| Opening Statement: “I’ll just open quickly saying as far as COVID is related, (Matt) Nelson is back and Trinity Benson, so we’ve added those two back. And then obviously, getting ready for Seattle on the road. This is a tough environment, tough place to win and a well-coached team. They’ve won out there for a long time. We don’t care about the record. We just know we’ve got our hands full and we’ve got to go out there and play well to win.” On the pressure Seahawks LBs Bobby Wagner and Jordyn Brooks can put on an offense: “You’re right, Wagner has done it for a long time. He’s a quality player and has been in this League. And, he’s smart, he’s durable, he’s reliable, he’s aware, he’s instinctive, and he’s been in that system a long time. So, he’s really their bell cow defensively. We’ve got to make sure we get a hat on him at all times because he’ll make every tackle if you’re not careful. And then, with the addition of Brooks, I remember Brooks coming out a few years ago. What a talented player that he is and he’s very active, but he’s versatile too. They do a lot of stuff where he’s on the line of scrimmage, he can rush, he can drop, he can play in the stack. So, he brings a lot of versatility and he’s a damn good athlete, too. So, that combination, that duo, it’s pretty good. Some of the better ones in the League.” On the passing of John Madden yesterday and his memories of him: “Really, the first time I was able to meet him, he came out and did – he was kind of on the – when he used to do the training camp circuit. When I was at Dallas, I met him. He was over talking to (former Dallas Cowboys Head) Coach (Bill) Parcells and that was the first time I got to meet him. Of course, I was a huge fan of John Madden. So, that was pretty good. That was pretty surreal. But obviously, a ton of respect and thoughts and prayers for his family. But, he’s just one of those guys. He’s an icon in our profession. To do it the way he did it, you win a Super Bowl, you’re a successful coach and then you go on to – really, he’s the name everybody remembers when you come into broadcasting. He’s one of those elite announcers if you will. He’s embedded into the NFL if you will, and Monday night in particular.” On if players looked forward to games John Madden broadcasted or were excited to be in the Madden video games: “Yeah, I’m sure. I think that’s one of those where he stood the test of time because of what you said. Hell, he was all over the video games. He made them, so it didn’t matter. And, I think there are a ton of guys that – shoot, young players, that’s how they know him, by the video game, not the announcer himself. He’s a legend is what he is.” On the value of playing RB D’Andre Swift in the last two games of the season: “I think that – no, we look at it as – it’s an opportunity for him to grow. I think the thought is we’ll shut him down after Green Bay is probably what we’ll do with him. No, he’s still got room to grow and we’re not going to put him out there until he’s healthy. And so, we feel like he’s going to be ready to go this week and he’s been wanting to go. So, I think we feel like we’re in a place where, ‘Let’s go,’ and cut him loose and let’s let him continue to grow and get better. That way, we go into next year, he’s that much better for it.” On what G Halapoulivaati Vaitai has meant to the offensive line this season and the potential for him to be a key piece of the team in the future: “Yeah, Vaitai we feel like has played pretty good ball this season. We were hopeful just letting him settle in at right guard would be a good move for him and for us and it has, it’s paid off. We feel like he’s really settled in there and been steady. He’s one of our best pullers in the run game and he can hold the pocket, you know what I mean? He doesn’t allow penetration into the quarterback’s face. He’s big, he’s strong, and so he’s really what you’re looking for at guard. I mean, I feel like we’ve got a couple of good guards between he and Jonah (Jackson). He’s meant a lot, really. He’s one of the biggest reasons we’ve been running it as successfully as we have.” On the team’s recent struggles playing on the west coast and the difficulty of traveling to play on the west coast as an east coast team: “Look, I think it’s all in the eye of the beholder. I think that – I’m not worried about the time zones and the change and all of that. I know this, as it pertains to Seattle, that’s a tough place to play. It has been for years. It’s a tough environment. You can’t hear yourself think and they’ve been a relentless group offensively and defensively. And so, I think that more than anything is kind of what makes it tough. But, I’m not worried about the time zone and all of that stuff. You go out there and you play, it doesn’t matter. They’ve got turf and we’re practicing on turf and we’ll go outside and get in the elements and all of that today. So, we’ll be ready.” On the challenges of game planning with new tight ends that were signed because of losses to the tight end group due to injuries and COVID-19: “Look, we brought in a couple of guys. We signed Jared Pinkney back. We got him off of the Rams’ practice squad. And then, Ross Travis we signed to the practice squad. So, we’re going to look at those guys. We’ve got Nick Eubanks on the practice squad. Our plan is to try to bring one or two of those guys with us and get them in the flow and use them as best as we can. It’s really a matter of how much they can handle and where I think our confidence is in them with the game plan. And certainly, having (Matt) Nelson back, that helps. He can do a little bit of stuff here. And then on top of that, we like our receivers. We’ll have enough packages to where we feel like we’re going to make the most of it and we’ll find a way to move the ball. There again, we get (D’Andre) Swift back, so that helps. We just may have to go a different direction than we have been, but you maximize what you have.” On the prospect of T Matt Nelson running routes in practice this week with the depleted tight end room: “You never know (laughs). You never know. He’s got to be ready to do that, I know that after what happened last week. Had he been up, he would’ve been running routes for us.” LIONS QB JARED GOFF QUOTE SHEET (VIA ZOOM) December 29, 2021 On his frustration with missing Sunday’s game due to COVID-19 after his strong performances in back-to-back weeks: “You never want to miss any game, regardless of the situation. But, I’m not the first guy to miss a game because of COVID and the rules that they’ve placed in place for the last couple of years. It’s the way it goes. It was unfortunate. I would’ve loved to be out there, but