Lions Lowdown

ALLEN PARK — Matt Cassel is getting to know his new Detroit Lions teammates and coaches. It’s been intensified this week through the first two days of mandatory minicamp.

The 36-year-old quarterback, who was signed as a free agent, knows one key person in the organization.

Cassel spent his first five seasons (2005-2009) with the New England Patriots where he got to know Lions head coach Matt Patricia.

“We had a great relationship, he actually ran the scout team when I first got there, we had a lot of time together, we had a lot of fun,,’’ Cassel said on Wednesday. “It’s been a great relationship and that’s one of the main reasons I’m here.’’

Five more things to know about Cassel and the Lions:

1. Patricia remembers him well from their Patriots days. “Matt Cassel, obviously someone that I have a lot of history with, extremely professional guy. Guy’s been in a couple different systems now, very smart. A guy, if I remember this correctly, was actually a captain in college even though the positions and quarterbacks that he had to play behind, so I think that tells you a little what his personality is,’’ Patricia said on Wednesday. “The way, what a teammate he is. His approach, his study, and the respect that he gets from not only the players but the coaches too. So, he’s been great.

2. Last season the Lions only kept two quarterbacks — Matthew Stafford and Jake Rudock — on the 56-man roster. Patricia would not say if carrying three quarterbacks is an option this year. It’s too early to know.  Cassel and Rudock will likely battle in training camp for the No. 2 spot.

3. Cassel and Stafford are working on developing a good working relationship. “I think it’s going well, you probably have to ask him he might have a different opinion. We spend a lot of time together, he’s been great, he’s been tremendous, he’s a guy who wants to help out in any manner he can,’’ Cassel said. “That’s really helpful for for a guy coming into a system that I’ve never been a part of before with a lot of elaborate stuff going on.’’

4. Cassel is entering his 14th NFL season which is pretty good for a seventh-round pick. “I feel like you can never become complacent. I’ve always taken that mentality where I was drafted late and had to grind for everything I’ve had,’’ Cassel said. “That’s stuck with me throughout my career and the hard work and determination that continue to push through. At times it’s been tough.’’

5. Patricia still remembers Cassel as a rookie. “You know what? I think the thing about Matt (Cassel) as a young player that people underestimated, and we did defensively definitely, is he’s very athletic. You know, he was much faster than what you thought at the time as a young guy,’’ Patricia said. “Extremely strong arm, you know like everything’s like a fastball. It’s coming out like a baseball pitch, but was very smart, very energetic, great personality. Just a guy that can walk in a room and make everyone smile, go at ease. Great teammate from that standpoint. And as a young guy, he was great at the time for the situation we had back in New England. But really the biggest thing that stands out is his athleticism and his speed. You know, it was pretty impressive back then.”

ALLEN PARK — Glover Quin returned to the field on Tuesday for the first day of the Detroit Lions’ three-day mandatory minicamp.

The Pro Bowl safety has missed the offseason workouts since they started in April, choosing to be home in Houston with his family including his wife Gladys and his three sons.

It’s all a bit of a mystery. Quin talked after Tuesday’s practice but spoke more in generalities.

When asked if he was considering retirement, he paused for several seconds before saying, “No.”

“I think every player once you get to a certain age and look in the mirror and ask yourself can you continue to play at that high of a level? But thinking about retiring was not on my mind, it was just trying to figure out how much I had left,’’ the 32-year-old Quin said.

Since he returned that mean he thinks he’s good to go.

He did say clearly one reason he had stayed away was the chance to spend more time with his family.

The pay is great in the NFL but work-life balance can be tough to achieve.

“Only thing I was contemplating was how do I spend more time with my family. That was really it. How do I spend more time with them? It’s a difficult situation, it was the main thing.,’’ Quin said. “Disconnect and give them everything I’ve got, let’s try to figure out how I can spend more time with them.’’

Five things to know about Quin:

1. Quin, who has played in 132 consecutive games, signed an extension in 2017 that ties him up with the Lions through the 2019 season. He’ll make $3.85 million this season, giving up a $250,000 workout bonus. This will be his sixth season in Detroit. He started his career with the Texans as a fourth-round pick out of New Mexico in 2009. He signed with the Lions as a free agent in 2013.

2. Even though he’s missed time while coach Matt Patricia and defensive coordinator Paul Pasqualoni are installing a new defense, no one seems too worried about Quin’s ability to learn the system. “Everybody’s trying to do the best they can to try and understand what’s going on. And certainly Glover, you know, he’ll come in and work extremely hard. Obviously, a guy that’s a great professional and a guy that’s been in contact with us the whole time,’’ Patricia said before Tuesday’s practice.

3. Quin said playing defense is playing defense. “I’ve been around long enough, I’ve learned new defenses four times in my career. I’ve had four head coaches. So I understand what it’s like, I understand the business, I understand changing in cultures,, I wasn’t really stressing myself about what it was like, what was going on,’’ said Quin who noted he didn’t really bother his teammates who were present for the offseason workouts. He said he didn’t want to be a distraction.

