Lions select Oklahoma receiver Ryan Broyles in second round

The Lions were looking for a fourth receiver to pair with Calvin Johnson, Nate Burleson and Titus Young, and they think they’ve found their man in Oklahoma receiver Ryan Broyles.

Broyles is the NCAA career leader in receptions (349), but was lost for the season with a torn ACL vs. Texas A&M late last season.

Broyles had at least 1,000 yards receiving in each of the last three seasons at Oklahoma with 39 touchdowns.

Broyles (5-10, 188) will be able to help the Lions right away, as soon as he heals from his ACL injury.

Burleson thinks Johnson can break Madden curse

Nate Burleson believes in the Madden cover curse, but he thinks if there’s anyone who can break that curse it’s Calvin Johnson.

Johnson is facing Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers in one semifinal of the bracket voted on by the fans to determine this year’s Madden cover player. Panthers quarterback Cam Newton and 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis are in the other semifinal.

Burleson told reporters Tuesday that he still plans to vote for Johnson, who caught 96 passes for 1,681 yards and 16 touchdowns last season.

“I’m going to vote for him, of course, I would love to see my guy on the cover of Madden,” Burleson said. “I’m a big Madden fan. I do believe in the curse, but there are certain curses that can be erased with dollar signs, so we’ll see what happens. I’m just keeping it real.”

The Madden curse stems from a number of players who have made the cover in past years suffering injuries or having down years.

“If any guy can break the curse it’s Calvin,” Burleson said. “This dude is a monster. He’s strong enough to break tackles, he can break a curse.”

Stafford and Burleson restructure contracts, Suh’s in progress

Matthew Stafford and Nate Burleson want to win football games.

They want to win so badly, in fact, they’ve restructured their contracts to give the Lions an extra $10 million in salary cap space for the 2012 season.

That restructuring will help get the team under the $120.6 million salary cap by Tuesday’s 4 p.m. deadline and will also help them try to re-sign free agent targets like linebacker Stephen Tulloch.

The team is saving more than $7 million from Stafford’s restructure and $2.175 million from Burleson.

Burleson was due to make $4 million in base salary this season but has converted a bulk of that into a bonus. He will make $875,000 in base salary after the restructure and the rest will be paid in bonuses.

Stafford had a cap number of more than $17 million. By converting his $11.5-million base salary to minimum, he’s created more than $7 million in cap room.

This is the second time in as many years Stafford and Burleson have restructured their contracts. Stafford reportedly saved the team $6 million is a restructure last season and Burleson nearly $1 million.

Stafford and Burleson, though, aren’t giving anything back to the team – they’re still getting the full amount of their contracts.

Players don’t take a cut in pay. Instead, they convert base salary to signing bonus, allowing the team to lower a player’s salary-cap number for that year.

The restructuring of contracts is a common practice with teams as they try to finagle the salary cap number.

Defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh‘s agent Roosevelt Barnes told Fox Sports Detroit that Suh has agreed to restructure his contract as well, though that deal hasn’t become final yet, according to a league source.

Mayhew: Burleson and Williams ‘important part of our football team’

In the salary cap era of the NFL, good teams are forced to make tough decisions on veteran players and turn to their young ones quicker than they’d probably like.

It’s no secret the Lions will be up against the cap in 2012 and that’s led to some speculation that players like receiver Nate Burleson and defensive tackle Corey Williams could be salary cap casualties this offseason.

The salary cap can certainly force tough decisions on an up-and-coming franchise like the Lions, but here’s hoping they don’t have to go that route.

Not only are Burleson and Williams two of the most stand-up guys in the locker room, they’re still key productive players.

Head coach Jim Schwartz has been trying to find three quality receivers to pair together since he got here in 2009.

Anyone remember Bryant Johnson and Derrick Williams?

The Lions finally seem to have a great trio for quarterback Matthew Stafford in Calvin Johnson, Burleson and Titus Young. Burleson had 73 receptions last year, a career high.

It doesn’t show up on the stat sheet all the time, but Williams is constantly grading out as the best defensive lineman on the field when coaches sit down and watch the game film.

Williams will make $5 million in 2012 and Burleson $4 million.

The team drafted Young and defensive tackle Nick Fairley last season, so I see why the speculation surrounds Burleson and Williams. But losing them would be a bigger loss than fans think.

“Those guys are leaders in our locker room and a very important part of our football team,” Lions general manager Martin Mayhew said at the NFL Scouting Combine when asked about Burleson and Williams.

“I have reached out to both their agents and told them that at this time we have no plans to do anything with their contracts and we’re happy with their performance and happy with what they bring to our team and our locker room.

“Both of them have been very professional the whole time they’ve been here and they have been a good example for our younger players.”