it’s the way it goes.” On the challenges of playing with recently signed tight ends because of losses to the tight end group due to injuries and COVID-19: “It’s a challenge. It’s definitely a challenge, but we’ve had challenges like this every week. I think we had a challenge when (D’Andre) Swift’s been out and Jamaal (Williams)’s been out. We had a challenge when we beat Arizona. On defense, we had a lot of guys out. We had Will Harris playing corner, that’s a challenge. But, it’s all stuff that you can overcome and stuff that we’re looking to overcome.” On what it would mean to the offense to get RB D’Andre Swift back from injury for Sunday’s game: “He’s a special talent, a special player. When he’s able to get back into the mix, it helps our offense tremendously. So, getting him back involved would be great this week and we’ll see how it goes.” On if his knee injury suffered in the Cardinals game is still troubling him: “Yeah, it’s still there. We’re still dealing with it. It’s day-by-day, but it’s still there. I still feel it and working through it.” On if his knee injury is limiting him in his throwing ability: “Yeah, I haven’t been able to be out there yet since the knee injury. So, it’s something I’m dealing with like I said, day-to-day and hopefully can get it right.” On if he senses WR Josh Reynolds is embracing his new opportunity in the Lions offense: “Yeah, I think anyone in that situation – he was in a tough situation in Tennessee and not one that he was happy with. And then, he gets to a place where people are feeding his confidence and fueling him and making him feel at home and that can do a whole lot for some people. You can see it with him and I’ve always been excited playing with Josh. He’s a great competitor and it’s been fun to have him on the team for the second half of the season.” LIONS QB TIM BOYLE QUOTE SHEET (VIA ZOOM) December 29, 2021 On what he improved on between his first start against the Browns and his start against the Falcons Sunday: “I felt like I saw the field really well. I felt like I was making quick, almost at times too quick, decisions. It didn’t hurt me, but there were opportunities if I were a little bit more patient. I could have had a ball to Josh (Reynolds), I think it was the third play of the game, second play of the game. And then, I had another route to (Kalif Raymond) Lif that I could’ve been a little bit more patient. In my opinion, I think the fact that I’m working through it and I’m getting through my reads and my progressions is definitely a step up from when I was doing it in Cleveland. But, I’ll continue to get better at that as well.” On how critical regular season reps and experience are in building patience for a quarterback: “Yeah, I’ll be the first one to tell you that preseason is nothing like real bullets flying. I think maybe the first quarter of preseason when a couple of guys are out there going, it might feel the same. But every rep that I get in a real game is valuable, whether that’s a run and a pass and it’s using my cadence and people getting used to my cadence. As you guys saw, I got our own guys to jump more than we got the defense to jump unfortunately. We have to assess that. We have to assess why that’s happening and if my voice inflection is too hard at times. You have to keep evaluating stuff like that. But, with every rep that I’m going to get, especially right now – and that’s the cool part is I’m not a rookie, so I’m not swimming in terms of mentally and I know what I’m doing physically. That’s the cool part of that. Right now, I feel like my gap of learning, every rep I get is going to be so valuable and so critical. I can really put those in the bank and move forward with them down the road.” On his preparation and staying ready to start if needed as a backup in the NFL: “I’m sorry to be boring, but I feel like I always have to be ready to start. There is always – and I learned that last year with this whole thing going down when I was backing up Aaron (Rodgers). I had the real possibility of him popping on a Friday or a Saturday and all of a sudden, with zero reps during practice, ‘Here you go, Tim. Here’s your first start.’ I kind of went through that mentally last year of understanding that it’s so fluid with COVID and with injuries. I know staying ready is the best way to do it. I know, sorry for the boring answer, but whether it’s Jared (Goff) or myself, I think we’ll both be ready.” On his vision and goals for becoming a coach after his playing career: “It’s a tough question. I really haven’t given it that much thought. Trying to stay in the present as much as possible, but I think a lot of that has to do with how long I play in the League and the relationships that I’ve built and will continue to build throughout my playing career. I had four or five different staffs in college that I’ve maintained relationships with. I had a Green Bay staff with (former Green Bay Packers Head Coach) Coach (Mike) McCarthy and I obviously had (Green Bay Packers Head) Coach (Matt) LaFleur and I have this staff. I think the cool part for me – and this is just who I am as a person – I just love having conversations. I love staying in touch. I love texting, calling and kind of not burning any bridges. So, I don’t really know how the coaching thing will really shake out, but I do know in my heart that I feel like I could coach the quarterback position or the offense or whatever, if it’s a head coach. I feel like I could translate my experience and my knowledge and how I view the game well to another quarterback. So, I feel like playing or coaching, you don’t really work a day in your life. We get to play a kid’s sport. It’s a pretty incredible blessing. I’m going to try to drag out this career playing as long as I can.” On Seahawks LBs Bobby Wagner and Jordyn Brooks: “I think the first word that comes to mind is they’re slippery and both of those guys have a tremendous amount of experience. But, they’re just always around the ball and that’s what you’re looking for in a good linebacker. You want someone who’s always around the ball. Whether it’s, you’re making a tackle or you’re making someone miss, it’s being around the ball kind of slows the play down a little bit. And, having two really good inside linebackers like the Seahawks do makes it challenging and we’re definitely aware of both of those guys. Obviously, Bobby Wagner has been doing it for a long time and it’s pretty cool that we have the ability to go play against them and compete against them. But, you always have to be aware of where they’re at on the field because they’re so talented. It’s going to be a good challenge for us and I think we’re up for it.” |
