Author: Paula Pasche

ALLEN PARK — Taylor Decker is expected to pull a full load on Sunday when the Lions face the Bears in Chicago.

Last Sunday the left tackle played his first game since he underwent shoulder surgery in June.

With Decker holding down left tackle, and right guard T.J. Lang expected to return after missing last Sunday’s game with a concussion, the offensive line will finally be healthy. It should look like it was envisioned by GM Bob Quinn when he signed Lang and right tackle Rick Wagner as free agents.

(Photo courtesy of Detroit Lions)

“As you go through a season, a lot of times you have injuries and you get less healthy along the way. To be able to look up and get more healthy, that’s a benefit. We have a bunch of good players on this offense and every week in this league guys are dealing with things, sometimes guys are up, guys are down,’’ offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter said. “When you have a full complement, whenever that is, that’s good for the team. That’s good for the offense and hopefully we’ll see improvement there.”

Five things to know about Decker:

1. In his first game back he only played 36 snaps in the win over the Browns. He and Brian Mihalik swapped out every other series. Decker had no problem with that plan since he hadn’t played a snap since last January. But it wasn’t easy to shuttle in and out when he’s used to playing every snap. Again, he was good with the plan because rust, indeed, is a real thing. Look for him to be more productive when he’s in for every snap.

2. Decker said those reps were needed. “It’s pretty invaluable to get those game reps, you’re not going to be comfortable until you get them. You can try to emulate, simulate that as much as possible in practice but it’s not the same, it’s not the same speed or intensity,’’ Decker said on Thursday.

3. After surgery and two months with his arm in a sling, it’s good to be back. “I feel like every single day I’m getting better right now, I’m getting more comfortable but I didn’t get a training camp, I didn’t get a preseason or anything like that. I’ve got to accelerate my learning curve to get comfortable. But at the end of the day we’re all football players here so you’re comfortable on the field,’’ Decker said.

4. He doesn’t buy into the concept that at least he’ll have fresh legs with seven games left. “You can be in really good shape, but when you’re actually out there playing football it’s different. You’ve just got to get used to playing football again,’’ Decker said. “You could be in really good shape and I guess have fresh legs but I don’t know if that’s necessarily a real thing.’’

5. There’s no ideal opponent to face in the first games back. “No matter when you return or when you come back from an injury you’re going to play against a good player,’’ Decker said. “Everybody in the NFL is a professional pass rusher so the Bears present a challenge because they have a good defensive front and they have a varying level of rushers — they’ve got guys are more twitchy, more speed, they’ve got guys who are more power and they change it up so they present a good challenge for us.’’

BONUS: The run game had a good day against the Browns in Decker’s first game back, but he won’t take credit for that. “Correlation does not equal causation,’’ Decker said.

ALLEN PARK — Safety Glover Quin has been at Darius Slay’s side for five years. Pushing the young Lions’ cornerback, teaching him, guiding him even off the field and, at times, laughing at him.

“Slay is always cracking us up. Always,’’ Quin said on Wednesday.

It’s been an ongoing growth process between the master and student.

“It’s been extremely helpful, and I think it’s kind of a two-way street. No. 1, it’s been great for (Slay) because Glover’s a great resource. He’s a guy that really does everything right. I’m not saying he’s perfect, but he’s disciplined, he’s dedicated, he’s smart, he’s tough. He works at it, and is a great family man and the whole bit,’’ coach Jim Caldwell said. “And Slay picked that up right away once he arrived here with him, once they got together I should say, and he’s gravitated toward him — goes down in the summertime and works out with him, stays at his house, and goes through his regimen with him.’’

(Photo courtesy of Detroit Lions)

Still Quin can pinpoint one moment from three years ago that has been crucial in Slay’s success. It was in Week 6 of 2014 in a game at the Minnesota Vikings.

“We were up on them 17-3 at the end of the game, the game was basically over, we had played a pretty dominant game. You know how teams are at the end of the game, they’re trying to score. I think Slay had a series of plays where he missed a tackle on a tight end in the flat, he got a penalty, a little illegal contact, there were only two minutes left in the game,’’ Quin said.

“I went to him and told him, ‘I need you to stay locked in. You went from having a great game to the last minute now you’ve got a missed tackle, you’ve got a penalty, we have to stay locked in until the clock  is over.’ Those are the situations where you make plays, you get an extra tackle, you get an extra pass breakup, you catch a pick like you did Sunday when they’re trying to score.’’

Indeed in the Lions’ 38-24 win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday at Ford Field, Slay intercepted DeShone Kizer with 1:23 left.

Game over.

“The thing about that happening in 2014, and you look at him Sunday in the same situation, down two touchdowns and they’re trying to move the ball down the field and he catches a pick to end the game. I think that’s growth you see that he’s made over these years, he’s become a great player,’’ Quin said.

Slay remembers that game in 2014 also.

“I flaked out. I was playing a lot and I didn’t give up a catch the whole game. At the end, there was a minute left, we’re up by 3, 2 touchdowns or so. First I got a penalty and then a dude caught a ball on me. (Quin) said, ‘Slay lock in.’ I think he wanted to cuss at me but he didn’t. After that I was like, ‘Oh man, we’re winning.’ It’s a different aspect from a guy playing that long he said anything can happen in that amount of time so I’m more locked in now I don’t play any more like that.

