The quick in dirty in here is that the Lions are working a lot on cut blocking (what the Broncos use), getting the ball out of the pocket faster (and to Roy and CJ more), and Avril and 5-oh have shown improvement but have a long way to go:

by Tom Kowalski Thursday July 24, 2008, 11:45 AM


First impressions of Lions training camp ...
First things first. These observations are being made on just one practice so please keep that in mind.
• You can already see some changes in the running game by the individual drills that are being performed. In one of the drills, the linemen and tight ends are sharpening their fundamentals in backside (or offside) cutting in the running game. Because the players won't be cutting during team or 9-on-7 drills, it has to be done in the individual segment with practice dummies.

The other change is in the relatively simple halfback handoff with a fullback lead. In the past, the running back would simply follow the path of the fullback through the designated hole. Now, because of a change in how they're zone blocking, the fullback often breaks away and picks off a linebacker or safety while the running back darts in another direction.
• By the way, if the Lions get really good at their cutting techniques -- and have some success in running the ball -- you can bet there's going to be a fair amount of complaining from opponents -- just like the Broncos used to take a lot of heat. There's nothing illegal about what the Lions (or Broncos) are doing, but defenders hate it.
• The thing you notice immediately about rookie running back Kevin Smith is that he always keeps his head up, even in heavy traffic. He has excellent vision and he's always trying to find the escape route. There was a play in team drills when there was a lot of penetration up the middle and the defenders were in the backfield as quarterback Jon Kitna was handing the ball off to Smith. Smith, keeping his head up, took the handoff sideways to avoid the pressure and then skirted away to get a gain out of the play.
• Fullback Jon Bradley, who played at about 305 pounds last year, is down to 287 and looks a lot smoother. He's not exactly smooth yet, but he's smoother. Bradley, the former defensive lineman, said he's hoping to get down to 275 to improve his quickness and agility even more. He's not sure he'll get that low, but that's what he's shooting for.
• With Mulitalo on the PUP list, Frank Davis took over at left guard with the No. 1 unit. ... Stephen Peterman was the starter at right guard. ... Travis Fisher is still starting at cornerback (ahead of Leigh Bodden) but that's because Fisher ended last year as the starter there. Bodden is expected to move into the starting role at some point in camp.
• The one thing you notice immediately about the passing game is that the ball comes out of the pocket very quickly. And it's also very clear that Roy Williams and Calvin Johnson are going to be the main targets of most of those passes.
• I'm telling you, Devale Ellis has a great shot at beating out rookie fifth-round pick Kenneth Moore for that No. 5 receiver/kick return position. Granted, Moore hasn't had much time to make an impression -- and he's going to get it -- but Ellis has excellent speed and quickness and you can see that he knows the offense very well. It's going to be an interesting battle, but Ellis absolutely must stay healthy throughout camp. If he gets nicked up, it's going to hurt his case considerably. (By the way, I also think Brandon Middleton is good enough to play in the NFL, but it doesn't appear that he's going to get that opportunity this year in Detroit.)
• Rookie third-round pick Cliff Avril is spending most of his time at right defensive end but if he's going to be the No. 5 DE on the roster, he'll have to play both end positions. By the way, Avril isn't just a speed guy, he showed some muscle with a bullrush move. Smaller guys can be good with a bullrush when they learn how to set up a tackle and get him off-balance before they try to muscle him.
• In the one-on-one pass rush drill, it was obvious that Ikaika Alama-Francis has spent some time working on his inside counter moves. He still has a long way to go, but his technique is better. These one-on-one drills will be important for Alama-Francis because he has to build up some confidence with his pass rush.