July 23, 2023
Opening Statement: “We’re excited. Obviously, acclimation for the first four days. I mean this is an hour and a half, so this will be really dialed back but it’s to get their legs under them and work our way in. Probably the only thing to note, (Lions CB Emmanuel) Moseley is not here yet. He will be. He’s excused. He will start on PUP when he arrives and it’s probably going to be a little bit longer than what we hoped for. And that’s really predicated on the work that was going. He was progressing so fast, so we’re going to put the brakes on a little bit. I don’t want to say setback, but it’ll be a little bit longer. Everybody else, we’re doing pretty good. We’re ready. Our guys are ready. They did a good job – I’d say great job on the conditioning test. Our weights were good. We look like we’re ready, but this is day one.”
On if Lions DL Levi Onwuzurike will practice or be placed on Active/Physical Unable to Perform: “Levi’s going. He’ll get some reps today and we’ll just progress Levi in as we go.”
On his message to the team: “This one, really, I think it’s just what I said it’s – look, let’s stay off the ground, let’s work together. This is where you start the fundamentals without pads but you’re working on all those things. You’re getting the scheme and really that’s kind of what this is about. That is – until we put pads on, everything is about getting their legs under them.”
On if he has talked to the team about an expectation or focus: “No. No, I mean everything I told them is about work. It’s about the work and I’ve said that from day one and it will always be the same message. It’s about work. That’s what we do. You have to go earn you right every year. It doesn’t matter what the players are, the coaches, expectations, where you were, where you’re going. We have to work, man and so this is day one of that.”
On his personal mindset going into his third training camp with the Lions: “Yeah, I’m excited as always. It’s always going to be different just in regards to what you have, where you’ve been. That first year you’re trying to figure out exactly who’s who. I mean you have an idea of when you watch the tape, but you’re coming in, there’s a lot of carryovers, the guys that you drafted. You have a new staff. So, you’re just trying to see where you’re at a little bit, who’s who, who can coach, who can play, who can – that’s on top of working with (Lions Executive Vice President and General Manager) Brad (Holmes) and front office, all these things, whereas now I have a real good feeling and a handle on those things. I know where we’re at. We have a great rapport and now it’s just another level of the players that you brought in and where they fit. We know the guys that can play. We have a real good idea of who those are, probably our core group, yet they have to prove it again. They’ve been told that. You can’t just say you’re going to be good and be good. You still have to show it. Then those other pieces, the new guys we drafted, these free agents, where do they fit? Where’s the chemistry? It is, it’s exciting. This time of year’s always exciting.”
On how the team’s confidence will benefit them: “Yeah, I mean that always helps, but I’d like to believe that two years those guys thought they could go out and do something. You should always as a competitor think you can go out and hold your own. You’re always going to have a little bit of a feel of, ‘OK, here we are’ – especially the guys that have been here. You’re year three, you add a few pieces, you continue to grind. They believe in the message. They believe in the work. So, you’re going to have a level of confidence. It’s always – you have to be careful. If that’s all you buy into is talk and everything else that you read and you forget the work, then it’s all for naught.”
On if Lions CB Emmanuel Moseley’s absence is for personal or medical reasons: “Medical.”
On if he can expand on Lions CB Emmanuel Moseley’s medical excuse: “Nope.”
On what he wants to accomplish in training camp: “Really, I kind of – I know you’re asking that to get out of camp, but I’m really more in the mode of, man, we’re in a race to get ready for the Giants. I break it into those segments. We need to really, in my opinion, identify who’s who, who we can count on to an extent before we get to the Giants because I’d like to have a real good feel of those guys. And now you’re getting those guys to work together for the Giants, Jacksonville, which in turn is going to help you get ready for Kansas City. So, I feel like we’ve got time, but we don’t have time to waste. We do have enough time, but we don’t have time to waste. We’re in a race here and so – look, it’s really about, I bring it up again, it’s chemistry. It’s the communication. It’s guys working together, that backend working together. The offensive line, the rapport, the receivers and (Lions QB Jared) Goff. That’s really what it is. That’ll always be what it is.”
On which areas the team improved upon most this spring: “I mean look, I think everything that we needed to accomplish we did for what it was. I would say some of the situational work was good. I thought specifically defensively there’s a number of things in the backend coverage-wise that you could see start to take shape which was good. That was the first really phase of it if you will. I feel like we honed some things offensively that were good. And so, really that’s all you can do. We were able to kind of implement that. We got a little bit better, but I’ll always say without pads it’s hard to really take this jump, especially this time of year.”
