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The first joint practice between the Detroit Lions and Oakland Raiders is in the books. Because Pride of Detroit was not on hand at Napa, California, we’re left to rely on the observations of others from Tuesday’s practice.
Here are the most interesting points noticed by beat writers, both from the Raiders and Lions.
Lions secondary hand Derek Carr his first INT
Monday was the first day that Matthew Stafford had thrown an interception in all of camp. Derek Carr lasted one more day in his interception-less streak. It was none other than Darius Slay who introduced Carr to the interception this year:
Derek Carr picked off by Darius Slay. First int for Carr this camp. #Raiders
— Levi Damien (@LeviDamien) August 7, 2018
But it wasn’t just Slay who picked up an interception on Tuesday. According to MLive’s Kyle Meinke, both Teez Tabor and DeShawn Shead picked off Raiders quarterbacks during team portions of the practice.
In fairness to Carr and the Raiders, it wasn’t all good news for the Lions defensive backs. During 7-on-7 drills, Carr was reportedly perfect:
Marvin Jones beats Hamilton deep ... Melvin with a nice pass break-up ... Carr perfect in 7 on 7
— Vic Tafur (@VicTafur) August 7, 2018
Rough start for Jarrad Davis
The Lions second-year linebacker had been getting rave reviews during Lions camp both for his performance on the field and his extra efforts after practice. But when the Raiders lined up opposite Davis, he was the victim in two early plays at the hands of two different fullbacks:
#Raiders FB Keith Smit just obliterated two #Lions, including Jarrad Davis, for Marshawn Lynch
— Paul Gutierrez (@PGutierrezESPN) August 7, 2018
Literally sent Davis flying through the air and landing on his butt behind him. Davis was of balance to start with and Warren made him pay for it.
— Levi Damien (@LeviDamien) August 7, 2018
That second play sounded particularly rough for Davis:
Weren’t allowed to film it and it’s just practice but I wish you guys could have seen the hit. Davis got helicoptered. https://t.co/hnE7RUHCj7
— Ted Nguyen (@FB_FilmAnalysis) August 7, 2018
That’s not exactly an encouraging thing to hear about a player that struggled at times last year and is expected to be a key piece to Matt Patricia’s defense in 2018. However, it’s also just two reps. The preseason is still very young.
Up-and-down day for Stafford and the Lions offense
According to Meinke, Stafford went 7-11 during team drills, and his favorite target continues to be Marvin Jones Jr., who pulled down a couple big catches on Tuesday.
Stafford then bombs one over the top and Marvin Jones Jr. blows by Antonio Hamilton for a touchdown. https://t.co/W8eMa1NO8u
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) August 7, 2018
Stafford also reportedly missed on Jones a couple times.
As noted by Matt Schneidman, Stafford also threw one pick on Tuesday during 7-on-7 drills after starting linebacker Emmanuel Lamur made an acrobatic catch.
After one of the cleanest few weeks in training camp, left guard Frank Ragnow showed his first signs of actually being a rookie.
Mario Edwards Jr tosses Frank Ragnow like a rag doll to get pressure
— Levi Damien (@LeviDamien) August 7, 2018
There shouldn’t be any real cause for concern at this point. Nobody—especially a rookie—is going to win every rep in camp.
The Lions “looked better” in Day 1
Ted Nguyen, the writer for The Athletic that covers the Raiders and 49ers, believes the Lions came out of Tuesday’s practice looking like the better team:
Just thought Lions execution in team periods was sharper.
— Ted Nguyen (@FB_FilmAnalysis) August 7, 2018
Didn’t think one team was head and shoulders better than other but if I had to chose: Lions. https://t.co/HqRyV9ykGY
Overall, Lions were the better team today. 3rd year for Stafford in Cooter system. Some hiccups for Raiders learning new offense.
— Ted Nguyen (@FB_FilmAnalysis) August 7, 2018
This is, of course, just one writer’s opinion, and by his own admission it wasn’t by much. Still, this is the first measuring stick we have for the 2018 Lions, and it’s good to know that, at least for a day, Detroit looked better than another NFL franchise with a new head coach.