Dave Birkett

Detroit Free Press

Maybe Matthew Stafford was onto something.

Stafford told SiriusXM NFL radio this week that the Lions might actually be tougher to defend now that Calvin Johnson is retired because they'll take a more balanced approach to offense.

Johnson, speaking at his free youth football camp Saturday, said in his first comments since he announced his retirement that there's an element of truth to his former quarterback's statement.

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"Well, I felt like it should have been easier because they were going to double me a lot of the time, especially in certain situations, so it’s breakout time for somebody to make something happen," Johnson said. "One on one, that’s what you want. So, put it like this year, I don’t know who if anybody’s going to get double-teamed, so I think they have the playmakers. So if Matt can get them the ball, they make the plays, they can be good, man."

Johnson led the Lions with 1,214 yards receiving on 88 catches last year and finished his career as the franchise's all-time leader in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.

The Lions didn't always surround Johnson with reliable talent during his nine-year NFL career - no teammate reached even 60 catches in four of his seasons - but they appear to have a balanced group of pass catchers heading into this fall.

Golden Tate led the Lions in receptions the last two years, Marvin Jones takes over the X receiver position coming off a 65-catch season with the Cincinnati Bengals, Theo Riddick tied for the league lead among running backs with 80 catches last year, and the team is counting on continued improvement from tight end Eric Ebron.

Johnson said he hasn't followed much football since announcing his retirement just before the start of free agency in March.

"I didn’t pay attention to nothing yet," he said.

But after making the playoffs just twice and never winning a postseason game in his career, Johnson said he'll be rooting for the Lions in retirement.

"I'm hoping they do good," he said.

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett

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