ALLEN PARK — The veterans in the Detroit Lions locker room explained to rookie O-lineman Tate Ratledge that there’s a preseason speed, an in-season speed and a playoff speed.
It’s all theoretical until the first time a player gets to experience it and Ratledge got his first taste in a loss to the Green Bay Packers in a daunting environment at Lambeau Field.
The second-round NFL Draft pick took every snap for the Lions at right guard and had quite a few head-scratching moments that played a role in Detroit’s offense slowing down compared to the pace we saw much of last season.
“Just some bad mental errors on my part,” Ratledge told MLive. “I mean, of course there’s always going to be technique to clean up no matter how good or bad of a game you play. But the big thing for me is cleaning up mental errors because I had some bad ones.”
Despite the performance, the rookie hasn’t lost any of the faith he built up with his coaching staff during training camp.
Ratledge knows every snap and game he plays is critical to his development as an NFL interior lineman.
“You just take it game-by-game so you learn. You learn from what you did in the game, right? And you just move on,” offensive coordinator John Morton said of his advice to Ratledge. “It’s correctable and you just stay on top of it. The more he plays, the better he’s going to get. We really got two rookie guards, and I’m not worried about him because I like what I saw in training camp.”
During preseason, Ratledge was seen sparingly. He played in Preseason Week 1 against the Atlanta Falcons, logging 24 snaps and showcasing his strength while only allowing one pressure on his quarterback.
But the speed of the regular season against a Packers D-line with a lot of talent resulted in a rough debut where Ratledge allowed three pressures, including a sack of quarterback Jared Goff.
He also played a part in a prominent moment where a miscommunication along the O-line led to the interior group allowing an easy path for the defense to running back David Montgomery in the backfield.
It’s stronger communication that Ratledge and the entire offense has been harping on since their return from Green Bay,
“You just got to over communicate at the end of the day. I mean, just make sure there’s no reason for someone not to get the call like I did a few times,” Ratledge said. “So I think it’s just we got to be better at over communicating and making a point to get everybody on the same page.”
The crowd noise shouldn’t be as disruptive for the offense in Week 2 as the Lions are set to host the Chicago Bears at Ford Field.
The energy from the crowd will be directed at Chicago’s offense, which should make it easier for the Lions to communicate at the level they hope to replicate from a season ago.
For Ratledge, Sunday marks his Ford Field debut — his lone preseason play was on the road — and a chance to start showing how much he can grow from week-to-week.
“Everybody told me (Ford Field) was going to be exciting,” Ratledge said. “They said it’s one of the best environments they’ve ever played at and I’m looking forward to it.
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