Lions rookie RB Ameer Abdullah shows ‘unique ability’

Curtis Modkins had just spent six minutes tempering expectations for Ameer Abdullah, explaining how it’s a week into training camp and the rookie running back is still learning the offense, when Teryl Austin walked by and blew his cover.

“We can’t even tackle that guy,” Austin said without breaking stride. “We can’t even touch him. He’s like grasping at air.”

“Abdullah?” a reporter asked.

Austin lifted his right hand high in the air, gave a thumbs-up and kept on toward the locker room.

The Lions don’t want to say too much publicly, understandable considering the bubbly feelings they had about Mikel Leshoure (before a torn Achilles ruined his rookie season) and Jahvid Best (before concussions ended his career). But if early returns are any indication, they might have found the perfect complement to their offense when they took Abdullah in the second round in this year’s draft.

After Calvin Johnson, who makes at least one amazing catch per practice, Abdullah has been the most eye-popping player in the first week of training camp and it isn’t particularly close.

He runs hard and has great lateral ability that makes him slippery to the touch. His uncanny vision allows him to somehow see holes before they open. He catches passes as well or better than most receivers.

And, unlike most rookies, he actually looks like he can hold his own in pass protection, something he did quite well Saturday, when the Lions had a mock game on the sixth practice of training camp, putting players in different game-like situations for the better part of two hours.

“I feel like I’m pretty good (in pass protection),” Abdullah said. “Really good, actually. Pass protections, the way they break things down (here), you got this if this happens, and it’s clear cut. And if this happens, you’ve got that. It’s clear cut. And it helps you make quicker decisions and be in position to strike your defender as effectively as possible.”

As effective as Abdullah may be as a blocker, the Lions envision him tormenting defenses in much more impactful ways.

Originally billed as the buzz saw to Joique Bell’s hammer in the Lions’ backfield, Abdullah has been impressive enough in his three months on the job that some are starting to wonder if he’s ready for a bigger role now.

Bell has not practiced this summer as he continues to recover from off-season knee and Achilles surgery, and Abdullah can clearly be a more dynamic playmaker for a team that wants to rely more heavily on the ground game.

“You see some stuff,” Modkins admitted of Abdullah. “The kid definitely shows some unique ability, but it’s different, man. It’s different in that stadium than it is out here.”

Bell, of course, is a known commodity. He led the Lions with 860 yards rushing last year and will have a role on offense whenever he returns.

“I’m not concerned (about his health),” Modkins said. “I anticipate Joique being the player that we all know he can be.”

Theo Riddick will play too, most significantly in the pass game.

But Modkins declined to pick a starter Saturday or even say which way he was leaning, insisting instead that the Lions’ running backs will define their own roles with their play.

“In today’s NFL it helps to have a couple guys that can do different things,” Modkins said. “I think that’s the fortunate thing about here. We’ve got some guys that all complement each other and whether we get to a workhorse or not, I think there’s a spot for all of them to help us win.”

For Abdullah, the test of how big a role he can have will start this week, when he plays his first preseason game against the New York Jets.

Modkins said ensuing games against Washington, the Jacksonville Jaguars and Buffalo Bills, will be a better indication of how ready Abdullah is than anything he’s done so far.

“I just know that it’s real early, man, and right now he’s in a learning process and there’s a lot to learn,” Modkins said. “I’m excited about where he’s at and I’m really excited about where he can be, but in this business you have to do it. And you got to do it when it counts.”

Abdullah, who steadfastly refuses to gloat about his success so far and spent an hour after practice Saturday signing autographs and doing radio interviews, agrees.

“Coach Modkins is 100% right,” Abdullah said. “I have so much I have to improve on. Sometimes you hear a lot of oohs and aahs out there, but I could have messed up, they don’t even know, and something fluke happened and I caught the ball or whatever. But there’s a lot of things I still need to clean up before I’m ready to go out there and be every down with Matt (Stafford). So that’s what I’m working on every day.”

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.

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