ALLEN PARK, Mich. – It started with Golden Tate wearing a wrestler’s mask. It essentially ended with Eric Ebron catching a touchdown pass.
The Detroit Lions had their first simulated game Saturday morning as part of their practice and through it, a lot of things started to finally shake out for the Lions as they prepare for their first preseason game Thursday against the New York Jets.
Here are some things that stood out after watching the mock game.
1. If Matthew Stafford gets hurt, Detroit is in real trouble: This might seem like a "duh" comment, but neither Dan Orlovsky nor Kellen Moore looked great in simulated game situations against a combination of first, second and third-team Detroit defenses. It might only be one day, but there should be a level of concern. Moore’s arm strength continues to be a question. Orlovsky threw one interception and could have had at least one more pass picked off as well. Moore also threw an interception late in the scrimmage. Meanwhile, Stafford continued to look sharp. There were a couple of rough throws for Detroit’s starter, but for the most part he looked on point, particularly on a late drive in which he completed 8 of 9 passes, including the touchdown to Ebron. He is, by far, the most indispensable player the Lions have.
“He’s getting better, and that’s the thing that often times goes unnoticed,” Lions coach Jim Caldwell said. “He has a better command of what he’s doing; you can see he’s a lot more comfortable. He’s not giving the ball away in key situations. I like where he’s headed and not only that, he has talent, so he’ll be fine.”
2. Rashean Mathis had a really good day: The veteran cornerback matched up mostly on Calvin Johnson during the scrimmage and he was extremely sharp. On an early drive, Mathis jumped in after Johnson tried to tip the ball to himself on a deep ball from Stafford and punched the ball out. He also had another pass breakup on Johnson later in the scrimmage. It was a strong performance from the 34-year-old Mathis, who continues to be one of general manager Martin Mayhew’s best free agent signings. Once Mathis left the scrimmage, Stafford and Johnson immediately connected on a touchdown over Crezdon Butler.
3. Jeremy Ross is the main returner for now: The Lions brought in rookie after rookie with experience as kick returners during pre-draft workouts. They drafted Ameer Abdullah as a potential returner in the second round to go with his running back capabilities. Yet on Saturday, Ross who took the majority of first-team reps with the returners, and he ripped off a nice punt return in the middle of the scrimmage. Ross might not win the job by the end of camp, but the Lions are at the very least giving him ample opportunities to keep the job.
“It’s not for me to say what I showed,” Ross said. “Who knows what the coaches are looking for? I’m just going to go out there and keep giving my best and make it happen, you know. That’s up to them to decide if I showed something.”
4. Ebron performs well: By my count, the second-year tight end had five receptions Saturday, including the aforementioned touchdown. He also made one degree-of-difficulty catch in which he snagged it off a little bit of a tip. He did drop one ball, but he had to dive for it so that wouldn’t count, in my opinion. Ebron was used a lot – perhaps even more than normal -- as Joseph Fauria and David Ausberry sat out with injuries. Ebron should count it as a day of progress.
5. Josh Bynes and Travis Lewis seem to be taking early hold of backup linebacker roles: In a logjam behind the four linebackers who are assured of making the roster – DeAndre Levy, Stephen Tulloch, Tahir Whitehead and Kyle Van Noy – it seems like Bynes and Lewis are getting the most attention. They are core special-teams players and both received first-team defensive reps. Considering the backup linebackers need to be valuable on special teams, it shouldn’t be too surprising that Bynes and Lewis are seeing a lot of action early. Speaking of Van Noy, he has mostly run with the second unit this camp, but had two nice breakups in pass coverage Saturday. It's the first time I’ve noticed him in a positive vein this training camp.
