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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.

Last update: August 6, 2007 - 10:54 PM

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.

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 PM1034-20
Sep 20 - at Detroit 12:00 PM2027-13
Sep 27 - vs. San Francisco 12:00 PM3027-24
Oct 5 - vs. Green Bay 7:30 PM4030-23
Oct 11 - at St. Louis 12:00 PM5038-10
Oct 18 - vs. Baltimore 12:00 PM6033-31
Oct 25 - at Pittsburgh 12:00 PM6117-27
Nov 1 - at Green Bay 3:15 PM7138-26
Open     
Nov 15 - vs. Detroit 12:00 PM8127-10
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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