CALVIN JOHNSON TALKS ABOUT BREAKING JERRY RICE'S RECORD

LIONS WR CALVIN JOHNSON ON...

 

How breaking the NFL record for single-season receiving yards feels with a 4-11 record: “It feels tough because we fought our way back a little bit and just couldn’t…it was just turnovers that kept us... I had a fumble. It was just turnovers. We took ourselves out of it. But at the same time man, it’s an accomplishment that took a lot of work man. You can’t take that thing away.”

 

What it was like to go to the sideline and give your father the record-setting football: “When you’re in the game you’re still in the moment. You’re still on the play that just happened so I was still focused in there. I was in my zone you know. So I went over there – I don’t think I even said anything to my dad when I gave him the ball. I just gave him a hug. When I think back on it, it was a special moment.”

 

What you were thinking as you were crossing the field and the ball was coming towards you: “The crazy thing is we ran the ball earlier, got walled off by the mike (LB Akeem Dent) and (Sean) Witherspoon and called the same route again and just bounced it around like coach told me. The biggest thing is I just like to see the ball. See the ball.”

 

If he knew as soon as you caught it: “Yeah, because the guys were telling me on the sideline I’m like four, five yards away so it was just like one reception and I’m there. So I’m like shoot, we’re going to knock this thing down.”

 

Who was telling you on the sideline: “Everybody – everybody was keeping record of it.”

 

If he his aim set on 2,000 yards: “Man, I don’t know where we stand but we got another game left so you never know what could happen. Like I said, just told the team, ‘Come back study film; we got a divisional opponent so we might as well go ahead and get our mind right.’ We’ll come in here and try to get this win this week and leave the season on a good note.”

 

How big a part of this record is QB Matthew Stafford: “It’s half his too. He’s the one delivering me the ball every week. When we both stay healthy man, we can do some special things out there.”

 

If he believed tonight would be the night he broke the record: “Never know because we’ve had plenty of 200-yard games. Like I say, when we’re on the field together, you know what’s going to happen. When we see our favorite coverage, we’re going to attack it. We saw some holes in there and my trainer, I was working with him before the game, he’s like, ‘We’re going to get this thing tonight.’ He had me feeling good before the game and we got it.”

 

The trainer: “My trainer from back home, Tom Bender.”

 

If the Falcons played you straight up more than most teams did: “They did. They did a game plan. They’re obviously a team that’s going to do what they do. They stuck to what they did and we saw that a lot this year. More than expected and we were able to take advantage of it sometimes but we weren’t able to get the record like we wanted. In the end of things, didn’t expect coming into the year to see this happen, but now that it has it’s a part of history. I’m sure it will sink in at some point.”

 

Where the ball is: “My dad got it right there. I told him not to let it go.”

 

The ball not going to Canton: “Oh no, that’s my ball. (Laughter)”

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IT WAS A GREAT DAY FOR JOHNSON AGAINST ATLANTA FALCONS

Postgame notes from the Detroit Lions 31-18 loss to the Atlanta Falcons at Ford Field, December 22, 2012.
JOHNSON’S RECORD-SETTING PERFORMANCE

With 11 receptions for 225 yards vs. the Atlanta Falcons, WR Calvin Johnson set several NFL and franchise records.

 

Single-Season Receiving Yards – NFL Record

• Johnson established a new NFL single-season record for receiving yards, now with 1,892 yards, by breaking Hall of Fame WR Jerry Rice’s 17-year old mark of 1,848 yards in 1995. The new record occurred on his 10^th reception of the game that went for 26 yards with 3:05 left in the fourth quarter.
• He is now 108 yards shy of becoming the first player in NFL history to register 2,000 receiving yards in a season.

Single-Season Receiving Yards – Lions Record

• On the second reception of the game, a 49-yard catch in the first quarter, Johnson set a new franchise record for receiving yards in a season. He broke a team record set by WR Herman Moore (1,686) in 1995.