4. While he is in town, it’s all football. “I’m trying to soak up as much of the play book as I can. Football is football to me, I think every day, because one of the things I think He blessed me with, was a great football mind. Being able to learn and understand defenses has been fairly easy for me so I came in (Monday), got a lot thrown at me and same with practice today,’’ Quin said on Tuesday.

5. Quin said it was good to get back into the swing of things and see his teammates again. “It’s cool, being away you go through a phase where you miss the game a little bit,’’ Quin said. “That was the first time in my career that I’ve had to experience that. I’ve always been a part of offseason programs, I’ve never missed games. …  It was more for me to take a step back and kind of separate myself and give myself fully to my wife and kids and enjoy that time, but understand I still had a job to do so I had to make time for that as well. So that was good.’’ He would not say if he’ll return next week for scheduled OTAs.

ALLEN PARK >> Paul Pasqualoni set off on a career of teaching.

He started at the bottom, teaching physical education to kindergarteners through sixth-graders.

“I was like a K-6 teacher, had no intentions to ever coach in college or pro football. It’s just I wanted to be a high school coach back in my hometown, Chester, Conn. When I got the freshman job there, I felt like I had the greatest job I could ever have. I mean, this is like, ‘Wow, I’ve got the best job there is. How lucky,’’’ Pasqualoni said on Tuesday.

Since those days his football coaching career has taken him to several states and stops.

A few months ago he landed in Detroit as the Lions’ defensive coordinator under new coach Matt Patricia who worked for him when he was head coach at Syracuse.

Pasqualoni may be a long way from K-6, but in his heart he’s still a teacher.

Five things to know about the affable Pasqualoni:

1. So far all is good in his new position.  “First of all, it’s great to be here. This is a great organization. The Ford family is first class. This is a first class, really. The NFL’s first class, this is really first class. It’s great to be here,’’ Pasqualoni said. “Lot of fun to have the opportunity to work with the guys on the staff we have. We have outstanding coaches on this staff. Obviously, it’s fun to be around the energy that Coach Patricia brings, and it’s fun to be around the energy that the players here bring. There’s a lot of good players here. They’re great to work with. It’s been my pleasure to be here.”

2. His defensive philosophy appears standard. “To be smart, to be tough, that means to be able to perform at a very dependable, high level on a consistent basis. Like you’ve heard a hundred times, stop the run, try to make the quarterback uncomfortable. You’re not going to sack the guy, but there has to be in a variety of ways, discomfort created for the guy playing the quarterback position,’’ Pasqualoni said. “Whether it’s disguise, or pressure, whatever it might be. You just can’t let quarterbacks at this level operate and be comfortable, because in the end they’ll get you. In a nutshell, that’s kind of it.”

3. Patricia has said repeatedly since his arrival that the defense won’t feature just a 4-3 or 3-4 front. “We’ll have some four-man fronts, and we’ll have some three-man fronts and we’ll have a variety of stuff. It’s been very enjoyable because the players have been really terrific, and are working hard in the classroom, in the meeting room and out on the field,’’ Pasqualoni said. “And the coaching staff, the guys I have an opportunity to work with: Al Golden, and Brian Stewart, Bo Davis, the support staff here, they’re just outstanding coaches. So, it’s been very, very, very good.”

4. He loves this time of year because he draws on his teaching background. “You know, I’ve always thought this about this time of year—whether I was a high school coach in Connecticut. We had spring practice, believe it or not, in the state of Connecticut. A lot of people won’t believe that, but we had spring practice. As a college coach, of course you always had spring practice. And then you go on to the NFL, and there’s the offseason program and there’s OTAs. Here’s what I always felt about the offseason, I always felt it was a great time for players and it was a great time for coaches, because coaches could teach,’’ Pasqualoni said. “And you didn’t have to worry about a game plan, an adjustment, and, ‘What are we going to do with this guy and what are we going to do with that guy?’ And for the players, it gave them a chance to just focus on getting better and that’s the goal. We have one goal every day, and that’s to improve. So, they have a chance to work on the tools that they need to perfect, to put in their toolbox, to be able to play the game. As a coach, as I said, you’re just coaching and teaching. We got into this business to be teachers and coaching is teaching. So, it’s a very, very good time of year for players to improve and to worry about technique. We’re not so much worried about scheme. I think the scheme, in the end, will take care of itself. I think the issue right now is improving fundamentally and learning how to play technique.”

5. He’s not intimidated by calling the defense on game day referring to his last two seasons as the defensive line coach at Boston College. “I think that if they (the NFL offenses have) changed, they’ve gone a little bit more to the college spread set, zone-read set. So, the past two years in the ACC, I promise you I’ve seen that a little bit, up front and very, very close and personal,’’ Pasqualoni said. “So, if anything, I think it’s probably helped me a little bit, it really has. And there’s been some good quarterbacks in that league, too, a couple good ones. It’s helped.”