Observations: Campbell Sparks Tension, Gardner-Johnson Shines

Day 16 Detroit Lions training camp observations.

The Detroit Lions competed at a high level over the course of two days against a football team had clearly scouted one of the rising teams in the NFL. 

"I was pleased with the way our guys showed up. I thought we competed. I thought it wasn't perfect, it never is," Dan Campbell said before Thursday's joint practice with Jacksonville. "They did some really good things up there. But, I thought we really showed up, and we competed. Everything I was looking for from our guys, I saw yesterday." 

Thursday provided another opportunity for the defense to go out and attempt to make plays, as Wednesday was one of the defense's most productive performances of training camp. 

Participation 

Wideout Trinity Benson, who was limited to individual drills Wednesday, returned to action on Thursday. 

Frank Ragnow was spotted at practice, but he was limited during the second day of joint practices. He was not observed participating in individual or team periods. 

Jameson Williams was spotted before practice standing next to Campbell, while St. Brown was not spotted. 

Similar to Wednesday, Mohamed Ibrahim, Maurice Alexander and Denzel Mims were not spotted at practice. 

On the defensive side, veteran Romeo Okwara was also not spotted during practice. 

Observations

1.) The two teams squared off in a non-padded practice Thursday. All Lions focused heavily on the defensive side of the football, with occasional observations of what was occurring on the offensive side.

2.) Safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson grabbed an easy interception off Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence, on a pass intended for Calvin Ridley, during the first-team period. It was almost a fair catch, as the young signal-caller overthrew his intended target. Later at practice, the veteran safety soared threw the air, Michael Jordan-esque, and broke up a Lawrence pass intended for tight end Evan Engram. 

Safety Kerby Joseph had a solid pass breakup defending against Ridley early at practice. 

Additional reading: Aidan Hutchinson Happy Jaguars Passed on Him

3.) During 7-on-7 red-zone drills, which drastically favors the offense, Zay Jones had multiple touchdowns for Jacksonville during the early period. 

4.) Riley Patterson and Parker Romo both began with a 33-yard kick, and moved back five yards each attempt, culminating in a 53-yard boot. Both kickers made all four attempts. 

Romo had an extra try from 60 yards that he nailed, to cap off a five-for-five performance. 

Patterson was able to connect from nearly 48 yards during a situational period at the end of practice, while Romo missed to the right, into the wind and from distance, to end practice in his situational setting. 

5.) Jared Goff connected on a deep touchdown pass to Josh Reynolds. He also tossed scoring passes to Kalif Raymond and Sam LaPorta in red-zone drills. 

6.) Undrafted rookie wide receiver Chase Cota continued his strong camp, with an outstanding one-handed catch Thursday that drew cheers from the crowd in attendance. 

7.) As expected, tensions started to rise as the practice went along. Multiple skirmishes broke out involving the Lions' defense. Gardner-Johnson and Malcolm Rodriguez were at the center of them. Jerry Jacobs did not shy away from returning the trash talk, and even escalated matters during a skirmish. 

Rookie linebacker Jack Campbell made a play on running back JaMycal Hasty, and the Jaguars didn't like the team's reaction to it. Tensions boiled over, and the two teams gathered near the Jaguars' sideline. The rookie Detroit linebacker clearly got under the skin of the Jaguars over the course of the two practices. 

"It was nothing, man, just football," Hasty told All Lions, following practice.

8.) Pro Football Focus was at practice at the team's Allen Park facility. Naturally, players were quite curious how the scoring actually went. Some players wondered how they could be graded higher, earlier in their careers, when they were presently playing the best football of their careers. Staffers stood by their grading, especially for the offensive line, but expressed that the linebacker spot is among the toughest positions to grade. 

9.) The two players on the Jaguars' offense who caused the Lions the most trouble were Ridley and Zay Jones. During one team period, Lawrence was able to connect with Ridley for three completions, out of four plays that were run. Additionally, tight end Evan Engram got into some trash-talking with the Lions' secondary after securing a reception.

10.) John Cominsky and Aidan Hutchinson were effective in their ability to pass rush and clog the middle. For the second-year pro, the final situational period saw him bull-rush the opposition, to force a sack and a 6-yard loss. 

11.) Brian Branch has had a stellar camp, but that does not mean he isn't prone to an error out on the practice field during team periods. A slight lapse in awareness put the young rookie out of position, which gave Jacksonville rookie tight end Brenton Strange the opportunity to secure the athletic reception. 

12.) The final situational period saw both team's first-and-second-team offenses and defenses take the field. The score was 10-10, with 1:18 left, from the 35-yard line and with one timeout remaining. 

The Jaguars' first-team offense went three-and-out. Meanwhile, Detroit's first-team offense recorded multiple first downs, as Goff connected with Sam LaPorta twice to extend the drive. A connection with Kalif Raymond and LaPorta again gave Detroit another first down. Goff eventually took a sack, which resulted in the next play being a spike to set up Patterson for a field-goal try that was made. 

Both second-team offenses' drives ended up with missed field goals. 

Q&A: Jerry Jacobs

Q: How'd you feel about the joint practices this week? 

A: "Great, man. I feel like today, we came out a little slumped. We gave up a deep ball, couple touchdowns in the red zone. I think we could've played better. Yesterday, we came out with the fire on the foot. It was way better than today, so we've just gotta bounce back and learn about the things we messed up on today."

Q: How did you feel about your personal performance this week? 

A: "The performance went great. I've been competing, I gave up one deep ball and a missed coverage. But, other than that, I feel like I'm excelling in what I'm doing. No rewinds, like I'm not going backwards, I'm going forward with everything. Even with my technique and making plays, so that's good." 

Q: How do you feel about the development of the new secondary, with players like Cam Sutton and C.J. Gardner-Johnson joining the fold? 

A: "The communication's been going good since all those guys been back, like (C.J.) and Cam. To have an older guy that can communicate and talk to you about things and help you out on the field is amazing. So, I think everything's been going good with that. We've got to tighten up a few more things, make sure it's 'A-1.' Everything's not going to be perfect every day, but just to make sure we're always on the same page." 

Q: What impression has Gardner-Johnson left on this secondary during the start of his time with the team? 

A: "Dog. Dog. When I say dog, I mean that. He don't just talk, he goes out there and produces, too. He shows it. (Wednesday) he had one of the most amazing days ever. Two forced fumbles, just making big hits, he's a dog. When you're playing with someone like that on the back-end, it just makes you want to turn your game up a little more. Yeah, I love playing with him." 

Q: What was the mood like when things got physical late in practice Thursday? 

A: "It's just trash-talking. One of the guys said something. I had to say something back. You know how it is, when you're competitive with a person. I felt like that person was, too. So, we were just going back there talking. It causes a lot of commotion when you're in each other's face, your team and their team are going to see it like you're fighting. Wasn't nothing too major, just football." 

Q: What have you seen from Brian Branch early in his career? 

A: "Young dog, man. You know, the school he came from and you know what they produce. He's from Atlanta, Georgia, too, so hometown hero. He's a wonderful player, he's learning the game quick. He's doing an awesome job at nickel, he plays safety, too. But, they've got him at nickel right now. He's fantastic. He's coming in as a pro, approaching it as a pro. A lot of rookies come in, they get the start, and they don't know how to take care. He's doing an amazing job with it. He's only getting better every day, so I love playing with him." 

Q: How excited are you getting as the Chiefs game draws closer? 

A: "It's 20 days away. I don't want to go against nobody anymore. I'm just trying to go play the Sept. 7th game. Time to put on the pads. I'm excited."