There’s no telling what tough decisions the Lions might face when their salary cap situation becomes more clear in the coming months, but they’re a better football team in 2012 with Burleson and Williams in uniform.

Nate Burleson voted Mike Utley Spirit Award winner

Before every game, Lions receiver Nate Burleson and some of the other veteran leaders gather the entire team together in one of the end zones to deliver a final message before the game. Burleson is always animated when addressing his teammates and they seem to really respond to him.

Burleson is a natural leader, and a fitting choice for the Lions Mike Utley Spirit Award.

The award, which is voted on by the players, is presented to the Lions player who exhibited tremendous spirit, desire, dedication and work ethic.

“There are a lot of other accolades that you get from people out in the media land and stuff like that but there’s nothing like getting voted by your teammates,” said Lions receivers coach Shawn Jefferson. “They are there everyday, they see what you do, they see your performance on Sunday’s and they know what you bring to the table.”

This is the second-consecutive year Burleson has won the award.

“He’s been great,” Lions general manager Martin Mayhew said of Burleson. “He and Kyle (Vanden Bosch) both have been great leaders for us. They’re great in the locker room, solid vets, they know how to prepare, great leaders for the young guys. Young guys look up to those guys.”

What Burleson brings to the locker room and to the meeting room and to the huddle is invaluable, but it wouldn’t mean as much if he weren’t getting it done on the field, too.

“Nate had 73 catches this year, which is a career-high for him,” Mayhew said. “He was very productive for us. He’s a really good, solid, move the chains type of guy. He has great run after the catch, he’s been a great pick-up for us. He’s worked out very well and we’re glad we have him.”

Burleson also chipped in 757 yards and three touchdowns to go along with those 73 catches. He is a tremendous blitz-buster because of his ability to get the ball quick and make a play after the catch. There isn’t a move Burleson won’t try on a defender one-on-one in the open field.

He also ran the ball 11 times with a 7.7-yard average.

Rookie Titus Young credited Burleson and Calvin Johnson for some of the success he enjoyed this season because of their willingness to work with him and be veteran mentors.

Burleson is always the first guy the media goes to during open locker-room sessions because he has a gage on everything going on in the locker room and with the team.

The award is named in honor of former Lions guard Mike Utley, who suffered a career-ending neck injury that left him paralyzed on November 17, 1991. Minutes after sustaining the injury, Utley flashed his teammates a “thumbs up” sign as he was being carted off the field. The gesture galvanized a team that won its next seven games and advanced to the NFC Championship Game.

Titus Young wins Lions Mel Farr Rookie of the Year Award

Rookie receiver Titus Young was a bystander for most of Lions training camp this season with a hamstring injury. It wasn’t until the end of camp that Young got back on the practice field, but the late start was less than ideal heading into his first NFL season.

Consequently, Young was inconsistent through the first seven weeks of the season as he tried to find his bearings.

It wasn’t until Week 8 that Young recorded his first NFL touchdown and that seemed to be a springboard for the rest of the season. He scored six touchdowns over the team’s final nine games and showed the potential to be a reliable No. 2 receiver moving forward.

For his efforts, Young was voted the Lions Mel Farr Rookie of the Year by his teammates.

“The sky is the limit for this kid,” said Lions receivers coach Shawn Jefferson. “This kid is one of the most talented receivers I’ve seen a while.

“You look at him and see he’s a small guy but he has the heart of a lion. I love his attitude. He thinks he’s Calvin Johnson. That’s a good and a bad thing. I love the energy and juice he brings to our group.”

Young showed tons of promise with 48 catches for 607 yards and six touchdowns this season. He averaged 12.6 yards per catch, finishing seventh among rookies in catches and yards and fourth in touchdowns.

“He wants so bad for people to mention him when they’re mentioning Calvin and Nate (Burleson) that he goes out there and busts his butt,” Jefferson said.

Young had some rookie moments (a personal foul against the Saints in the regular season and slowing up on a touchdown a week later against the Vikings) but he learned from those errors and never repeated the same mistake twice.

Young has already established himself as the team’s best route-runner and might have the best pair of hands, too. The Lions appear to have found the third receiver they’ve been searching years for. The way Young played as a rookie, the Lions have feel like they now have two No. 2 receivers on the roster in Burleson and Young.

The rookie of the year award is given in honor of Mel Farr, who enjoyed one of the finest rookie campaigns in team history. In 1967, Farr led the Lions in both rushing (860 yards) and receiving (317) and tied for the club lead with six touchdowns. As a result, he was named the Lions’ Offensive MVP and was honored as the NFL Rookie of the Year by the Sporting News.

