ALLEN PARK, Michigan — The Lions began the first of three open practices of mandatory mini-camp on Tuesday, with the entire squad at the squad facility for some much-needed work.
The quarterbacks’ game and sophomore growth was a topic of conversation, and the team got plenty of situational work on the field. Expect more of the same this week, just like in minicamp.
In the meantime, here are some new observations for those at home.
Campbell: Jared Goff plays better football than he does in LA
The most notable highlight of Dan Campbell’s morning press conference was the discussion of Goff. This is a quarterback who made two Pro Bowls and led the Rams to a Super Bowl before joining the Lions. And yet Campbell said he thinks Goff is even better now.
“We’re asking a lot more of him than what they actually did out there, I think,” Campbell said. “As we know, they also had a lot of pretty good stuff out there. Damn good defense, all that stuff. But I just feel like — I know from talking to him and from watching him really watch over the last two years… we did a lot of things to him that I’m not so sure they ended up doing have.”
Don’t read this as an insult. It wasn’t. Campbell truly believes Goff has matured as a QB, resulting in a strong game while also having more under his belt.
Goff agrees.
“I think as you get older and more mature in the league that happens and I would definitely say that,” Goff said Tuesday. “I think I’ve said that a couple of times over the past year that I think I play the best football of my career and that I intend to keep doing that.”
When Goff was substituted, sources in LA said Sean McVay’s offense brought out the best in Goff and limitations in his game forced the team to switch to Matthew Stafford. But now that Goff is wrapping up a Pro Bowl season with a new franchise, while also having more offense on offense, taking better care of football and taking on a greater leadership role, that narrative may need to be put to rest.
When he arrived in Detroit, Goff was seen by fans as a stopgap. Now respected in the locker room, he was a top-five offensive quarterback last season. Campbell noted Goff’s strong offensive flair, the protections, where the problems lie, how to look better — all the things that come with being a QB. General manager Brad Holmes said there were internal discussions about a contract extension. The Lions just feel like he’s at his best.
“I think he’s settled in with us,” Campbell said. “He was very comfortable with what we want to do. … Everyone knows where he came from and it wasn’t the easiest thing. … He persevered, and I think what you’re seeing is a guy who just put his head down, got back to work and worked on what he could, tried to improve on what he could, and now is his confidence really grew. and he’s matured as a quarterback along the way.”
This is Josh Paschal’s first true offseason and he’s ready for more
With all the depth, it’s easy to forget, but Paschal is still an integral part of the Lions’ plans. Both now and in the future.
The 2022 second-round pick was temporarily overshadowed by Aidan Hutchinson and James Houston last season. A year ago, returning from a groin injury, he wasn’t getting much off-season work and was limited to ten games and just four starts. But that’s why this time is so important. Paschal needs representatives.
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He said he learned a lot about the pace of the game over the past year. Even his limited experience helped. This offseason, he addressed areas he felt he needed to improve on, including getting stronger and adding more counters after his initial power rush. Detroit has plenty of edge rushers, but Paschal seems like someone who can excel on rundowns and step inside on passdowns as a three-tech. The Lions would love nothing more than for Paschal to fill that role.
“Definitely just being able to play indoors and outdoors,” Paschal said when asked how he intends to crack the lineup. “When you get nickel situations when you’re playing outside and then dime situations when you come inside and rush the passer. I feel like it’s my game to be able to play both.”
At some point, the Lions will have to figure out what they have in Paschal, and the only way to find out is to try him in games. But until then, the Lions seem OK with letting him develop at his own pace, which is probably the best course of action as they look to win in 2023 while nurturing their young talent.
Track situational work
Tuesday’s practice offered plenty of situational work. I’ve done my best to track every snapshot of the first and second team units. It turned out that each group was given four pieces. Here’s what I collected.
First up was some work in the red zone, with Goff and the offense taking the starting defense with the ball at the 7-yard line.
- Jahmyr Gibbs hurries. Minimum profit.
- Goff pass incomplete to WR Amon-Ra St. Brown. CJ Gardner-Johnson in reporting.
- Goff pass complete to TE Sam LaPorta. Touchdown – although in a real game Hutchinson might have fired Goff before the throw. Nice print by Hutch.
- Goff pass complete to Gibbs. Landing.
Next up was the second-team offense and second-team defense:
- Nate Sudfeld incomplete fit to WR Tom Kennedy. Ifeatu Melifonwu in reporting.
