While it’s the Lions we follow day to day, it’s the real heroes we salute today.

Memorial Day is the perfect reminder of how thankful we should be each and every day for the brave men and women who fight so that we can remain safe and live with the freedom that is the trademark of the United States. In war, many lives are lost and many are changed drastically. There is no good way to thank them all, but on Memorial Day we try.

The Lions, along with many pro sports teams, don’t forget. At every game at Ford Field they invite members of the Armed Services who are introduced to the crowd. Most have returned from duty in Iraq or Afghanistan. Often they receive the loudest cheers of the day. And, it’s not because the Lions have been struggling, it’s because we all know who the real heroes are in our lives.

God bless them all.

It seems there is not much room for improvement for Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh as he moves from college to the NFL.

It appears he’s already there.

“He’s doing well. He started off doing well. There wasn’t a whole lot of room for any improvement. He’s a pretty good player. We just need to keep him on track,’’ coach Jim Schwartz said.

Suh, the second overall pick, does have to adjust to the Lions’ defensive scheme which is different from Nebraska’s.

“It’s much more of an attack scheme than he was used to in college where he was used to reading blocks. When the lights go on sometimes he has a tendency to go back to that. By the time we get to the minicamp session I would assume he’s got most of that old technique behind him,’’ Schwartz added.

Now all the Lions have to do is sign him. Suh said from the day he was drafted he has no plans to be a holdout and he has made that clear to his agent.

(Follow me on Twitter @PaulaPasche)

ALLEN PARK — The Lions do have an interest in free agent linebacker Keith Bulluck, coach Jim Schwartz said on Thursday.

Bulluck tore his ACL on Dec. 20 and is coming off surgery. The linebacker played for Schwartz when he was defensive coordinator with the Tennessee Titans. The Lions have lost two linebackers — Ernie Sims and Larry Foote — in the offseason.

“I don’t know where he is physically, what he says or what his agent is saying where he is,’’ Schwartz said. “He is a guy, among others, we’ve had our eye on.

“It just throws a little bit of a monkey wrench into it for him coming off an ACL. He’s a quality player that’s played for a long time in the NFL. When he’s available, I’m sure there will be a lot of teams interested in him,’’ Schwartz added.

The Lions have a few players coming off ACL surgery — Brandon Pettigrew, Kevin Smith, Jack Williams — and while they participate in individual OTA drills, they have not been cleared for full practice. Schwartz said he expects Bulluck might be on the same timetable. Schwartz said Bulluck is a multi-dimensional linebacker (Schwartz’s favorite kind of player) and could play at any spot. He said while with the Titans Bulluck played mostly on the right side and was the middle linebacker in the nickel package.

Lions general manager Martin Mayhew has been aggressive at signing free agents and making trades to improve the roster and apparently he’s not done yet.

“Sometime between the draft and opening day we’re going to add players that are going to help us win a game,’’ Schwartz said.

One of them could be Keith Bulluck. (Follow me on Twitter @PaulaPasche.)

If the Lions offense can fulfill the promise it is already showing in offseason workouts, it will be a huge boost for the defense come September.

“Field position is important, what’s important in the NFL now is that you can score. It allows you to play a little different. Defensively, you can play a little more aggressive knowing that if you give up a touchdown your offense can get one back,’’ Lions coach Jim Schwartz said.

“I think from a (defensive) standpoint, you don’t have to be as cautious, you can freewheel a little bit more,’’ Schwartz said. “... Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, offensively we haven’t scored a point this year. That’s the hope for sure. If the signs you see now come to fruition in the fall and we’re able to have something close to this offensively then it definitely helps the defense.’’

The offseason acquisitions on both sides of the ball have been major. It will be interesting to see how it all meshes together — and how quickly it might happen.

(Follow me on Twitter @PaulaPasche)

It’s an old adage that an NFL quarterback takes huge strides between his rookie and second seasons.

Most everyone in Detroit expects that to happen with Matthew Stafford, the first overall pick in 2009, who showed glimpses of greatness in the 2-14 2009 season.

