Lions Lowdown

ALLEN PARK >> Matt Patricia will coach his first game at Ford Field when the Lions host the New York Giants at 7 p.m. on Friday.

The Lions coach is geeked even though it’s a preseason contest.

Under that bushy beard, Patricia has a plan as the next few weeks develop to find the best players for each position. The quest continues in the second preseason game.

He wants to see improvement from the Week 1 loss at the Oakland Raiders.

“Trying to keep a basic game plan from that standpoint and just trying to increase the level of execution, see if we can improve from that standpoint,’’ Patricia said on Thursday before the walk-through with the Giants.

“We’ll add a couple new things that we maybe didn’t look at last week just to take a look at them on the field and see how that goes. But, for us, it’s just going to be that constant improvement. The overall operation—hopefully that goes off better than it did last week, and then the on-field performance, too,’’ Patricia said.

Five things to look for in Friday’s contest:

1. Matthew Stafford did not play a snap last week and may not get on the field on Friday either. Patricia was non-committal when asked if his quarterback will play.  “Everybody’s going to be ready to go,’’ Patricia said. While Stafford will most likely get in at least one preseason game, remember he has gotten valuable experience from joint practices the last two weeks with the Raiders and the Giants.

2. Patricia also would not say how long the starters will remain in the game. It depends on the flow and, of course, different position groups will see more time than others.

3. Against the Raiders, Ameer Abdullah got the bulk of the work at running back in the first half, while Kerryon Johnson opened eyes in the second half. Theo Riddick and Dwayne Washington did not play at all. So who will get the most carries against the Giants? Tough to tell. Abdullah again had many carries with the ones at camp this week. LeGarrette Blount may get a carry or two along with Zach Zenner.

4. Defensive end Ziggy Ansah did not play last week, but has practiced all this week. His tendency toward injury, could keep him on the sideline on Friday. Once the season starts, he may play on the inside along with his typical spot outside. “I think he’s obviously a tremendous player and causes some different issues across the board. So, getting an advantage or getting an opportunity to look at him in some of those different alignments, I think, is good for us. I don’t really know what it’s going to shape out to be when we get to the regular season,’’ Patricia said. “But, from a standpoint of just giving him some different ways to pressure an offense or put the offense under duress, is always a good thing for us. So, he’s long, he’s a really long guy, he’s very strong, and he has a real good quickness about him, too. Which, when you can match him up against different offensive linemen across the board, you can get some advantages there.”

5. Cornerback Darius Slay had a few match-ups in the joint practices this week with Giants’ superstar receiver Odell Beckham Jr. But don’t expect to see them match up in the game.  Beckham is not expected to play on Friday night, according to the New York Post. Beckham, who said he’s feeling good, is coming off a fractured left ankle that occurred in October forcing him to miss the rest of the season. If Friday’s game mattered he would be on the field, but no need to push it.

ALLEN PARK >> Graham Glasgow was back at practice on Wednesday, after going down with a knee injury on Tuesday.

However, the Lions center didn’t take all the reps at center. Rookie Frank Ragnow was snapping the ball to Matthew Stafford during team drills toward the end of Wednesday’s session with the New York Giants.

Here’s the thing, no matter what happened to Glasgow, that role at center might have been planned for Ragnow who started at center as a junior and senior at Arkansas.

“All those guys on the offensive line know multiple positions, and however we do it in practice, we’re going to try to get everybody a certain amount of reps,’’ coach Matt Patricia said on Wednesday.

The coach said practice is scripted.

“We’re not really in the mode where we’re just calling against each other blindly. And (Tuesday) was a scripted practice where there might be particular plays that we want guys to see in certain positions, so that affects where they get lined up,’’ Patricia said.

During camp and since he was drafted, Ragnow has taken most of his reps at left guard. It’s expected that’s where he’ll start when the season gets under way.