- Sudfeld pass complete on TE Brock Wright. Landing.
- Sudfeld pass incomplete on WR Maurice Alexander. Disbanded by Brian Branch. Great cover.
- Sudfeld is a complete match for LaPorta on a fade route out of the slot. Landing. Melifonwu with solid cover, just a great play from LaPorta that goes up and overwhelms him.
The Lions also ran their two-minute offense hoping to get within field goal range. The situation: First-and-10 out of their own 25, only 28 seconds left.
- First-and-10: Goff pass complete to WR Calif Raymond. gain of 6 yards.
- Second and fourth: Goff pass incomplete to Raymond. Deep ball on the sideline. Outstanding coverage by Gardner-Johnson.
- Third-and-4: Goff pass complete to WR Jameson Williams. Win of 32. Certainly the best connection for these two.
- First-and-10: Goff pass complete to WR Josh Reynolds. Winning 7. The ball is placed on the 30. The field goal unit comes into play seconds before the end.
- Riley Patterson’s 47-yard FG isn’t good. From the right post. Patterson stayed in and attempted four more field goals. He hit from 45, 43, 38 and 43, which is a 4 out of 5.
Then it was Sudfeld’s turn.
- First-and-10: Gibbs charges 6 yards.
- Second and Fourth: Sudfeld incomplete pass to WR Marvin Jones Jr., beaten by Romeo Okwara.
- Third-and-4: Sudfeld fully matches TE Shane Zylstra for 14.
- First-and-10: Sudfeld matches Jones completely for 9th place
- Second-and-1: Sudfeld completes a pass to Williams for 9. The ball is placed at 37. The field goal unit comes into play.
- Parker Romo’s 54-yard field goal isn’t good. Romo stayed in and attempted four more field goals. He scored in 43, missed in 45 and scored in 43, 3-5.
While one would wish for these rides to end with field goals scored, it was a pretty even day overall. Some wins for offense and defense.
News, notes and observations
• The Lions began practice Tuesday by splitting into two groups for free spins. Starters and important reserve players were represented on one side and younger players on the other. It’s not an accurate picture of how things will look in September, but it felt quite remarkable. The rookies who started the open part with the starters? Gibbs, LB Jack Campbell, WR Antoine Green and QB Hendon Hooker (who wasn’t training but was watching closely).
• Notable youngsters at the other end: Paschal, Houston, LaPorta, Branch, DT Brodric Martin and OL Colby Sorsdal.
• Defensively, the starting group that I saw a lot consisted of the following players: Hutchinson, Alim McNeill, Christian Covington, Charles Harris, Will Harris (Nickel), Alex Anzalone (Mike), Derrick Barnes (Will), Cam Sutton, Jerry Jacobs , Gardner-Johnson and Kerby Joseph. During the pass portion early in practice, cornerback Emmanuel Moseley (ACL) and safety Tracy Walker (Achilles) came on with the secondary while the figures were moving. There were also lineups with five defensive linemen (two defensive tackles and three edges), two linebackers (or one linebacker and a nickel), two corners, and two safeties. The Lions appear determined to combine staff. They are diverse.
• LaPorta continues to do its thing. He caught two touchdowns in red zone scrimmage and looks very fluid as a route runner. He gets representatives from the first and second teams.
• Gibbs struggled with drops when running backs and quarterbacks were out for passing work. I counted at least three in a row. But he bounced back in the same practice session with back-to-back catches in the back-right corner of the end zone.
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• This abutment is extremely loud. You only talk. talk rubbish conversation strategy. Communicate. It’s such a change from last year. They also win battles. Goff called the secondary coverage “tacky.” Gardner-Johnson is right in the middle. You can tell he’s rubbing off on the group. At some point during practice, Gardner-Johnson appeared before local media and said, “Take notes. Detroit has never done that before. I am him.”
• Some of the players not in practice or restricted on Tuesday: Moseley, Walker, Hooker, DB Chase Lucas, DL John Cominsky, TE James Mitchell, RB David Montgomery, LB Malcolm Rodriguez, C Frank Ragnow, G Halapoulivaati Vaitai, DL Levi Onwuzurike.
• Finally, because everyone loves social media questions, Goff was asked if he’d recently followed free agent WR DeAndre Hopkins on Instagram. His answer: “A damn good player.”
(Photo: Paul Sancya / Associated Press)