Drive 12 (first-team)
Situation: Starting at opponents’ 25-yard line
Result: 5 plays, 16 yards, 25-yard FG
- After a tag-team TFL from Hutchinson and McNeill, Daurice Fountain got the offense out of a jam with a 12-yard pickup. Terrion Arnold had tight coverage on the play, but credit to Fountain for the contested catch.
- Two Montgomery runs got the Lions into a third-and-4. Montgomery expertly picked up the blitzing MIKE (Barnes) but the defense also blitzed Moseley off the edge, who forced a failed conversion.
Drive 13 (second-team)
Situation: Starting at opponents’ 25-yard line
Result: 4 plays, 10 yards, INT
- With the offensive line running left, Mitchell Agude showed great backside pursuit, running down Craig Reynolds for a TFL.
- On a play very reminiscent of Hooker’s red zone interception from Thursday, the Lions second-year quarterback tried to hit Tom Kennedy on an out-route from about 9 yards out, but the throw was slow and late, and Khalil Dorsey picked it off.
Drive 14 (second-team)
Situation: Starting at opponents’ 25-yard line
Result: 3 plays, 25 yards, TD
- Mekhi Wingo had a beastly tackle for loss after tossing Ike Boettger aside. James Houston and Josh Paschal also made stops at the line of scrimmage.
- Hooker rebounded nicely from the INT by hitting Sione Vaki on the wheel route perfectly in stride for a 20-ish-yard touchdown.
Drive 15 (third-team)
Situation: Starting at opponents’ 25-yard line
Result: 3 plays, 0 yards, missed FG (46 yards)
- Agude blew by Giovanni Manu for a sack.
- Steven Gilmore’s pressure on a blitz forced a third-down throwaway.
Drive 16 (third-team)
Situation: Starting at opponents’ 25-yard line
Result: 6 plays, 25 yards, TD
- Isaiah Williams got the drive going with a nice juke of safety Loren Strickland by sticking his foot in the ground and cutting upfield for a 10-yard gain.
- On a fourth-and-1 from inside the 5-yard line, Jefferson walked in on a perfectly blocked play for his second touchdown of the day. Colby Sorsdal, Parker Hesse, and Sean McKeon held their blocks perfectly on the play side.
Drive 17 (first-team)
Situation: Starting on own 1-yard line (objective: get 2 first downs)
Result: 3 plays, 25ish yards
- The first-team offense made quick work of the defense thanks to a physical run from David Montgomery and a subsequent 10+ yard gain from St. Brown.
Drive 18 (second-team)
Situation: Starting on own 1-yard line (objective: get 2 first downs)
Result: 3 plays, 7 yards, INT
- Rakestraw picked off Hooker for his third interception of camp. It was not clear where Hooker intended on going with the pass—Antoine Green was kind of in the area—but it was way behind any nearby receiver.
Drive 19 (third-team)
Situation: Starting on own 1-yard line (objective: get 2 first downs)
Result: 4 plays, 30ish yards
- This was the Jermar Jefferson drive. He picked up about 8 yards total on the first two carries of the drive, then converted a third down with a quick catch. The offense won the drive when Sudfeld found Tre’Quan Smith on an out route—but Sudfeld only had time because of a textbook blitz pickup from Jefferson.
Drive 20 (first-team)
Situation: First-and-goal from 10-yard line
Result: 2 plays, 10 yards, TD
- Another trick play got the Lions down to the 3-yard line.
- Montgomery plowed in from there, thanks to lead blocks from Penei Sewell (on McNeill) and Graham Glasgow (on Jack Campbell).
Drive 21 (second-team)
Situation: First-and-goal from 10-yard line
Result: 3 plays, -1 yards, FG (29 yards)
- Brandon Joseph beat a block to tackle Kennedy in the backfield on a bubble screen.
- Hooker found Raymond at the back of the end zone, and after a beautiful full extension catch, his feet were headed to the ground, but Moseley got to him first and pushed him out of bounds for the incompletion.
- A blitz from Jalen Reeves-Maybin forced an overthrow on third-and-goal.
Drive 22 (third team)
Situation: Down 3 points, 1:41 left, 2 timeouts, starting on own 42-yard line
Result: 10 plays, 36 yards, missed FG (40 yards)
- Sudfeld led a nice drive with short passes to Isaiah Williams, Peoples-Jones, and McKeon (a conversion on fourth-and-6).
- A nice timing pass to Maurice Alexander set them up in field goal range, but Bates pushed it significantly wide left.
Jake Bates
It was a tough day for the Lions kicker. Here’s how I charted his day:
Makes (8): 25, 29, 33, 38, 43, 48, 51, 59
Misses (6): 40, 46, 46, 46, 51, 54, 64
He also went 5-of-6 on extra points.