On what interested the Lions in newly-acquired Lions WR Denzel Mims: “He’s a guy that has tools. He’s a big receiver and he has speed. He has length and kind of relative to looking at what you want to work with. This guy has the ability and let’s see if we can do something. Let’s see if a change in scenery helps this guy. It’s the traits. We know the kid will work. We’ve heard that. He has a level of toughness about him, so let’s see where we can take it.”
On what excites him the most heading into training camp: “Man, probably what always excites me is I guess just the brotherhood. Being around the guys and watching them sweat and grind and bleed and laugh and cry a little bit at times. Just the whole – all of it. Man, I really appreciate that about the game and about the guys. It takes a high level of commitment and sacrifice, and I think that’s what makes it special. If there are guys that don’t quite get there or do that, they get weeded out in a hurry and it’s not for everybody. So, I always appreciate that. I think as always the thing that is going to you in the hype train. I mean as with most coaches, this thing has just taken off and is out of control right now, and that’s fine as long as we stay focused on the job at hand and the work. I just keep going back to that. We have to put the work in and earn it.”
On which aspect of the surrounding hype he believes has gotten out of control: “I don’t even want to get into it. We’ll get into this rabbit hole and then it’ll go to the next question, next question. Then it’ll be which article, and which one is it and you don’t like the expectations of this. No, no, no. I like where we’re at. We’re going to have enough firepower to bang away and compete. I do believe that. So, I like that, but we have to work now.”
On how he tempers the expectations and maintains focus of the team: “I think just what I said. I think you just keep the message consistent, and you call it what it is. You say what it is. It just goes back to the work and when you see it not going that way or we have some guys that are deviating a little bit or they think they’ve arrived and they haven’t, you call them out on it. I think as long as we do that as coaches and players as teammates, we’ll be fine. I think that’s what you have to do, but if we all just turn a blind eye and think all right, this is great, everybody’s saying we’ll be this, we’ll be this. That’s not true.”
On how different training camp will be without ‘Hard Knocks’ here this year: “Believe it or not, it always feels that way right when it happens, but then probably a week, week and a half in, you don’t even realize they’re there oddly enough. They just blend in. I don’t think it’ll really be any different. I think we’ll settle in nicely and do what we do, go to work, and do what we do.”
On the difficulty of combining previous team chemistry with new additions: “There’s always going to be, just within itself sometimes, the guys meshing with each other and being on the same page is always going to be – there’s always concern that it doesn’t take place, or it doesn’t happen fast enough. But I think it’s also – that’s why you try to do your homework and get the right guys. You try to bring in the right players that have character. I told the team, talent with character and chemistry can overcome aversity and I believe that’s what (Lions Executive Vice President and General Manager) Brad (Holmes) and I’ve built here. We don’t just have talent, we have talent that has character and now we just have to build chemistry. If we do that, we can overcome anything. Now, that being said, speaking on that, of course you want the chemistry, and you bring guys in for a reason, you think they can produce, but we built this roster in such a way that this is competition. It’s competition. If someone can’t mesh and we can’t get the chemistry, well the next guy has to be ready to go then. We’ve done that over a two-year period here now. You do your best to acquire guys because of that, but it doesn’t mean that’s an automatic shoe-in to be your guy.”
On the competition at the kicker position after releasing former Lions K Michael Badgley: “Yeah, that was – look it was hard to let Badgley go. That was tough. I have a lot respect for Badge, but you know, we wanted to give another look at (Lions K Riley) Patterson. We feel like they’re very similar type players, Badgley and Patterson. We’ll get a look at Patterson. We like (Lions K Parker) Romo. He’s kind of the wild card. He has the big leg. There’s a level of development to him that needs to take place and so we just felt like between those two guys, let’s get a look at them and let them compete against each other. That’s why we did what we did.”
LIONS QB JARED GOFF TRAINING CAMP DAY ONE QUOTE SHEET
July 23, 2023
On how the first training camp practice went: “It was great. Yeah, it was a good day. A lot of fun. Always fun being back with the guys and getting on the field. Feels like a long time coming now and back to work.”
On if there is a different feeling with the team this year with the outside hype and high expectations: “No, I don’t think that affects us at all. I think the main thing that feels different, certainly offensively right now, is just the standard of execution and the way that we operate and how much further along we are day one this year than we were day one last year. That only raises your standards and expectation for yourself.”
On how the offseason workouts helped him develop continuity with his teammates and the importance of continuity: “Yeah, I always feel like it’s important. Finding ways to keep in touch and stay with the guys, as well making sure everyone gets their time alone and gets their space to refresh and come back ready to go. But yeah, there’s always a balance. It’s always a part of the role, but I enjoy it.”
