September 8, 2020
LIONS OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR DARRELL BEVELL CONFERENCE CALL QUOTE SHEET (VIA ZOOM)
On if he knew RB Adrian Peterson was destined to have a great professional career when he first met him: “I remember the day we ended up picking him up in the Draft. I think it was when Arizona picked at (No.) 4, and they did not pick him. There was kind of a quiet roar in there that hopefully we would still have a chance to get him. So when he fell to us – I mean – yeah, it was definitely one of those deals. The first time you saw him on the field, first time you hand him the ball – I mean, you could see the explosiveness, you could see the speed that he has, you can see just all the special qualities that you look for in a running back. He’s certainly lived up to it to this point. Really excited to have him, excited to have him back in here. I remember calling that game for 296 yards, and it was a special game. You got this whole gameplan sheet in front of you and as we were going through the game, I ended up with this little three-by-five card with, like, three plays on it and just kept calling them over and over. It ended up being a huge game for him. Special talent – we’re excited to have him on our team.”
On balancing RB Adrian Peterson and RB Kerryon Johnson: “We’ll see how that all ends up shaking out. We love what Kerryon has done for us. I was so excited for Kerryon last year – just the tenacity or the determination that he showed, to come back at the end of the year, I thought that was something special. I thought that showed a lot about what he’s got inside of him and the makeup that he has. I think it said a lot to his teammates, certainly said a lot to me. So I’m excited for what Kerryon has been doing for us, but we know it’s a physical game, and we’ll be able to share those carries. There will be plenty of carries to go around.”
On TE T.J. Hockenson’s growth as a blocker: “We’re really confident in what T.J. can do for us as an in-line blocker. He kind of plays our ‘U’ position, but if he needed to play the ‘Y’ he can definitely do that. We feel really confident about that. It’s just again, through every single day, the pounding, just trying to make sure we’re taking care of these guys. At various times we give opportunities for guys to just take a few of those reps off of them, but that’s not something we’re afraid to do with him. (I) think he’s really solid as a blocker, obviously we love what he can do in the pass game. We have no issues there right now.”
On the most difficult part of preparing for Bears Defensive Coordinator Chuck Pagano’s defense: “I’m always going to go to the players first. The guys that they have on the end, obviously Khalil Mack is an outstanding player, Akiem Hicks – we didn’t get to play him last year, but I mean, (an) outstanding player – and then they picked up Robert Quinn on the edge as well – and again, just going to be terrors on the two edges, so I think that’s where it starts. You have to be able to handle those guys, not let them wreck the game. So we have to figure out a way to be able to manage those guys. I mean, 11.5 sacks from Robert Quinn – I played against him for a long time against the Rams and those guys, and I know he’s been in Dallas. So really good players, they got good linebackers, they got solid in the secondary. We’re going to have to be on it. I think, again, it just starts up front and be able to handle those edge rushers.”
LIONS DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR CORY UNDLIN CONFERENCE CALL QUOTE SHEET (VIA ZOOM)
On why Bears QB Mitchell Trubisky has found success against the Lions: “I would say this – first of all, that can be a two-hour conversation if you wanted to make it that. I’m not really sure about that. The guy had two really good days against the Lions. What I’m concerned about right now is tomorrow morning’s meetings and putting a solid gameplan together, whatever that may be, so that we can go out and play at the highest level possible and try to help this team win. I’m not really interested in reflecting on the past. I don’t mean to be disrespectful, that’s not what I’m doing, but more interested about what’s going to happen tomorrow in our meetings and practice. So I’ll leave it at that for now.”
On the game week preparation being different now that he’ll be calling defensive plays: “Yeah, I think mentally. Emotionally, no, I don’t think it’s any different. I’ve been in a lot of gameplan meetings, I haven’t been standing on the sideline making the calls, being part of that whole process for however many years it’s been – scared to think about that. But different role on gameday specifically, different role in the meetings. You know I’m not going in and running a position meeting anymore. I’m running the defensive meetings. As I get ready for the week, I got to make sure now, instead of just being in charge of the personnel that goes on the field, which is a role I’ve had in the past, now my focus is to make sure that I’ve got the call sheets set up, and I put these players and the coaches and this football team as a whole in a good position to help us win. So that part is the biggest part, I would say if that makes sense. When you’re a position coach, you’re worried specifically about your group of players. I’m worried about – I wouldn’t say I’m worried – I’m concerned about the entire group as a whole, each player, at each level of the defense, from D-line to defensive end to outside back or middle linebacker in the back end, and putting a plan together. Then on gamedays, being able to call it efficiently so that we’re all on the same page, then they can play at a high level and help us win. Is it different? Yeah. We’ll see what it looks like come Sunday.”
