Final thoughts and musings from Day 3 of Lions minicamp:

n Keith Smith had the interception of the day, outwrestling Calvin Johnson for a slightly underthrown ball deep down the right sideline during Thursday's first 11-on-11 drill. Smith won't start over Brian Kelly, but for my money he's still the best cover man on the team. Maybe some of Kelly's tackling ability will wear off.

n Rookie running back Kevin Smith — no relation to Keith — made a good first (or is second?) impression. As advertised, Smith makes his cuts at full speed. "He's very decisive," Lions coach Rod Marinelli said. "He doesn't dance a lot." If he stays healthy — with that upright running style, he'll take a lot of shots — I think he'll get 1,000 yards and the bulk of the carries this year.

n He wasn't lights out, but Drew Stanton had his best practice of minicamp. Like I said, I'm reserving judgment on the Lions' backup quarterback situation until midway through training camp. Stanton needs repetitions to get comfortable with his new throwing motion and with an NFL offense. Mike Martz changed everything Stanton did last year, and throwing on the sideline is nothing like taking live practice reps. Don't write him off yet.

n Lions executive vice president Tom Lewand said the NFL owners' decision to opt out of their labor agreement with the players' union will not affect how the team negotiates with its rookies. "It's an environment that we've operated under before," Lewand said. One salary-cap item of note, the current agreement allows signing bonuses to be prorated over a maximum of five years (last year the maximum was six). That means if first-round pick Gosder Cherilus signs a six-year deal with $10 million up front, $2 million of the guaranteed money will count against the cap this year. Last year, that number would have been $1.67 million.