The good, the bad and the ugly from the Detroit Lions' mock game

DETROIT -- The Lions held their annual mock game on Saturday morning at Ford Field. The score doesn't really matter, but plenty of individual performances did. Here are some notes from the roughly 90-minute affair:

-- Matthew Stafford's first pass was intercepted by Darius Slay, but he was sharp the rest of the way. He finished 11 of 14 passing overall, and guided the starters to two scores -- one touchdown and one field goal -- on his five drives. He was especially good on the TD drive, going 6 for 6 and finding Marvin Jones for a 10-yard score.

-- Stafford also completed 3 of 4 passes during a period of 2-minute drills, but the rest of the team wasn't that sharp. TJ Jones dropped a pass for Stafford's lone incompletion, Kasey Redfern (subbing for the injured Sam Martin) bobbled the hold on one field-goal attempt, and then Matt Prater was short from 55 yards on the other.

-- Prater's miss only affirmed he is human after all. Before it, he drilled three straight kicks, one of which was from 55 yards, and another, 56 yards. The dude is already in midseason form.

-- Stafford's' first five completions went to five different players -- Golden Tate, TJ Jones, Ameer Abdullah, Theo Riddick and Marvin Jones -- before he went back to Marvin for his 10-yard touchdown pass. The sequence speaks to Stafford's command of the offense, but also the depth and parity at receiver. Jared Abbrederis finished with four catches, including three that moved the chains on the second team's lone touchdown drive. He's really helped himself in that receiver competition -- though Jace Billingsley added a team-high six catches of his own, and Keshawn Martin has made plays too. Throw in TJ Jones repping with the first team -- and scoring one of Detroit's two offensive touchdowns -- and it looks like the club has options in the back half of that rotation.

-- Much like last year, Marvin Jones has emerged as one of Matthew Stafford's favorite targets in training camp. He's been masterful at times in the red zone, and sure enough, caught his first two balls there in the mock game, including the 10-yard score. The throw was nice, but Jones made it happen with a great run after the catch. I think it's premature to say he's shaken off whatever ailed him down the stretch last season -- again, he was great this time last year too -- but the early signs are certainly encouraging.

-- Bob Quinn said Jamal Agnew had to develop before his speed would translate at punt returner, but man, the rookie already looks really good. He's been repping as the No. 1 guy in practice, got the starting nod in the mock game -- and after taking a fair catch on his first rep, housed his second for a touchdown. This kid can absolutely fly, and as long as he can show good decision making and sure hands, he seems like a good bet to win the job from the get-go. Jace Billingsley and Jared Abbrederis also took reps there.

-- Dwayne Washington was the starting kick returner, followed by TJ Jones. Washington looked really good, bringing the opening kick out to about the 33-yard line.

-- Running back Theo Riddick looks just fine these days, juking both Tahir Whitehead and Alex Carter for big open-field gains.

-- While there was a lot to like about the game, there were some problems too -- and none, absolutely none, were bigger than the garbage fire at left tackle. Cyrus Kouandjio got the start, with Greg Robinson also getting some run with the ones, and both continued the struggles we've seen throughout camp. Anthony Zettel and Jordan Hill both worked them over to get to Stafford.

-- Teez Tabor continued his issues as well, including getting beat by Jared Abbrederis on back to back plays, and then again in the red zone. All three plays moved the sticks, the last one yielded a first-and-goal, and the offense scored three plays later.

-- Rookie tight end Michael Roberts dropped the first pass thrown to him, then fumbled the ball after catching the second one. And this ain't just a bad day for him. Roberts has struggled with ball security throughout the first week of camp, and that must be resolved before he'll factor into the offense.

-- Jake Rudock looked good operating the second-team offense, finishing 19 of 24 passing, with one pick and a touchdown pass to TJ Jones. He also showed some serious wheels (really) on a scramble up the middle, although the refs called the play dead in the backfield for some reason -- causing Rudock to raise his hands in frustration. Throw in that nifty little shovel pass he had the other day for a TD during red-zone drills, and he's showing some really good snap decision-making for a backup quarterback. There's a lot to like about his development.

-- Brad Kaaya, on the other hand, continues to look very much like a rookie. Assuming nobody gets hurt, there's a 0 percent chance he beats out Rudock for the backup job. The only question is whether the Lions carry him as a third QB, or try to develop him on the practice squad. (I'd assume the latter at this point, although it's still early.)

-- Defensively, Darius Slay intercepted Stafford's first pass (although Stafford insists he thought there had been a penalty and it was a free play), and Nick Bellore got one against Rudock thanks to a PBU from Josh Thornton. Khyri Thornton and Jordan Hill were among the linemen with sacks, and Hill also batted down a pass.

-- Opening reviews for the new Ford Field get two thumbs way up from this practice observer. The new scoreboards are simply amazing. I often found myself watching the TVs rather than the game itself, and that's with sitting in the second row behind one of the end zones. Detroit never really took the new sound system for a ride, but that's supposed to be bumpin' too. Rod Wood, take a bow sir.

-- The No. 1 priority in a game like this is to avoid major injury, like the one Eric Ebron suffered last season. And the Lions seem to have done that. The only player who appeared to leave because of injury was Des Lawrence, a deep reserve at defensive back who has struggled significantly and was never expected to make the team.

-- Ebron, defensive end Cornelius Washington and linebacker Thurston Armbrister were among the active players who did not participate because of injury. But Ebron did do some light jogging before kickoff, which suggests he's making progress in his return from a hamstring injury. Darren Fells started in his place.

-- Detroit announced attendance for the event at 26,783.

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