On his confidence that the defense can be a positive part of the Lions’ narrative: “Obviously I have nothing but confidence in this team. This defense is going to help us win – that’s yet to be seen, but from the spring, from my first day in this building, as I got introduced to some of the players and then met them back in training camp, I love this group of men. I wouldn’t want anyone else in this building right now. Obviously after the roster cuts, you lose some guys; it’s always hard. But I feel really good about the roster that’s been put together, and I wouldn’t want anyone else on this team right now. That obviously could happen very quickly with injuries and stuff like that, that goes on, but I have nothing but the utmost confidence in this group of men. We have four days to work yet. I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but when we get to that point, I’m going to feel really confident. Then we’re going to go out, we’re going to play as fast as we possibly can, and then we’ll see where it ends up at that point.”
On if CB Jeff Okudah is ready for Week 1: “Yeah well I think I talked to you guys a week ago now, whatever that was, 10 days ago, a week ago – so he’s 10 days farther into the process than he was the last time I talked to you. We got four more days left, and we’ll see where it goes. Jeff’s going to have a role on this football team, I can tell you that, just like everyone who’s on the 53-man roster. He’ll have a role specifically on defense. That’s our job as coaches, mine specifically, to put him in a role that’s going to help us win, whatever that’s going to be. Obviously you know I’m not going to stand up here and tell you who’s out there, who’s not going to be out there right now. So I won’t get into that. Very happy with how he’s come along. We all, as an entire team – 14 practices – we have to finish strong here, and have four days of quality work, preparation, practice this week. Then we’ll see how that unfolds and we’ll go run out that tunnel on Sunday.”
LIONS SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR BRAYDEN COOMBS CONFERENCE CALL QUOTE SHEET (VIA ZOOM)
On the challenge of simulating special teams without live action and if the team feels prepared for Week 1: “I think I would agree with (Head) Coach (Matt Patricia) just in that you can’t replicate the speed of a game in practice. You can try, but it’s tough to do. Special teams, obviously, the majority of the phases are centered around playing as fast as you possibly can. There are long plays out in the open field and speed’s a big part of it. The same thing, really, with full contact. So, you can’t really replicate that in practice, and even if you could, it seemed like you blinked and practice was over this camp. Definitely a challenge, one of many challenges in this sort of offseason and camp that we’ve dealt with, but I think our motto all along has just been to adapt and roll with the punches. As long as the rules are the same for everybody when they roll the balls out there, we’ll be ready to go. I think the thing that gives me a great deal of comfort is just knowing that this is a players’ game. It’s something that I believe in in any situation. The NFL is a players’ league, and we’re really fortunate here to have a great group of core special teams players. A deep group, experienced group, talented guys, and they give me a lot of confidence because I know as long as I put them in a good position, that they’re going to go out there and execute, and I would take my group over just about anybody else’s. So, I wouldn’t say (I’m) 100 percent comfortable with the way things have gone, but definitely confident in our guys to go out there and perform.”
On if he can go through the team’s decision at punter and long snapper: “Two very, very difficult decisions because, kind of like I said the last time we talked, all four guys performed at a very high level. So, nobody really made it easy on you by screwing it up, which is a good problem to have. In the end, with (Don) Muhlbach, just an outstanding leader in our locker room. Everybody loves him. He’s been established here for a long time, obviously, which I like to remind him of, frequently. But, I think going into the first game with ‘Muhl’, knowing that we were going to have a punter, knowing that we were going to have a new P.P. (punt protector), and with me being a first-time coordinator, I think having some sense of familiarity there for the rest of the guys just gives everybody a little bit of a sense of poise. We know ‘Muhl’ is going to not only know what he’s supposed to do but be able to direct everybody else as well. Somebody told me when I got here that he was the Nolan Ryan of long snappers. Just the wealth of experience that he has and the ability to kind of guide the rest of the guys through. It wasn’t anything that Steve (Wirtel) did wrong, like I said. He had a great camp, and I think we’re excited to have him here and continue to develop him as a player.
“The punter was obviously a different situation. Totally different type of competition in that you’ve got two guys, neither of who are proven. Neither who have gone out there and done it in a game, so it was much more wide open, and it really came down to – quite literally – the very end. Those guys were neck-and-neck the entire time, and Jack (Fox) really just – he excelled in every situation that we put him in. We intentionally did things to try to get these guys to crack, and everything we did – the very last scrimmage when we went down to the stadium, I had Jamie Collins Sr. standing three feet behind Jack just trying to get him rattled, trying to get him to screw it up, and he was calm and he was in there banging them up toward the roof. He did a great job, did everything that we asked him to do. I think you guys all saw – a very, very talented live leg. The ceiling is very, very high for Jack, it’s just a matter of him going out there and doing it. I’m excited to see him here in a couple of days.”
