The Detroit Lions are on to day five of the 2021 Detroit Lions training camp and many observations have taken place. First, Amon-Ra St. Brown continues to be solid in training camp and showing the reason why he was drafted by the Detroit Lions. The Detroit Lions sign veteran center Evan Boehm for some depth for the offensive line. D’Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams continue to get looks from Jared Goff receiving the ball and should be a big part of the Lions passing game.
The defense is significantly ahead of the offense
Maybe this means the defense is significantly better. Maybe this means the offense is significantly worse. More than likely it’s a combination of both. But regardless, the defense has been making plays all offseason with a lot of broken-up passes and a couple of interceptions.
This is really highlighted in the red zone, where the defense has been lights out, and the offense has really struggled to punch it in.
Remember, this is all without the benefit of a running game so far, but when it comes to the passing game the defense has been king.
Jared Goff has been accurate, but indecisive
You can’t talk about the passing game without talking about Jared Goff. It’s been a mild start to camp for the new Lions quarterback. He doesn’t miss his target very often, but it’s clear he still working on chemistry and finding comfortability in the system. While last week he said he loves to throw the ball deep, his first week of training camp practices was more defined by dump-offs and checkdowns. It’s probably worth noting that he also said this.
“Checkdowns are my friend.”
Maybe it’s Goff playing it safe after turning the ball over a lot over the past couple of years. Maybe he’s having trouble going through his progressions. Or maybe…
Lions need a wide receiver to step up
There just haven’t been any big plays made really by any wide receivers this camp, let alone the presumed top two in Tyrell Williams and Breshad Perriman. For the first time all camp, Goff found Perriman for a big play on Monday, but it had been extremely quiet for the Lions receiver prior to that.
Williams has been a little more consistent and is clearly the Lions’ best wide receiver, but it remains to be seen whether he can truly handle duties as the No. 1 guy. For now, cornerback Jeff Okudah has gotten the better of him.
Detroit will ride the hot hand at running back—but we may finally see two on the field at the same time
Both D’Andre Swift and Jamaal Williams have shared the load of first-team reps at running back, and there doesn’t appear to be a heavy preference in either direction. In fact, head coach Dan Campbell specifically said that during the game, they will often roll with whoever has the hot hand at the time.
“We’re going to use both of those guys, they know that,” Campbell said. “A guy gets a hot hand, he’s rolling.”
For those worried that Swift won’t get enough touches this year with Williams vulturing some playing time, Campbell also noted that Swift isn’t going to sit idly by if Williams is feeling it.
“If Jamaal is in there, we’re rolling. Jamaal is going to be rolling and we’ll use Swift for other things, which is fine,” Campbell said. “That’s a good problem to have.”
During Monday’s practice, Swift didn’t get much of any work in team drills, leading many to speculate that he may have been dealing with an injury. However, assistant head coach/running backs coach Duce Staley quickly shut that down after practice.
Jeff Okudah, Tracy Walker look dialed in
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Source:
Jeremy Reisman, Pride Of Detroit
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