September 2, 2024
Opening Statement: “We’re excited. I think everybody’s pretty excited. We’re excited to have the roster pretty much set here, and it’s the guys we want to go to war with. We have a very good opponent coming up on Sunday Night Football at our place, it just doesn’t really get any better. It really doesn’t. I think the hard thing here is understanding that we’ve still got – we’re seven days out, eight days out or whatever that is. We’ve got a little time is the point. We still have a little bit of time, and the preparation begins. This will be the first thing for us is really getting the guys moving around today, getting a little intro into their personnel as much as we can, and that’s what the focus of today will be, we’ll get them out. And tomorrow’s really like our base, first, second down day, our big day. Man, we’re excited, I’m excited. The staff is excited, the players, everybody. And I know our fans are ready to roll so this is going to be great.”
On his anticipation of this season and how it is different than past seasons: “It’s hard to say. I always get excited for this time of year. There again, our core is – the core is the core and it’s really been that way for a long period of time, and you hope that you build on top of that foundation that we’ve built here, and you help, and you improve and everybody grows together. So, with that, it’s a new team but I think it’s the same type of anticipation as every year. It’s year one, it’s, ‘Where are you at? How are you going to stack up? What do you feel like you’re going to be good at? Where can you improve?’ There’s just so many things. You’re going into the game, you’re going to build the best plan that you can with your personnel to go win the game, but you also come out and say, ‘Alright, what are we really?’ As you continue to improve all year, you’re trying to kind of figure out, ‘What are we, this team, exactly? What can we really hang our hat on as we go?’ So, there’s a lot of things to it. It’s finally – to be able to get to this point, and I told the team this morning, ‘Man let’s put our guys in position to go win and to do what they do best. Just let them go win the race for you.’ To be able to just finally cut (Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown) Saint loose, and (Lions DL Aidan Hutchinson) Hutch and (Lions DL Alim McNeill) Mac, and (Lions DL) Levi (Onwuzurike) and (Lions DL Marcus) Davenport and (Lions RB Jahmyr) Gibbs and (Lions TE Sam) LaPorta, it’s like here we go man. With this O-line, you finally – you let them go and let’s give them the best of the best and let them go win it for you. It’s exciting. This is a great time of the year and it’s all about putting your guys against their guys.”
On why he is leaving the last spot on the active roster open: “I think it’s for the flexibility. It gives us flexibility to make a move if we need to, if we need to add somebody. There again, we’re going to have a pretty good idea within the next, probably, 48 hours here, 24 to 48 hours, exactly how we want to go into this game and who we want to go into the game with. So, that could have a little bearing on roster, practice squad, vet squad, that whole thing. It just gives us a little bit of room to maneuver.”
On if adding to the defensive tackle position is something he needs to do Week 1 with Lions DL Brodric Martin being on Reserve/Injured: “Yeah, look our D-line’s going to be important, but we feel pretty good. We feel like we’re the best we’ve been in many years here with (Lions DL Josh) Paschal and obviously (Lions DL Alim McNeill) Mac and (Lions DL) Levi (Onwuzurike) and our young buck who we got. We just feel like we have some options here. But yeah, we’re not – listen a move can be made here. We’re open to whatever that’s going to give us the best chance to have success, and yes, you are going to need it against the Rams. I mean this is a – I said this last year when we got ready to play them. They changed their style, and they started having success. They altered a little bit of what they do and went out of traditionally the way that (Rams Head) Coach (Sean) McVay’s played it over there, and it was really good for them. It was a little bit more of a downhill approach and take some hits off of (Rams QB Matthew) Stafford, let him do what he does best, and it’s a winning recipe. We’re going to be tested. They’re going to try to test us and so absolutely, we’re going to need to be beefed up ready to go up front.”
On how strange it is to prepare for the Rams without former Rams DL Aaron Donald: “Yeah, it is different. I mean, you always had to have – you always had to account for him. You needed to know where he was at at all times, really on all downs. So, it was a constantly – you were shifting and motioning just for him, and you’re damn near doing it every play. Then, you’re trying to find a way to chip on one side and it’s really not for the tackle, it’s so the tackle can help the guard for him on Donald. But yes, it’s nice not to have to necessarily worry about him, but they’ve got – the guys they have over there are young and hungry, high motor, they have an influx of youth that’s pretty damn talented and there again, I think these guys go now. They got plenty up front, believe me. They’ve got plenty.”
On why he feels like Lions QB Jared Goff is the guy that can get the team over the hump: “I think he’s been everything that we’ve hoped he would be and then some. I think what he brought was – at the least he brought a stable piece for us. A steady, reliable guy who behind center is going to do what we ask him to do. We take care of him, he’ll take care of the football. He’s going to move it, he’ll be efficient, he’ll be our captain. That’s at the least, and what we got was so much more. So, we got that and through the years, these last three years, he’s just continued to grow and gotten better and gotten better, and honestly, I think he just wants more, and he continues to challenge himself and the more he does that, the more we load him up. The more we ask him to do, the more we put on his plate because he can handle it and he wants it. So, where he’s able to go, our offense is able to go. So, we ask him to do a lot, and we’re going to ask him to do a little bit more than he did last year because he can handle it. He’s proven that. He’s playing at a high level, and he also knows he doesn’t have to do this all on his own. That’s why we have pieces around him on offense, it’s why we play with the defense, it’s why we play with special teams. I’ve said this before, we can get out of any game we need to with those units. As long as the other two are clicking, if one has a rough one, that’s alright. We’ll find our way out of that. So, we use everything we have on our roster.”
