LIONS HEAD COACH DAN CAMPBELL
Opening Statement
“Credit Denver. They played a good game. They did what they needed to do to control that game.”
On the disappointment of the run defense coming from last week
“It was [a disappointment]. We made too many mistakes. Guys were in improper gaps, and we weren’t lining up right. It wasn’t clean.”
On the preparation of having multiple players out due to COVID-19
“It’s certainly not a normal week, but we made the most of it. We went through and walked through everything. You prepare the best you can and ultimately, [Denver] did some things out there offensively, and we couldn’t stop them but then offensively, we have to be able to step up and we didn’t do that. We turned the ball over. We were in that game after halftime but then we turn the ball over. We talk about taking the ball down to score and we get a little momentum back and do the opposite and turn it over and they score. Offensively, we could never really give this team life. Defense—we certainly didn’t do well enough in the run game, that’s where it started but I think offensively, we need to be better too.”
On the lack of defensive practice time
“I just told the team it’s going to be hard for me to say that’s the issue. What we had to do was not ideal, but we were prepared to come into this game with the guys we had. We had a game plan ready to go and we knew what we needed to do but we just didn’t do it. There were too many mistakes. We’re right there to make the play and we don’t make the play. We just weren’t good enough.”
On the performance of RB Craig Reynolds
“I thought Craig ran hard and did some things. I don’t think anyone on the staff is surprised. We thought he would do a good job and certainly he did. I thought he did well. I thought [CB] Nickell Robey-Coleman came in when we lost [CB] Jerry [Jacobs] and we put him outside. He’s not naturally an outside corner but he went out there and held his own a little bit.”
On RB Jermar Jefferson missing the game
“[RB] Craig [Reynolds] has been at practice and been good. [RB] Jermar [Jefferson] had the ankle and started the week with the flu so he wasn’t even around so we trusted Craig.”
On CB Jerry Jacobs’ injury
“We will know more tomorrow, but it didn’t look too good.”
On what started the outbreak of illness
“We don’t know who patient zero is.”
On whether he thinks the additional precautions will help next week
“I like to think so. We split the building in half. Some of them came in to lift on Tuesday, we didn’t even have the whole team there, and then Wednesday, I thought we already did things and that was for the flu and not COVID-19. I feel like we are doing all we can do with whatever it is. I don’t know what else to do. The good news is we all tested negative on the plane and the same group that played today were all negative so hopefully it stays that way. We will be safe and tomorrow, we will probably bring in the guys who are injured who need to be in there and everyone else, I would imagine we will keep at home. We will hear from the league and see what they say. They might not let anyone in the building. I get it.”
On what contributed to today’s loss
“Here’s what I’m thinking of. We come out at halftime and we have momentum and ran it two plays in a row and did really good and we fumble the ball. We might have taken that ball all the way down for the touchdown and then what happens? It’s hard for me to say that everything was stacked against us. I can’t think that way. It wasn’t ideal and we made too many mistakes and however we want to look at it, but it just wasn’t good enough.”
On Denver’s delay of game penalty that Detroit declined to start the game
“[Denver] reached out to me about that yesterday, and I appreciate that. It was for ‘DT’ (former Broncos WR Demaryius Thomas). That’s who we did that for.”
LIONS QUARTERBACK JARED GOFF
On how difficult the week of practice was
“It doesn’t matter. No one feels bad for us, no one feels sorry for us—including ourselves. We went out here intending to win, and we came up short. Don’t care who was on the field, we had the guys that we believe in. To win, we had too many mistakes.”
On Lions RB Craig Reynolds’ performance
“We’ve always liked [Lions RB] Craig [Reynolds] since the preseason—he’s had some good days, some good games. We’ve always said in the back of our minds, ‘if he ever gets his shot, we believe in him’, and he did today. He did some good things, and we’ll see where it goes.”
On how tough it was to make a game plan without Lions TE T.J. Hockenson and RB D’Andre Swift
“It provides another challenge, but it’s nothing we can’t overcome. I thought today, we very easily could’ve overcome it, but we made too many mistakes.”
On the offensive formation during the Lions’ first touchdown
“It was just a motion – I believe they were in man coverage. [Lions WR] Kalif [Raymond] kind of hides behind the line, then goes back the other way and the guy covering him thinks he’s still running. It was almost a borderline trick play there and he was obviously wide open.”
On if he believes that the team had some momentum coming out of the locker room
“Yeah, we did. We really had momentum—it was 10-14 and we had that two-minute drive that we weren’t able to get points on the board or anything. Then they were able to overtake the momentum, get three (points), and come out of the half. We still felt like were in a good place, but we just couldn’t get anything going.”
On how things started to snowball and get away from the team in the second half
“Yeah, we got down there in the tight-red and I fall down, we get stuffed, I have a hard time on the keeper to the left and then
on the fourth down, we can’t find a completion. So, it’s a handful of things—all mistakes that can be cleaned up.”
On what caused the multiple batted-down passes at the line
“Yeah, there was a lot of them. That’s just their defense doing a good job—their D-Line getting their hands up.”
On what fell apart mechanically when he tripped and fell I think it happens probably once a year and it happened in that situation, unfortunately.”
