After an eventful two days of joint practices with the Miami Dolphins in Allen Park, the Detroit Lions are gearing up for what will be their third preseason game of the year against the team on Saturday. For most of the early days of training camp, there were some concerns around whether or not the Lions offense had taken a step back under new offensive coordinator John Morton. While the personnel had not changed much over the course of the offseason, most reports coming out of practices had the defense ahead of the offense by a comfortable margin. At least that is what some people thought prior to Miami coming to town.
Now, after two good days of work against units other than their own, I think most of those worries have been addressed. By most accounts, Wednesday’s session was one of the more lopsided joint practices in sometime. After that, it appeared as though Miami found their footing a bit, making for a more well-rounded practice on Thursday.
There were plenty of standouts to choose from over the two days, and I am sure Lions coach Dan Campbell has to be generally pleased with the work they got in.
What is your biggest takeaway after two days of joint practice with the Dolphins?
It might be a simple one to a lot of people, but Lions receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown is a really special player. And I know what you are thinking: “No kidding, Morgan. He is a First Team All-Pro.” And listen, I hear you, but I think because he is so consistent in his approach to the game, sometimes we forget just how amazing he is.
In basketball terms, I would compare St. Brown to a player that is going to get his, night in and night out. The kind of player where at the end of the game, you are going to look up and he will have at minimum 25 points, seven rebounds, and five assists. It’s just the kind of player he is.
To give more context to the situation, I don’t think the Dolphins’ secondary is among the best in the game, but, simply put, it doesn’t matter when it comes to St. Brown. Star corner, Pro Bowler, it doesn’t matter. He is going to get his. For me personally, it was a nice reminder of how lucky we are as Lions fans right now, and players like St. Brown are at the center of it all.
What about you? What was your biggest takeaway from the joint practices with the Dolphins? Let us know in the comments below.