Review of today’s practice from a Lions perspective

DETROIT
Birkett Detroit Free Press: Should Detroit Lions go away for training camp? Plus more observations

“Let's start near the end, because the Lions and Giants ran a two-minute period late in practice, ones vs. ones, on the main field, and the Lions got the better of the Giants on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.
On offense, the Lions needed to convert a couple third-and-longs, but they did so with passes to Marvin Jones and Golden Tate. Jones used his Go Go Gadget-like arms to go up and snag a touchdown over Eli Apple on a second-and-goal play from about the 7.

With the Lions' top defense on the field the next series, the Giants moved the ball with relative ease the first few plays before Glover Quin stepped in front of an Eli Manning pass to Evan Engram for an interception. Quin is 32, and I've been asked more than once about him since Marshawn Lynch ran by him on his long touchdown (that was called back on penalty) last week, but he's still got great football instincts.

I believe Beckham only took one rep during one-on-one drills, and it was against undrafted rookie Chris Jones (not Darius Slay, in the heavyweight bout everyone was hoping to see). I guess Beckham hasn't done much of anything in one-on-ones back in New York, so his limited participation there wasn't a surprise. What I found interesting was the fact that Beckham and Jones walked down the sideline together after the play, clearly having a friendly, instructive conversation about what just happened.
"He was just giving me little insights on what can help me, what helps him, what he looks at and different things like that," Jones said. "I like to (hear) what they look at. If I can find out what a receiver looks at, and I'm quite sure if I can think like a receiver, then I'm able to play."
Jones wouldn't share what tips Beckham gave him, but he said the conversation was "very valuable." I've mentioned Jones in my observations before, including during Friday's game against the Raiders. If I had to do a 53-man projection right now, I'd give him one of the final roster spots. On Tuesday, he broke up a pass to Amba Etta-Tawo early in one-on-ones, and had pretty good coverage on a completion to Etta-Tawo later in the period.

Lions rookie guard Frank Ragnow has had a very impressive camp, but it was another rookie offensive linemen who made the standout block of the day Tuesday. The Giants' Will Hernandez mauled Ziggy Ansah in the first team period of practice, wrestling him to the ground on a running play. Ansah was lined up in maybe a five technique on the right side of the line on that play, but we also saw him used as a stand-up rusher Tuesday.

Special-teams periods are always good to watch during joint practices, and one player who impressed Tuesday was Jamal Agnew — and not as a return man. Agnew was super quick off the line as a gunner. He beat Janoris Jenkins, one of the better cornerbacks in the NFL, with a quick jab step on the first punt rep of the day and flew downfield for a would-be tackle on the Giants' return man (the drill wasn't fully live, so no idea if Agnew would have actually made the tackle). Later in the same drill, he made another quick move to himself from the Giants' jammer, taking two steps inside then exploding outside. His first step lightning quick.

With the Lions in a return situation, and working on their vise jam with two jammers, Charles Washington and DeShawn Shead had a great first rep on the outside and Jones had an effective jam a few snaps later. Teo Redding and Dontez Ford couldn't contain a Giants' gunner later in the drill and would have got Agnew killed had the play been live.

I didn't see a lot of one-on-one pass rush Tuesday because I was keeping tabs on the Beckham-Slay matchup in seven-on-seven going on in another part of the field, but I did see Freddie Bishop get low to run past Ereck Flowers for what would have been an easy sack.

Ansah had three sacks against Flowers in the regular season last year, but things didn't come anywhere near as easy Tuesday against Nate Solder. Ansah got no real push against Solder in his first rep and Solder appeared to run Ansah wide in the second, though my perch 125 or so yards away didn't give me the best look.

Final note for the day: Giants coach Pat Shurmur walked over to the media observation deck before practice and asked the Giants reporters in attendance if they were restricted to that area (yes; in New York, reporters can roam the sideline). He then stopped to take a picture with a couple Giants fans and mentioned he grew up about 4 miles from the Lions' practice facility. Nice homecoming trip for Shurmur.”

https://amp.freep.com/amp/987791002

Meinke Michigan Live: Lions training camp observations, Day 13: Where's the energy?

“The Lions defensive line showed some much-needed improvement. After struggling to get to the passer last week in California, those guys worked over New York during one-on-one drills in Allen Park. Of course, the Giants offensive line isn't nearly as good as Oakland's either. Ezekiel Ansah even partook in the drills, and battled Nate Solder to a stalemate twice. Kerry Hyder had a good pressure, and so did Freddie Bishop, who continues to enjoy a really nice camp. I also had Cornelius Lucas, Da'Shawn Hand and Cam Johnson with wins.

Ameer Abdullah coughed up the football today, getting stripped by Giants linebacker Mark Herzlich while working with the second team. That's obviously not what you're looking for, but he's otherwise enjoyed a strong camp too. He ran four times for 16 yards and one touchdown against Oakland, plus caught a pass for 7 yards. He's also worked as the No. 1 punt and kick returner lately -- and he broke off another nice return during punt work against New York.

Glover Quin is known for his anticipation. Just ask Eli Manning about that. Quin obviously recognized something and was able to jump a route and pick off Manning late in practice.”

https://articles.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2018/08/lions_training_camp_observatio_7.amp

Rogers Detroit News: Lions camp observations: D-line looks better vs. Giants

“After Detroit's defensive line struggled to get much traction in last week's practices with the Oakland Raiders, the pass rushers had a more effective morning in their first series of battles with the Giants, winning more than half of the one-on-one reps. 

Ziggy Ansah took part for the first time and looked to be moving pretty well, although he stalemated in both his reps with Nate Solder, the Giants' big free-agent addition 

Working with the second-team offense, Ameer Abdullah was stripped by Giants linebacker Mark Herzlich. It was a down moment in an otherwise positive day for Abdullah, who was impressively elusive in punt return work and picked up a big chunk of yardage on a well-executed screen pass. 

Safety Glover Quin showcased his world-class anticipation, setting in front of an Eli Manning pass and picking it off.”

https://amp.detroitnews.com/amp/988387002