Season Receiving Yards Milestones

• Johnson is the second player to register over 1,800 receiving yards and the fifth player to record over 1,700 yards in NFL history.Rice (1,848 in 1995) and Johnson are the only players to record 1,800 receiving yards in a season, and Johnson joins Rice, WR Isaac Bruce (1,781 in 1995), Hennigan (1,746 in 1961) and WR Marvin Harrison (1,722 in 2002) in the group of receivers to record 1,700 yards in a season.

Yards Per Game Average - Season

• With 1,892 yards in 15 games, Johnson is now averaging 126.1 yards per game. His yards per game average is currently the highest among any players in NFL History to play at least 12 games in a season. His yards per game average increased today and moved past WR Charley Hennigan (124.7 yds/g in 1961) and WR Leroy “Cray Legs” Hirsch (124.6 in 1951).

Consecutive 100-Yard Games

• By gaining over 100 yards, Johnson set an NFL record with his eighth-straight 100-yard receiving game. He broke the previous record (7) by WR Charley Hennigan (1961) and WR Michael Irvin (1995).

100-Yard Games - Season

• Johnson’s also tied an NFL record with his 11th 100-yard receiving game this season. He is currently tied with Irvin who had 11 in 1995.
• With 11 100-yard receiving games, Johnson broke the franchise record of 100-yard games in a season set by Moore (10) in 1995.

200-Yard Games

• With 225 yards vs. Atlanta, Johnson registered his fourth career 200-yard game and became the fifth player in NFL history with four career 200-yard games (WR Lance Alworth, 5; E Don Hutson, WR Charley Hennigan and WR Jerry Rice).
• His four 200-yard games are tied for the second-most in NFL history.
• Johnson’s 225 yards are the fourth-highest single-game total in Lions history and the second-highest of Johnson’s career.
• Johnson registered two 200-yard games in 2011 and in 2012, becoming the first player in NFL history to record two 200-yard games in two different seasons.

Consecutive 10+-Reception Games

• Johnson’s 11 receptions was his fourth-straight game with 10+ receptions and he became the first player in NFL history to register 10+ receptions in four-straight games.

Season Receptions Totals

• Johnson’s 11 receptions increased his season total to 117. He is the second player in team history to record 110+ receptions in a season. He surpassed WR Herman Moore (106 in 1995) and WR Brett Perriman (108 in 1995) for the second-most receptions in a season by a Lions receiver. Moore holds the all-time team record with 123 in 1995.
• With 117 receptions, Johnson is now tied with WR Torry Holt (2003) for the ninth-most single-season receptions in history.

Two-Year Dominance

• Johnson is the first player in NFL history to record over 3,400 and 3,500 receiving yards in a span of two seasons. He extended his NFL record for most receiving yards by registering 3,573 yards since the beginning of the 2011 season.

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Lions Saturday Night Half Time

More than 400 children from Metro Detroit elementary schools will participate.

Allen Park, Mich.—Ford Field will transform into a giant recess during halftime of the Detroit Lions’ game against the Atlanta Falcons, Saturday, December 22. Approximately 400 metro Detroit elementary students will be teaming up with Lions alumni to highlight Living for the City’s Play 60 partnership with Playworks Detroit.

 

“Along with our partners, Playworks Detroit, XBOX Kinect and Blue Cross Blue Shield, we have a fiduciary responsibility to help support physical activity and play,’ said Detroit Lions Team President Tom Lewand. “This halftime program is a great opportunity to share our dedication to improving the health and wellbeing of Detroit area students with our fans.”

 

At the conclusion of the first half, Playworks Detroit will lead children in traditional recess activities including hula hoops, jump ropes and a game of ‘spiders and flies,’ a style of tag that will span the entire field. Lions alumni Lamar Campbell, Damien Gregory, Ron Rice and Cory Schlesinger will join the students during the halftime event.

 

"There is nothing like seeing the joy on a child's face when they are safely playing at recess", said Jeannine Gant, Playworks Executive Director in Detroit, "Playworks is so glad the Lions see the value of play in helping children get physically active."

