Lions Lowdown

With one preseason game out of the way, the Lions move on with four days of training camp this week. Three of those sessions will be held with the New York Giants, the Lions’ opponent for their preseason game on Friday night at Ford Field.

The Lions lost at the Oakland Raiders, 16-10, late on Friday. A few rookies stood out, a few veterans did not play and no one apparently was seriously injured. So actually it was a win-win-win situation.

Here are five things to look for this week:

1. The Lions’ practices against the Giants on Wednesday and Thursday at 9 a.m. are open to fans. Tuesday’s joint session is for season ticket holders only. If you’ve never been to Lions training camp, it’s a great opportunity to see what the team goes through each day in practice. The intensity level should pick up with the Giants in town. Of course, there’s face painting, games for kids and food trucks for adults. (I’d highly recommend ice cream from the Treat Dreams truck which makes occasional visits.)

2. Rookie running back Kerryon Johnson provided the highlights in Oakland and looked every bit like Bob Quinn got a deal by drafting him in the second round. However, pump the brakes a bit. “He’s got a long way to go. I was excited to see him have a couple big plays and show off some of his is natural ability, but from an overall standpoint, we’ve a long way to go there,’’ coach Matt Patricia said during a conference call on Saturday night.

3. Matthew Stafford, Theo Riddick and T.J. Lang did not play on Friday. All are veterans who are locks to make the team. Makes sense that Patricia didn’t want them to get injured when the benefit to them would be so small. However, running back Dwayne Washington was also sidelined. As far as we know he is not injured and he certainly needs to have good showings in preseason games to lock up a spot on the 53-man roster. Patricia was not exactly crystal clear when asked about Washington’s absence in a conference call on Saturday night: “The guys that were out that played, played. And the ones that didn’t, did not.’’ Got that? Ameer Abdullah had a good showing with four carries for 16 yards including a one-yard touchdown run. “I think with Ameer, (we saw) some pretty good short space quickness and some opportunity to kind of get some penetration into the defense too, which was really good,’’ Patricia said.

4. Going against the Giants during practice should give the Lions more of a chance to work on their pass rush which was a weak point against the Raiders. Ziggy Ansah, who is back at practice, did not play but that was not the only problem. It’s too early to panic. These guys are still learning, but it’s certainly an area that needs attention. Patricia agrees. “It doesn’t really matter what we’re running from a scheme standpoint, we want to still see the fundamentals and the basics of what we’re trying to do,’’ the coach said after the game. “So, whether it’s the run game or the pass game, we have to do both of those with good technique up front. And we’ll go back and take a look at that and we’ll coach it up, and obviously try to improve it all the way across the board. I’d say both sides really have to be better.”

5. Generally Patricia does not heap too much praise on any of his players. The coach is more down the middle. But he seems to love the coverage play of linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin. “I think Jalen, really through training camp, has had an outstanding training camp. He does a lot for us, not only defensively, but also special teams wise. He had a really good game (Friday)night as far as that is concerned and just continues to improve. Got a long way to go, some of those situations where you may have seen him in the coverage part of it with the running backs. It’s just something that in those situations with the clock, the time, and the two-minute part of it, maybe was just circumstantial there. I think he’s trying to get better and I think he’s trying to improve,’’ Patricia said. “We obviously in some of those cases got to have some different run fits and different pass coverages that we have in that we just have to tighten up some of our techniques and things like that.”

EXTRA POINT: First-round pick Frank Ragnow proved he’s the real deal.

Kerryon Johnson was a hit in his Lions debut.

Detroit lost 16-10 to the Oakland Raiders in the preseason opener, but the score really didn’t mean much. The rookies made plays and it appears the Lions didn’t sustain any serious injuries in Matt Patricia’s debut.

Johnson, the rookie running back, lit up the third quarter. He ran, he cut, he leaped. When it was over he had seven carries for 34 yards (4.9 yards per carry). Johnson also had four catches for 33 yards.

Look, it’s early and he wasn’t going against the Raiders’ starting defense. However, he wasn’t playing behind the Lions starting offensive line either.

