ALLEN PARK — Matt Patricia made it clear that while it said Monday on the calendar it was a Wednesday for him.
The Lions coach has scheduled this week, leading up to Friday’s preseason game at Tampa Bay, as close as he can to a regular season week as far as practices and meetings.
“It feels more like a normal week, kind of get into a routine, it’s a little different you’re still in training camp but not in training camp. You’re looking at it as a regular season game as far as preparation,’’ safety Glover Quin said.
With a new coach, the day-to-day workings will change at the Lions practice facility.
“I think it’s very important to figure out a routine, this is as close as we can simulate Week 1 as we possibly can,’’ wide receiver Golden Tate said. “It’s imperative we figure out our routine, the game plan, how we’re going to study film because it’s something we’re not familiar with.’’
While the Lions are 0-2 in the preseason, there didn’t seem to be a sense of panic in the locker room prior to Monday’s practice.
“It kind of depends on how you look at it, obviously we go out to win every game we don’t put in all this work to lose, so yeah we would like to be 2-0, unfortunately we’re 0-2,’’ Quin said. “A lot of it has been self-inflicted things we know we can do better at and clean up to execute at a high level.’’
The offense has looked better than the defense so far. It’s hard to tell without the starters playing consistently.
The offensive line, which should be improved this season, has not looked all that strong. Left tackle Taylor Decker said as a line they will improve and get better.
“Me as an individual I’ll be just fine I’ll improve and get better. Going into this next week however much we play, we play, and I think it’ll be good for us to grow moving forward,’’ Decker said.
“I think moving forward I’ll be a lot better. I’m comfortable with saying that. Overall I’ll be OK.’’
The Lions starting offense hasn’t been together much on the field. Matthew Stafford played on Friday night in 17 percent of the offensive snaps.
“For me personally, there are some things we need to fix for sure but I’m confident with the personnel we have in here and the coaching staff we have in here that we’re going to get better and get better fast,’’ Tate said. “We have a very high standard, it’s not going to be lowered. We have to dig deep, fix what we need to fix and come out and play. The good news is that it’s a new week.’’
Defensive backs added
The Lions have signed three defensive backs and subtracted one in the last two days.
On Monday they signed free agent cornerback Dexter McDougle, cornerback Sterling Moore and offensive lineman Beau Nunn. They have placed linebacker Steve Longa (torn ACL) on reserve/injured, released vested veteran defensive lineman Cornelius Washington and waived cornerback Antwuan Davis.
On Sunday, they announced the signing of safety Marcus Cromartie.
Lions Lowdown 