Lions Training Camp: Notes On The Offense From Friday's Practice

The first practice of training camp for the Detroit Lions is in the books. Let's take a look at notes from what the offense did on Friday.

Quarterback

• In case you missed it earlier, Matthew Stafford had quite a first day of practice.
• Arm strength was the focus of the battle taking place between R.J. Archer and Kellen Moore for the third quarterback job. Archer's arm strength was described as impressive by Anwar Richardson, whereas Moore's style seems to be more along the lines of ugly but gets the job done (in practice, anyway).

  Kellen moore doesn't throw a pretty ball, but he has a knack of hitting the open man in space. Not sure that carries to game speed.

  — Justin Rogers (@Justin_Rogers) July 27, 2012

  While it was only one day of practice, Archer seemed to get more praise from the media than Moore, not that that necessarily means anything.

Running Back

• With Jahvid Best sidelined because he's on the PUP list, Kevin Smith took first-team reps at running back. Mikel Leshoure got some first-team reps as well.
• Speaking of Leshoure, all reviews of how he looked on Friday were quite positive, to say the least.

  #Lions RB Mikel Leshoure did look good in practice drills. Could make cuts. Had speed

  — Anwar Richardson (@AnwarRichardson) July 27, 2012

  #Lions It's early but Leshoure looks smooth, speedy.

  — Paula Pasche (@paulapasche) July 27, 2012

  RB Mikel Leshoure looks stronger than I thought he would. Speed. Good strong cuts. Shame he's suspended for 2 games

  — Lions RapidReports (@CBSSportsNFLDET) July 27, 2012

  It's definitely a shame that Leshoure is suspended considering Best's future is up in the air right now. Leshoure seems to be right on track in his recovery from the torn Achilles injury he suffered last year, and it'd be nice to have him in Week 1 of the regular season.
• Best spent part of practice watching the action from the sidelines. I'll have more on Best's status on Saturday.
• Stefan Logan may be known best for his return skills, but he is getting more reps at running back with Best currently out. Logan made it known earlier this offseason that he was hoping to get more reps in order to improve his chances of making the team, and now he is getting more opportunities with Best not cleared yet.
  

Fullback

• According to Anwar Richardson, James Bryant was used in certain packages with the first-team offense. Might this be an indication that the fullback could be returning to the Lions' offense?
  

Wide Receiver

• Calvin Johnson was flat out unstoppable. While his performance on Friday may say a lot about the state of the Lions' secondary, he is continuing to show why most people consider him the best wide receiver in football.
• Titus Young is continuing to draw rave reviews. By all accounts he performed quite well after returning from his brief post-sucker punch hiatus earlier in the offseason, and his continued improvement seems to be carrying over to training camp.

  Titus young had a solid opening practice. His first step off the line is a much more confident one.

  — Lions RapidReports (@CBSSportsNFLDET) July 27, 2012

  OK fantasy geeks. #Lions WR Titus Young continues to look good. Watch him in #NFL preseason

  — Anwar Richardson (@AnwarRichardson) July 27, 2012

Offensive Line

• The Lions' five starters on the offensive line were the same as last year: LT Jeff Backus, LG Rob Sims, C Dominic Raiola, RG Stephen Peterman and RT Gosder Cherilus.
• The Lions' second team offensive line saw Corey Hilliard line up at left tackle and Jason Fox line up at right tackle.
• According to Chris McCosky, Fox had his knee wrapped, but there was "no sign of the limp he had in minicamp." That's good to hear.
• Riley Reiff was with the third-team offensive line on Friday. I would imagine it's only a matter of time until he starts working his way up to getting reps with the second-stringers.

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