| LIONS HEAD COACH MATT PATRICIA QUOTE SHEET Opening statement: “Just getting ready to go here. Obviously, a big week for us. Division opponent here, have to do a great job preparing to get ready to go. For us – for updates here, I would say for practice, Joe Dahl, Da’Shawn Hand, Tracy Walker and Sam Martin will not practice today. We’ll keep them out of practice as we go out there and try to get a good Wednesday going here today. From that standpoint, just back to work on to Chicago. We’ve got a really good Chicago team that we have to go there, and we have to go play against. We know how dangerous they are in all three phases of the game, really to be honest with you. They have great players and great plays in all three phases, so it will be a big challenge for us. We’ve got our work cut out, but that’s what we do every single week. We go to work and try to get better and try to go out and give ourselves a chance to win. From that aspect of it, just kind of a normal week for us coming off the weekend.” On why P Sam Martin is not practicing: “Sam played in the game, came out of the game a little sore in the abdomen area. Thought it would be a good idea to give him a little bit of rest, while we just take a look at him. One of the things we work on today that’s really important is our coverage units against the return game. They have a phenomenal return game. They have great players that – (Tarik) Cohen in the punt return and then (Cordarrelle) Patterson in the kickoff return. So, we needed some live kicks. We had the practice squad spot available to us, so thought it was a good opportunity to live kicks so we could work on kind of the timing of that stuff here today outside kind of in the environment and all that. Sam, we’ll see what he looks like tomorrow from that aspect of it but just sore coming out of the game.” On how they try to move on after a difficult loss: “I think for us, anytime we don’t win it’s all the same. You’re not happy. How ever you don’t win, it’s still the same feeling. You didn’t get the ‘W’, you didn’t get – all that work you put into it, it didn’t come out in a positive manner. For us, we have to make sure we learn as we push forward, and make sure there are things that come up in the game that we have to eliminate and try to do better and push forward. As important as it is to understand what we did last week, it’s really important for us to move forward this week and get on to the next opponent. The guys know that. They’re great, every single week they’re great. They come in – like I’ve said many times before, this is a tough team mentally and physically and part of that mental toughness is turning the page and getting ready for an opponent, and knowing that you’re opponent is getting ready for you. There’s not a lot of time to really kind of do anything other than study and focus on what you’re going to see this week, and what do you do to make sure that we’re operating at a high level this weekend. That’s one thing from the season so far that our guys have done a great job of that we can continue to lean on, so that we are competitive and tough and battling every single week to give ourselves a chance to win.” On the reason for why the defense has struggled in comparison to last season: “I think for us, again, every year is a new year. So, we never really – you start over every single year, and that’s the truth. Everybody builds differently. The players are – the names may be the same, but they’re different from year to year. They work. The coaches, the same thing. For us, it’s just where we are right now. It’s where we are this year, it’s what do we do to get better this year, what do we do better moving forward for the next eight games. That’s really what’s important to us. You can’t sit there and say, ‘Well this is where we were because it doesn’t mean anything.’ There are a lot of months that go by between the end of last year and the start of this year. What’s important to us is where we are, and how do we get better going forward. That’s the most important thing. We’ve had some good football out there defensively and we’ve had some bad football. I think if we can eliminate the bad football plays, and put some more consistent good football on the field, we’d be right where we need to be. But those are the things that I’m continuity trying to coach better and work harder to get rid of. Penalties is obviously an easy one, to point to from that standpoint. We have to just do a better job eliminating that stuff. Some of the big plays that are happening we have to do a good job of eliminating that. It’s really focused on where we are now. I mean, that’s really the biggest thing, and how the pieces fit together this year that we know we have to get better at.” On if he questions his own week-to-week routine with the defense: “I think for me, as a coach, I’m always going to start with my coaching – my coaching, my coaches. I think for us, any teacher, any educator is always going to look at their students and say, ‘All right, well if they are not getting it, how do we give it to them better?’ That’s the bottom line. Then as a student or as a player, you look at it and say, ‘How do I get information better, or how do I perform it better?’ We’ll always start there. I mean, that’s what the game is. It’s about teaching, it’s about learning, and making sure we’re doing the best job we can there to get all that information across. Then we have to go perform on Sunday. So for us, I think a lot of it – we’ll go back to basics like we usually do in those situations. You have to have a foundation to build on, and some of the foundation pieces that we have right now have to be more consistent and that’s the truth. Once we get to that point where that stuff is consistent then, you can build from there, and that’s the case where repetition and practice and being in situations where we can continually work on that stuff. Muscle memory – all of that is so important to us all the way through the entire course of the year of making sure that we stay up on that.” On if he has not been able to teach more advanced defensive concepts because he still needs to teach fundamentals: “I wouldn’t say any words other than, it is what it is right now, and we have to get better. That’s where we’re at. I think for us, there’s time on task that’s incorporated into all of that. Certainly, from that standpoint just being able to go out and do it on the field and do it the way we need it done is certainly part of it. For us, it’s about how we handle it going forward. I think anything other than that is not really going to be helpful. Honestly, fundamentals will be talked about from the first day we start until the very last day of each and every single season because in the end, those are the skill sets that come into play regardless of the call, regardless of the situation, regardless of the play. Usually at some point in the biggest games of the year, it will be a fundamental skill set that helps that thing go either way. So, those are things that you don’t take for granted, and you work on them all the time.” On what specific aspects of his teachings are not being received: “It’s exactly what I said. I’ll try to readdress it, reteach it, redo whatever I can from that stuff any way – put it in different terminology if I have to, relate it to different concepts if I have to, from that standpoint, to make sure that the message is coming across.” On DT Damon Harrison Sr.’s good performance against Oakland and how he can build off of it: “I would agree. I think some of it, hopefully coming off that, we can build on the confidence part of that. He was able to kind of use some of the leverage, the strength and some of the lower body, maybe things that he’s been dealing with in a positive way. Hopefully we continue to build on that from that aspect of it and try to do it a little bit more, but I think he’s a guy that’s been working really hard from the moment he finally got back on the field, to be able to push through and catch up on some of that stuff. It was good to see that in the game certainly, from that aspect of it. You definitely saw some of that strength back in his lower body from that aspect of it, his pad level, things like that that he was able to do. That was good to see, and hopefully we keep building on that as we go through in the next several weeks as we push forward. Yeah, definitely.” On if it is an advantage that they have played Bears QB Chase Daniel before: “I think it’s always interesting when those situations come up, how ever they do come up with players that come into the game that maybe you haven’t seen before from that aspect of it. So, it’s always good to kind of see those players previously and especially at the quarterback position. For us, it’s (Mitchell) Trubisky. This guy’s, he’s a good player, he’s athletic, he’s strong, he can get out of trouble, he can extend plays, he can scramble, he can run, he can throw. He’s got deep balls, he’s got great skill guys, so that’s the major issue that we have to deal with. He’s a great player, and we have to start there.” On what happens to an NFL locker room if the quarterback and kicker are not playing well: “I don’t know, that’s probably a pretty good question as far as that’s concerned. I think every position is really important. I think the one thing about those positions, I’d say, that’s unique is – we have a saying in the NFL. It’s, ‘If you do one thing for this team, it better be one thing really well,’ and those are two positions that usually you do one thing from that aspect of it. So, you expect those guys to be able to hold that position and do it at a high level. I think when those guys don’t then that’s usually when you have problems or issues or things you have to deal with, but I would say that’s just general comments.” On why he thinks Bears QB Mitch Trubisky is a good player and why the Bears offense has struggled as a whole: “If you watch on tape, I think there’s a lot of trust that he has with his skill guys from that standpoint. He’s going to get the ball up to Allen (Robinson II), he’s going to get the ball up to (Taylor) Gabriel. Those guys are fast. They get down field – (Trey) Burton. We know he’s a good player. We know he’s been dealing with something but working through and getting better as the weeks go by. For us, we try to look at all those games individually and understand maybe why was this game played the way it was played, or maybe it looks like this because of these reasons. For us, as we prepare and we look at it, that team is getting healthy, they’re getting stronger, they’re getting better in some of those situations. Maybe they’ve calmed some things down from that standpoint to get them a little bit more confidence. Maybe they’re allowed to kind of use different strengths that they have, whether it’s (David) Montgomery or (Tarik) Cohen or any of those players