On his first impressions of Lions WR Denzel Mims: “Yeah, big, tall and fast. And we’ll see. He’s a guy who is – obviously had different things happen throughout his career, but lands here, we’re excited about him and I’m certainly excited about him. I can’t wait to work with him, I’ve told him that, and know he brings an element to our team that we can use and as soon as he gets caught up to speed, it’ll be exciting to see him work with us.”
On his process of building relationships with new receivers when the season is approaching: “Yeah, it’s honestly just talking to him as much as possible. We can only get so many reps, and we will get a lot of reps, but how can I learn as much as I can about him, not only as a player, but a person and get to know him and get to grow that chemistry and that bond that will serve us right on Sundays.”
On if Lions Offensive Coordinator Ben Johnson’s approach is different this year with an established foundation on offense: “Yeah, it’s a lot of fun. It’s really cool to be able to show up this week and even in OTAs and be like, ‘OK, we know the formations, we know the base stuff,’ and be able to, ‘OK what are our tweaks, what can we get better at? What are the things that we really fell short of last year?’ And find ways to get even better.’”
On if the offense is orchestrating new plays or fine-tuning old plays now that there is a foundation set: “It’s both. It’s certainly getting better at the things that we didn’t do very well and then it’s finding out what are some new things that, maybe we will do well, that we didn’t do as much of last year and finding out what type of offense we are going to be and ultimately, what type of team we’re going to be overall.”
On how ready Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs is for his rookie season and the joint practices with the New York Giants: “He’ll be ready then, he’s growing, he’s growing a lot even through OTAs and I thought he had a great day today. He’s picking things up quickly, so yes certainly as time goes on, he’s only going to get better and feel like he’s going to be ready to go.”
On what he thinks the rookie class of Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs, Lions DB Brian Branch and Lions TE Sam LaPorta will add to the team: “Yeah, I mean those three guys right there that you said, Gibbs, LaPorta and Branch, I know there’s aplenty more, but yeah, they’re just pros and they’ve showed up and just gone to work and put their head down and do the right thing. Similar to – I think of (Lions DL) Aidan (Hutchinson) last year. Just kind of don’t say a word, just do the right thing every time and be the best player you can be, and they’ll have their impact in some way or another, but it’s been fun to see those guys grow into a role of their own and they’ll continue to grow.”
On his mentality coming in on the first day of training camp: “Just excited, yeah, I could barely sleep last night. Excited. Feels like the first day of school and with early reports, it’s always like we get here, whatever it was Wednesday and it’s like, ‘Alright, when are we going to practice? It feels like it takes forever, but it’s finally here and we’re excited.”
On if playing football still makes him feel like a young kid playing football: “Yeah, it always does. It always is exciting and every first day of every year is always fun and you look forward to it and, yeah, it’s really always fun. And then you try to stay young with it. I feel like I’m getting up there in years. Hopefully, not too old, but, in football years, it’s getting up there, but I like to say, ‘Just entering my prime. I’m not old.’ But yeah, it’s fun.”
On the sense of urgency the team feels right now while preparing for the joint practices with the Giants: “Yeah, no doubt. I think it’s – that’s a defense that we played last year that we know comes with its own set of rules and set of strategies for it. And I think knowing that that’s on the horizon is fun and that there is – we can’t just practice every day and not leading up to a game – we get to practice leading up to that which, coming up, I believe in what like two weeks? So yeah, it’s fun. It’s exciting and we’ll get them. We’ll get Jacksonville and then get Carolina and then we’re rolling, but yeah, it’s fun.”
On how important it is to have a coach like Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell preach hard work despite the ‘hype train’ surrounding the team: “Yeah, he’s the greatest at it. Just keeping us where we need to be and the so-called ‘hype train’ is – I don’t know, I think it’s funny to me that like you go 9-8, you don’t make the playoffs and now you’re all of a sudden a favorite and it’s – of course we’ve got good players, we’ve got good coaches, we’ve got a good team, but we haven’t done anything and we have a lot of work to do and Minnesota won 13 games last year, Green Bay has won the division a handful of times the last handful of years, so we’ve got some work to do to put a stamp on who we want to be and are nowhere near that yet, but we’re on our way.”
On how the revamped secondary will help the offense this season: “Yeah, a lot. They’ve been a challenge, certainly in the spring they were a challenge for us and a challenge for me. And seeing some of the things that they’re doing a little bit differently over there has been hard. It’s been good and they’re deep. They’re really deep. They’ve got a lot of good players. They’ve got a lot of good ball-hawks. They’ve got a really good communication going on right now. I think (Lions DB) C.J. (Gardner-Johnson) adds a pretty good energy that’s been not there in the past and that whole thing is starting to come together.” |