 

To measure the combined movement of the whole recess group, select students will be wearing MOVbands, donated by MOVABLE. MOVbands are fun and simple wrist-worn activity monitors that can be used with MOVchallenges in schools to promote increased movement and goal-setting. An estimate of the students’ total movement will be made in the third quarter of the game.

 

"Having awareness of our daily physical activity is a key component to creating a healthy and active lifestyle. We are very excited to have this opportunity to use MOVbands to show how easy and fun it can be to increase your movement," Blake Squires, Founder and CEO of MOVABLE.

 

Playworks Detroit is a nonprofit organization that supports learning through safe, inclusive play and physical activity in schools through organized games and activities. They aim to teach valuable lessons such as cooperation, conflict resolution and social skills and through their partnership with Living for the City’s Play 60 initiative, Playworks is helping local students become active and play for at least 60 minutes a day.

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FORD FIELD GOES WIFI

DETROIT — Detroit Lions fans with Verizon Wireless service will have access to free WiFi at Ford Field beginning December 22 when the Lions take on the Atlanta Falcons. Ford Field becomes the ninth WiFi enabled NFL stadium.

“We were excited to collaborate with Verizon to provide our shared customers with free WiFi at Ford Field,” said Detroit Lions Team President Tom Lewand. “It’s another opportunity to enhance our stadium experience and, along with the Detroit Lions mobile app, engage our fans like never before.”

The new high-density WiFi system, designed and built by Verizon, supplements its traditional cell sites that provide wireless coverage in and around Ford Field as well as its existing in-stadium distributed antenna system (DAS).

Verizon’s DAS, which is the standard for densely populated areas where volumes of wireless demand are high, was built into Ford Field in 2006. At the start of the 2012 football season, Verizon began redesigning and expanding its DAS to increase capacity for fans.

“Our Network team worked closely with the Detroit Lions to construct this new WiFi system that will provide our customers with even more capacity at Ford Field,” said John Granby, president, Michigan/Indiana/Kentucky Region, Verizon Wireless. “Sports fans are increasingly reliant on their wireless devices for streaming video, accessing social media and downloading their favorite team apps and other content. We built this high-tech network to offer our subscribers another reliable solution that works in tandem with our existing network.”

Approximately 10 miles of blown fiber-optic cable and 15 miles of copper cabling were used to build the new network, which is the first of its kind in any major sports arena in Michigan.

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LIONS - CARDS, HIGHTLIGHTS - LOWLIGHTS...

THE HGHLIGHTS...


WR Calvin Johnson
WR Calvin Johnson caught 10 passes for 121 yards at Arizona (9/16). With his effort against the Cardinals, Johnson reached or surpassed several individual, team and NFL milestones. On the season, he has a career-high 106 catches for 1,667 yards.

PACING THE RECORD
With 1,667 receiving yards through 14 games, Johnson has stayed on pace to break the NFL’s all-time single-season record for receiving yards set by Hall of Fame WR Jerry Rice with 1,848 yards in 1995. Johnson is now 181 yards shy of Rice’s mark and needs to average 90.5 receiving yards per game in the team’s final two games to tie Rice’s record.

Johnson trails WR Herman Moore by 20 yards for the Lions’ single-season record. Moore set the franchise record with 1,686 yards in 1995. Johnson finished the 2011 season just five yards shy of the mark when he recorded a career-best 1,681 yards.

SEVEN-STRAIGHT 100-YARD GAMES
With 121 yards at Arizona, Johnson registered his seventh-straight 100-yard receiving game and tied the NFL record for consecutive 100-yard games (7; WR Charley Hennigan in 1967 and WR Michael Irvin in 1995).

He broke the Lions franchise record for consecutive 100-yard receiving games previously set by WR Pat Studsill (6) in 1966.

