Detroit Lions Training Camp: Your Monday Morning Report

Monday morning’s Lions practice was very well attended by the faithful. I was at my early perch next to the VIP section, watching the players come out for warm-ups. I had a chance to congratulate Dave Birkett, the new Lions beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. It was his first day on the job. Good luck, Dave!

The Lions' practice facility has two football fields that are laid out side by side. There’s a 10-yard buffer zone between the fields. This morning, the Lions worked out on the West field, which is farthest from the bleachers.

In order to get the best possible view, I hustled over to the other side of the facility. The problem here is that there is no seating, no concessions, and no Porta Johns. The other thing is that only 40 percent of the sideline is accessible to fans. You are closer to the players, and it has a more intimate feel to it.

Onto practice!

After warming up, the players went into position drills. I was close to the DBs and was glad to see Louis Delmas back on the field. The guys were in full pads. Delmas was a bit rusty. During his first rep, he had to backpedal 10 yards, turn, and catch a ball whistled at him from 15 yards.

Forgetting to get his hands up was a mistake. The ball clanked off his face mask. The coach's face was the next thing in Delmas’ grill. I don’t think that will happen again anytime soon.

The linebackers were hitting the “Chuck” sled. The guys have to execute this skill using an extremely low center of gravity. A tough drill, indeed.

I noticed that DeAndre Levy was not in pads (again). His back injury is becoming annoying. He really needs the work.

The QBs and receivers were working short routes. Mike Moore is still among the wounded (shoulder).

The horn blew, and players hustled into the seven on seven drills. Contact was limited, but everyone seemed sharp on both sides of the ball. C.C. Brown was getting the first team reps next to Delmas and looked solid.

After 20 minutes, the practice moved on to special teams work.

The special teams flavor of the day was punt returns and coverage. Nick Harris was booming punts to Derrick Williams, Jonathan Hefney, and Tim Toone.

Ndamakong Suh took some reps on the punt rush. My unfortunate location made any analysis of the line play impossible. Shucks!

The practice segued into the team drills. This was a full contact treat! It’s a good thing that the QBs were exempt from contact. On one play, Suh blew past Gosder Cherilus and Manny Ramirez (Peterman did not participate in today’s practice) on a beeline to Mathew Stafford.

A few plays later, Kyle Vanden Bosch roared in from the blind side, flushing Stafford out of the pocket, and forcing him to throw the ball away. This was the kind of play I’ve been expecting from KVB, and he didn’t disappoint.

I was grateful to see Sammie Lee Hill practice today. He limped a bit, but moved well in drills.

On a funny note, Stafford hit Jahvid Best in the chest with a pass that was thrown so hard that the rookie was knocked off of his feet. Rookies can be so entertaining. Fans joined Best’s teammates in laughter.

The next practice segment was the most exciting by far. It was a third and one situation with full contact. Those players not participating were hooting and hollering. Coaches and fans got swept up in the frenzy. Nate Burleson was leading the “Go Blue” cheers for the offense.

The players hammered away at each other. They seemed relieved to get some real contact work.

Jerome Felton was separated from his headgear after a vicious hit by Delmas.

Jahvid Best and DeDe Dorsey smashed into the pile repeatedly. Brandon Pettigrew made a tough catch over the middle and paid the price when Julian Peterson laid him out.

The remainder of this practice session was sans helmets. The starters on offense and defense did walk-throughs on several plays. After the previous high intensity drill, the players were obviously gassed.

Some miscellaneous impressions.

Nate Burleson stole the show today. He made every catch, ran incredible routes, and created space.

Drew Stanton had a much better day than he did yesterday. The only exception was one pass that was air-mailed, but other than that, he was solid.

I suspect that Jahvid Best was instructed not to go airborne in the third and one team drill.

Safety Randy Phillips continues to impress. He came from nowhere to knock down a pass intended for Calvin Johnson.

Ndamakong Suh looked much more comfortable today. He’s going to be a blast to watch.

OK, Lions fans. That’s all I have for today. Let me know who you want me to pay attention to tomorrow.