Lions Lowdown

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.

ALLEN PARK >> Veteran Lions safety Glover Quin is working with his fourth head coach and fifth different defensive coordinator as he enters his tenth NFL season.

“It’s part of the game. You go out put in the work, buy in. It is what it is. I’ve told you guys this since I’ve been here I’m just a player, all I do is play I let the coaches coach, I let the managers manages, I let the presidents be presidents, I let the trainers train,’’ Quin said on Friday.

Quin, who missed most of the Lions’ offseason work for personal reasons, was back for the first day of Lions’ training camp on Friday under new head coach Matt Patricia.

“He’s a great football player and has an unbelievable skill set and a is very smart football player. So, it’s exciting to have him here with the team. I think he’s a guy very similar in that room — talking position-specific like Tavon Wilson or guys from that accord and the back end — (Quandre) Diggs, guys that have to do a lot of communication out on the field. It’s going to be great to have that out there so we’re excited to get going from that aspect,’’ Patricia said on Friday.

Five thoughts from Quin on the first day of camp:

1. The defense is adjusting to new coaches as well as a new system. “The biggest challenge is just coming together, communicating. I think the thing about defense is you’ve got to know what you’re doing so well that you don’t have to think about it and you can focus on what the offense is doing. I think some of the times people get caught up worrying about their job and you miss little small clues that the offense gives you as to what they’re doing,’’ Quin said. “We have to put the work in to know what we’re doing at such a high level to where we make a call and we don’t even have to think about it we already know exactly what we’ve got and we can spend all our time focusing on what the offense is trying to do, how they’re trying to attack us, who are they putting in, who they’re putting in different formations, different personnel to try to sneak a guy in and get him out in a route or something like that.’’

2. Patricia was most recently the defensive coordinator for the Patriots which obviously means that the defensive part of the game is his strength. “He’s very smart, very detailed about it. Very intense with it, hopefully we go out and show that on Sundays how his influence is on us defensively and his system, the things he teaches to us hopefully everybody will get to see that at a high level on Sundays,’’ Quin said.

3. “It’s kind of like the first day of school. You’ve been out for the summer. On the first day of school everybody is super excited to be back, super excited to see everybody, super excited to get back to work. That’s always the fun part, the exciting part,’’ Quin said. “But it’s about every day — are you going to have that same excitement come Week 5, come day 5, Day 6. When you get in the dog days of camp will you have that same excitement to come out here every day and get better?’’ That’s the big question.

4. The Lions’ practice facility has undergone a few changes for training camp with more tents and seating for fans, along with food trucks and activities. Just a few changes for camp that has evolved as being more and more fan friendly over recent years. “Honestly, I feel like training camp has been like this my whole career. When I first got drafted I was in Houston, we’d go to practice and there were a ton of people and a ton of tents. A good tough practice in the morning just like this. It was kind of the same. I came here the last few years it’s the same thing — tents and sponsors. For me training camp has been the same throughout my whole career. Fun as it could be and just work.’’

5. Quin doesn’t necessarily feel that Patricia’s eyes are on him because of the coach’s defensive background. “I always feel like eyes are on me, that’s the way I am. I feel like somebody’s always watching me,’’ Quin said.