| Opening Statement: “We started Phase III, really, on Tuesday, which is now the OTAs. We’ve got good attendance. Guys have been here for most of the offseason. So, the turnout’s good. This’ll be Day 3 of the OTAs. The first two days have been good. Obviously, we’re in the beginning stages of it, there’s a lot to clean up. But, there again, it’s to work on what we do schematically, offense, defense, special teams. And then, it’s really just development, working on skill and on athletic development as it pertains to more of the finesse side of the game, I guess you’d say, and just see where we can get better. We’re not out there long, but just enough to get some work and see if we can get a little bit better. That’s what this is about. The guys have been good. I would say this, too, as it pertains to just some of our injured guys because I know you’re going to ask – (Jeff) Okudah is out there just doing some individual and some walkthrough. He’s progressing. Jerry Jacobs is doing well. Jameson (Williams), it will be the same answer as a week ago – he’s a week better, if that makes sense. And then Taylor Decker, we’re kind of being smart with him. All good, but we’re not going to have him practice, but he’s been here. And then Romeo (Okwara)’s progressing.” On the value of T Penei Sewell going through his second-career OTA period: “Well, I think with any player, the fact that he’s banked that many reps and practice time reps, and the level of competition that he’s gone against, it’s invaluable. Anybody will tell you in this League, you’ll never make as big of a jump as you will Year 1 to Year 2. It doesn’t mean you won’t continue to get better, but Year 1 to Year 2 is the biggest you’ll make in this League. We anticipate that he will be better and get a little bit better, and he’s already a pretty skillful athlete, pretty good player. But I know this, up to this point, he’s been locked in. You can see the confidence and he’s handling his business, which I appreciate. Really, I’d say this for the most part, for all those young guys, that class of guys last year; he, (Amon-Ra) St. Brown, Levi (Onwuzurike), Alim (McNeill), (Derrick) Barnes, (Ifeatu Melifonwu) Iffy, there is a level of confidence in those guys and kind of a business-like approach, which is impressive to see out of a bunch of young guys.” On if there is a timetable or expectation for when CB Jeff Okudah and OLB Romeo Okwara will return to practice: “Not really. We’ll see. To be honest with you, it’s hard to put a timeline on that. Let’s see what they look like when we get them in here for camp and see what this next month of recovery does for them and rehab. We’ll make that assessment then.” On if T Taylor Decker’s absence from practice is related to his injury from late last season: “I would say it’s the same area, but it’s not the same injury. So, we’re just being smart with it. If he had to play right now, he could play. We’re just being smart about it.” On his assessment of DL Aidan Hutchinson so far: “There again, nothing that’s been disappointing. I would just say he’s trying to – like the rest of those guys, they’re swimming a little bit – but yet his approach is everything we thought it would be. He’s in the meeting rooms, he’s attentive, he’s wanting to learn, he’s taking it all in, he’s doing what’s asked of him and then it’s trial by fire. Like the rest of them, ‘I’ve got to learn from my mistakes.’ He’s been all business.” On the biggest learning curve for a young player like DL Aidan Hutchinson who is expected to contribute heavily right away: “I think some of it will be a little bit of both, but probably, since you’re asking that, it would be the physical part of it. It’s adapting to the speed of the game, these types of tackles. Now, I’ve said this before – this is where I think (Aidan Hutchinson) Hutch will have a big advantage, is the fact that he’s going to have to go against (Penei) Sewell and (Taylor) Decker every day. I think that’s huge. I think that will play more into his development than a lot of other things. I feel like he’s going to be going against quality tackles, so that in itself, I think, can excel his progression.” On DL Aidan Hutchinson’s strength and how much room for growth his strength has: “I would say this, yes, please. That being said, he’s got a ton of room to really even get more powerful, if you will. So, his strength is good enough to go out there and compete, no problems there, but yet, man, there’s still a ton of meat on the bone with him, which is pretty exciting. Look, you can never tell for sure, but I would say this, it’s one of the reasons why we wanted to pick this guy – his DNA says that he’s going to do everything that he can to be successful, and he’s got enough ability and enough strength, he certainly does, to go out there and help us and help us win some games. Now, when will that be, how fast will that be? I don’t know. I know this, we’re not going to put him out there until he’s ready. I mean he’s going to have to show it to us, but we’ll see how it goes. There again, we’re (in) Day 2 of OTAs.” On the thought process that went into changing the defensive front this offseason: “I just think more of it is, I just call it much more ‘Hitting the blocks.’ I don’t want to say we were catching, and it wasn’t two-gap, we just were a little more, ‘Play at the line of scrimmage,’ where now we really want to play more on their side of the line of scrimmage. That’s the best way to describe it. Look, we still have all the front variations, all those things, but I think that will probably be the biggest difference that anybody would notice, is just the fact that we want to – we’re not just running through gaps and closing our eyes and stuff like that. We’re not like that, but we are much more, ‘Hit the blocks and play on their side of the line of scrimmage,’ which is a little bit different than what we were last year. I do think this will serve our front well. I think this will help Alim (McNeill), I think it will help Levi (Onwuzurike), it will help really all those guys up front.” On what it meant to see Defensive Coordinator Aaron Glenn interview for head coaching jobs this offseason and what it means to get him back in Detroit: “It’s huge. I kind of said this, but I probably didn’t say it to you guys. But when all of this was going on and everything with New Orleans – because I was, I thought he was going to be gone, and I was going to be happy as hell for him. But the thought of losing him, I just had this feeling of like, I was going to be walking around without any pants on. So, I would say not having AG – there is a comfort level. I think that pretty much says it all.” On if he thought Defensive Coordinator Aaron Glenn was going to get a head coaching job this offseason: “I really did. Look, I have a tremendous amount of trust and confidence in AG, I just do. He is more than worthy of being a head coach, he’s more than qualified of being a head coach in this League and I’m happy to have him and we’re lucky to have him, we’re fortunate to have him, as our defensive coordinator. But yeah, I’m glad he’s back.” On how much of the defensive shift is a result of what Defensive Coordinator Aaron Glenn saw last season: “I think that was the biggest part of it was, ‘Let’s do a fair assessment of ourselves.’ He looked at it and he brought it to me. Now, some of this, it had already begun after the Bye week. There was a little bit of just tinkering, now not that much, but that was kind of the starting point of, ‘We need to do a few things differently,’ and then once the season ended, to go back and look at it and he felt like this was what we needed to do, and I agreed with him wholeheartedly. I think this is the right thing for us. Look, that’s a ton of credit to him. Not saying that – I think it’s just we’re trying to do what we say we’re going to do because some of the things that I believe in and AG believed in were much more, if you will, the 3-4, those three-down packages, Pittsburgh Steelers, a little bit more of the – and not that we still don’t live in that world, but for us personnel-wise, what was right and what is right is kind of what we’re going to start moving to because it suits us well and the ability to adapt for us as coaches and to help our players be the best that they can be I think is what we’re about. That’s what we said we’re going to be about, because those guys win games, we don’t. It’s the players.” On what he is seeing from the offensive line this OTA: “It’s early, but there’s nothing that would be glaring in the wrong direction at this point. It’s a good group, I know that. Those guys have all been here. They’ve been here since Phase I started, and they’re working together – Frank (Ragnow) and Jonah (Jackson) and (Penei) Sewell and (Halapoulivaati Vaitai) Big V, all of them, (Taylor) Decker. So, they’ve been working well together and it’s a veteran group. It’s a group that’s pretty tough, they’re pretty smart, they work well together. I think just having them around has been good and working together.” On his reaction to practice squads expanding to 16 players: “Well, to be honest with you, I haven’t even thought that far into it. But certainly, we’re going to be looking for guys that we know can help us during the year. You’re always going to want a few that, man, you’re like, ‘These guys may not be ready, but we may hit something down the road.’ You’re always going to want those guys, and you’re always looking for those. They’re not going to be ready now, but in a year or two, this could be – but then, I think a majority of those guys, you’re banking on the fact that they’re going to help you win this year. They’re really backups that didn’t quite make the 53, but they’re good enough to be your backups and to help you get in games and they can sustain for a game or two and kind of hold the line, if you will.” On why they are confident the linebacker corps will perform at the level they want them to this season: “That’s easy, competition. That’s why. Because, out of all of those guys we have in that room, it’s going to be a bloodbath in there. There’s a ton of experience, there’s a ton of youth, there’s a ton of energy. I think when you combine it with the type, and on top of that every one of those guys that’s in there is competitive. They’re highly competitive. I just think, man, when we come out with the finished product and the two or three that are left standing—there will be more than that, but my point is, I think we’re going to be excited about those guys.” On what has changed from his approach to the offseason program from Year 1 to Year 2: “I would say this, just from my own approach—this is hard to do, but there again, we’ve got to be smart about how we practice this time of year. You can’t be in pads. You’ve got to be careful being physical, anything to where guys are impeding each other, all of those things. But yet, I do know that I want to get us in more competitive settings early. We’re actually going to kind of start that today, just situationally. Kind of the end of the team periods is getting into two-minute, getting into half, end of game, just a couple things to put us in a little bit of these more pressure situations. That would be one change that I know I wanted to identify is we’ve got to get to that earlier. We’ve got to start pressing our guys earlier and feeling a little bit more pressure earlier and see how we respond or get