Lions training camp notebook, Day 4: The tempers and the weather remain hot

The Detroit Lions returned to action on a steamy Thursday morning after an off day on Wednesday. The heat index steadily rose into the low 90s by the time practice concluded around 10:30 a.m., and the agitating nature of the heat and humidity raised the tempers of several players once again.

Most of my focus from Thursday's practice during positional drills was on the wideouts and tight ends, as the team still hasn't put the pads on. That will happen on Friday now that the NFL-mandated ramp-up period is done for Detroit. It was another strong day for the pass defense, though the offense certainly had its share of wins in team drills, too.

Here's what I took away from a sweaty morning in Allen Park:

Player of the day: Erick Hallett

Hallett is one of several young safeties competing for a spot, and he put his best foot forward on Thursday. The highlight was a pick-six off Goff, who was late to throw a comeback route as he was flushed from the pocket to his right. Hallett knifed in front of the receiver and didn't stop until he was in the end zone some 40 yards away.

Hallett also made the notes for two separate outside run fills, where he nicely dodged blocks and got his nose dirty in the C-gap. In the 7-on-7 drill, he erased TE Brock Wright from being a possible target on a play where he looked to be the first read.

Goff was off

Thursday was not Jared Goff's best. The Pro Bowler missed several throws in drills with the WRs and TEs, notably misfiring twice on deeper throws to Jameson Williams. Early in team drills, Goff overshot Amon-Ra St. Brown up the left sideline. There were wild (for Goff) misses to Sam LaPorta (behind him) and rookie Isaac TeSlaa (too high and hot). Those are very uncharacteristic misses for Goff, who had been almost impeccably on target through the first few practices.

For most of the practice session, both reserve QBs were sharp. Hendon Hooker continues to improve at keeping to the designed timing of the pass plays, and he deftly connected on a couple of shrinking-window throws, one to rookie WR Jakobie Keeney-James with DT Brodric Martin bearing down on the quarterback. Kyle Allen was more hit-and-miss but did have a couple of very nice completions, one to Tom Kennedy and another to Keeney-James, who had a very nice day working from the slot.

Tempers got hot

Tuesday's practice session got halted after the defense was a little too zealous in trying to punch the ball out. This session also featured head coach Dan Campbell calling a full-team huddle to cool the tempers after a notable scuffle between LB Anthony Pittman and pretty much the entire offense when Pittman slammed RB Jabari Small to the ground. That was far from the first hot-headed moment between the units.

Defensive lineman Pat O'Connor shoved a wide receiver after OL Kayode Awosika caught No. 95 with a hearty wham block on a swing pass. EDGE Nate Lynn and OL Trystan Colon also had some notable post-play pushing.

Unlike Tuesday, when defensive back Morice Norris was sent to the showers early for his pugnacity, cooler heads did prevail for the final team drills.

Injuries

It wouldn't be a Lons practice without some sort of injury report. Two starting defenders, Derrick Barnes and Terrion Arnold, did not finish practice after suffering injuries. Barnes left with a hand injury, while Arnold left with a leg injury, per the team. I did not notice the root of either malady, nor did several of my media colleagues.

Kalif Raymond provided a scare when he went down awkwardly in a drill and got up very gingerly. It was concerning enough that Dan Campbell darted over to talk to the wideout, who appeared to roll his ankle. Raymond missed one rep and then was just fine, streaking past CB Tyson Russell up the right sideline for a deep completion from Allen on a picture-perfect pitch-and-catch.

Defensive tackle Brodric Martin was back as a full-go after leaving Tuesday's practice. He had one of his better days in the last couple of camps, too.

Cornerback Ennis Rakestraw was working with a trainer throughout the practice, notably making several catches on throws that forced him to extend his arms. Rakestraw suffered a chest contusion in Sunday's practice that has kept him out.

Quick hits

--The Lions activated CB Stantley Thomas-Oliver from the non-football injury list.

--Rookie WR Isaac TeSlaa used a subtle stutter-step at the top of a deep break to set up a nice inside veer and left CB Dicaprio Bootle wondering where he went in 1-on-1 drills. Perfect throw from Hooker resulted in a gorgeous TD. TeSlaa caught everything thrown his way all day.

--Linebacker Anthony Pittman got victimized on three separate passing plays, two in 7-on-7s and one in team drills, by not getting enough depth or width to his drop. The first of those ruined what was otherwise outstanding team coverage, and the veteran LB raised his hand and acknowledged it to his mates.

--Graham Glasgow played center all day, with second-round rookie Tate Ratledge moving to right guard. That's a change from the first few days of practice, where Ratledge exclusively played center. Ratledge brushed it off in his post-practice press conference as nothing more than getting work in.

--DBs who earned multiple plusses in my notes during 7-on-7 drills: Hallett, Dan Jackson, D.J. Reed (erasing Jameson Williams with perfect hip-on-hip coverage on a drag route), and Amik Robertson. Linebackers Grant Stuard and Ezekiel Turner also claimed multiple positive notations.

--Kicker Jake Bates hit his first few field goal attempts but ended his practice missing two straight from 53 yards. Both were wide left.

--While the skill positions were working the 7-on-7 drills, the lines had an unpadded pit drill in the far end zone. I didn't catch a ton of those reps, but I did see DL Keith Cooper absolutely smoke OT Mason Miller in a battle of undrafted rookies. Sixth-round rookie DE Ahmed Hassanein also had a clean win over Miller, who continues to play too tall. Cooper earned some first-team DT reps next to fellow rookie Tyleik Williams and they were a problem for the first-team interior OL in the run game.

--Still unpadded, but still way too many complete whiffs on blocks from greenhorn OT Giovanni Manu. Working both left and right tackle, his complete lack of football instincts still rears its ugly head too often to trust him with meaningful work. He lost a rep to Pat O'Connor on the right side where he made the 300-pound O'Connor look like Allen Iverson on a crossover.

--Recent signee Dicaprio Bootle got late work (after Arnold's departure) with the first-team defense. He had struggled in coverage throughout earlier drills but looked better with the higher-level talent around him. He did make an excellent post-catch strip on WR Ronnie Bell in 7-on-7s.

--Rookie WR Dominic Lovett had a strong day in positional drills and then made a fantastic snag on a high throw from Kyle Allen, though he landed with both feet out of bounds because of the throw and not his own doing. Lovett made several sharp breaks on shorter routes and thrived in a drill where the wideouts were asked to catch short throws on the dead run.

--Veteran DT D.J. Reader summed up the day nicely when he politely declined interview requests with a big smile and said, "I'm cooked". It looked like he just came out of the ocean; he was wet--as were all players after two hours in the heat.

This article originally appeared on Lions Wire: Lions training camp notebook, Day 4: Tempers and weather remain hot