Johnson garnered his 10th 100-yard receiving game this season and is now tied for the second-most during a season in NFL history (10; WR Charley Hennigan in 1961, WR Herman Moore in 1995, WR Marvin Harrison in 2002 and WR Torry Holt in 2003).

By reaching 10 100-yard games in 2012, he tied the Lions franchise record of 10 set by WR Herman Moore in 1995.

He tallied his 31st career 100-yard receiving game and 18th over the past two seasons.

SEASON TOTAL OF 1,667 YARDS
With 1,667 receiving yards in 2012, Johnson has surpassed 1,600 receiving yards this season, becoming the first receiver in NFL history with back-to-back 1,600-yard seasons.

He joins WR Marvin Harrison (1999, 2001) and WR Torry Holt (2,000 and 2003) as the only players in NFL history with two 1,600-yard receiving seasons.

Johnson is only the third player in NFL history to register 1,600 yards in the first 14 games of the season and the first to do so since WR Lance Alworth (1,602) in 1965. He has the second-most yards through 14 games behind WR Charley Hennigan (1,746 in 1961).

100 RECEPTIONS
With 10 catches today, Johnson moved his receptions output on the season to 106. He is now the third player in team history to record 100 receptions in a season. Johnson is the first to accomplish this since WR Herman Moore had 104 receptions in 1997.

Johnson’s 106 receptions are tied with Moore (106 in 1996) for the third-highest single-season total in Lions history.

It is the fifth season a player has registered 100+ receptions in team history

10 RECEPTIONS
With 10 receptions at Arizona, Johnson registered his fifth game this season with 10+ receptions and set a new franchise record for most games of 10+ receptions in a single season. He broke the team’s record previously set by WR Herman Moore, who had four in 1995.

His 10-catch outing at Arizona was the third consecutive game with 10+ receptions (13 vs. Ind 12/2; 10 at GB 12/9; 10 at Arz 12/16), tying a franchise record set by WR Brett Perriman in 1995 (10 at TB 11/12/95; 12 at Chi 11/19/95; 12 vs. Min 12/23/95).

Johnson registered his eighth career game with 10+ receptions, which trails WR Herman Moore’s career franchise record of nine.

JOHNSON’S TWO-YEAR TOTALS
Johnson now has tallied 3,348 receiving yards since the beginning of the 2011 season. He has set the NFL record for most receiving yards over a two-year span. He surpassed the previous mark of 3,347 yards by Hall of Fame WR Jerry Rice in 1994-95.

7,500 YARDS THROUGH 90 GAMES
Johnson now has tallied 3,348 receiving yards since the beginning of the 2011 season. He has set the NFL record for most receiving yards over a two-year span. He surpassed the previous mark of 3,347 yards by Hall of Fame WR Jerry Rice in 1994-95.


THE LOWLIGHTS...from Today's Presser.

LIONS HEAD COACH JIM SCHWARTZ ON...

The most disappointing aspect of the loss to Arizona: “Well, we’ve had a lot of games this year that came down to one play. You know, one critical play in the fourth quarter that you look at and say, ‘Hey, if we made that one we would have won the game.’ We can’t be naïve to think that this was one of those games. Even though we have a chance to pull within seven with six minutes to play, that really wasn’t the case in this game. There were way too many errors in this game to have a chance to win and it showed on the scoreboard.”


If the mistakes on the field have been mental errors: “We had very few mental mistakes in the game. You know, we had a couple false starts with crowd noise. I mean, we need to do a better job with those, but we had very few times where guys weren’t in the right position or stuff like that. I’m never going to get up here and say that talent’s our issue. I have confidence in our players. If we put them on the field, we have confidence in them. You know, you might not always have a full complement of players, but it’s our job as coaches to put those guys in position. Try to find the combination of guys and try to find a way to get it done. We were short a defensive lineman this week. We went to some three defensive lineman packages. We’ve always adjusted and that’s just our job as coaches, and it’s players’ jobs as players to make those adjustments.”