Lions clobbering Chargers at the half

The Lions are absolutely clobbering the Chargers at halftime.

They have a commanding 24-0 lead, their largest of the season, and are halfway to securing their first playoff berth since 1999.

Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford has completed 21-of-26 passes for 260 yards and three touchdowns in the first half. His quarterback rating is 146.8.

He’s thrown scores to tight end Brandon Pettigrew (7 yards), running back Kevin Smith (3) and receiver Calvin Johnson (14).

The Lions defense has allowed just 93 yards in the first half.

Stafford broke Scott Mitchell’s franchise record for passing yards in a season (4,338) on a 30-yard pass to receiver Nate Burleson in the second quarter.

Nate Burleson: “Bonehead plays are behind us”

Lions receiver Nate Burleson and the rest of his teammates have been warned that the after-the-whistle penalties that have hurt the team the last two weeks will not be tolerated any longer by coach Jim Schwartz.

“Coach, pretty much at this point, (has) a zero-tolerance policy that’s been instilled,” Burleson said. “We have to abide by that. I don’t think you’ll see too many more bonehead mistakes.”

The Lions were flagged three times against the Saints for penalties after the whistle.

Over the last two weeks, they’ve been flagged for two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties and two unnecessary roughness penalties. They have a total of five in 12 games.

“We have to put not only last week, but really, for the most part, the past month and the inconsistency of the past month behind us,” Burleson said. “Now we have a quarter (of the season) left. We have to knock out these four games and our attitude is good.”

Talking with the media after practice, Schwartz said players who hurt the team during this playoff stretch with selfish plays will not be available to do it again.

“We are going to do whatever we can to win football games,” he said. “Guys that hurt the team aren’t going to be available to be able to do things like that. We are going to do everything we can to win the football game.”

They haven’t been winning many football games, lately, and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that the penalties and mistakes, especially on offense, have prevented them from winning.

“Most of the time when we’re having struggles moving the ball on offense it is because of self-inflicted penalties,” said receiver Calvin Johnson in his Detroitlions.com blog. “Just because these penalties were personal fouls and things like that it gets more attention, but throughout the season that’s been our thing.

“We’re not moving because of self-inflicted penalties, whether it’s a false start or a misalignment or something like that. Just because these last two weeks have been personal fouls that have been on national TV, they’re going to get a lot of attention.”

A few topics covered by coach Schwartz in today’s presser

The vast majority of Lions coach Jim Schwartz‘s 27-minute press conference with the media Monday was about penalties and, specifically, the three after-the-whistle penalties by Titus Young, Stefan Logan and Brandon Pettigrew.

But here are a few other topics Schwartz touched on.

On the defensive offsides penalty called in first quarter against what looked like the entire defensive line (Nick Fairley was singled out).

— “We (were called) for offsides, (but) nobody reacted on the offense and we got back in plenty of time,” he said. “The explanation I got was that we were too far offside and that’s not part of the rules.”

On Nate Burleson’s three offensive pass interferences penalties.

— “I though one of them was a very, very good call,” Schwartz said. “There were two others that I have seen not get called a bunch of times.”

On defensive tackle Nick Fairley and how well he played against the Saints:

— “Until he got hurt, he played very well,” Schwartz said. “Had a couple tackles for loss, had a sack, had another play he was involved in that was a tackle for a loss, was getting to the football, was effective, was really affecting the offense and I thought he was playing very well.

“We had to go to a little bit more blitz package with what they were doing protection-wise, but Nick was very effective. He hurt his foot. I said after the game, the X-rays were negative, but it was so sore that he wasn’t able to go back in and continue.”

On Matthew Stafford‘s effectiveness throwing the ball with 408 yards and a touchdown:

– “I thought Matt played very well. His interception came on a fourth-down play late in the game where they took away what we were doing,” he said. “He completed 71-percent of his passes, but his accuracy rate was higher than that and about four or five other passes that were right on the money that defenders made great plays to put a hat on and knock it out. It’s a very difficult team to prepare for, a very difficult team to execute against because they do so much. He took some hits to get some balls off, too. I thought he played very well.”

Johnson weighs in on who had the better endzone celebration: Burleson or Scheffler?

Who had the better endzone celebration vs. Carolina: Nate Burleson or Tony Scheffler? Calvin Johnson weighs in.

“Well, me and Nate had talked about his. We had: close that up, zip it up. He did it. I missed it, though. I didn’t see it because I was off on the sideline.

“But Scheffler was hilarious. I looked at my Twitter the other day, somebody was in awe of Scheffler, saying, ‘he has the best celebrations ever.’”

Sounds like the point goes to Scheffler.

Here’s hoping both reach the endzone this week for another head-to-head match-up.