He got beat up pretty badly due to a few holes in the offense — to put it mildly. Still, he proved he’s a warrior. No Texas pansy.

It’s hard not to hype the kid (He’s just 22 years old.) His passes during OTAs have put smiles on coaches, coordinators and fellow teammates.

Perhaps linebacker Zack Follett, who was a rookie last year too, put it best: “Stafford, you can tell he’s comfortable out there because the throws he’s making are pretty jaw-dropping.”

Enough said.

(Follow me on Twitter @PaulaPasche.)

With all the offseason roster changes the Lions have made, it’s important not to forget a key deal. When the Lions traded with Seattle for left guard Rob Sims, the offensive line got a huge boost in a position that has been troublesome for years.

The Ohio native was thrilled to move back to what he described as football country — which isn’t exactly how anyone would describe Seattle. He is fitting right in.

“He moves really well. Our offseason program as far as lifting and running, the non-OTA stuff, is a little different than he is used to. But he acclimated pretty quickly,’’ Lions coach Jim Schwartz said. “... You wouldn’t expect anything less. He’s got a lot of experience (five years in NFL), he’s still young (age 26), moves really well, he’s a good addition for us.’’

He’ll play between left tackle Jeff Backus and center Dominic Raiola which should shore up that side of the line.

(Follow me on Twitter @PaulaPasche)

>P> Lions linebacker Zack Follett knows Lions running back Jahvid Best, who was a late first-round draft pick, better than anyone on the team right now since they played together at Cal.

Follett thinks best was an excellent addition to the Lions’ offense.

“He’s the fastest guy I’ve ever seen on the football field. ... He has another gear. His cuts, he doesn’t lose any speed. I already had it played out in my head, him busting a 70-yard run and everyone going crazy in Ford Field and I’ll be sitting on the bench saying, ‘I told you so, I told you so,’’’ Follett said.

(Follow me on Twitter @PaulaPasche)

ALLEN PARK — While most of the Lions rookies and veterans are shaking rust off from not playing since December, it’s a whole different story for Caleb Campbell.

The rookie first lieutenant, who was drafted by the Lions in 2008, played at Army and then served two years of active duty (which did not include football) before showing up for rookie minicamp a couple weeks ago.

Still, as he showed on the field at Thursday’s OTAs, he is holding his own despite the fact he’s learning how to play linebacker after playing safety in college.

“He’s made drastic improvement really from Tuesday in a lot of his things and the rookie camp we had,’’ coach Jim Schwartz said Thursday. “He’s shaking some rust off just as a football player, but you’re adding a position change to that. I think he’s done a great job so far.’’

(Follow me on Twitter @PaulaPasche)

It’s early, but still Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh said he can see small things that will make the difference to rise to be a good player in the NFL.

On Thursday in the rookie’s first OTA with the veterans he was matched up against veteran right guard Stephen Peterman.

“He’s more schooled in being able to pick up on things, you can’t give off little tips like you did in college. You have to disguise your stuff because they start to pick up on those things and those tendencies,’’ Suh said.

Suh said strengthwise he feels like he should be fine.

“I think I’m strong enough to beam into the quarterback or I wouldn’t be at this level,’’ Suh said.

Or he would not have been the second overall draft pick.

(Follow me on Twitter @PaulaPasche)

ALLEN PARK — Ndamukong Suh isn’t complaining, but he thought walking into the Lions locker room as the No. 2 overall pick that he might get a little more grief from the veterans.

Suh, along with the other Lions’ draft picks, worked out with the veterans for the first time on Monday, then they were on the field for their first combined OTA Tuesday morning.

“All the guys are good, obviously they give me a hard time and joke around about the hazing, but they’re just messing with me,’’ Suh said.

“The thing I guess surprised me is I thought it’d be a little bit more tougher and the guys being, bluntly, being dicks to me, but they’re all good dudes. Corey (Williams) just talks to me like I’ve been playing with him for like five years, 10 years. The guys are all good,’’ he added.

Suh said that being with the vets gives him a better feeling of what the next level is like.