If the coaching staff is preparing the team well enough: “We’re all in this together and this team goes out and works hard and prepares every single week. We haven’t always gotten it done on Sundays, particularly these last six weeks. And we’re going to work hard to get that right.”


What responsibility he takes as coach: “One hundred percent. I appreciate it when a quarterback wants to take blame for it, but ultimately it’s the head coach’s responsibility. I mean, head coaches always have a record. Other than playoffs I don’t know if I’ve ever seen quarterbacks have records. Usually it’s playoffs, ‘Hey this guy is whatever in the playoffs.’ The ultimate responsibility of the team is the head coach and I need to do a better job, 4-10 isn’t good enough.”

How disturbed he is by a six-game losing streak: “Well, we’re not happy about it. It’s been a long time since we’ve won. We’ll work hard to get that right but it’s certainly not something we’re happy about.”

LB Stephen Tulloch’s comment about players on one-year deals having that on their minds on the field: “I don’t think that has anything to do with our coaching staff. Players, I mean, it’s a real dynamic as far as the business of the NFL when it comes to players. I think all our players are professional and they leave that aside when it comes to playing in the game. I don’t want to speak for Stephen but I haven’t seen any sign of that. I think we have a lot of guys that are on the last year of the deal that are having some of their best seasons.” 

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SCHWARTZ TRYING TO KEEP LIONS FROM FALLING APART

LIONS HEAD COACH JIM SCHWARTZ ON:

12/7/2012

The anonymous comments from a Lions player about DT Ndamukong Suh and how troublesome it is that it’s come from within: “I don’t even know if it’s coming from within. I think that before when we had anonymous source criticizing and everything else, we took the approach of we’re not going to comment on that and I think I’ll take the same approach here. When we start responding to reports or anonymous sources it just further cheapens this whole thing. We go on the record for what we believe and how we react and stuff like that and just end it there.”

Talking to the team leaders to figure out if there is fracturing going on in the locker room: “I think any time that you lose, particularly four games that we’ve lost that have been literally one play, it can be… it is very disappointing. It would be very frustrating for a team. But like you said it’s up to the leaders of the team to stay together. You need to be able to keep that in context. A lot of times from a player’s standpoint, particularly some of the ways that we lost, it wasn’t one play in the game. It was maybe six plays, and if we make one of those six we have a very good opportunity to win. That’s hard on players because you go and lose the game, and they all feel as though they were the one that made the play that could’ve lost the game. Sometimes it’s easier to get beat 42 to nothing. Player drops a touchdown pass or has a penalty, looks at it and says, ‘Jeez it didn’t really cost us the game.’

“So it’s always – anytime you lose it’s difficult in sports in general. Professional sports, college sports, anything else it’s always a difficult situation. But I think in this case it’s even a little tougher because of the way that we’ve lost those games and from a coaching standpoint, from a player standpoint, everybody feels responsible and everybody’s anxious to do better.”

How he addressed that with the team today if at all: “Well, I mean I have addressed it, but I’m not going to go into things like that. I’ve never gone to you guys with what’s said behind closed doors because there’s a reason that we say them behind closed doors. I think that’s one of the things that’s gotten astray in this whole thing. Some things are best left in meeting rooms and locker rooms and things like that. As we continue to peel the curtain back more and more and try to make this all into a soap opera. There’s less and less of it that stays where it should. Things that I say to the team I’d like to keep between me and the team.”

How you prevent the flood gates from opening after losing four straight: “We’re not worried about that. We’re worried about the Green Bay Packers, and if we’re worried about anything else we’re not going to play very well on Sunday. We need to keep our concentration on the Green Bay Packers. They have nothing to do with the other stuff that’s happened even though they were one of the games. Go out and practice and stay focused on the next opponent. That’s what we need to do.”

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TERRY HESSBROOK OF ITHACA HIGH SCHOOL NAMED 2012 DETROIT LIONS HIGH SCHOOL COACH OF THE YEAR

Michigan National Guard on Board as Presenting Sponsor of High School Coach of the Week/Year Program

Detroit, MI—The Detroit Lions have named Terry Hessbrook of Ithaca High School the 2012 High School Coach of the Year, presented by the Michigan National Guard.

