Detroit Lions notes: Decker off to good start; Sam Martin honored; Megatron’s dance reviews

Detroit Lions offensive tackle Taylor Decker is seen in the bench area during the second half of NFL preseason football game against the Buffalo Bills, Thursday, Sept. 1, 2016, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Rick Osentoski)
Detroit Lions punter Sam Martin (6) punts to the Indianapolis Colts during the second half of an NFL football game in Indianapolis, Sunday, Sept. 11, 2016. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

By Paula Pasche | The Oakland Press

PUBLISHED: September 14, 2016 at 4:03 p.m. | UPDATED: June 17, 2021 at 6:43 a.m.

ALLEN PARK >> The beleaguered Lions offensive line got off to a solid start to the season in the win over the Colts.

That included left tackle Taylor Decker the first-round pick.

“He did well. When I say well I’m not talking about, ‘he’s arrived,’ or anything of that nature. He did alright. I mean, he’s part of a line, it’s the youngest line that probably I’ve ever been around,” coach Jim Caldwell said of Decker. “When you look at it, it’s probably one of the youngest in the history of this franchise for a while.”

Decker held his own protecting Matthew Stafford and helping open holes for the run game.

“Obviously they had some good pass rushers and that was going to be a challenge for me. That’s the nature of playing tackle. It was good for me to play a full game not do it like in the preseason with a quarter or a half,” Decker said.

He’s the only rookie starter this season.

Left guard Laken Tomlinson is a second-year player while center Travis Swanson is in his third seasons. Right guard Larry Warford is in his fourth season while Riley Reiff is the old-timer in his fifth season

“That whole group all together, they hung in there, but every week it’s going to be a little different challenge,” Caldwell said. “These guys this week that they face, it’s going to take all we have and a little bit more. We’re excited about getting ourselves prepared out here to get ready and go play a game because that group is going to have to be really good this week.”

After getting sacked 44 times last season, Stafford went down only once. The run game was the worst in the NFL in 2015 and they gathered 116 rushing yards on Sunday.

“I know (the line is) getting coached extremely hard, their coach is doing a great job, they just need game experience, keep it coming,” Stafford said.

Sam Martin honored

After signing a four-year contract extension on Friday, punter Sam Martin went out and showed the rest of the league how to do it in the win over the Colts.

For his efforts, Martin was named the NFC special teams player of the week.

Martin set franchise single-game records in gross punting average (58.8 yards) and net punting average (55.5) on his four kicks and placed two punts inside the 20-yard line.

“”He flipped the field for us once, all the way down to, I think, the seven-yard line or something, when they had a little bit something going. But they were able to certainly take it the length of the field and put it in the end zone on us,” Caldwell said. “But he made it tough on them, all the way across the board, with (Johnson) Bademosi on the outside, (Don) Carey on the outside. Joe Marciano does a nice job of getting those guys doing what they’re supposed to do, and Sam (Martin) just had one of those great days. That’s who he is, he’s been punting extremely well.”

Watching Calvin

When Calvin Johnson made his debut on “Dancing With the Stars” on Monday night, many of his former teammates were watching or caught it later.

Glover Quin: “I thought he did good. It’s a side of Calvin I’ve never seen. He looked really tall in those white pants, I thought he was at least 7 foot. He looked like he was having fun, he looked worry-free and stress-free like he was enjoying life. Living life, a guy who ‘s done what he’s done, he deserves to do that. I’m happy for him. … It was cool, it was fun. He looked happy. If the man’s happy, I’m all for it.”

Golden Tate: “I thought he did a good job, I thought he showed his personality. He obviously has a great smile, I think he had fun. … We had a little victory Monday (gathering). We watched the football games then taped Calvin. We had a houseful of folks cheering Calvin on.”

Matthew Stafford: “I recorded it and watched it while I was watching the games. I have had contact with him, told him it was a good job, he texted me back right away. Think he’s having a blast, he looked like he was having a lot of fun out there so I was happy for him.”

Coach Jim Caldwell: “I did not, but I was anxious to see him move around a little bit so I did try to find a clip on the internet and they showed a very small portion of the beginning of the dance I guess. Just like anything else, one thing you find out very quickly about him, he doesn’t talk much but he does things well. We had bowling contests here and he ends up being one of the top two or three bowlers. Obviously, we know what he can do on the field. He can play baseball, athletes are pretty versatile and he’s proven to be a pretty versatile guy.”

Levy out; others limited

DeAndre Levy, who played 100 percent of the snaps in Sunday’s win at the Colts, did not practice on Wednesday due to a quad injury. It’s unknown how serious the injury is. Levy played just 17 snap in the entire 2015 season.

Also, Ziggy Ansah (shoulder), Adairius Barnes (ankle) and Cole Wick (shoulder) were limited in practice.