10 biggest takeaways from the Lions Hall of Fame game, time to worry about multiple recent high draft picks?

The Detroit Lions helped open up the preseason for the rest of the NFL with their Hall of Fame matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday night. We came into this game with a lot of questions and with the thought that some roster spots could be on the line, and we got some […]

Mike Payton — Detroit Lions Beat Writer
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The Detroit Lions helped open up the preseason for the rest of the NFL with their Hall of Fame matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday night. We came into this game with a lot of questions and with the thought that some roster spots could be on the line, and we got some answers for sure. Here are my 10 biggest takeaways from the game:

Kyle Allen went full Sudfeld

If you’ve been reading anything I’ve written about Allen since camp started, you would see that the big thing for me was that he had been performing so well in camp and had made no mistakes, but this is what Nate Sudfeld looked like at this time last year. Then, when it came time to play a game, it all changed. For Allen, this looked a lot like what Sudfeld had. Maybe it’s the yips.

Allen threw two pretty bad interceptions, and it spoiled any good that he did on Thursday night. There was some good. I thought he played well on play-action plays, but they can’t all be play-action. I’m not saying he’s getting cut on Friday, but now he has to show that this was an anomaly and not the norm.

Hooker didn’t look any better

What a horrible night for the Lions’ backup quarterbacks. They just couldn’t get anything going in this game. Hooker sailed a pass that should have been picked; he struggled to find an open man, he struggled to scramble, and he just plain struggled with accuracy. Hooker finished the night with just three completed passes for 18 yards. That’s not great. He also got sacked multiple times and threw a pick. It was just a bad night for everyone.

Did Grant Stuard really return two kicks, or did I dream that?

It’s been just two weeks, but I’ve been pretty busy already, and maybe that’s what happened. There’s no way the linebacker Grant Stuard took two kick returns on Thursday night. There’s no way he fumbled the first one, right? Seriously, what are we doing here? Stuard did play some running back in college, but do we need ot see him return kicks? Probably not again. Stuard did make up for it with a sack later in the game.

Time to pull the panic lever on Ennis Rakestraw?

Man, things have not been great for the Lions’ second-round pick from last year. Rakestraw basically missed his entire rookie season, and then when he was supposed to come back and have his big redemption year, he got hurt at camp almost immediately.

He played Thursday night, but it was a rough go for him. He was out of place a few times and got beaten on a 28-yard catch. Then, on a play in which it looked like he almost had a pick, he got called for illegal use of the hands. I’m not pulling the panic lever personally. There’s a lot of summer left, and he’s not expected to be a starter. Plenty of time to get reps and improve.

Rock Ya-Sin looks like the perfect upgrade at depth corner

I’ll be the first one to tell you that Kindle Vildor was a pretty good player for what he was asked to do, but Rock Ya-Sin looked like a really good upgrade over him. He balled out on Thursday and made some strong plays. He had a touchdown-saving tackle and played with a lot of physicality. A strong showing for him. This should also give a little bit of comfort if you’re worried about Rakestraw. The Lions are in good hands with their depth.

Isaac TeSlaa showed what he can bring to the Lions’ offense

Earlier in the week, I was asked what kind of receiver I felt TeSlaa could be for the Lions, and the comparison was Josh Reynolds and Tim Patrick, but with speed. What you want there is a guy who can block well and then make big catches for first downs. That was Reynolds’ specialty, and that was what Patrick did last year. That’s also what TeSlaa brought in his first preseason game. He had two big catches for 46 yards and showed that he was just hard to catch out there.

Ian Kennelly with the old school Farooq style spinebuster

The Grand Valley State kid came through with a tackle that you know Dan Campbell smiled about.

Special teams had a really bad night

Having Grant Stuard returning kicks was bad enough, but that wasn’t the only turnover the Lions had that put the Chargers directly in the red zone. Undrafted rookie Jakobie Keeny-James muffed a punt in the second half, and Los Angeles recovered it. On top of that, they struggled to get a solid return going outside of one decent-looking Dominic Lovett return. You can bet that special teams coordinator Dave Fipp is going to have these guys working hard this week.

Lovett didn’t really show what we were hoping to see

Coming into the game, I really wanted to see what Lovett looked like as a return man because that speed a shiftiness really showed nicely at camp. He did have one decent-looking 22-yard return that was a shoestring tackle away from him possibly breaking one for a touchdown, but that was his only return of the night. On offense, he had a big drop early on, but he made some decent plays afterwards. He was the most targeted receiver on the field for the Lions on Thursday and managed to catch five passes for 31 yards.

The happiest man in Canton, Ohio

The Lions got beaten pretty good in this game, but you would never know it if you just watched Ahmed Hassanein. This guy was having the time of his life out there. He celebrated and brought energy after every positive thing the Lions did in this game. It was infectious for sure. This is what you want: someone who doesn’t get beaten down by the game. It helped that he played a pretty good game out there, too.

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