Here are some observations from Day 13 of Lions training camp in Allen Park on Sunday.
▶ The most notable development out of Sunday's practice was Tate Ratledge's move to the first-team center position. While Ratledge wasn't at center for the full practice — Juice Scruggs also took reps at center — he took a healthy majority. When Ratledge was at center, the team deployed Ben Bartch at left guard and Christian Mahogany at right guard. When Scruggs was in at center, Mahogany and Ratledge played guard.
The practice was sloppy for the offense, in part because it started to pour halfway through. By our count, Ratledge had two botched snaps, and Scruggs had four. One or two of them might've been on quarterback Jared Goff; it was kind of hard to tell in the rain.
Part of the moving and shaking stems from the fact that, as Lions coach Dan Campbell mentioned on Saturday, they have no idea who their "best five" are with Cade Mays on the shelf. Prior to his injury, they only needed to figure out one spot (left guard) along the offensive line, with two clear favorites for the job: Mahogany and Bartch.
Now the situation is exponentially more complicated: While Seth McLaughlin played well at center in Thursday night's preseason game, he likely doesn't have the preferred size; Scruggs was dealing with a soft-tissue injury before returning to practice this week; Ratledge has never played the position before. Even if Scruggs was the clear front-runner for the gig, they'd likely want to hammer down a contingency plan before going into the season. It's clear the Lions are invested in preparing Ratledge to play center if it comes down to it.
#ratledge #practice #guard #clear
▶ The most notable development out of Sunday's practice was Tate Ratledge's move to the first-team center position. While Ratledge wasn't at center for the full practice — Juice Scruggs also took reps at center — he took a healthy majority. When Ratledge was at center, the team deployed Ben Bartch at left guard and Christian Mahogany at right guard. When Scruggs was in at center, Mahogany and Ratledge played guard.
The practice was sloppy for the offense, in part because it started to pour halfway through. By our count, Ratledge had two botched snaps, and Scruggs had four. One or two of them might've been on quarterback Jared Goff; it was kind of hard to tell in the rain.
Part of the moving and shaking stems from the fact that, as Lions coach Dan Campbell mentioned on Saturday, they have no idea who their "best five" are with Cade Mays on the shelf. Prior to his injury, they only needed to figure out one spot (left guard) along the offensive line, with two clear favorites for the job: Mahogany and Bartch.
Now the situation is exponentially more complicated: While Seth McLaughlin played well at center in Thursday night's preseason game, he likely doesn't have the preferred size; Scruggs was dealing with a soft-tissue injury before returning to practice this week; Ratledge has never played the position before. Even if Scruggs was the clear front-runner for the gig, they'd likely want to hammer down a contingency plan before going into the season. It's clear the Lions are invested in preparing Ratledge to play center if it comes down to it.
#ratledge #practice #guard #clear
2 months ago