“So, there’s a little bit more to it than just kind of throwing guys in there and throwing them around in a certain set. So, again, let’s just say hypothetically Frank was at a guard position and I wanted to see one of his pulls, and see how he went and attacked the edge, maybe on a particular run play or a particular protection against an individual player that the Giants have – you weigh the value of moving the guy to a different position or leave him where he is and get the valued rep that you need to evaluate and see him do. So, a lot of that goes into that decision there,’’ Patricia said.

When GM Bob Quinn drafted Ragnow in the first round, it was expected that he would start at center. But it appears that Glasgow, who started a few games at center in 2017, has won that spot.

“We can put Frank anywhere, which is great. We can move him to center, guard, tackle, or put any of those guys all the way across the board. And again, it’s so early in the stage of what we’re trying to do from all positions that these guys are still going to play multiple positions and get a lot of reps,’’ Patricia said.

“And there are going to be guys that are playing positions this week that will play completely different positions next week just to get another evaluation. The good thing is that we have quite a few more weeks here before we get to the regular season, so we have a timeline of how we have to evaluate all those guys,’’ the coach added.

Thursday will be the third and final practice against the Giants at the Lions’ facility. Detroit is coming off two practices at the Oakland Raiders last week.

Going against different competition in camp should especially benefit Ragnow and all the young guys.

“I think it’s the biggest thing for the young guys to see—the increase of what the competition looks like on game day. And for us to have these practices where they can kind of see it a little bit more and get a little bit more experience with that helps every bit,’’ Patricia said. “I would also say that the more we can get on tape of competitive reps against different people, different teams, our own guys, we can coach and teach off of that. And that’s the most important thing, where we can—not just a, call it a walk through or tempered down sort of mentality—where we’re actually teaching live or coaching off of live reps. I think that’s where we make our biggest improvements.”

Thursday’s practice at 9 a.m. is open to the public.

The Lions and Giants play a preseason game at 7 p.m. on Friday at Ford Field.

ALLEN PARK >> Devon Kennard had a different outlook on Tuesday when the Detroit Lions held their first joint practice with the New York Giants.

The Lions linebacker played in 52 games over the last four seasons for the Giants, before signing with the Lions as a free agent.

He’s been impressive in training camp so far. That continued on Tuesday against his former teammates.

“It’s been fun, there’s always a competitive nature and that’s what it was today. Going against guys I’m pretty familiar with, but we’re out here working, trying to beat each other and that’s how it should be,’’ Kennard said.

The Lions will play the Giants in the home preseason opener at 7 p.m. on Friday at Ford Field. Prior to that they will practice against the Giants at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday and 9 a.m. on Thursday. Both are open to fans. Last week Detroit held joint practices against the Oakland Raiders before the preseason opener for each team.

Five thoughts from Kennard:

— He likes the joint practices in back-to-back weeks. “It’s something you can continue to build, there’s nothing like live game action, the intensity of the game and stuff. To be able to have that experience and roll it into another joint practice was good for me personally and good for the team overall,’’ Kennard said.

— Facing the Raiders and Giants offenses in practice should also help the Lions’ defense. “I think it’s pivotal. You get different formations, every team does things a little differently,’’ Kennard said. “As a defensive guy you get to see how you’re going to adjust to different things the offense does. I think it’s good preparation for the season.’’

— The Lions lost 16-10 to the Raiders on Friday with the defensive pass rush and ability to stop the run standing out as areas that need to improve. “I think we did some things well, we have high expectations and we want to play at a higher level and we want to continue to get better,’’ Kennard said.

— Coach Matt Patricia’s impact on the defense has been immediate. “He demands a lot from us, he demands excellence. He’s never satisfied,’’ Kennard said. “If we think we have a good day he’s always pushing us, showing us ways we need and should get better. I think it’s making everybody’s awareness and everybody’s intensity raise every day.’’

— Kennard used a multitude of cliches in answering a question about the team’s physicality and toughness. It’s like the words were coming out of Patricia’s mouth. “We have an opportunity but we have to show it every day. We have to be consistent, that’s what we’re working to build,’’ Kennard said. “We’re still on camp mode. Everyday we’re trying to grind it out. There’s no light at the end of the tunnel, we’re grinding it out, day in and day out.