Fauria a dancing touchdown machine for Lions

CLEVELAND — If he continues scoring touchdowns at this rate, Joseph Fauria will require a much broader repertoire of end zone dance moves.

“I’m taking suggestions in my suggestion box,” the Lions tight end said Sunday. “My e-mail is ... I’m just kidding.”

The undrafted free agent is having fun, beating the odds as well as opponents, plucking touchdown passes from the sky like a NBA power forward snares rebounds off the glass. Fauria has become the Lions’ most important red-zone-scoring weapon and most unlikely pop culture connoisseur. When he scored the Lions’ first touchdown against Cleveland — a 1-yard toss from Matthew Stafford — he busted another move that sent the Twitter-sphere scurrying for an apt description.

“It’s called a gas pedal,” Fauria said. “I probably didn’t do it as well as I probably could’ve, but I was just really happy. That happens sometimes.”

The Lions hit the gas pedal in the second half against the Browns, accelerating into a top gear with 24 unanswered points in a 31-17 win that still left more questions than provided answers.

The first question is how could 31 other teams miss on Fauria, that rare combination of size, strength and grace?

It’s quite the coup for a Lions’ front office generally incapable of getting serviceable production out of its second round draft picks that they unearthed a potential gem from the undrafted scrap heap. But it’s also very possible that the Lions are really the only team that could fully take advantage of the nightmarish defensive matchups, pairing a 6-foot-8 tight end against a physically overmatched linebacker or safety.

When Calvin Johnson’s on the field, Fauria can’t help but get single coverage.

Fauria has caught only seven passes. But five of them are touchdowns.

He couldn’t believe that his presence was requested in the postgame interview room. But that is what happens when you score three touchdowns. His eyes popped out in amazement when he noticed all the television cameras. His massive frame dwarfed the podium.

“Is this going to be long enough?” he asked about the microphone that barely reached to his stomach.

Fauria is still disbelieving of the attention he’s receiving. He wisely doesn’t take it all too seriously because the unwanted on draft day must constantly prove themselves. Every snap, every game becomes another opportunity to prove wrong those scouts who amassed volumes of data on all the tight ends available last spring, but thought the former UCLA player wasn’t worthy of even a late-round investment.

“I’ve worked hard to get where I am right now,” he said. “The odds were against me, being an undrafted guy. But I overcame. And I’m going to continue to do so.

“Being a rookie, being young, you’ve got to work your way up and earn that trust. I just talked to the quarterbacks this past week and they’re just starting to get used to how I run routes because I’m a little longer guy. Earning that trust with Matthew is tremendous.”

It didn’t take long this past summer for the coaches to trust him.

“First of all, he’s tall as heck,” said Jim Schwartz. “But there a lot of tall guys that aren’t good football players. I think the thing that separates Joe and has allowed him to make those plays is he’s really, really strong. He’s got really strong hands. We saw that early on in training camp.”

Fauria’s potentially a difference-maker on a team that’s still not as good as it thinks. Still prone to the buffoonery of dropped passes, stupid penalties and poor pass coverage that turned Sunday’s first half into a recurring nightmare of road disasters past against poor competition.

A halftime talk from linebacker Stephen Tulloch helped awaken the Lions from their first-half slumber. But the fact that can still easily lull themselves into such disarray against crappy teams like the Browns raises concerns as the schedule becomes a little more challenging in the coming weeks.

Fauria’s not worrying about that. He’s having too much fun, happily dancing as fast as he can.