SANTA CLARA, CA - SEPTEMBER 16: Head coach Matt Patricia of the Detroit Lions stands on the field before their game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium on September 16, 2018 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

FOOTBALL IS BACK! Well kind of. It was about half-way football during day one of Detroit Lions training camp. At about 3/4 speed and no hard contact without pads, a slower pace compared to last years day one. We weren’t able to get as much insight as we would a padded practice but here are some of my quick thoughts from attending;

Detroit Lions rookie Jahlani Tavai ran with the 1’s on day one. I wouldn’t have been surprised to see Tavai start by the end of camp but day one says a lot. Starting as the WILL or weak-side linebacker, Christian Jones‘s old stomping grounds, he played all (4) LB positions throughout the practice. It’s hard to tell who has what responsibility as a spectator, and though he did look good overall, I did see two plays in a row where it looked like his man beat him in coverage, one a TD and one a bad throw by backup QB Tom Savage that should have been a TD.

Darius Slay and Damon Harrison start training camp on the non-football injury list. Not going to speculate too much into this. Could be the Detroit Lions truly want to ease them both in due to them both being away from the team the whole offseason. This could be an agreement until something gets done with the contracts to avoid injury. Darius was adamant about playing this year telling reporters including Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press in an article posted here;

“It won’t impact nothing, I’m going out there to dominate. I come out, I play for the name on the back of my jersey, this organization and my teammates, Ain’t going to stop me from what I’m going to do on the field.”

That should temper fear for Detroit Lions fans of this being an issue come week 1, at least for Slay. I wasn’t able to find any Harrison quotes.

Ty Johnson isn’t getting cut. I know I’ve said this before, but he caught a pass in the flats right in front of me from Stafford, and Mike Ford and his defensive company had no chance once the Ty burners came on. Nothing else really stood out, but I’ve been on the Johnson train since draft day, and I’m not hopping off anytime soon.

Kenny Wiggins, like last season, was the 5th starter on the offensive line, though this time at the open left guard spot rather than right guard where last season he filled in10 games for the injured T.J. Lang. Look for Oday Aboushi, Joe Dahl and Terrell Crosby to also get looks throughout training camp for the left guard open position. Offensive line starters day 1 went Decker, Wiggins, Ragnow, Glasgow, Wagner.

T.J. Hockenson showed out day 1. Maybe the biggest highlight of the day was a T.J. toe tap in the back corner of the end zone. In a type of practice where route running, speed, and hands are about all you’re going to take away from a TE; he looked like a TE1 to me.

Matt Patricia had offseason leg/foot/limb surgery and was on the cart the whole day. Maybe this is the reason for the easy practice? Does the team always take on the demeanor of his coach? It was a vibe.

Kerryon Johnson and C.J. Anderson spent a whole segment of practice on their own catching passes from Matthew Stafford. It seems crucial to Bevell with a new offense being installed that his QB1 and RB 1 & 2 are on the same page.

The offense as whole looked further along than the defense, which is normal when it’s no hard contact, but even more so today, which is especially surprising considering this the first year in the Darrell Bevell system. Look for the defense to get revenge when the pads come on.

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Overall maybe a bit of quiet before the storm, ease into 2019 type of warm-up as I expect Patricia to rev things up by Saturday, the first day in pads. Welcome back football, the others just don’t feel the same.