Johnson knows he's got work to do
Rookie wide receiver Calvin Johnson knows exactly why he's been struggling early in games and he knows exactly what he's going to do about it.
"I wasn't as focused as I should've been,'' Johnson said. "That's one thing I've got on my little list, the things I've got to work on for next year.''
Johnson had four catches for 54 yards, including a 25-yarder that set up Detroit's only touchdown of the game, but he also had a crucial third-down drop in the Lions' 34-13 loss Sunday to the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.
"He's just got to make the play, that's what that position requires,'' Lions coach Rod Marinelli. "You've got to make plays, make catches. You've got no excuses, you can't drop passes.''
In the last eight games of the season, starting with a dropped pass in the end zone against the Arizona Cardinals, Calvin Johnson has struggled to catch the ball in the first half of games.
On Detroit's second possession Sunday, the Lions were trailing 7-3 and had a third-and-8 at the Green Bay 38-yard line. Quarterback Jon Kitna hit Johnson on a crossing route, but Johnson booted it.
"That gets to me because I know I'm not watching the ball in sometimes,'' Johnson said. "I get ticked off at myself. Next year, it's something I'm going to work on. I'm not going to let that happen again.''
Johnson still is feeling the effects of a back injury he suffered in the third game of the season against the Philadelphia Eagles. Prior to Sunday's game, a Lions official said although Johnson has been going through a full practice schedule for the last couple of weeks, he's not close to 100 percent healthy.
Even Johnson admitted as much after the game.
"A little bit, but I'm not blaming anything on my back. I've just got to be focused,'' Johnson said.
Lions quarterback Jon Kitna said he's not worried about Calvin Johnson's development or skills.
"He's going to be fine,'' Kitna said. "Rookies have a hard deal, that last six weeks of your rookie season you're just thinking 'When is this thing going to get over?' Then to go through the injuries and things like that. Calvin's going to be fine, he's going to be a superstar.''
Hanson solid again
There weren't a lot of positives coming out of Sunday's game, but here's one: Jason Hanson.
The Lions' veteran kicker nailed both of his field-goal attempts in the game, a 35- and 38-yarder.
In his 16-year NFL career, Hanson has hit 20-of-21 field-goal attempts at Lambeau Field -- and is 12-for-12 in field-goal attempts in December in the state of Wisconsin.
"Yeah, isn't that funny? Because every time I come here (in December), I'm like 'Why do we have to play here at this time of the year?'" Hanson said. "I never show up thinking 'I'm not going to miss today.'
"It's just been a good string and I don't know how to explain it.''
The conditions at Lambeau Field on Sunday weren't great; the field was frozen solid, the temperature was in the low 20s and there was a slight, swirling wind.
"They weren't the best, but we kicked some 30-yarders and 49-yarders would've been a little tougher,'' Hanson said.
Woody unsure of future
Right tackle Damien Woody, who will become an unrestricted free agent in March, said he's going to take some time before he decides what his future holds for next season.
"It's one of those things where I've got to see what's out there,'' Woody said. "Would I like to come back, yeah, but I owe it to myself and my family to explore the options.''
Woody started his fifth straight game at right tackle and has played well. The Lions basically haven't given up a sack in three of the last four games (Kitna was sacked once on the final play of the game against the Cowboys).
If the Lions can't re-sign Woody, they'll have to go out and find another right tackle in free agency or the draft.
"I'd definitely like to come back, but there are so many variables in this thing that it's too hard to say right now,'' Woody said. "I felt I played well. Of course there are definitely things I need to work on but, for being my first time at tackle, I felt I did a pretty good job and I think I'm only going to get better at it.''
Odds & ends
The Lions now have lost for the 17th straight time to the Packers on the road, a streak that includes 16 regular season games and one playoff game. ... Since 1994, the Packers are 13-1 in regular-season finales, the best mark in the league. ... The Packers won 13 games this season, tying a franchise record. The last three times the Packers have done that -- 1962, 1996 and 1997 -- they ended up playing in the NFL title game.
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