However, there can be no denying this kid has vision, he can run it up the gut, he has burst and breakaway speed. Oh, and a good stiff-arm move. It all adds up to scamperability.

PHOTO COURTESY OF DETROIT LIONS

Much was expected of Johnson. He didn’t wilt under pressure, instead he blossomed.

Other impressions:

1. The defense has some work to do. They not only had trouble stopping the Raiders on the run, but also the pass rush was anemic. Defensive end Ziggy Ansah, who returned to practice this week, didn’t play. Ansah’s return will be welcomed but this situation needs attention. Kerry Hyder, in his first game back after missing all of last season, looked solid which is a good sign. This isn’t a surprise since he’s had a good camp. Remember he had eight sacks to lead the team in 2018. The Raiders finished with 148 rushing yards. It would have been more but Marshawn Lynch had a 60-yard run called back due to a holding penalty.

2. Love that Matt Patricia sat Matthew Stafford and T.J. Lang. No reason to risk injury to either one especially since they were playing on a baseball field. Matt Cassel got the start with Jake Rudock mopping up. Although Cassel was brought back in with two minutes remaining to get in a little work on the two-minute offense. If the Lions just keep two quarterbacks, the 39-year-old Cassel has positioned himself to be the backup.

3. Rookie Frank Ragnow at left guard was impressive, especially in pass protection. He should be, he’s a first-round pick. Still, it was his first game. He did his job. Thought the line would be better at opening up lanes for the run. Put that on Jim Bob Cooter’s to-do list.

4. Miles Killebrew, playing at linebacker, recovered a fumble at the Detroit 7-yard line in the third quarter. Just because they moved him from safety to linebacker does not mean they do not believe in him. But he has to prove that he can handle the position. We know he’s a beast on special teams.

5. It’s going to be a battle at running back to find a spot on the 53-man roster. Kerryon Johnson is a lock, but there’s going to be an odd man out. That makes Ameer Abdullah’s good showing key. He had four runs for 16 yards and a touchdown. LeGarrette Blount carried five times for 21 yards in his first game wearing a Lions jersey.

ALLEN PARK >> In the Detroit Lions’  first scrimmage of training camp on Saturday, the standout play came courtesy of linebacker Darnell Sankey.

After cornerback Teez Tabor tipped the ball which was thrown by Matt Cassel and intended for Kerryon Johnson, Sankey positioned  himself to catch it for the interception and run it back.

“We were in one of our fronts, I seen the ball tipped in the air, amazing play by the cornerback, seen the ball, hopefully I grabbed it,’’ Sankey said. “We practice that a lot — especially as linebackers — go up, get the ball and try to take it home for the team,’’ said Sankey who was whistled down short of the goal line.

The scrimmage gave the team a chance to put together everything they have learned from coach Matt Patricia and his staff in the first eight days.

Patricia talked to the media minutes prior to Saturday morning’s practice and wouldn’t tip his hat whether there would be a scrimmage. It all became clear when the public address announcer made his presence known.

“There’s a scrimmage element in every practice, which is great. We do different periods against each other from a team aspect and work on different points of emphasis. I would say we’re getting more into the mode of down and distance, so it’s first, second, and third down kind of consecutively from that standpoint. Which is great, because you can transition from the different modes,’’ Patricia said.

It was a big day for Sankey, who was undrafted in 2016 out of Sacramento State and has made his way to six other NFL teams mostly in short stints on their practice squads.

“We’re a week and a half into camp so we’re learning how to play, how to mold and learning the defense, the offense, everything goes to the team,’’ Sankey said. “It establishes a brotherhood as well we’re hitting but at the end of the day it’s all love, we’re all teammates.’’

Sankey signed on July 26, the day before camp started. So he’s got plenty to learn about the Lions defense.

“The first and foremost thing is learning the playbook, that’s the main thing, learning how the scheme goes, learning the team, learning different types of checks and calls and fronts, learning the coaches and how the Detroit Lions play,’’ Sankey said. “And obviously showcasing your skills and show them what you can do.’’

Sankey faces tough competition to make the 53-man roster. He’s had a few plays that pop during camp but none bigger than Saturday’s interception.

It doesn’t mean he’ll make the team, but he may have improved his chances.