On the following third-down, it seemed like he was deciding to run or pass
“That’s exactly what happened. If I had to do it again, I would’ve just got some depth and given myself a better chance to make a throw to either of the guys. But I went to run and [Broncos SS] Kareem Jackson did a good job of coming up to get me. So, I back peddled to try to make a throw–I wish I would’ve made a better throw.”
On what would be a successful way to end the season
“Four-straight wins—we’re trying to win every game. We’ve got Arizona next week and we’ll deal with whoever we’ve got after that, but it’d be tough to stand up here if I didn’t believe in those guys, and I was ‘BS’-ing you guys. But I believe in those guys, I believe that we can win games and I believe that we can play with anybody. I believe in our coaches.”
On if finishing out the season strong can carry momentum into next season
“Sure, it can. I think at the end of the day, we’re playing for pride and who we are. I think your character shows in these last four games–you find out a lot about people in times like these, in times of adversity. I believe I know who’s in that locker room, so I don’t believe we’re going to find anything we don’t like, but it does test you.”
On what the week of practice was like with multiple people injured and sick
“I missed Wednesday, that’s all that was different. Injures and stuff like that happen all the time. On offense, we weren’t
affected by the COVID-19 bug as much as the defense was. [Lions RB] Jamal [Williams] obviously went out, but injuries on Fridays happen and it’s no different than that. You’ve got to play with who you’ve got and unfortunately today, we came up short.”
On what the team did on Thursday and if it affected the QBs preparation
“Seven-on-seven. I believe we did two seven-on-seven periods. I think we may have done one team period or offensive period; I can’t quite remember. I don’t think we were affected in practice nearly as much as you guys may think, it was really fairly standard, outside of Wednesday.”
On if a strong offensive line and run game can carry into next year
“Yeah, our O-Line is damn good and so are these running backs. We’ve been able to move some guys and find some holes there pretty much all year. It’s a good thing to carry with us as we go on through this year and into next. But again, we’re focused on who we’ve got next.”
On what the team can learn about themselves in the next month
“Yeah, I think you can learn a lot about guys – you learn a lot about who you want in your corner and who you want in your foxhole. Like I said, I don’t think we’ll find anyone in this locker room that isn’t that way. But I’ve been on teams before where you find out a lot about guys in certain situations of adversity. In situations where it’s easier to not play, it’s easier to miss a game and it’s easier to say you don’t want to play in a game because you got something going on. So, you find out a lot about guys.”
LIONS NOSE TACKLE ALIM MCNEILL
On the impact of losing players due to illness and the preparation leading up to this week
“I don’t really think it impacts it much. We are professionals here. We’ve been doing it for a minute now. It is not an excuse. We got to get it done. It’s part of life. People get sick sometimes. The next man has to step up or you just got to get back to it. I was able to come back this week and just got to get the job done.”
On the frustration of the run game today
“It’s very frustrating. Knowing that you’re the D-line, it starts with us up front. To know that were not allowing our linebackers to play free. We’re not playing our blocks correctly and chewing at our accountability is very frustrating. They just keep marching down the field. Running the ball is a lot different. It’s just like a practice when someone is marching down the field. It doesn’t feel good.”
On the first play of the game today
“To me it means a lot. I grew up watching those guys play and watching [former Broncos] WR Demaryius Thomas play. It’s obviously still kind of shocking and I couldn’t believe it. It meant a lot. He was special here and the fans loved him. The Broncos loved him. Overall, a good guy. It wasn’t him leaving but growing up watching him play, I never heard of anything off the field. He just breaks down that path, do what you have to do. He got his job done and it was very special.”
LIONS RUNNING BACK CRAIG REYNOLDS
On preparing for the game coming to Denver
“Just controlling what I can. Every day, just working hard at practice. In the preseason, I came in with the same mentality, just trying to control what I can. Guys need to take advantage of opportunities when they can. It was just about going out there with my teammates and playing for them. We got two backs that are injured right now in [RB D’Andre] Swift and [RB] Jamaal [Williams] so the opportunity presented itself and I tried to pick up where they left off. I appreciate [RB] Jermar [Jefferson] and [RB] Godwin [Igwebuike] for taking me under their wings and making me work hard. We push each other daily in practice and I owe everything to those guys.”
On his reaction to getting the starting running back role
“It definitely stinks that [RB] Jamaal [Williams] got COVID-19. It was crazy hearing my number called. I had to step up. It’s the NFL. Today we fought and came up short which sucks. I just wanted to step into that role that [RB] Jamaal [Williams] has been carrying all season for us.
On his nickname “Netflix”
“I’m not worried about nicknames, to be honest. I just want to play when the opportunity comes and like I said, I’m going to say a prayer to God and thank Him for the opportunity. It stinks that we came up short today.”
LIONS LINEBACKER JOSH WOODS
On the team’s performance today
“A lot of fun to be out there today, it’s a blessing. A dream job. At the end of the day, business is about winning. Excited to get back on the film [and] have the opportunity to get better.”
On the run game today
“It’s an ultimate team sport. I don’t put any one position group. The standard is the standard. We all got to play better. I expect the practices this week that we will go ahead and do that.”
On the whirlwind of getting more reps
“A whirlwind no doubt. That’s the nature of business—opportunity. When it’s your time you got to be ready for that.
