ALLEN PARK -- Brian Branch was a menace across the Detroit Lions’ scrimmage in the rain on Tuesday.
The offense and defense traded blows, but Branch was a problem whenever he was on the field.
Branch set the tone early, when Jameson Williams caught a slant over the middle. The hard-hitting safety pulled back. But let’s say if this were an opposing team, there would have been fireworks.
The versatile defensive back then opened a drive with a clean sack of Jared Goff off the blitz. He was untouched, but not because someone missed him. Branch played the angle and hit the burners at the right time. It was a clear sack, but the offense was awarded 9 yards on the completion, seeming to tick Branch off. Branch then met Jahmyr Gibbs at the line of scrimmage, with the running back gaining just enough to move the chains.
He got his sack back on the next snap, with another well-timed blitz off the edge. Lesson learned, don’t make Branch angry, and give him his sacks.
The third-year defensive back went to the sideline for a couple of series after that. The Lions worked some other defensive backs into the scrimmage, with Branch returning before the day was done.
Still, it’s a firm reminder that while Branch does everything well, he might be the best blitzing defensive back around.
Aidan Hutchinson was all over the field and living in the backfield, too. My counting stats had the star edge rusher with five clean pressures and an argument for a couple of sacks on Tuesday. With Taylor Decker and Penei Sewell at offensive tackle, that’s a good day at the office.
The Lions started the scrimmage with the offense starting from near their own end zone, then started closer to midfield before moving into red-zone work.
Detroit’s defense looks primed to blitz a lot. They worked inside on Monday and weren’t in full pads. But the linebackers were putting on a show, and that continued on Tuesday.
Alex Anzalone had an effective blitz on the third play of the day, bowling through Gibbs in pass protection. The pressure forced an incompletion, with Amik Robertson knocking away a crosser attempt for receiver Jameson Williams. Grant Stuard forced a wobbly incompletion on quarterback Kyle Allen after breaking through on third-and-2.
Stuard had another chance at a sack on a fourth-down play inside the red zone. But running back David Montgomery had a clean blitz pick-up to eat the fiery north-south linebacker.
See below for more observations from Tuesday’s scrimmage:
-- The Lions put the offense back near their own goal line to start the scrimmage. The first-team offense went three-and-out on its first two chances, while the second-team and Allen went four-and-out.
The second series for the first team almost ended in disaster. DJ Reed had a chance at an interception over Amon-Ra St. Brown, but Amik Robertson came crashing down so hard he broke it up on his fellow cornerback. The third-down play had Robertson tight in coverage on Williams on a slant, with Branch in position for what would’ve been a big-time hit.
-- Sione Vaki got the offense going on their fourth series, with Hendon Hooker under center. Vaki looks to be fully recovered from his hamstring injury. With the offense starting from the 2-yard line, Vaki hit an 8-yard run on the first play, then broke a 48-yarder to the outside on the left side of the offensive line for the first offensive first down. This drive stalled with a weird ending, as Hooker looked to avoid a sack with a sidestep to find Isaac TeSlaa against a linebacker for a big gain, but that was the end of the series. Vaki looks great, showcasing his jump cut and ability to find holes downfield.
-- The first-team offense found life on their next chance despite starting from the 1-yard line. David Montgomery ran twice to get them away from the end zone, setting up a third-and-2. Goff then hit Williams on a crosser over the middle against defensive back Rock Ya-Sin for 20 yards. Gibbs broke a solid run in the jumbo package, going up the middle, then breaking right for 9 yards. This drive ended around midfield when Hutchinson and a blitzing Terrion Arnold forced a tough throw, with St. Brown unable to make the diving catch.
-- Goff and the first-team offense found the end zone for the first time while starting from their own 40-yard line after a brief break. The offense received a favor when Branch didn’t get credit for a sack, and then the spot of the ball was not moved back 6 yards after a sack.
Goff hit St. Brown for a 23-yard gain on a deep post on third-and-10 against Arnold. Then, on third-and-14 after an incompletion forced by Hutchinson and a tackle for loss by Robertson on Montgomery, Goff found St. Brown for 12 yards over the middle to make it fourth-and-2. Goff went to tight end Shane Zylstra in the flats off a play-action look, beating Derrick Barnes to the end zone from 17 yards out.
Zylstra feels like a lock as the TE3 to open. He had the best one-on-one rep of the day before the scrimmage started, too. Zylstra faked the inside shoulder turn before heading downfield to make the diving catch against safety Loren Strickland.
-- The second-team offense scored on their next chance, too. They got some help with a defensive penalty when Nick Whiteside and Tim Patrick got tripped up about 10 yards into the route. Allen connected with Patrick on the next play for 17 yards off the play-action fake. After an offensive holding penalty made it second-and-18, Allen gave rookie Dominic Lovett a chance on a 50-50 ball. Lovett went up, made the catch and got both feet down to move the chains with the 19-yarder in the turkey hole to beat the zone coverage. Nice look for a rookie trying to convince the Lions to keep six receivers after missing some time for an injury.
Jacob Saylors had an 8-yard run, then took a screen 15 yards to the 1-yard line. Vaki came back with a nasty juke move at the goal line, with Kingsley Eguakun paving the way against linebacker Zach Cunningham for the score.
-- With the ball placed on the 20-yard line, the offense and defense traded more back-and-forth action. The first-team offense scored on their fourth play, with Goff hitting St. Brown on the out route at the pylon that is nearly unstoppable. St. Brown made the catch on Arnold, then patted the cornerback on the head for the competitive rep.
The second team settled for a field goal after three plays on their first drive. On the next red-zone series, Hendon Hooker and the reserves scored in two plays against the defensive starters. It’s been a tough stretch for Hooker. He didn’t get as many chances as Allen. But took only two plays to score, with receiver Jakobie Keeney-James catching the slant on Robertson for the 10-yard score despite losing his shoe.
-- The first-team offense settled for a field goal against the second-team defense to end red-zone work. Cunningham had a pair of nice stops on second and third-and-goal inside the 5-yard line.
-- To finish practice, the Lions ran some situation work. The offense took over at the 49-yard line in a 24-21 game with 54 seconds left. They went four-and-out, but it was almost over on the first play when Erick Hallett II nearly picked off a pass from Goff to St. Brown. Reed came close to getting one on the second play on another pass for St. Brown. The corner almost forced the takeaway after tripping and jumping from the ground. The possession ended with Hallett and Robertson knocking away a high ball for St. Brown.
The second-team offense and Allen worked their way downfield, ending the practice with a touchdown throw with 6 seconds left. Patrick beat Whiteside to get open in the back of the end zone. The veteran has stacked two solid days in a row back at practice.
-- Second-year defensive tackle Mekhi Wingo was activated from the PUP list. He was limited to individual drills before watching the scrimmage. Sam LaPorta was also back in action. Morice Norris remains in concussion protocol. Norris was spotted working with trainers before the scrimmage.
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