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Rookie WR Johnson has grasp of new job
ALLEN PARK, MICH. - About one-third of the way through watching the Detroit Lions' Monday morning practice, it hit me: Those Nike eye consultants won't be getting one red cent out of Lions rookie receiver Calvin Johnson.
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Share on DiggALLEN PARK, MICH. - About one-third of the way through watching the Detroit Lions' Monday morning practice, it hit me: Those Nike eye consultants won't be getting one red cent out of Lions rookie receiver Calvin Johnson.
Not only did the 6-5, 239-pound Super-Duper Freak not drop a pass in just his third NFL practice, he didn't even bobble one.
A huge receiver with big mitts, he was striding past cornerbacks as if they were children. But the most impressive thing about the No. 2 overall draft pick on Monday was how he located the deep ball, adjusted and pulled it in with young-Moss-like consistency. (And, by the way, nobody calls more deep passes in practice than Lions offensive coordinator Mike Martz.)
During a deep one-on-one drill against defensive back Daniel Bullocks, Johnson gained a step down the right sideline, leaned way back, looking nearly straight up over his left shoulder, and caught a 40-yard touchdown as he slid to keep his feet in the back corner of the end zone. Later, running down the left sideline during 11-on-11, he got almost two steps behind cornerback Keith Smith, looked high over his right shoulder and snared a pass that traveled about 55 yards in the air.
"Calvin has great hands, Roy [Williams] has great hands, Mike [Furrey] has great hands. They all have great hands," Martz said. "That ball should never hit the ground. That's what we expect, to never drop a pass. That's a realistic expectation with these receivers."
Detroit rookie wide receiver
Calvin Johnson
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| Date/Opponent | Time | W | L | Score |
| Sep 13 - at Cleveland | 12:00 PM | 1 | 0 | 34-20 |
| Sep 20 - at Detroit | 12:00 PM | 2 | 0 | 27-13 |
| Sep 27 - vs. San Francisco | 12:00 PM | 3 | 0 | 27-24 |
| Oct 5 - vs. Green Bay | 7:30 PM | 4 | 0 | 30-23 |
| Oct 11 - at St. Louis | 12:00 PM | 5 | 0 | 38-10 |
| Oct 18 - vs. Baltimore | 12:00 PM | 6 | 0 | 33-31 |
| Oct 25 - at Pittsburgh | 12:00 PM | 6 | 1 | 17-27 |
| Nov 1 - at Green Bay | 3:15 PM | 7 | 1 | 38-26 |
| Open | ||||
| Nov 15 - vs. Detroit | 12:00 PM | 8 | 1 | 27-10 |
| Nov 22 - vs. Seattle | 12:00 PM | |||
| Nov 29 - vs. Chicago | 3:15 PM | |||
| Dec 6 - at Arizona | 3:15 PM | |||
| Dec 13 - vs. Cincinnati | 12:00 PM | |||
| Dec 20 - at Carolina | 7:20 PM | |||
| Dec 28 - at Chicago | 7:30 PM | |||
| Jan 3 - vs. NY Giants | 12:00 PM |
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