TIM AND MIKE: Training camp Day 5 observations

Run game hit, defense: Tahir Whitehead put into action his comments earlier in camp when he helped stuff a run on the first play of a team drill. Whitehead shot a gap to get to Ameer Abdullah just after the handoff. Whitehead has moved from middle linebacker to weak-side linebacker, and says the WILL linebacker often isn’t accounted for. That was the case on that play. – Mike O’Hara Love tap: Rookie linebacker Jarrad Davis revved up the crowd and his teammates when he laid a pretty good pop on receiver Marvin Jones Jr. after he made a catch on a short crossing route. Jones seemed to appreciate the physicality as well. Davis certainly doesn’t shy away from contact when the pads come on. – Tim Twentyman Run game hit, offense: A couple plays after Whitehead’s play, Abdullah gave an example of what the offense was missing without him last season. Abdullah accelerated through an opening to his left and was in the secondary for a long gain before any defender could react. That brought a loud cheer from fans in the bleachers. – *Mike O’Hara* Rough day: Rookies are going to have their ups and downs. That’s especially the case with rookie cornerbacks. In one-on-one drills, Teez Tabor was beat first on a nice out route by receiver Jared Abbrederis. He was then beat deep by both Abbrederis and fellow rookie Kenny Golladay for touchdowns. Tabor had the right attitude after practice saying sometimes a player wins some and sometimes they lose some, and his focus is just to continue to get better. – Tim Twentyman Catching on: Wide receivers Jace Billingsley and Abbrederis are having good camps, and both made good catches Friday. Billingsley made a one-hand catch along the right sideline. Abbrederis sidestepped a defender on one catch to get extra yards, and he kept his balance to hang onto the ball on another catch after he and a defender got their feet tangled. – Mike O’Hara Raw power: The defensive linemen had to stop the competition among themselves in individual drills on the two-man sled when Haloti Ngata burst out of his stance and hit the sled with such ferocity that it broke. His fellow defensive linemen seemed to be almost in awe. Ngata simply stood up and walked on to the next drill with a little swagger. – Tim Twentyman Play of the day: It was a defensive line tip drill that was a personal highlight. The linemen showed their athletic versatility going after passes in a drill that simulates passes batted at the line of scrimmage. Ngata, Brandon Copeland, Anthony Zettel and Kerry Hyder Jr. looked more like agile tight ends than men who play in the trenches. It was impressive to watch. – Mike O’Hara The Matthew Stafford to Marvin Jones Jr. deep connection has been working all camp long, and it continued in one-on-one drills Friday. Jones put a terrific move on cornerback Nevin Lawson to gain separation. Stafford, who throws one of the best deep balls in the league, dropped it right into the basket for a touchdown. I’ve seen that play three or four times from Stafford and Jones in just five practices so far.