Coach Jim Schwartz was fairly non-committal about the rookies’ first day in OTAs. They’re not in pads, so it’s hard to get a firm grasp on their development. But, at the same time, he didn’t sound at all disappointed either. (Follow me on Twitter @paulapasche.)

Calvin Johnson is becoming more and more at home in Detroit as he prepares for his fourth season as a Lions wide receiver.

Proof? For one, he’ll be playing on an offense with more talent this season. Not to mention a quarterback, Matthew Stafford, who now has a year of NFL experience on his resume.

Here’s more proof. Johnson is reaching out to Detroit through his Calvin Johnson Jr. Foundation. His initial focus was on his hometown of Atlanta and now he’s added Detroit.

“I wanted to give back by supporting and sponsoring community programs designed to change youth’s outlook on life,’’ Johnson said. “Metro Atlanta is home but, now, so is Metro Detroit.’’

Through his foundation, Johnson is offering scholarship opportunities to senior football players in metro Detroit. The athletes much be graduating seniors this spring, already have a partial football scholarship and have at least a 2.5 grade point average. Deadline for application is June 4.

For more information, e-mail inquiries to cjjrf@yahoo.com or write to the Calvin Johnson Jr. Foundation, Inc., c/o Catching Dreams Scholarship Program, P.O. Box 1015, Tyrone, GA 30290.

It appears LB Caleb Campbell will be present and accounted for during the Lions’ workouts and OTAs this week.

He sent a tweet on Sunday morning that said, “hello detroit.” A tweet on Friday said, “Gotta love sitting down with Generals of the US Army. Great meeting. Detroit this weekend...”

So if you put the pieces together ...

Coach Jim Schwartz said on Thursday that Campbell would be back, but he would not give a timetable.

Campbell is in the oddest of situations because he played for Army and then had to give two years of active service once he graduated.

The first lieutenant participated in rookie minicamp a few weeks back and was bigger, stronger and faster than he had been in 2008 when the Lions drafted him. He has a legitimate shot to make the roster if he can make all the workouts.

Kyle Vanden Bosch, the Lions defensive end, happened to be at home in Nashville during the big flood a few weeks ago. He said he and his family were lucky because their house sits on a hill and was spared water damage. He said there were houses half a mile away that had their basements filled.

“Everybody was affected. Because landmarks, the downtown area, the Grand Ole Opry, all that was under water. That affects people directly and indirectly,’’ Vanden Bosch said.

“One of the cool things about Nashville, some of those landmarks and the history -- it’s going to take a while to recover from that. I think everybody’s main concern is the people that didn’t have flood insurance and lost everything.

“One of the neat things about Nashville it’s kind of a small big town and everybody knows each other and is lending a hand helping in relief efforts,’’ Vanden Bosch said.

He lived there while playing for the Tennessee Titans and while he is up here for the offseason program, his family has not moved yet.

Coach Jim Schwartz, who still has a home in Nashville, said it was undamaged too. But he’s talked to a lot of people who weren’t quite as lucky.

“When you talk about hundred-year floods it’s one thing, when you talk about thousand-year floods, that’s pretty significant,’’ Schwartz said. (Follow me on Twitter @PaulaPasche)

From the time he was selected with the first overall pick, never was there a question about Matthew Stafford’s arm. The Lions quarterback proved that once again on Thursday when his pinpoint passing stood out at the team’s offseason workout.

One bullet down the middle to new WR Nate Burleson especially caught the eye of offensive coordinator Scott Linehan. Stafford pump-faked the ball to Calvin Johnson and most of the coverage went Johnson’s way, leaving Burleson open.

Stafford is still just 22 years old, but he’s a wiser man with a year of NFL experience under his belt. He’s living proof to the notion that a quarterback makes big advances between year one and year two.

“It’s a lot more relaxed. Obviously I know what team I’m going to be on, teammates all that stuff. It’s simple stuff that people wouldn’t think adds pressure to a first-year guy — and another year in the system,’’ Stafford said.

