Training camp is officially over and so are the detailed practice reports for two reasons. No. 1, we reporters are only allowed to watch the individual portion of practice now. No. 2, even if we could stay for the whole thing, teams start to get into gameplanning now and everything proprietary is off limits. The blog's not going away, however, as I'll continue to update it (nearly) every day during the season.

Lions coach Rod Marinelli said Tuesday he was pleased with the progression of the run game from the first to second exhibition game. After rushing for 84 yards on 35 carries in the opener against the Giants, the Lions finished with 112 yards on 31 attempts against Cincinnati.

"It's not what I want, but it was better," Marinelli said. "They're getting more comfortable. I think the more you do the same thing over and over and over, the better it's going to get. And you can kind of see it. With the run game you just got to keep pounding it and keep pushing it."

Of less significance to Marinelli was the Lions' 2-0 record.

"It's more meaningful to me that the pad level's down, the hustle, effort, we're getting the correct run fits on defense, I think we're punting the ball very well." Marinelli said. "That's what's meaningful to me."

A few other daily notes of interest:

• "Chain Gang" was back playing at the start of practice today. Players might be a little tired of the Sam Cooke song by now, but Marinelli continues to get his point across. As well as the Lions played against the Bengals, it's all for naught if they don't get back to work.

• On the injury front, Ron Bellamy (concussion), Devale Ellis (hamstring) and Dan Campbell (hamstring) sat out Tuesday's practice. The Lions were so down on healthy receivers they decided to cut Taye Biddle, who missed most of the last week with an abdominal injury, and re-sign Grand Valley State's Eric Fowler, who was released to make room for Biddle originally. They also put fullback Jon Bradley on injured reserve with a shoulder sprain that wouldn't heal and signed tight end Clark Harris.

• Marinelli said Aveion Cason is the No. 1 punt returner right now. That doesn't bode well for Ellis, who's fighting for a job as the No. 5 receiver. In Ellis' defense, it isn't fair to judge him on one return, effectively his haul in the first two games. (He went back to catch the first punt against the Giants, but it went out of bounds. Against Cincinnati, he tried to make something happen on a punt in traffic and was hauled down after a 2-yard gain. He did make the first gunner miss in Cincy.) Doctors held Ellis out Tuesday, and he said he'll be back on the field Wednesday. Ellis did well as a punt returner two seasons ago.

• Defensive end Ikaika Alama-Francis also practiced with his lower left leg wrapped Tuesday. He suffered a twisted knee against the Bengals.

• George Foster continues to work at No. 1 right tackle, though rookie Gosder Cherilus took a few reps next to first-team right guard Stephen Peterman during a run drill. One veteran offensive player on the team said he's been impressed with Cherilus so far in camp.