there where they’re so explosive and so dynamic. If you don’t account for it that way, and you don’t prepare that way then you’re going to get beat. This is the NFL, there are good players. These guys can come at you at any time. It’s a fine line between winning and losing. That’s the truth. He’s done it a long enough time to establish himself at a high level. We know how dangerous he can be, and that’s the truth. We need to make sure we prepare that way.” On if Bears QB Mitch Trubisky is more dangerous outside the pocket: “He’s very dangerous outside (the) pocket. He makes good throws inside the pocket too. Like I said, I think the trust level that he has with those skill guys – (Allen) Robinson (II), he’ll put the ball up and usually Robinson comes down with it. He makes those big plays. So, when you have that ability, you can stay in the pocket and make those throws, but very dangerous outside the pocket.” On how Bears Defensive Coordinator Chuck Pagano has changed their defense this season: “I think that’s one of the interesting things about Chuck taking over for the defense over there is (that) he is a guy that is used to – let’s say having 3-4 personnel and utilizing it into different looks, different fronts similar to the way that (Denver Broncos Head Coach) Vic (Fangio) would be able to that – utilizing those guys in a very similar way. Chuck has a couple of different little pressure packages that he likes to run and some different sort of overload blitzes or alignment or – you know, he also does a really good job with the coverage part of it. He’s coached in the secondary a lot through the course of his career, so some of the nuances between some of the coverage differences, you can see those show up too a little bit between the press and the off-man, and maybe a couple of the different exchange sort of coverage disguises that they use – those will show up to. So, you can kind of see those being filtered in from that aspect of it. The biggest thing is obviously when you watch their defense, is the players. They have really, really good players, dynamic players. Even with (Akiem) Hicks being on IR, (Eddie) Goldman in the middle is knocking the line of scrimmage back, and those guys are very effective overall in the front. I think Chuck does a great job of understanding the personnel that he has and utilizing them to the best of their abilities to go make plays.” On if he took time to take in the realization of his final game in Oakland: “You know what, great question. I love the game, and I love every aspect of it. As probably as upset and angry as I was that we didn’t win because all I really want to do – as I was kind of walking out before we hit the tunnel, before we went out, I kind of looked up and you see the names and the scoreboard. You understand obviously the baseball history there, but the football history and the Black Hole and all the rest of it. For me, I did take a couple of seconds to kind of soak that in and put that in the back of my memory banks for a later date. But there is a lot of great history and tradition there with the Raiders and in Oakland. It’s a hostile environment – they’re yelling at you, they’re screaming, they’re saying a lot of not really friendly things, but I tend to enjoy that. I think that’s the fun of the game. I did, yeah.” LIONS QB MATTHEW STAFFORD QUOTE SHEET On what about the offense that has been clicking for him this season: “I think we’ve done a nice job in the play-action game, making some big plays – those guys are making great plays down the field. The guys upfront are giving me time to get it down there. I think we’ve done a nice job on third down staying on the field, which helps. We’re getting more plays and those guys on the outside are making great plays.” On if he is still battling an illness: “I mean it’s way better. I’m fine, just a little sick, but so is everybody in Michigan right now.” On his ability to push the ball downfield more: “Yeah, I think our guys are doing a good job of getting behind people and winning downfield, which is giving me confidence to cut it loose to them. Obviously when the ball is in the air, they’re doing a great job of making plays. (Lions Offensive Coordinator Darrell Bevell) ‘Bev’ is doing a great job of scheming it up, we’re getting some guys with a step or two on deep defenders and able to connect.” On how WR Marvin Jones Jr. and WR Kenny Golladay play off of one another: “Yeah, they’re both big talented guys, move well, and obviously track the ball in the air really well – (they) go up and make good plays. Marvin made a great catch last week, and then Kenny caught one, and then obviously ran with it afterwards and got it in the endzone. They both kind of do it their own unique way, but they’re both making plays for us and we’re obviously looking for as much of that as what we can.” On if he has worked on no-look throws more: “No, that’s full feel. I’m not like working on that in the offseason or anything. It’s more just feeling it in the game, trying to see as much as I can possibly see, and then obviously trying to get to the ball to our guys with space and let them go work.” On the confidence needed to make unorthodox throws: “Yeah, I think it’s a lot of trust, obviously – trust in what I’m seeing, trust in what they’re going to do when I put it out there. Those guys are doing a great job of catching it and coming down with it. They always know to be on their toes and be ready for the