ALLEN PARK — Tight end Tony Scheffler didn’t participate in the Organized Team Activities Thursday morning due to an irritated right foot which was in an orthopedic boot. Coach Jim Schwartz does not expect him to be out too long and said it was not serious.

Two new Lions were on the field who have been signed since last week’s workouts.

Safety C.C. Brown bring experience to the defensive backfield.

“He’s a guy who’s a really hard hitter and he’s still young,’’ Schwartz said of Brown who has five years of NFL experience and is 27 years old.

Also new to the group was tight end John Madsen who was signed this week.

“He’s a multidimensional tight end. He has some wide receiver in his background. He’s a guy who’s probably a little better pass receiver than blocker right now, but that’s OK because we use our tight ends in a lot of different roles,’’ Schwartz said of the 27-year-old Madsen.

(Follow me on Twitter @paulapasche.)

Louis Delmas deserved more.

Brian Cushing deserved much less.

Delmas, the Lions free safety, was never in the race for the NFL defensive rookie for the 2009 season. Yes, the Lions were 2-14. But Delmas did something no other NFL rookie had done — he scored on an interception return, a fumble return and a safety. There’s only three ways a defensman can score and Delmas hit for the cycle.

More importantly, he quickly became a leader on defense. Yes, it was the NFL’s worst, but it was not because of his play.

Cushing, on the other hand, should be an embarrassment to the league. The Houston Texans linebacker was originally voted as the defensive rookie of the year. Then he tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs, was suspended for the first four games of this season and the voting (by 50 writers and broadcasters who cover the NFL) was re-done.

He still won. The announcement was just made.

Hey, cheating does pay.

ProFootballTalk.com checked in with this: “Cushing has an opportunity to emerge from the shadows, to address the positive result and the suspension, to tell the truth about what he took and why he took it, to embrace the consequences, to commit to being clean in the future, and to refuse to accept an award that was secured via a violation of the rules.’’

It’s a great idea. Too bad it probably won’t happen.

(Follow me on Twitter @paulapasche.

It’s no secret that Lions coach Jim Schwartz loves his players to be multi-dimensional. The best way to earn a roster spot is to heed to this standard. It’s especially important now with the team in rebuilding mode.

So it was really no surprise to see tight end Jake Nordin line up at fullback during the Organized Team Activities.

“We’re getting a little flexible with our tight ends playing some fullback and mixing it around. It’s something Casey did for us last year. You know we put a lot of stress on multi-dimensional players and that’s one of the things he can do,’’ Schwartz said of Nordin who is 6-foot-3 and 255 pounds.

He played in four games last season, starting in one. Signed as a free agent tight end to the practice squad late in the 2008 season, he’s now listed as a fullback on the roster. The only other experienced fullback that the Lions bring back is Jerome Felton.

Nordin has some experience at the new position.

“It hasn’t bee from a true fullback right behind the quarterback fullback. He’s been offset and things like that. He’s executed all the responsibilities of a fullback before as have the other tight ends. (Brandon) Pettigrew did that last year, Casey did that last year, it’s part of what they’re asked to do.’’

(Follow me on Twitter @PaulaPasche.)

The secondary is perhaps the weak spot on the roster at this point, but the Lions added a veteran safety Monday when they signed free agent C.C. Brown, according to reports.

Brown started seven of the 16 games he played for the N.Y. Giants last season. He finished with 69 tackles. He was a restricted free agent, but the Giants withdrew their tender offer in April.

From 2005-2008 the 27-year-old safety was as starter for the Houston Texans. He had a career-high 84 tackles when he started all 16 games for the Texans in 2007.

Brown is expected to compete for playing time at strong safety with Marvin White, Marquand Manuel, Daniel Bullocks and Ko Simpson (once he recovers from knee surgery).

Lions tight end Brandon Pettigrew, the starter last season until he was injured, seems quite unaffected by the fact that the Lions traded for another starting tight end, Tony Scheffler, a few weeks ago.

“That’s a good deal. Two tights every down, force them to cover to two 6-5, 6-6 guys, it’s going to be tough,’’ Pettigrew said. Both he and Scheffler are listed as 6-foot-5.

