NAPA, Calif. -- Matt Patricia wanted to turn up the temperature in Lions camp. Boy, did he get his wish.

Tempers flared Wednesday as the Lions wrapped up their second joint practice with the Oakland Raiders. Jarrad Davis hit somebody late, or at least what Oakland players perceived to be late, and was lit up by somebody after the whistle. Anthony Zettel came to his defense, and a melee ensued.

There were no punches thrown, at least as far as I could tell, but there was plenty of pushing and shoving until the players could be separated. Fans began peppering Lions players with trash talk as they returned to the sideline, and Nevin Lawson later engaged one in particular.

He lobbed a string of obscenities at the crowd, and somebody told him to watch his mouth because there were kids around. Lawson replied with something that can't be printed in a family-friendly publication.

It was testy -- but other than those incidents, the practice never really crossed a line. It was just two good days of hard-hitting football, and the Lions walked out of it feeling like they got better. Here are some observations.

-- Overall, I thought the Lions had the better day Tuesday while the Raiders had the better day Wednesday. Then again, that might have had something to do with what I was paying attention to. I watched the offense Tuesday, and while there were some problems -- the offensive line was beaten in one-on-ones and Matthew Stafford missed Marvin Jones deep a couple times -- it was largely in control. Today, I watched the defense, and it wasn't nearly as pretty.

The line really struggled to generate pressure, both during team and one-on-one drills. Anthony Zettel flashed a couple times in his reps against Kelechi Osemele, and rookie Da'Shawn Hand got home too. Sylvester Williams wrecked Rodney Hudson so badly once, he was barely touched. During two-man drills, Kerry Hyder and Freddie Bishop teamed up three times to generate pressure. But that was about it. These guys just weren't that disruptive.

-- Speaking of Freddie Bishop, I find myself writing his name in my notebook more and more as the days pass. He didn't sign until a few days before players reported for training camp, but he's really put together some nice practices and was rewarded for it today by getting some first-team work. Just something to monitor as the Lions sort out who to keep in that new-look linebacker corps. I'm interested to see what Bishop looks like Friday night when the hitting goes live.

-- The Raiders have two full-length fields set up here at Redwood Middle School, which allowed ones to face ones and reserves to face reserves simultaneously. But they wrapped up the joint practices by bringing everyone onto the field nearest the fans for a intrasquad scrimmage type period. And the Lions were dominated. Defensively, Darius Slay was beat by Martavis Bryant for a long touchdown on the first series, then Amari Cooper on the first play of the following series. Offensively, Matthew Stafford was sacked twice on the first four plays, then Marvin Jones was whistled for offensive pass interference deep. On their next series, Stafford hit Golden Tate to open the drive, but holding nixed the following play and then Stafford misfired on three straight passes to Jones, Jace Billingsley and Bradley Marquez.

-- I couldn't tell from my perch who was at fault for the sacks, and it's possible at least one of them was just a coverage sack. But there was one play where both Nick Bellore and LeGarrette Blount whiffed on pass rushers. Not exactly what you're looking for from your top running back and only fullback.

-- Frank Ragnow's performance is the best example of why these kinds of practices are so helpful. He's looked great during one-on-ones back in Detroit. But he also knows those players. He knows what those players like to do, what they don't like to do, and what kind of scheme they're running. On Tuesday, he faced fresh faces for the first time -- and in his first one-on-one rep against Mario Edwards, he whiffed badly. Then he watched the tape and talked to coaches, and today, he held his own in those drills. Ragnow got better this week, in ways he couldn't have in an ordinary practice against guys he already knows. He's going to start at left guard on Sept. 10, and I have a really good feeling about what the Lions have in him.

-- I'm going to leave Napa believing more than ever that Ameer Abdullah makes the team. He's been the team's top kick returner, plus received extensive action in hurry-up situations. He's athletic enough to replicate what Theo Riddick does in the passing game, plus has experience as a runner in case something happens to either the 31-year-old Blount or the rookie Kerryon Johnson. During those series to end practice today, Abdullah was one of the few bright spots, leaking out of the backfield to catch a nifty pass over the middle for the offense's best play. Zach Zenner and Dwayne Washington both look firmly behind him.

-- Cornerback Nevin Lawson did not practice today, along with defensive tackle Ricky Jean Francois. Yet I'll leave here believing he is the best option to start opposite Darius Slay. With Lawson out, Teez Tabor and DeShawn Shead had more opportunities in practice, and they struggled. Shead had his ankles broken by Amari Cooper at the start of one-on-ones, to the delight of the fans. I like Tabor's size and everyone talks about his smarts, but his speed was a problem today. He was beat deep a few times, and was flagged on a couple other plays, which has become an issue lately.

-- Jamal Agnew didn't have a great practice overall, but he did pick off a pass during seven-on-seven drills.

-- For those looking for some good news, Ezekiel Ansah did have his best practice in his return from the physically unable to perform list. He didn't do much against the Raiders, but Detroit let him loose during some early intrasquad drills, and he had no trouble blowing past Michael Roberts. He faked outside to get Roberts leaning that way, then swam past him inside and was barely touched.

-- Just like Tuesday, the Raiders wrapped practice right after the last team set. Players were chatting with family and taking pictures -- while the Lions were still running wind sprints on the other field. It was a pretty interesting juxtaposition. Say what you will about this camp, but the Lions are going to come out of it well-conditioned.