ball.” On if the Bears defense is different with Defensive Coordinator Chuck Pagano: “(It’s) somewhat similar. You know, obviously a lot of the same players, a lot of the same carryover with that. I think their scheme is somewhat similar. There are obviously things that I’m sure Pagano likes to do that are a little bit different than what they were doing in years past. You have to study that and see what those things are. At the same time generally speaking, it’s a pretty similar group and still a really talented group.” On WR Kenny Golladay: “(He’s a) big, physical guy, really good player down the field, contested catch guy. I think he’s done a really good job of getting better every year. I’m just happy to watch him progress and the way he works, and obviously a guy that loves to go out and compete. When he’s on Sunday, he’s out there trying to make every play he possibly can.” On if teams treat WR Kenny Golladay differently as he becomes more well-known: “I think we have two guys on the outside that are producing at a pretty high level, so teams are kind of picking and choosing. Some choose to match or lean or whatever it is one week, and sometimes the next week it’s the other guy. Every week is different, and those guys do a great job of understanding (that) when they get their opportunities to go make the most of them, and they’ve done a nice job with that.” On if his injury is the same issue he was dealing with at the beginning of the year: “No, I’m fine. I’ll be good to go. I’m not really worried about it. Something different, but I’m totally good.” On if this injury is related to last year’s injury: “No, I’m good.” On how the locker room has responded to their performance over the first eight games: “I think we’re in as good a place as we can be. Obviously like you said, we want to be in a different spot record-wise than we are. But these guys come every day to work, it’s one of the things I love about being in this locker room – we have a bunch of great guys that come in, show up and work. (They) try to succeed and be as good as they can possibly be day in and day out, week in and week out, no matter what happened the week before – win or loss. So, I’m happy to be in this locker room for that reason and I expect that to stay the same, no matter what happens.” On how difficult it is to finish off close games in the NFL: “Yeah, I mean it’s just a matter of making those plays. We’ve had years where we’ve made a bunch of them and won a bunch of close games. We’ve had other years where sometimes you make 50/50 and other times you make a less percentage of them. So, we just have to make sure that – the past is the past now, we can’t control that – we have to make sure that when we’re in those tough situations the rest of the way out that we do a good job of giving ourselves the best chance to go out there and compete and succeed.” BEARS HEAD COACH MATT NAGY CONFERENCE CALL QUOTE SHEET (WITH DETROIT MEDIA) On why QB Mitch Trubisky has struggled this season and if he has taken a step back: “Well, we all have. It’s a collection of a lot of different things, but the thing with us is that we just get so focused on solutions and that’s in the past. We just have to figure out how we get better each week, and I think we realize it’s not just one person, so that’s what we’ve done.” On how he felt about his team after they won three straight games this season: “Well yeah, that was exactly what we did last year, too. We went 3-1 last year, and then we lost a couple of games and went 3-3, and then we won five in a row. This year, we went 3-1, we lost the two games and went 3-3, and now we’ve lost two more since then, so it’s a total of four in a row. That’s the difference. Every year is different, but our culture in this building and who we are as a team and as a family is so strong and so powerful that we really are built for moments like this. It tests you no doubt, but it’s been great seeing how our guys have grown closer together, and now it’s just a matter of doing everything we can to play well, and not focus on the results. We just let the results take care of themselves.” On how important RB Tarik Cohen is to the offense: “Yeah, he can do a lot of different things like you said, he can run in the backfield, he can run some great routes and (he) has great hands. He is just a guy that brings a lot of energy to practice and then games, and you like guys like that. We understand that and he knows that, and we’re lucky to have him.” On why he has stood firmly behind QB Mitch Trubisky and what he has seen that he likes: “Well, the thing is when you get into these situations, that’s always the number one person that gets attacked, so we understand that. We’re in the walls, and we know the whys behind a lot of stuff, and are we taking him off the hook? Without a doubt. Are we taking myself off the hook? No. Are we taking everybody off the hook? No; We’re in this thing together. I think it just speaks volumes to who we are as a team, as a family, as an organization, and that’s just how we roll. It’d be pretty easy just to go ahead and point it to one person, but that’s not what this is about. We hold everybody accountable, but we also want to make sure we look for solutions.” On how important WR Allen Robinson II has been to the offense: “Yeah, he’s been really good. I’ve been really impressed with the way that he handles himself every single day. He did it last year, but really this year now