Calvin Johnson Should Be Ready For Jags Game
By Tom Millikan & Mike Feld
The Lions' Calvin Johnson didn't practice on Wednesday, but joining the Stoney & Bill show Thursday on 97.1 The Ticket, he said he's just trying to be healthy for Sunday.
He also talked about last Sunday's win over Seattle and how he contributed.
"It's a great feeling, especially when we want to get back to .500 before the halfway point coming up this week," Johnson said. "Just my presence being out there, it definitely helps out. One, open it up because teams are focused on me a little bit. It gives other guys one-on-one opportunities. As you saw last week, Titus (Young) was able to capitalize on those and Pettigrew made some plays in there, some crucial third downs."
Johnson doesn't think Young's big game will go to his head.
"He'll bring it back down. I know Titus. He'll be all right. It was great for him to have that big game and get his confidence going. Hopefully that sustains the rest of the season."
Johnson was asked if his off-field spat with Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman carried on to the field last Sunday.
"We just really exchanged words on the first play," he said. "Other than that, the rest of the game, it just played out. It wasn't really any trash talking."
The Lions made a trade on Tuesday, acquiring Jacksonville wide receiving Mike Thomas. Johnson believes Thomas will help soothe the loss of Nate Burleson.
"I saw Mike today. I got to chop it up with him a short second during practice," Johnson said. "[We] definitely could use that. We've got to bring in someone to fill in that hole for Nate that we had. Somebody [that's a] speed guy that could make some plays in the open field for us. We're never going to say no to help."
The Lions face the Jaguars this Sunday, with Johnson squaring off with the well-respected Rashean Mathis. Megatron talked about the match-up.
"I went up against up him once before, but it was a couple years ago, though. He's still a good defensive back --Savvy, been here for 10 years, so he knows some things. It's a good match-up there," he said.
