Author: Paula Pasche

ALLEN PARK >> First piece of business at Detroit Lions training camp on Sunday morning, was looking to see if Marvin Jones was on the field. Indeed he was.

Jones got tangled with a teammate in Saturday’s session and went to the ground. He walked it off, but sat out the second half of that practice.

Prior to practice, coach Matt Patricia said Jones was fine but would not elaborate or even say if he would be working.

“This was the first day of pads, obviously I was going to be out there,’’ Jones said.

It wasn’t scary when he went down — at least in his mind. Lions fans were holding their collective breath.

Five thoughts from Jones after the first three days of training camp:

1. A key theme under Matt Patricia is to play physical. Jones said that’s the way they played last year too. “Every team wants to and has to be physical in order to dominate so all we can do is keep working on that and this was the first day (in pads),’’ Jones said.

2. Jones and Golden Tate have put up consistent numbers the past three seasons. Last season they each surpassed 1,000 receiving yards. So far they’ve looked strong in camp. “Any player in the League they want to be consistent and kind of stay on top for the length of their careers. That’s what everybody strives for is to be consistent,’’ Jones said. “We have a good time doing it. We’re out here working. Last year didn’t really matter but we want to keep it consistent and keep making plays.’’

3. Jones and Tate are 1A and 1B on the depth chart and it doesn’t appear like that will change under Patricia. They cheer each other on. “I just get excited to watch (Tate) play that’s how we all are,’’ Jones said. In 2017 Jones had 61 catches for 1,101 yards and nine touchdowns while Tate had 92 catches for 1,003 yards and five touchdowns.

4. Since the run game stunk last season, a real emphasis has been placed on it in training camp. That’s all good with Jones. “It starts up front, you want to run and that’s going to to open up everything and vice versa. We’re out here just working and being a better team,’’ Jones said.

5. Jones, who is entering his seventh NFL season, takes his role as a mentor seriously. Second-year wide receiver Kenny Golladay has said how much he depends on Jones when he has questions. It’s not just young wide receivers that Jones can help. “Anything I can do even with the defensive backs, we all coach each other up. I spend time coaching the young DBs and the your wide receivers as well because we’re all a team,’’ Jones said. “As soon as you get those guys going and getting acclimated to the NFL the better. …  As much knowledge as I can instill in everybody than I’ll do that. Maybe people have got something to say to me I always listen, that’s part of being a great player is sharing knowledge and gaining knowledge.’’

ALLEN PARK >> It’s a big step for NFL wide receivers when they take the step from their rookie year to year 2.

Lions wide receiver Kenny Golladay, who had 28 receptions for 477 yards and three touchdowns in 11 games as a rookie, is in that position now.

“The coaches have high expectations, I have high expectations. I just want to open these coaches’ eyes,’’ Golladay said on Saturday. “I want to let them know I’m here to work hard each and every day. I want to make plays for this team.

A third-round pick in 2017, he played well enough last year to have earned confidence from Matthew Stafford and offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter.

He can take a big leap this year to join top receivers Golden Tate and Marvin Jones who each had 1,000 receiving yards last season.

It’s been done before.

In 1992, Lions wide receiver Herman Moore took a gigantic leap in his second year. The 1991 first-round pick was a disappointment as a rookie with just 11 catches for 135 yards and no touchdowns. He came back the second year with 51 receptions for 966 yards and four touchdowns. He just kept improving and still stands as the Lions’ second-best receiver of all-time.

Not to compare the 6-foot-4 receivers too much, but certainly it shows there is a chance for Golladay to dominate.

Five thoughts from Golladay after the second day of training camp on Saturday:

1. He’s playing at about the same weight as a year ago but says he is stronger. “As of right now how I’m different from last year is I want to come out here every day and make plays, of course I wanted to do that last year,’’ Golladay said. “Right now I have to dominate every day and that’s something I’m looking forward to.’’

2. While he won’t share his personal goals for this season, but talks about the big picture. “As far as training camp, I’m trying to come out here each and every day and get better. That’s about it,’’ Golladay said. “Just work on the little things — routes, catching the ball, running after the catch, tucking the ball away. That’s about it.’’

3. While he’s taller than his teammate Marvin Jones, he certainly can learn from the veteran receiver. “When we’re in the meeting room I ask questions here and there, I sit right in front of  (Jones) and I can lean back easily and ask him anything. I watch him as well,’’ Golladay said. “It’s great to have someone on the team — of course I’m taller than him — but he plays as if he’s my height with his jumping ability. He’s still lanky.”

4. He’s made a few nice catches in the first few days and said he feels good. “Tomorrow we get the pads on. A lot of people are excited right now and everyone should be. It’s fun to get back out there and start football back up,’’ Golladay said.

5. While he was just getting acclimated to the NFL as a rookie, this year he can focus solely on football. “I’m a year older, I’m more familiar with the offense each and every day, I’m trying to learn every position on the field as far as the receiver standpoint goes,’’ Golladay said.

ALLEN PARK >> For the first two days of camp, the Lions have started practice with goal-line drills. Typically stretching comes first, but that has taken a back seat to the drills to start the day’s practice.

“Goal line is one of those really tricky things in the NFL to practice right now because it’s such a critical play. Obviously, the ball could be one yard line, or two inch line, but it doesn’t really matter,’’ coach Matt Patricia said on Saturday.

Patricia has made it clear he won’t talk about last season. But if he did he might note how the Lions had so much trouble running the ball for short yardage including on the goal line.

“It doesn’t come up that often in the game anymore. You are lucky if you get 12 reps on the season. I think maybe the high in the last 14 years we might have had 18-19 and even a little further back on that a lot of teams ran bigger goal line type personal, but it’s something that you can’t wait too late to get into,’’ the new coach explained.

It gets the offense and defense in the right mindset, sets a tone for the rest of the two-and-a-half hour practice.

“It’s very important when we’re down there we have to put up points effectively and efficiently and defense have their backs against the wall they have to stop it,’’ wide receiver Kenny Golladay said. “Just that competition right there that’s going to make us pretty good.’’

In Saturday’s goal-line drills running back Dwayne Washington ran in for three touchdowns while linebacker Jarrad Davis made a one-handed interception on a ball intended for Levine Toilolo.

“ I always feel it’s just good to get into the goal line situations offensively and defensively because there is a lot of situational stuff that comes up there and formation identification and different possibilities, and in such a critical situation of the game you have to perform at a high level. We really need to build that sort of awareness and intelligence here through the course of the next four weeks,’’ Patricia said.

The coach said he’ll add more plays as the camp progresses to make the guys feel comfortable.

“What happens as the ball gets closer towards the goal line from a defensive perspective the anxiety goes up, just the nervousness and obviously wanting to compete to not let them score,’’ Patricia said. “From an offensive standpoint your adrenaline goes up and you’re trying to look for matches, and mismatches, and try to find some advantages in the defense. But everything happens so fast down there, because of the shorter space, that in that situation, you know, you have to execute at a high level. So, it just, you want to start at day one and it’s a good opportunity to do it without pads.’’

Sunday will provide more insight into the goal-line plays because it’s the first day the Lions will be in pads.