Lions Lowdown

ALLEN PARK — Jamal Agnew says defense is his bread and butter.

Yet, the Lions rookie cornerback has had opportunities on offense the past two games. He is  loving it.

“I’m in the defensive meetings and the receivers coach (Robert) Prince pulls me out and says, ‘Agnew, we need you for a second. You’ll be playing offense a little bit.’ I said. ‘I’ll take it in stride.’ I love it as long as we’re winning. I’ll do whatever it takes to win.”

One reason Agnew was drafted in the fifth round was his blazing speed. He ran a 4.34 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine. He has played just one snap on defense in the first eight games, but he has scored a pair of touchdowns as a punt returner. For a rookie he definitely has contributed.

(Photo courtesy of Detroit Lions)

“Obviously, he’s good in space, and he’s got speed. Whether it will continue, every game is a little bit different. So, served us well a couple times there. It doesn’t mean we’ll go back to it again, but it’s always that possibility,’’ coach Jim Caldwell said.

Agnew made his offensive debut in the loss to the Steelers on Oct. 29. On a first-and-10 at the 50, he caught a 12-yard pass. That was his only offensive snap of the game.

In the win at Green Bay on Monday night, he gained four yards on a first-and-10 at the Packers’ 45.

“I really only have a couple things they put in, they didn’t want to overwhelm me. I basically know what I’m doing every time,’’ Agnew said on Thursday. “They basically keep it simple so I’m not out there running like a chicken with my head cut off. Like last game I was used as a decoy a couple times, I’m all for that as long as it helps us win.’’

He didn’t play offense at all while at San Diego State where he was a defensive back.

He did play on the other side of the ball at San Diego Point Loma High School where they ran an unconventional “fly” offense. He was used as a running back, receiver and fullback.

“I weighed 160 soaking wet,’’ Agnew said when quizzed about being a fullback.

These days he’s 5-foot-9 and 185 pounds.

Conventional wisdom says cornerbacks don’t have good receiving skills but Agnew disagrees.

“I have hands, I can catch the ball. You hear that stereotype a lot. I know a lot of cornerbacks that have great hands. We have a lot of corners on this team that have great hands but I think I have pretty good hands,’’ Agnew said.

Caldwell does not expect Agnew to make a full move to offense. “I don’t foresee that transition. He is what he is. I think he’s a very, very good nickel, but he also does obviously some things for us in the return game as well,’’ Caldwell said.

Agnew said it’s a little odd at practice being the only guy with a different colored jersey in the offense huddle but he’s been welcomed with open arms.

“I love having the rock in my hands but I played defense most of my life so that’s my bread and butter right there,’’ Agnew said. “I was born and raised in the DB room so I can’t leave.’’

He gets a little good-natured grief from his fellow defensive backs.

“They all give me stuff, especially (Darius) Slay. Slay is a little jealous, he’s been wanting to play offense for a while,’’ Agnew said. “So everytime he sees me in there he says, ‘Hey 39 is getting the ball, somebody hit him.’’’

ALLEN PARK — Marv Jones, Renaissance Man.

The Detroit Lions wide receiver, who makes jaw-dropping catches, will be on the ESPN pre-game show, “Countdown,” on Sunday morning.

Will they show one of his touchdowns from Monday night’s win at Green Bay? Possibly.

For certain they will feature a segment on his tryout for “American Idol” which was sponsored by the sports network.

(Photo courtesy of Detroit Lions)

Jones, who has a recording studio in his house, won’t say much about the “American Idol” singing stint. Here’s a hint: He’s an R&B guy.

He writes songs and has been singing since he was 4-years-old.

Still, he’s not ready to quit his Sunday job.

Through eight games, Jones is tied for the most deep receptions with eight (20-plus yards downfield), second in deep yards (257), and second in touchdowns with three. Matthew Stafford has a passer rating of 130.0 when targeting him deep, according to Brett Whitfield from Pro Football Focus.

In the win over the Packers, Jones had seven catches for 107 yards including a 25-yard touchdown catch and another for 11 yards. Both catches were thrown into tight coverage but Jones came down with the ball and made it look easy.

“Marv is like butter, he’s like slippery. You think he’s covered and next thing you know the ball is about to land and he goes from cover, cover, cover to wide open and he makes a heck of a catch,’’ wide receiver Golden Tate said. “So love what he’s bringing to the table.’’

Tate makes some dandy catches himself and had seven receptions at Green Bay for 113 yards.

While the run games sputters, Stafford and the passing game seem to have found their rhythm.

“I know the trust Marvin and Stafford have between each other is at an all-time high right now,’’ Tate said. “When Stafford sees one-on-one or sees a good look I think he gets excited. I think they both get excited. I think the percentage we’re completing right now is very high. That’s what we need for whoever the ball is thrown to.’’

Jones will not say the offense has turned a corner.

“I’m not going to say we’ve arrived because we haven’t and we can never think like that because we always have stuff to prove,’’ Jones said.

He also wouldn’t say this is the best he’s played while midway through his second season in Detroit.

“You just have to keep working, it starts on the practice field with all of us. We all put in the work and we feel we’ve been practicing very, very well particularly this whole year even as of late we’ve been practicing great, and we just have to keep it up,’’ Jones said. “When you practice great you have to cash in, that’s pretty much all I do and we do …’’

Jones is a bit of a humble guy which is rare for an NFL wide receiver.

He said he can’t name the best catch he’s made while playing for the Lions.

However, coach Jim Caldwell can.

“I got a catch for you. Washington last year, big one down the middle, Josh Norman laid out for it. That’s probably the one,’’ Caldwell said.

In fact, Norman was knocked out of the game with a concussion after landing hard on his left shoulder after giving up that 52-yard pass to Jones in the third quarter.

“(Jone is) getting better all the time,’’ Caldwell said mentioning the “spectacular” touchdown catch on Monday.

Those chunk plays of 20 yards or more are key to a successful offense.

“One of the things that if you take a look at scoring in particular in this league, that it’s hard to score touchdowns without a 20-yard plus play during the course of a drive. So, you’re always looking for those because they change the field position but then they also get you in position to score,’’ Caldwell said. “But typically, you don’t see very often do you see just marches down the field that are incrementally done with five-, and six-, and seven- to eight-yard catches. There’s usually a big one in there somewhere. So, that’s always good for you.”