The Detroit Lions have come into training camp wanting to take an aggressive mindset, and now that the pads have finally come on, the team can begin to get to that point of intensity on the field.
During practice on Tuesday, August 3, the Lions got involved in a bit of a fracas on the field. As Chris Burke of The Athletic pointed out while watching practice, a pair of rookies got involved in a bit of a dust up, with wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown and cornerback Ifeatu Melifonwu throwing some punches at each other during a drill.
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Here’s a look at what Burke said played out between the sides in what he described as a special teams repetition:
First fight: Amon-Ra St. Brown vs. Ifeatu Melifonwu throwing some serious punches during a special teams rep.
Seeing the Lions get after it a bit should be interpreted as a good sign. Often, players get into it on the field during camp, and this proves the team has the right mindset in terms of compete early on.
Dan Campbell Wasn’t Looking for Camp Fights
It’s ironic that the team would get involved in a camp scrap on the first day in pads because Campbell spoke about such a circumstance playing out during his August, 3 media availability.
As Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press explained while listening to the press conference, Campbell wanted to see the Lions get aggressive up until a point. He didn’t want a fight to break out, but wanted to see the team show intensity up until that point on the field when competing.
Dan Campbell on what he wants: I want to see these guys get to the point where it’s almost an all-out brawl but not quite there. Wants competitiveness “at the very highest level.” … “I want to see guys strain, particularly up front .. I want to see you finish the second level”
When discussing the chances of a fight breaking out, Campbell actually pointed to his own experiences as a player and how Bill Parcells would often assign him to stir things up during practices in training camp to galvanize the team. Justin Rogers of the Detroit News tweeted about the story.
Now Campbell is telling us how Bill Parcells would tell him to instigate incidents in camp to fire the team up.
Campbell’s admission that he wanted to see intensity to a point was certainly an interesting one. It’s clear the Lions got the message as the conflict between the pair of rookies ended up proving. Though the coach might be a bit disappointed punches were actually thrown, he probably will not be sad about high intensity being shown at all.
Battles Between Ifeatu Melifonwu, Amon-Ra St. Brown Might Be Just Beginning
If this pair of players show up at camp in other future conflicts, it wouldn’t be a shock. Both play opposite positions on the field, with Melifonwu playing cornerback and St. Brown playing wide receiver. Knowing this, both could be expected to have future encounters on the field. Each player is also looking to make waves in terms of roster battles, and are looking to step up and show why they belong in terms of a consistent role for this season. Each come from opposite sides of the country, as St. Brown hails from USC where he was a standout pass catcher. Melifonwu played collegiately at Syracuse where he was a solid cornerback.
Already, the rookies are showing their scrap in camp to the Lions as they set about trying to make an impact on the roster and that is good to see.
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Pair of Key Lions Rookies Scrap During Training Camp Fight