coming back full strength, you can see where he’s at in practice. No practice is ever different, no game that he plays is ever different, it’s always the same, and that’s 110 percent all the time. He can care less about stats, he just wants to win. He wants to do everything he can on his end to win his one-on-one battle and he does that a lot.” On how RB David Montgomery has performed as the goal-line back: “Right, he’s a very tough runner. He runs hard, he’s a kid that can break a lot of tackles, and we needed that last week just with the struggles we had the week prior in goal-to-go situations. It was good getting him going, the offensive line blocking, and then him finishing that run off was strong and was great.” On the Lions’ defensive struggles this season and why they have regressed since last season: “Well, you watch them on tape, and you realize that it’s a very good defense. Like you said, last year going against them twice was not easy by any means. They do so many good things and (Lions Head Coach Matt) Patricia does a great job at scheming guys and letting his guys play fast. He doesn’t do a whole lot of stuff, but the stuff they do they play well. So just like us, they have some struggles, but we’re having struggles, too. It’s an exact – for both teams we’re going through similar deals with them maybe on defense a little and us on offense. At the same point in time, we feel like we have a good defense and I’m sure they feel like they have a good defense, and we certainly see it on tape what they have.” On why the Bears defense has not been able to get as many turnovers as they did last season: “Yeah, the takeaways jump out. You know, what I think when you start looking at the takeaway part, I think part of that might be just the fact that we haven’t been playing with a big lead in many games to where a team is passing a lot, and they’re throwing balls, and you’re getting opportunities for interceptions or maybe running the football and punching it out. We’ve had a couple of really strong games in regard to getting turnovers and protecting the football on offense, but I think that’s a little bit of a part of it. Every year is a little different on how those things go. There are a lot of ebbs and flows, and last year was on another level. So, it’s hard to match that every year. For us, as a team we just want to stay in the positives when it comes to the team turnover margin.” On if he thought they could replicate the takeaways from last season: “Yeah, that’s hard to do. Not only did we have that many turnovers, we had a bunch of touchdowns as well last year. Anytime you get a touchdown on defense or special teams, your preservatives go up pretty good for winning that game. We had that last year, and it doesn’t mean that in the next eight games that that can’t happen, but we have all the confidence in the world in our defense. They’re playing fast, they’re playing really well, bend but don’t break in some areas; But I’m just really proud of the way that they’re playing this year.” On the loss of DT Akiem Hicks to the interior of the defense: “Yeah, he did. We ended up playing against the Vikings without him and our guys really stepped up and did a great job. (Bears General Manager) Ryan Pace has done a phenomenal job of creating depth, but you’re talking about a Pro Bowl player now that is a big guy that does so many good things – not just physically on the field, but mentally as a leader as well with some of the younger guys. It is a hole for us, but it becomes filled up when you have guys like we have that can, you know strength in numbers, and come in and fill in. We understand that, but that’s by no means an excuse.” On going from a successful first season as a head coach to the struggles in his second year: “Well, winning is easy. So, when you win – anybody can win. You win and everyone loves you, and I’m talking not just coaches, but players, too. That part is easy. To me the challenge when you really get tested is when you end up getting into a little bit of a valley – your character gets tested, your building, everything that you do is under a microscope. There are a lot of people that fold under that and they don’t do well in those situations, and we’re just not built that way. We have good, high-character people that work hard and play hard. When we all signed up for this, this is what we signed up for, not just to be able to handle success, but you have to be able to handle when things don’t go well, and look it straight in the face and say, ‘Let’s try to fix it.’” On Lions QB Matthew Stafford and how different the offense looks: “Well, I’ve always had the ultimate respect for Matt Stafford. Some of the throws that he’s made over his career are just ridiculous. I mean there are not many players in the NFL that can make the side-arm throws that he does on the run, running left throwing right, just putting it where no one else can get it. He’s tough, he’s a competitor, and when he’s back there at the quarterback position, he’s scary because he can make any throw and you always have a chance with him. You take that and you combine these wide receivers that he has, so anybody that’s a hell of a quarterback like he is, that has weapons at the wide receiver and tight end position, they’re always going to have success. You see that right now. They’re aggressive in the pass game, they’re taking shots – a lot of deep balls – and it’s definitely a cause for concern.” |
