Observations: Goff Forces Hutchinson Error, WR Leaves with Injury

Day 9 Detroit Lions training camp observations.

Aidan Hutchinson has been impactful during the first week of Detroit Lions training camp. 

An emerging EDGE rusher, the second-year defensive lineman is flying all over the field and is a disruptive force. 

On Day 9, Hutchinson would have brought down running back David Montgomery with one arm during the first team period. 

The team, despite having a day off prior, made a concerted effort not to go full force with the same aggressiveness, intensity, physicality on defense on Day 9.

Despite his emerging dominance, Jared Goff was able to force Hutchinson to flinch early, drawing a flag, on what would have been a fourth-down play. The crowd in attendance and the offense certainly let Hutchinson know he could not maintain his stance. After walking back in frustration, Goff walked 10 yards towards to him to probably remind him that he drew the error. 

Mims plays physical, competes on special teams

Despite being a second-round draft selection, wideout Denzel Mims has been competitive when given the opportunity to showcase his skills on special teams. 

Dan Campell expressed on Day 9, “I like Mims. Here’s the first thing that shows up for him, aside from the size, because he’s an imposing figure for a receiver out there at X, but man he’s physical. You get out there and press him and it shows up, like it’s different. He can fight out there, he can battle versus press. Here’s the other thing I love. He’s never been a special teams guy. We told him from day one you’ve got to do some things, We need to see if you can do some things on (special) teams. 

"To his credit, for a guy who’s never really done it, I mean, he’s out here, he’s going," Campbell explained further. "Fipp and I were talking about him last night. We’re watching these clips. I’m like, 'This guy’s just competing.' Now, he’s got a long way to go. He’s raw in some things. But, I appreciate that the guy has come in and done everything he said he would. He said, ‘Coach, I’ll do whatever and I’ll give you whatever I got.’ And he’s doing it, so I respect the heck out of that. He’s somebody that I’m really, I want to see if he can take another step and there’s some things he can do for us on offense.”

Participation

Both Sam LaPorta and Penei Sewell returned to practice and did not show any residual impact of their injuries, which kept them away, affecting their play on the field.

Center Frank Ragnow was not spotted at practice on Day 9. 

Defensive back Ifeatu Melifonwu was not spotted during individual or team drills. According to multiple reports, the young defensive back is dealing with a knee injury. 

Trinity Benson left practice prior to completion. He went down with an apparent non-contact injury during 7-on-7 work on a Goff pass that was tipped by Hutchinson. 

Emmanuel Moseley is now officially on the PUP list and back in town, but he was not spotted at practice. 

Situational periods

There were two separate situational periods to end practice. The first saw the team trailing, 30-28, with one timeout, starting on their own 44-yard line. Needing a play, Goff found St. Brown for a nice gain to give Patterson a shot at a 57-yard field goal. 

Sudfeld, in the same situation, targeted Williams, but Saivion Smith had a solid pass breakup, resulting in a Romo field goal attempt. 

The second situation saw 13 seconds remain, starting on their own 48-yard line with no timeouts, trailing 30-28. 

Goff threw incomplete to Jahmyr Gibbs on first down and connected with St. Brown to setup a Patterson 61-yarder. 

Sudfeld targeted James Mitchell, but Derrick Barnes broke up the pass to setup Romo for a 61-yarder. 

Observations

1.) Early during individual drills, Goff launched a deep pass that was completed to Amon-Ra St. Brown. The deep pass to Jameson Williams was overthrown. 

2.) Jahmyr Gibbs has been battling sure-handedness during his first training camp. The young rookie had a clear drop tossed by Nate Sudfeld during an individual period. The team tested out his deep route capabilities, as Goff attempted a pass deep to the No. 12 overall pick. The pass sailed incomplete with Jack Campbell in coverage. 

3.) The kicker battle has been the most even competition seen in a while at Lions camp. During kicks of identical distances, if often appears both kickers are mirroring each other. 

“It’s been good. We all know that Riley (Patterson) has a steadiness about him, said Campbell before practice. "I’ll say this about Riley, one of the things that we’ve noticed that’s really shown up from two years ago when we kind of parted ways -- he’s got a stronger leg as it pertains to kickoffs. His kickoffs are much better. He’s getting more hang-time, he’s getting more depth. He’s been pretty steady on field goals, so it’s good.

"And then Romo, as we know, he’s got a massive leg. His will always be just a little bit of working on that accuracy and control. We kind of know that," Campbell said. "It’s about competing and developing and getting a little bit better. But we like those two guys, we do.” 

On Day 9, Patterson went 2-for-3 from distances ranging from 41 to 48 yards. Patterson's miss was from 48-yards out. Romo also missed wide right from 44-yards out and went 2-for-3. In situational drills at the end of practice, both made from 57-yards and both missed from 61-yards out. 

4.) Jameson Williams rebounded from a subpar practice and took advantage of his opportunities, during a practice with much less defensive intensity and pressure. While he did fail to secure a tougher catch from Nate Sudfeld that he had his hands on, the second-year wideout was the target of a deep bomb from Jared Goff during 7-on-7 drills, easily flying past Cam Sutton. Williams work on Day 9 was mostly with the second-team offense. Williams did start the day rough with two more drops against air.

5.) Maurice Alexander and Dylan Drummond had a solid Day 9, as they were both targeted regularly and were sure-handed. 

6.) Cornerback Jerry Jacobs, who does not typically give up on a play, stripped Josh Reynolds of the football after a completion during 7-on-7 drills. 

7.) Linebacker Alex Anzalone almost secured an interception on a Goff toss to Reynolds early in team periods. The veteran got his hands on the football and rued not making the play. 

8.) SiriusXM radio hosts Jim Miller and Pat Kirwan were in attendance interviewing Dan Campbell, Jared Goff, as well as NFL.com columnist Jeffri Chadiha.