On how he can ensure that the secondary can communicate at a high level after the starters did not play together in the preseason: “Yeah, I think we just have to make a huge point of it this week. We’ll have some crowd noise out there for them, because they’re going to need silent communication because of our crowd, our fans. There again, it’s not – you go into a game like this, it’s really not even about – listen, I’ve said it before, even if we’re all wrong, we’re all right. Even if it’s, ‘Man, that’s not the right call,’ if we’re all on the same page and we all are playing the same call, then we’ll be just fine. Being on the same page, communicating with one another, making a point of emphasis, really pushing that this week will be important. Because they’re going to try to disguise some things on offense. They’re going to try to see if they can unravel our defense, that’s what they did a good job of last year, and so there again, we’ll be tested on the back end as well.”
On how they balance looking backward and forward while scouting the Rams as a team they played at the end of last season: “That’s tough because, really, all you have is back. They’re like us, they didn’t play anybody in the preseason so it’s not like you’re gaining anything by watching the preseason. Maybe a couple of guys you can just watch to see how they played, but as far as the schematics of it, you’re not really going to get anything, so all you have is what you had in the past. And then you piece meal some things together by, ‘Alright, I think projection wise this guy’s playing here or I think this is –’ so that’s what you really have to go back to. I think you have to look at what have they had success on from the point past the bye week and then had success against us. Offense, defense, had some things that worked well for them, why wouldn’t you use it again? Then things that weren’t so good and I think you’re doing a little bit of projecting and I think a lot of it is that, but then I go back to, you have to have answers ready when we get into this game. We’re going to have to have some things ready to go that if we get looks that we’re not quite anticipating that we have to be ready to have answers for. Because they’ll throw some curve balls just like we’re going to throw some curve balls. You should, you have to test and see where they’re at. But there again, what gives me faith too is really what we’ve done really all camp, and I feel like offensively and defensively we’ve tested each other pretty good. We’ve gone after each other’s weaknesses. (Lions Defensive Coordinator Aaron Glenn) AG and (Lions Offensive Coordinator) Ben (Johnson) have done a really good job of that and just constantly – just picking at things and trying to expose each other. Between the shifts, the motions, the disguises on defense, all of it, you’re able to adapt and so you’re in a better position to handle some of these unscouted looks.”
On Lions DL Levi Onwuzurike’s journey and if he expects him to be one of the players to help with the pass rush: “Levi’s had – this has been since spring. He came in and he clearly looked better. He looked healthy. He’s big, he’s strong. Then training camp with pads, whatever this has been, 30 days, hard heavy work, live days, you name it and he’s – there’s no indication that this is not holding up. He looks just as strong and powerful as ever. I think it’s here to stay, so nothing’s going to tell me that it’s not and that’s really been the hold back is his body, trusting his body, and then once his body’s going to hold up, now he’s been able to bank the reps. So, he’s continued to grow and get better as a football player because now he’s got – everything that God gave him, he can use. So, he’s in a good place right now and yeah, I think he’s very much going to be a part of this. He’s one of those pieces I think of when it comes time to closing the pocket down on the quarterback, I think he’s one of those guys. I really do.”
On if he is being straightforward when he states he wants to win the Super Bowl or if there is a psychology to it: “It’s funny because I just told the team, ‘Let’s not talk about it anymore.’ And it’s just this. Of course we do, who doesn’t? But now, we’re to the point now where that doesn’t even matter anymore. What does that do? Does nothing. Now it’s about the steps to get to there. And the steps are, you better win your division, because you get a home game. Then once you get a home game, it’s all about seeding. You win these head to heads, and all of sudden you’re the three seed, the two seed, maybe you’re the one seed. So, we have to win the division. It starts with this first game, NFC opponent who could win the West at the end of this year, you win a head-to-head, so it’s all about now what gives you the best odds. That’s so far down the road now, so now it’s about setting yourself up for that and how do you do that? It’s like we said, it starts with game one, NFC opponent, really good opponent who I think is going to be staring at all of us in the playoffs at the end of this year too. So that’s it, you find a way to win your division again.”
On injury updates for players like Lions S Ifeatu Melifonwu: “Yeah, Iffy will be the only one right now who’s still not sure, still not sure on him. We’re going to try to get him moving around a little bit today and tomorrow and see where he’s at. Everybody else we’re good.”
On if Lions S Ifeatu Melifonwu got his injury in the Kansas City preseason game: “Yeah, it’s really something that’s just been lingering, even before that. It’s slow moving, that’s all. It’s slow healing and take it as it comes.”
