In two seasons under Rod Marinelli, Shaun Cody has yet to record a sack. For that reason more than any, he is no lock to make the Lions this fall.

Cody, entering his fourth year out of USC, talked with reporters Tuesday before the Detroit Lions Invitational golf outing for which he was a co-chairman. He said Marinelli called him constantly with words of encouragement this offseason, that the toe injury he suffered in 2006 negatively affected his play last year, and that he's shed 10 pounds and intends to play at a more determined 295 this year. A sampling of his talk:

• On rebounding from a frustrating 2007: "Last year I was no sacks and that was disappointing to me and this year coming into a contract year and wanting to be part of the Lions for a long time, it's important for me to have a big year. I know that and I've been trying to trim some weight and get down to a lower level than they want me and be successful this year."

• On how the toe injury hampered him last year. In 2006, Cody was limited to six games and finished the year on injured reserve: "I think any time you have a severe injury like that, to come back it takes a whole year. When I did my ACL in college it took about a year to come back so I figure this year, I've had a chance to play on it for a year now and get used to it, rehab it to its fullest. It feels great now."

• On how often he talked to Marinelli in the offseason: "Probably once a week. He'll call you up, let you know what's going on. He wouldn't expect you to call back. That's the first thing he'd start with, ... 'Shaun, you don't got to call me back, just wanted to leave you with this,' then he'd drop you some jewel of nugget pass-rushing wisdom."

• On why he's struggled getting to the quarterback: "I think what's happened here is I've been playing cautious. I know that my reps were limited last year and when you get in there you really don't want to make a mistake, that's the wrong way to play football. You don't want to worry about making a mistake, you just want to go out there and play. And that's what we watched (on film) with me is just being cautious, worried about making a mistake more than trying to make a play."