ALLEN PARK -- Here are a few notes and observations from Friday's Detroit Lions training camp practice.

* Cornerback Ron Bartell had an outstanding practice, two days after returning from a shoulder injury, breaking up several passes in his direction. It started early, when he charged forward and physically knocked away a quick slant intended for wide receiver Patrick Edwards.

Later in the session, Bartell broke up consecutive throws intended for Calvin Johnson in the end zone. The veteran corner was in good position all day, and while he did give up some receptions, he made more plays than he allowed.

* Quickly on Edwards, he's been getting plenty of run with the first team during training camp, taking snaps in place of Nate Burleson and Ryan Broyles. The fact that he's getting those looks are a good indicator of his roster status right now. He'll still need to perform in the preseason, but a positive contribution in the return game could make him a lock.

* The offensive line had a good day in the one-on-one pass rush drill. Rob Sims and Nick Fairley have had several physical showdowns the past week, but the guard emerged victorious on both snaps today. In some other matchups, Jason Fox dominated Ronnell Lewis, Larry Warford shut down Jimmy Saddler-McQueen and Riley Reiff looked good against both Ezekiel Ansah and Braylon Broughton.

On Warford, he took most of his snaps at left guard today.

* Wide receiver Kris Durham made impressive touchdown receptions on back-to-back plays in the red zone. On both throws, Domonique Johnson was in coverage. The first, a fade, Durham leaped up and reached over Johnson to make the difficult grab. The second, to his back shoulder, Durham got held up trying to turn back to the ball, but he was able to stab it out of the air with one hand.

After the second catch, Durham's teammates were going wild on the sideline. Burleson and Mikel Leshoure were shouting for Scott Linehan to throw it to Durham a third time, but the team ran a run play instead.

* First team reps went to Tahir Whitehead at outside linebacker, Corey Hilliard at right tackle, Dylan Gandy at right guard, Bartell at cornerback and Ansah and Devin Taylor at defensive end. Willie Young did some individual work, but was held out of the team portions with an ankle injury.

* It's fun listening to the way defensive line assistant Jim Washburn coaches his players. He brings a positive energy to the unit and is colorful with his criticisms. I just jotted down a couple lines from today's session.

"Don't hit him with your purse, punch him" and " Damn, stop trying to line up in the next county." Apparently there is a limit on how wide the Wide-9 defensive end can play.

* With David Akers still working his way back to full strength, the Lions had Sam Martin and Havard Rugland working with the kickoff units. Martin only simulated his kicks while Rugland blasted three in a row out the back of the end zone.

* Jumping to an early conclusion, but wide receiver Mike Thomas might not be long for this roster. He's been buried on the depth chart, mostly working with the third unit. Friday, during one-on-one drills with the defensive backs, he was completely shut down by (Domonique) Johnson. It was so bad, Thomas stopped running the route and quarterback Matthew Stafford didn't even throw the ball. I'm not sure I've ever seen that before outside of the occasions when a receiver falls down.

* Offensive lineman Leroy Harris continues to expand his workload. Recovering from an ACL tear, he was activated off the physically unable to perform list earlier this week. On Friday, he worked against a defensive lineman in pass-rush drills. Next stop, full-team drills.

* Nick Fairley was dogging it a bit during warmups and a couple fans in the crowd were playfully heckling the defensive tackle. One shouted, "Come on Fairley, what are you doing?" and he shot back, "I'm stretching, what are you doing?"

* Former Bengals and Patriots wide receiver Chad Johnson was visiting practice as an observer on Friday. He's in town for his daughter's track meet, not to try out for the Lions.