About a day ago, Detroit Lions linebacker Grant Stuard issued a bold warning to the Miami Dolphins. With Miami scheduled for two days of joint practices in Allen Park, Stuard declared that the Dolphins weren’t prepared for the Lions’ intensity and shared his excitement about hitting opponents who weren’t clad in Honolulu Blue.
The Dolphins arrived in Michigan wearing their signature aqua and orange, but they might as well have been dressed like a matador’s target. Reports indicate that the Lions thoroughly dominated Wednesday’s session, with Stuard and the Detroit defense leading the charge and leaving Miami second-guessing itself ahead of Saturday’s preseason meeting.
Choose your favorite reporter and you’d still hear how much the Lions controlled Wednesday’s action. The Athletic’s Colton Pouncy noted that Detroit’s starting defense kept Miami’s starters scoreless for 7-to-8 snaps in a red zone series, with the Dolphins only crossing the goal line on the final rep — which Pride of Detroit’s Jeremy Reisman counted as “16 or 17 plays in.”
Reisman also pointed out that Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle sat out team drills, yet Detroit’s second-team defense delivered “the most dominant 7-on-7 series I’ve ever seen,” with Ian Kennelly and Nick Whiteside hauling in interceptions and Erick Hallett nearly snagging another from backup quarterback Zach Wilson.
Mike Payton of A to Z Sports piled on, suggesting either Miami is in serious trouble or Detroit is a juggernaut. The Athletic’s Nick Baumgardner echoed the sentiment, noting the Dolphins “did nothing offensively in the red zone, in team, nothing.”
This is the kind of outcome expected when one coach is thinking about survival and the other jumpstarts his morning with two “Black Eye” coffees. But it’s exactly the type of defensive energy Dan Campbell likely hoped for.
The Lions still face plenty of questions entering the season, but losing defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn doesn’t seem to be slowing them down. In fact, after finishing 2024 with five defensive starters on injured reserve, Wednesday’s showing could signal an even better unit this year.
Whether that will matter come Week 1 remains uncertain. Yet, with their first opponent battling its own injury issues, displays like Wednesday’s practice could bode well for Detroit’s upcoming campaign.