The Lions told him about the trade after it had happened.

“It’s not big deal, stuff happens so fast around here,’’ Pettigrew said. “All I can do is what I can do. I’m going to do what I’m going to do, regardless.’’

Pettigrew is in no rush at all while rehabbing his knee after he tore his ACL on Thanksgiving in the loss to the Packers. It cut his promising rookie season short.

However, his knee has healed well enough that he was able to participate individual drills at the Organized Team Activities session on Thursday.

He said the trainers are not rushing him back. They want him to work on individual drills and then work him into training camp.

“I don’t know how much preseason I’m going to do. The deal is to try to be back that first (regular season) game,’’ Pettigrew said.

Coach Jim Schwartz said that Pettigrew and RB Kevin Smith, who also had ACL surgery, have progressed well in rehab with no setbacks.

(Follow me on Twitter @PaulaPasche.)

ALLEN PARK — Even though he was on the field for the offseason training activities Thursday morning, tight end Brandon Pettigrew still has a ways to go while rehabbing from ACL knee surgery. He expects to be a full-go for the first regular season game.

Also on the field Thursday morning were running back Kevin Smith and CB Jack Williams who both are coming off ACL surgery.

“Those guys are starting to do individual-type drills and stuff like that, they’re still not even close to being cleared for team work and competitive stuff,’’ coach Jim Schwartz said. “They’re not right in the middle of a long-term rehab, they’re probably more past the middle, but they still have a long way to go. ... Hopefully by the time training camp comes they’ll be able to be on the field and not have many limitations.’’

Safety Ko Simpson, who underwent microfracture surgery, watched from the sidelines. He is expected to be back early in the regular season.

Tight end Tony Scheffler and running back Aaron Brown were excused for the day.

Last season the Lions honored Ernie Harwell as an honorary captain for the home opener against Minnesota. He received one of the loudest cheers that would be heard at Ford Field all season. That wasn’t because the Lions went 2-14, it was because Ernie Harwell was so well loved.

Ernie Harwell died on Tuesday at the age of 92. It was a huge loss for the city of Detroit. We all lost a friend.

“On behalf of the William Clay Ford family and the entire Detroit Lions organization, we extend our deepest sympathies to Mrs. Harwell, her family and Ernie’s extended family with the Tigers and throughout baseball,’’ Detroit Lions Team President Tom Lewand said in a statement Wednesday.

“Detroit not only lost a legend, but Detroit sports lost its voice. For those of us who grew up in Detroit, Ernie was as much a part of our childhood as grade school teachers and little league coaches,’’ Lewand continued.

“When you heard Ernie on that transistor radio during those hot summer nights, it was like a member of your family was talking to you. Ernie represented all that was good in sports and in life. He will be dearly missed,’’ he added.

Well said.

Harwell could not have been kinder to me. My first encounter was in 1991 when I was writing a feature on him before what was to be his last game after he had been fired. I was new to being a sports writer and a little nervous. We sat in the stands hours before a game. He couldn’t have been nicer, set me at ease and gave me his home number if I had more questions. We kept in contact while I wrote a TV/radio column for several years. Once he sent me a hand-written note complimenting me on one of my columns. I still have it.

That was the thing about Ernie Harwell.

He was a friend to everyone in Detroit.

He will be missed.

Coach Jim Schwartz was none too kind about the shape of the Lions’ rookies who participated in the weekend’s rookie minicamp. His message afterward was not to stay in shape, but to get in shape.

The drills they went through during the three-day camp were at a noticeably slower pace then during a regular practice and still some of the rookies were pushing it to get through.

Two of the exceptions were Ndamukong Suh, the second overall pick, and LB Caleb Campbell who had not stepped on a football practice field in two years thanks to Army obligations.

Campbell had been training for two years since his senior season at Army — part of it with the U.S. Bobsled team. Not many NFL players have that line on their resume.

He said with bobsledders it’s shear power and strength.

“Those are some of the most phenomenal athletes I’ve been around,’’ said Campbell who played four seasons at Army.

Because of that he’s faster, stronger and 10 pounds heavier than he was when the Lions drafted him two years ago.

