Lions to refs: Beware of penalties with Vikings' Rhodes

Matthew Stafford insists no gamesmanship was intended, but if the Detroit Lions were trying to send a message to the officiating crew due in town for Sunday's game against the Minnesota Vikings, they did it in a not-so-subtle way.

Both Stafford and Calvin Johnson described Vikings cornerback Xavier Rhodes in similar fashion at their news conferences Wednesday — as a walking, talking, top-receiver-shadowing pass interference penalty.

"He's a big, physical corner," Stafford said. "He puts his hands on guys all the way down the field. Is really physical with them. That's, I think, when he's at his best, at his comfort, when he can grab and hold and just be a physical guy because he's a big guy. Big, strong guy. So he definitely has some of that ability and he's, obviously, a down-the-field, long speed, fast guy, too."

Asked how Rhodes, now in his third NFL season, has improved over the years, Johnson said, "Getting better at moving his hips. Definitely always been a handsy guy, but he's a real strong guy. He's always a good opponent."

Rhodes, the Vikings' best cornerback, shadowed Johnson for most of the Vikings' 26-16 victory over the Lions last month.

Johnson caught 10 passes and scored his first touchdown of the season in that game, but he had just 83 yards receiving.

Rhodes was flagged twice for defensive holding and once for pass interference against the Lions, and has drawn eight penalties (five for defensive holding, three for pass interference and one for a horse collar tackle) on the season.

"He's about 215 pounds, he's got great length, long arms," Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said. "Really good top-end speed and he can really accelerate out of breaks, so he's a great. He works really hard at everything."

Stafford said his comments were not meant to put officials on alert for Sunday.

"I'm just saying he's just a big, physical guy, that's all," Stafford said.

Ed Hochuli's crew is scheduled to work the Lions-Vikings game, according to FootballZebras.com.

Hochuli's crew called 16 penalties in the lone Vikings game it did earlier this year, a Week 1 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Rhodes drew one of three defensive holding flags the crew threw in that game.

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

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