“I could’ve been chilling but I was not, I was locked in. Lesson learned, good lesson learned. I knew he was going to throw the ball and there was an opportunity for this pick so just add them up,’’ Slay said

It’s just one step in Slay’s growth into one of the NFL’s top cornerbacks.

It’s just taken him awhile to get recognition from around the league. It’s what he needs to get to the Pro Bowl.

“I mean I think so, my numbers say (I belong). I lead in pass breakups and picks as a corner. Somebody has got to tell me something different. I travel against the No. 1 guys, I follow them, I don’t hide from nobody. I think that’s what a No. 1 corner is supposed to do, some guys are good at doing their thing, I went against all the best ones so far and I held my own,’’ Slay said.

There is one matter between the two. After 10 games, Slay has four interceptions and Quin is one behind with three.

“There’s not a personal wager, but if I catch one Sunday and we’re four apiece I think we can make a little wager for the next six games and see what happens,’’ Quin said.

It would kind of be perfect if the two were both sent to the Pro Bowl.

Quin was selected in 2014, Slay is still waiting for his first trip.

“In my eyes yes, I’ve put up a lot of good film for the past 3 years to be in there. It’d be crazy if I don’t, definitely this year,’’ Slay said.

Caldwell doesn’t want to get into a Pro Bowl discussion, it’s not his style.

“Those things are things that I think all of our guys, they’re secondary to what their real purpose is. Their purpose is to win games. The more games you win, the better opportunity you’re going to have to get some sort of recognition,’’ Caldwell said. “But the most important thing is that we’re winning games. That’s what we set out to do. That’s what our goal is, and I think he’s been playing extremely well. I still think he’s got a lot of upside just because of his skill set and his ability. And I think all in all, recognition will come in due time.”

ALLEN PARK — Jim Caldwell was as low-key as low-key gets in his Monday press conference. His goal is to keep his demeanor on the same level each week so it’s tough to determine whether the Lions are coming off a win or a loss.

Mission accomplished.

Actually they are coming off a 38-24 win over the winless Cleveland Browns.

How did Corey Robinson play at right guard? “It was OK,’’ Caldwell said.

What about left tackle Taylor Decker in his first game back? “He was OK. He was alright,’’ Caldwell said.

That’s about how it went.

Here are five things to know.

1. Matthew Stafford has played his best two games of the season the past two weeks — the win last week at Green Bay and Sunday against the Browns. He got off to a bad start against the Cleveland defense but ended up throwing three touchdown passes. Perhaps one of his best moves was calling an audible for the 40-yard Golden Tate touchdown pass-play that sealed the win on Sunday. “It’s not like he hasn’t handled the blitz before. I know you guys look at those numbers and that kind of thing, but Matt’s always done a pretty nice job at handling that,’’ Caldwell said. The coach also wouldn’t jump on an answer about improvement with the deep passes. He’s hit deep ones before, a lot of deep ones around here before. I don’t see that, but I do see obviously his performance has been pretty steady which is good. And he keeps getting better,’’ Caldwell said.

2. The run game has been an issue in the first nine games but they found success early with 89 first-half rushing yards against the Browns rushing defense that was ranked fourth stingiest in the NFL.  “I mean it’s a really good unit, and I think our guys did a better job of executing, getting them a man-on-man, and giving our backs a crease to run in. So, I think the backs did a good job getting north and south or circling the defense. So, overall I think it was more execution than anything else.” Whatever they were doing Ameer Abdullah and Theo Riddick need to keep it up. Also Stafford had four runs for 17 yards.

3. While the fans were booing early with the Lions’ poor start, the players themselves were non-plussed. They knew they had plenty of time to get back in to the game after going down 10-0 within the first seven minutes. This is a resilient bunch. “I think we have a really good corps of veteran leaders. They help show the young guys the way. They believe, and they stay really focused particularly in tight games,’’ Caldwell said.

4. Darius Slay earned the second highest cornerback grade of the week from games played so far by Pro Football Focus. On 51 cover snaps he was targeted 11 times giving up six receptions but for just 42 yards and a passer rating against of 25.6, per PFF.  He leads the NFL in interceptions for a cornerback with four. “I just think he continues to get better every single week. I mean, he just works. He loves to work, he loves to practice, he loves the game. He’s got unbelievable competitiveness and that’s always on his mind, regardless of what he’s doing because its competition involved in it. So, I think with that kind of attitude—and he’s got physical tools. He just keeps getting better,’’ Caldwell said.

5. The win on Sunday boosted the Lions record to 5-4 and kept them in the playoff conversation. However the NFC North leading Vikings (7-2) also won. Not surprisingly Caldwell said he’s not thinking about a magic number to make the postseason. “I think I’ve told you guys that a thousand times probably but it’s a fact. It’s one game. If that game just so happens to be the trigger game somewhere down the line, then it’s one game. So, that’s all we focus in on,’’ Caldwell said.