On November 23, Hessbrook led his Yellowjackets to a 37-27 victory over Constantine in the Division 6 Michigan High School Football State Championship at Ford Field. With this victory, Ithaca has won three straight state championships in Division 6 and has become the 1st football program in state history to win a state championship in 3 seasons with an undefeated record. Ithaca has 42 straight victories and currently has the 4th longest winning streak in state history.

Now in his 17th season at Ithaca (9th as head coach), Hessbrook has a record of 87-17 at Ithaca. Hessbrook spent 5 years as head coach at Montabella before going back to coach at his alma mater. Hessbrook was named a Detroit Lions High School Coach of the Week in 2010.

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Calvin Johnson's BIG Day!

Following the Detroit Lions' 33-35 loss to the Indianapolis Colts at Ford Field, December 2, 2012.

Johnson Ties NFL Record
WR Calvin Johnson caught 13 passes for 171 yards and 1 touchdown today vs. Indianapolis. He now has five-straight games with 125+ receiving yards which ties an NFL record set by Lions WR Pat Studstill in 1966. (Courtesy of Elias Sports Bureau)

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Johnson’s current streak of four games with 140+ yards ties the longest streak in NFL history by Lions E Cloyce Box spanning the 1952-53 seasons. He is the only player with four-straight games with 140+ yards in the same season.

Career-High in Receptions
Johnson’s 13 catches set a new career high and are the second-most receptions in a game in Lions history. He was one shy of the team record of 14 set by WR Herman Moore vs. Chicago December 4, 1995.

He also set a career high with 8 receptions in the first half of today’s game. His previous best was 6 accomplished twice (at Chicago 11/2/08 and at Jacksonville 11/4/12).

Johnson’s 100-Yard Streaks
With 171 yards today, it marks the first time in Johnson’s career that he has recorded five-straight 100-yard games.

Johnson’s fifth-straight 100-yard game is the first for the Lions since WR Pat Studstill recorded six in a row in 1966.

With 171 receiving yards today, Johnson registered his 29th career 100-yard receiving game. Johnson is second only to WR Herman Moore (34) for the most in team history.

It is also Johnson’s eighth 100-yard game this season and ties a career high for the most 100-yard games in a season. Johnson registered 100 receiving yards eight times in 2008. WR Herman Moore holds the franchise record with 10 100-yard receiving games in 1995.

Already the only player in team history who has recorded seven 100-yard receiving games in two different seasons, Johnson is now the first player in team history to record eight 100-yard games in two different seasons.

Johnson Surpasses 1,400 yards
Johnson’s 171 yards increased his season total through 12 games to 1,428 receiving yards. He has now reached the 1,300-yard and 1,400-yard marks for the second consecutive season.

He now has three career 1,300-yard seasons. Johnson is the only player in team history with at least two seasons garnering 1,300 receiving yards and now has three (1,331 in 2008 ,1,681 in 2011, 1428 in 2012).

Johnson’s Stretch Run
With 1,428 yards in 12 games (119.0 avg), he now has the most yards through 12 games since WR Lance Alworth has 1,428 in 1965. He is tied for the third-most receiving yards through 12 games in NFL history. While tied with Alworth, he is behind WR Charlie Hennigan with 1,541 in 1961 and WR Crazy Legs Hirsch with 1,495 in 1951 for the most receiving yards through 12 games. (Courtesy of Elias Sports Bureau)

Johnson’s 119.0 yards per game average through 12 games is on pace to break both the Lions all-time single season record for receiving yards (WR Herman Moore, 1,686 in 1995) and the NFL record for receiving yards in a season (WR Jerry Rice, 1848 in 1995). At 119.0 yards per game, he would finish the season at 1,904 yards.

Johnson trails the record by 420 yards and needs to average 105.0 yards per game to reach Rice’s record.

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