A to Z Sports

Detroit Lions Day 9 training camp observations, the Jake Bates experiment isn't working out

By Mike Payton,

9 hours ago

Another big day of Detroit Lions' training camp is in the books. Friday was a fun day that was just one big scrimmage. Lions' head coach Dan Campbell said he wanted the scrimmage to feel like a preseason game and that definitely happened. Here's the big takeaways from the day:

Hendon Hooker has another rough day with some bright spots

Hooker had some good moments on Friday. Stuff like showing good footwork and evading sacks to throwing some clean passes. But they were overshadowed by throwing multiple picks and taking a couple sacks as well.

He threw a pick to Khalil Dorey in the red zone on a play he's been picked off on before this summer and then got picked off by Ennis Rakestraw when they were trying to get out of the shadow of their own goal post. It will be interesting to see how he does in New York.

The Jake Bates experiment is not going well at all

Jake Bates had a very bad day in Allen Park. Bates went 8-15 on the day for field goals and 5-6 on PAT's. The one missed PAT banged one off the post.

The misses were from 46, 46, 46, 51, 54, 64 and 40. Some went wide, one hit the post and the 64 came up short. The kickoffs looked kind of rough at times too.

This wasn't just a thing today. He's been missing kicks all summer. The Lions will likely be bringing in another kicker very soon.

Jared Goff was red hot

Goff was dealing on Friday and it looked like he was throwing with more power than usual. He had a few throws on Friday that looked like he was rocketing them in there. He also had a couple of solid throws on the run and under pressure that looked really clean.

A solid day for Kindle Vildor

Vildor really stood out on Friday. He had a nice pass breakup on Hendon Hooker then picked off Nate Sudfeld on a really nice play. Unfortunately that got called back for defensive holding away from the ball. He was solid in coverage all day and was making a case for a spot on the 53-man roster.

The Jermar Jefferson hype is real

Before practice started Dan Campbell was asked about Jermar Jefferson and he said "he's in a really good place." Then he repeated again that "he's in a really good place." Then when a reporter went to ask him a question, he cut them off and said "a really good place."

After seeing him at camp, you can't disagree. He's shaking up everything we thought we knew about the RB3 battle. The highlight of the day saw Jefferson catching a pass and then cooking Brian Branch who was coming at a rough angle, but should have had him.

I was wrong about Mosely

Look, I thought it was cool story that the Lions were giving him another shot after the two torn ACL's, but I didn't believe he would be able to overcome it. I was wrong about that. Like, really wrong. Moseley looks pretty good out there.

He started the day with a tackle for a loss on David Montgomery and then had a nice play where he angled Kalif Raymond out of the back of the end zone just enough to prevent him from getting both feet down for a touchdown. He should make this team and see the field plenty.

Donovan Peoples-Jones looks like he's getting lot in the shuffle

Peoples-Jones was supposed to be a guy that would have a chance to not just make the team, but start at the WR3 spot. Now there's a question of whether or not he'll make this team. He had trouble separating from corners all day and it caused pass breakups.

A few reporters were comparing him to Breshad Perriman. That's not the comparison you want to have around Detroit. Especially after Perriman was cut before ever getting a chance to play regular season football for the Lions.

Jahmyr Gibbs was a human highlight reel

What a fun day to watch Jahmyr Gibbs. He had multiple touchdowns including one on a kick return in which he looked as fluid as ever. Just juking guys out of their shoes. Then he had one touchdown through the air after it looked like it hit off the back of Levi Onwuzurkie. He's going to be fun to watch again.

Fountain Popped

Everyone has their eyes on Daurice Fountain and he delivered on Friday. He started the day off with the first touchdown catch of the day and then made a really nice contested catch on Terrion Arnold.

Emptying the notebook

Jack Fox is still Jack Fox
Jamo had a drop on a pass that looked like it was thrown so hard it could have burst through his chest.
Loren Strickland had a nice PBU on Tre'Quan Smith
Then Strickland got juked out of his shoes by Isaiah Williams
James Houston and Kyle Peko had sacks
Mitchell Agude had some nice plays including a big hit.
St. Brown did the pump dance again.
Nate Sudfeld really impressed last week, he was just ok this week