Observations: St. Brown Has Rare Off Day, Offense Picks Up

The standard set by Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown has been quite remarkable. From the time he stepped foot at the team's practice facility, he has been the model of consistency.

So rare are his off days, that when he does not have a highly productive day, it is very noticeable.

On a rainy dreary day that cancelled corporate VIP's from attending Lions' practice, the team took to the field for another competitive scrimmage that saw the offense get into rythm and find the end zone much more than the defense would have liked.

It was one of those days that all football players experience, where the football was just out of reach and nothing seemed to go exactly according to plan for the former USC Trojans standout.

Here are several takeaways from Day 16 of Lions' training camp, which featured a competitive scrimmage.

St. Brown not a big part of solid offensive day

St. Brown has been on the receiving end of so many positive plays throughout training camp, but Tuesday was a day that saw Detroit's defensive backs battle strong and largely keep the talented wideout from making big plays.

Starting with the second full-team period featuring the first-team offense, Jared Goff targeted St. Brown, but both Amik Robertson and D.J. Reed were in the vicinity and nearly collided with each other.

Later in practice, in a drive that started with the offense backed up, St. Brown could not haul in a pass that would have extended a series with Reed and Brian Branch closing in on him. It was a play that a player of his caliber has made many times.

After a special teams period, St. Brown found some receptions, including with Terrion Arnold in coverage. In a red zone period, he had a gain of 10 yards that helped the first-team offense be in a position to score three plays later. He was the recipient of the touchdown toss that capped off that drive. Arnold was in coverage.

D.J. Miller, Erick Hallett and Reed had pass breakups on passes that ended up being incompletions in other red zone periods.

Brian Branch is disruptive

Detroit's talented defensive back could have been credited with multiple sacks and was a disruptive force all morning.

He was eager to levy big hits all practice that could be heard clearly by those in attendance and was around the football in coverage quickly, supporting Reed and Arnold when needed.

Without Kerby Joseph practicing, Detroit's defense did not have the same level of execution as they have been, but Branch was a solid contributor.

Scrimmage

Detroit's offense had an explosive 40-yard run by Sione Vaki during an early team period towards the left sideline.

With the offense backed up, David Montgomery earned a couple of carries. Jameson Williams secured chunk yardage with Arnold and Ya-Sin in the area.

A Jahmyr Gibbs run frustrated the coaching staff, as there were plenty of missed tackles by the defense. Robertson brought pressure and disrupted a pass attempt to Kalif Raymond that fell incomplete.

In the next team series with the first-team offense, Robertson again blew up a running play by flying into the backfield and levying a hit on Montgomery.

The first real serious drive ended with the aforementioned St. Brown incompletion. Goff was able to lead a touchdown drive that was capped off by a touchdown to Shane Zylstra. That made the score 9-6 in favor of the offense, a lead they never relinquished after that.

Next, Allen led a drive that resulted in a touchdown. One of the catches of the day was a toss from Allen to Dominic Lovett with cornerback George Allen in coverage. Vaki capped off the touchdown drive with an easy scamper to the right side.

Goff led the Lions third straight touchdown drive next that featured multiple St. Brown receptions and a touchown grab.

Red Zone

Now starting in the red zone, the offense was leading 15-6. Jake Bates missed the extra point prior to the period, otherwise it would have been a 16-6 lead for the offense.

Allen, working with the third-team offense, did not lead a touchdown drive and Bates kicked a field goal.

The second-team offense against Detroit's first-team defense saw Hooker find wideout Jakobie Keeney-James with a solid toss with Robertson in coverage.

The first-team offense against the second-team defense saw the defense make a stand.

Situational periods

Trailing 24-21 and starting at their own 49-yard line with 59 seconds left, Goff attempted two passes that were incomplete. A toss to Brock Wright was complete on third-down before Reed broke up a pass intended for St. Brown.

Allen led a touchdown drive to end practice that started on the Lions own 42-yard line. On 4th-and-1, Adams flinching gave the offense a fresh set of downs. A pass completion to Kennedy on 4th-and-10 extended the drive.

Allen ended practice with a touchdown toss to Tim Patrick, who celebrated excitedly after beating Nick Whiteside.

Depth at gunner position

Prior to practice, special teams coach Dave Fipp spoke to the depth he has observed throughout training camp at the gunner position.

“Having (Khalil) Dorsey is huge, I mean this guy is one of the great gunners in the game of football right now. So obviously getting him back is outstanding. Just looking at some of these young players, (Isaac) TeSlaa has done a great job really for us, (Dominic) Lovett has shown some things for us on the outside, (Jackson) Meeks has shown some things from the wide receiver position," said Fipp. "So, we’ve got some wide receivers contributing on special teams, which is beneficial because the last time in four years we haven’t gotten a lot out of that group other than Kalif (Raymond) as a punt returner.

"For those guys to be able to help out in a core role, potentially it can help take some off of some other players. I would say in general, I love this time of year because to that question, you get the chance to evaluate a lot of different players playing a lot of different positions," Fipp commented further. "TeSlaa, we played inside on kickoff return one week, then outside the next week, see where he plays better at. You’re really working to figure out when roster is all said and done, and they say, ‘Here it is,’ and how can I make the most of any 11 players out there on the field in any particular phase.”

Notes

1.) Adams was visibly upset at himself after flinching during the final situational period. He was observed hitting his helmet multiple times in anger.

2.) Crowd noise was pumped into practice early in the day, to simulate playing in a real football environment.

3.) Jameson Williams had a drop on a pass that featured heavy pressure from Aidan Hutchinson.