--LB Jordon Dizon, the Lions' second-round pick, missed the first three practices of training camp before signing a four-year deal. After he reported, he addressed his offseason issues. Dizon was arrested in Colorado six days before the draft on suspicion of drunk driving, driving the wrong way on a one-way street and failure to provide insurance. He said he was as sorry as he could be. The arrest didn't show up on a background check two days before the draft, and the Lions didn't know about it until the news broke June 23. Then Dizon called coach Rod Marinelli at home. "Before I got to know him, it would have been the toughest thing in the world," Dizon said. "But after I got to know him, it was probably the first thing I should have done. ... I see him as not only a coach but a father for this team. He understands. I know there's consequences. I know I should have called him first off the bat, and I'll learn from it. I really will."

--The Lions had a little scare when LB Ernie Sims looked like he suffered a right knee injury. He was in pass coverage when he leapt for a ball down the left sideline and came down wrong. The medical staff rushed to his aid and checked the stability of the knee. But it wasn't long before Sims ran back on the field to test it. "It scared me a little bit, but thank God, it's just feeling a little sore," Sims said. "Other than that -- I mean, you saw me. I ran back out there and started cutting. So it feels fine."

--DE Dewayne White and LT Jeff Backus got into a fight on the fourth day of camp. Backus held White, and White threw him down. Shortly afterward, White popped Backus under the chin on the rush, and Backus took him down and punched him repeatedly. Coach Rod Marinelli was not pleased, calling it a "lack of self-control" and "losing football."

--Dan Orlovsky has the edge over Drew Stanton in the Lions' backup quarterback competition. But it's early, and both have a long way to go. The battle has been inconsistent so far. "Well, it probably is a little bit," offensive coordinator Jim Colletto said. "I mean, I think Dan's ahead. There's a lot of stuff that they're doing, but it's all stuff we did in (the offseason). We've given them a lot of pass stuff to do." Colletto said he isn't disappointed, pointing out the Lions have had only five practices.

--The Lions signed LB Teddy Lehman, who left for Tampa Bay as a free agent in March but was cut by the Buccaneers. Defensive coordinator Joe Barry said Lehman would play in the middle and on the strong side. Coach Rod Marinelli, who has brought in several players from the Bucs, his former team, joked: "Your headline for tomorrow: Old Marinelli brings another Tampa guy."

--WR Calvin Johnson's back looks fine. He made a catch one morning similar to the one that hurt him last year at Philadelphia, leaping for a long ball down the left sideline, catching it in the air and falling on his back. This time, Johnson hopped right up. But the concern is that if he keeps doing that he might get hurt again. "He won't quit on a play," coach Rod Marinelli said. "That's a good thing. ... I'm very conscious talking to him all the time. You've got to just be smart."

--Jonathan Scott has been playing both offensive tackle positions. Even Gosder Cherilus has been playing both. The Lions drafted Cherilus in the first round this year with the hope of making him their right tackle, and he is expected to overtake George Foster eventually. But right now, the Lions need to develop versatility on the line. They dress only seven offensive linemen per game, and the two backups must be able to step in where needed. "We're trying to find the guy that can play guard and center," offensive coordinator Jim Colletto said. "We've got to make sure that happens. We've got to have a guy to play guard or tackle or tackle both sides, because those two guys, they become really critical when you only have seven."

--Under the new NFL rules, if you win the coin toss, you can defer to the second half. Rod Marinelli, an old defensive line coach, might prefer to start on defense. "I kind of favor that," Marinelli said, laughing. "I just really like the rule, because it does add some strategy to the game, especially on away games and things like that with bad weather, some of those things. I think it's neat."

--The Lions open the exhibition season Aug. 7 against the New York Giants. Offensive coordinator Jim Colletto could not care less about the outcome of exhibitions. "Preseason doesn't mean diddly," Colletto said. "We're going to come out in one of these games and run a two-minute offense in the middle of the second quarter -- for no other reason other than to do what? Practice against somebody else. You've got to use the preseason games to get better at some of the things you're doing. You've got to find out what you can and can't do."

--WR Roy Williams has been sharp, and he has continued his camp tradition of occasionally pulling a kid wearing his No. 11 jersey out of the stands to make him his personal water boy.

--The first day of camp, C Dominic Raiola ran out of stretching and took out a tackling dummy. On Day 4, his target was a plastic trash can. He flattened the thing. Literally. The equipment guys had to get it back into shape so they could put it upside down on the grass and use it as an obstacle for a drill. "I beat the trash can up," Raiola said, laughing,

QUOTE TO NOTE: "I hope no ear pads or nothing come up missing." -- Rookie RB Kevin Smith, smiling as he carried helmets for veteran RBs Tatum Bell and Aveion Cason after practice.

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