comfortable with being uncomfortable if you will.” On if OLB Julian Okwara is in the mix to remain in the linebacker room: “He is. Yes, he is. We consider him a linebacker. He is a hybrid. We consider him in base as a linebacker, more of a SAM linebacker or on the edge. In sub or in nickel, he becomes more of that defensive end. Third down he could become kind of that spin or stand-up X player. But, just as far as if you’re rolling out base, he’s one of the guys competing to be in our edge, SAM linebacker.” LIONS DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR AARON GLENN OTA #3 QUOTE SHEET Opening Statement: “Good afternoon. I wish I had some outstanding football term or something that relates to football to give you guys as an opening statement. When I got up this morning and I started driving in, the only thing that hit my mind were these shootings. Man, it’s so troubling, the first one that happened in Buffalo and then the one recently that happened in Uvalde. The only thing that I think about is—I actually heard somebody say this this morning, I thought it was such a true statement—you get guys that are 21 years old, and that’s the first time they can buy a beer. But, man, they’re allowing an 18-year-old to buy assault rifles. Something is just wrong with that. Now listen, I don’t have all the answers. I know that there are people at a high level that have to figure those things out. But man, that was just on my mind.” On if he knows anyone in the town of Uvalde as a Texas native: “I don’t, but once I hear something like that—it doesn’t matter where, but when it says Texas, it kind of hits close to home. I have kids. I have three kids, and they’re out of the house right now. But man, just imagine the parents that that happened to. That’s tough. Then you hear the things that come out that these kids were in a room, barricaded room, for over an hour. It’s hard for me to even fathom what those kids were even going through. You have future doctors, lawyers, scientists, that are in that group, and now it’s over with. Even the person that did the shooting, he just hurt his whole family. It’s not about the shooter, and sometimes they don’t understand it, it’s about everybody else that’s around that person. That, again, was on my mind.” On how old his children are: “I have a 27-year-old, me and my wife. We’ve been married for a while. I have a 21 (year-old) that’s in college. She’s a senior in college. Then, I have a 17 (year-old) that’s a freshman at San Diego State. So not too far removed from high school. Those things hit you hard. When you have kids in general, you just think what would happen with your kids. It’s tough. It’s tough.” On if he worried about his children’s safety at school when they were growing up: “I never have worried about it because I don’t think there’s a place where you should worry, when your kids go to school. That’s just how I grew up. I knew my kids were going there for an education, I knew they were going with their friends, I knew they were going to whatever sport endeavors they were in, whatever club endeavors they were in. I knew they were going for that. Not one time did I fear for their lives at all. That’s how I think school should be. That’s a safe haven for your children. Now, the thought is, ‘Do I home school them now?’ I know that’s a thought going through some parents’ minds right now, ‘Should I do that?’ Because you just don’t know. For me, for all of us, you could walk through the mall, and something could happen like that. This world is crazy. It’s crazy.” On how Lions DL Aidan Hutchinson has looked in practice so far: “Here’s my initial read, everything that we thought we were getting shows up, not just in practice but in the meeting room also. What else shows up is just those little things where you’re like, ‘Can he do this? I wonder if he can do it.’ And then you see it in practice that it shows up. He has this quickness that’s just unbelievable. He has this ability to bend and turn and continue to work his hands that is outstanding. Those are one of the things I talked about in practice yesterday with our D-line coach like, ‘Just watch him. He’s always working. He’s always working.’ That’s that relentless attitude that you guys could see when he was at Michigan that made him so successful. It’s natural for him. There’s no doubt in my mind that this player is going to be a really, really good player for us. I’m excited to see him once we get into training camp and he gets into games for us.” On the competition on the defensive line facing the talented offensive line in practice: “I really don’t think our defensive line looks at it that way. I think our defensive line looks at it like, ‘Listen, we know for a fact that we’re going against one of the top offensive line tandems in the League. We get a chance to get a lot of work against a good team, against a good line.’ The more that we can do that, the better it’s going to make us as a defensive line. I’m talking about stunts, games, one-on-one pass rush, going against Penei Sewell, going against Jonah (Jackson), going against (Frank) Ragnow, all of those guys. I know for a fact that our D-line, they look forward to that because, listen, in the back of your mind you might not say it, what you said initially, but you look forward to doing that in practice. That’s what competitors do, and that’s what our guys do. That’s what we’ve got. The fact that you have competition—competition drives this League. You look at that with our team now. There are going to be some hard choices for us at several positions. It’s because of competition. When you have that, it already tells you that the talent of your team is starting to get better. We enjoy that.” |