Suh prides himself on his conditioning just as he did all through his time at Nebraska. It was one of the reasons he was widely touted as the best athlete in the draft.

The Lions will once again take just three quarterbacks into training camp — Matthew Stafford, veteran Shaun Hill and Drew Stanton.

“It’s just hard to get four quarterbacks a lot of work in camp. It’s one thing if you have a veteran who’s not practicing very much. Drew Stanton is still a young player, Shaun is coming into a young team, Matt is still a young player ...’’

With the training camp roster limited to 80 by the NFL, Schwartz said they’ll use that roster spot for another position.

The Lions did have three tryout quarterbacks — Taylor Bennett from Louisiana Tech, Andy Schmitt from Eastern Michigan and Donovan Porterie from New Mexico — at the rookie minicamp over the weekend.

“I don’t think there was anybody that was here, if a situation arose during training camp, that we would hesitate to call,’’ Schwartz said.

The Lions have lost a member of their family.

Bob Karmelowicz, the Lions defensive line coach in 2009, died on Saturday following an illness. He was 60.

Known to everyone as ‘Karm’ he was a coaching veteran who for the past 18 seasons worked with the defensive line for five NFL teams: Lions (2009), Houston Texans (2006-08), Kansas City Chiefs (1997-05), Washington Redskins (1994-96) and Cincinnati Bengals (1992-93).

When he was the Chiefs, Karmelowicz worked for Gunther Cunningham, now the Lions defensive coordinator.

“I’ve had the privilege of coaching with and against ‘Karm’ for a long time and he was one tough guy,’’ Cunningham said. “Though his coaching success on the field speaks for itself, I will always remember him for how much he loved kids, his compassion for helping kids and how much he cared for his grandkids. That will always be his lasting impression on me.’’

After the 2009 season, Karmelowicz retired from the Lions.

“On behalf of the William Clay Ford Family and the entire Detroit Lions organization, we offer our sincere sympathies to the Karmelowicz family,’’ Lions President Tom Lewand said.

Karmelowicz is survived by his wife, Olga, daughters, Liz and Marissa, and son, Dave.

Visitation is at 9 a.m. and Mass is at 10 a.m. Friday at the Church of the Divine Child in Dearborn.

ALLEN PARK — Ndamukong Suh said he wanted to go away from the Lions rookie minicamp weekend with a better knowledge of the defensive schemes and understand where he will be placed on the defense.

“It’s obviously not set in stone, things can always change, but as of right now I have a good idea where I’m going to be and what I need to get done and what I need to work on in these next two weeks,’’ Suh said.

Most of that involves studying the playbook. He’s one of the rookies who doesn’t need to get in shape, he just needs to stay in shape.

The Lions had scouted Suh so well that nothing he did on the field was really a surprise.

Coach Jim Schwartz compared him, in a way, to Matthew Stafford who went into rookie minicamp a year ago as the top overall pick.

“You could see (Stafford’s) arm on film, you could see his decision-making on film, all those things. What you didn’t realize is how hard of a worker he was and his personality and things like that,’’ Schwartz said.

“That’s probably the same thing with Ndamukong is that you get a feel for how serious he is about his business, how much he wants to be a great player. It’s not just show, it’s not just something that comes across in a 15-minute interview or a one-day visit. It’s something that’s real with him.’’

ALLEN PARK — Wide receiver Mike Moore may have had his most productive time at Georgia when he was catching passes from Matthew Stafford for the Bulldogs.

So it makes sense that the Lions would look at Moore, an undrafted free agent. Moore is one of the undrafted rookie free agents participating in the Lions’ rookie minicamp this weekend.

“Our scouts had some feel for him. He’s been very productive, he probably was most productive when he was with Matt. We liked a lot of things we saw about him,’’ coach Jim Schwartz said.

“He’s got really good hands, he’s smooth, he’s got some strength. Maybe not a blazer, but an SEC receiver that’s been productive,’’ the coach added.

They’re looking at the 6-foot-2 wide receiver to play on the outside.