On playing in primetime on Thanksgiving: “This is a big game, man. There is nothing like Thanksgiving. Nationally televised, everybody’s watching, all the families, even more than normal, getting ready. Kind of like we talked about the other day, and so you know the spotlight is on and you want to go out and play your best performance, your best game, and certainly to win. That’s what this thing is about, but this will be special. This will be good.” On the importance of playing better on first and second down on offense to avoid third-and-long situations: “It’s huge. Every week it’s huge, but you’re right. This team is really good in third-and-long and they come away with a lot of pressures. They’ve got a lot of overload fronts, things of that nature. And, it’s tough sledding when you’re third-and-long. With where we’ve been, it’s imperative that we get in manageable downs. So yeah, it’s huge. We have to be productive on first and second down.” On QB Jared Goff’s injury status and if he will play Thursday: “I thought he was better today. I think it’s leaning that way to Goff. We’ll see.” On if he is leaning towards starting QB Jared Goff Thursday: “We’ll see.” On what the percentage chance would be for QB Jared Goff playing Thursday: “I would say there is a 60 percent chance of it being 50-50.” On if there is concern about playing QB Jared Goff with his oblique injury: “He’s tough and that’s – honestly, that’s part of my concern because I know how tough he is. He tells you he’s being truthful, but I know how bad he wants to play and he’s been through a lot, played through a lot, and I appreciate that about him. But, I do want to make sure he’s definitely ready to go and I do think it’s trending that way.” On how the Bears’ offensive game plan changes with QB Andy Dalton starting instead of QB Justin Fields: “They’re still going to lean on the run game. They had success against us last time and that’s kind of been their MO. This is a pretty dang good (Bears RB David Montgomery) back. They’ve got some heavy sets, so they’re going to lean on that. But, I think that the difference is I think (Andy) Dalton, an experienced guy, he’s seen a lot, done a lot, he knows the offense. To have a veteran presence, somebody who’s done it, I think probably gives them a little bit comfort I would think because he’s ready to go. He doesn’t need a lot.” On how he corrects the defense’s issues with outside rushes: “There again, it’s just an emphasis on gap responsibility. And look, some of those things happen late in the game, too, which that’s part of it. That’s a game when you need it, but they did a couple of things where they really attacked us early and the interior. And to your point, weren’t getting what they wanted and then late they countered on us and it was hard for us to shut it down. But I think, there again, it’s about gap responsibility. You’ve got to focus on that and when we get our overlap players, our backers, our safeties, they’ve got to be ready to go. They’ve got to hit it over the top. When you get in those heavy sets and then you start pulling big guards around the edge, now you’re on the –.” On G Tommy Kraemer’s performance against the Browns: “It was good to see. It was good to see. I thought he did some good things, went in there and didn’t bat an eye. We liked what we saw. We like Kraemer. He’s kind of a tough, gritty guy and he’s smart. He’s growing, man. We’ve been giving him center reps in practice, so he’s been guard, center. He’s a good, quality dude. He comes to work, puts it in and you like him. He’s tough.” On how the offensive line has maintained success despite injuries: “I think (Offensive Line Coach) Hank (Fraley)’s got a lot to do with that. I think Hank is a hell of a coach. He’s done a really good job with them. He gets them prepared, ready to go. And then on top of that – look, I think it’s a good room. Even though, like Frank (Ragnow)’s not playing, Frank is in there. I mean, Frank’s been in there in those meetings. (Taylor) Decker’s been in there even though he wasn’t before he came back. The veteran presence that’s in there is pretty good. You’ve still got (Halapoulivaati Vaitai) Big V who’s been in there. And so, I think between starting with Hank, but then having that – that’s a good veteran group, played a lot of football, they understand it, and they help those young guys.” On WR Josh Reynolds’ comfort level in the offense: “I would anticipate he’s going to be better than he was last week. I thought he digested the plan well last week. We didn’t really have any mental issues. He went in there and was good with all of that. A couple of rough things that came up, but I would anticipate him to be much better this week and I know he’s ready to go. He wants to improve on what happened last week and he will.” On how he balances the amount of rushes RB D’Andre Swift gets a game: “I don’t know if we entirely know that right now. We don’t entirely know where we can go with him. You don’t necessarily foresee that just because you can do that, but you may not have him for the rest of the season. It’s a matter of how his body can handle that type of load. I think what’s important is the plays that he is getting that we are maximizing his potential so that we get our most bang for the buck out of him with what we do. I’ll tell you what, he’s been steady and reliable all year and he’s really grown. He is a dynamic football player for us.” On the middle ground between aggressive and conservative play-calling and decision making: “There again, I just bring up you’ve got to take it where you think it’s going to go and I think there are a lot of factors that play into it. When I think about – look, you’re right. I just called two games. That was my second game to ever call, but I do – in my head, I think of a couple of things. First, I think of the weather. I think of the quarterback. I think of our tackles. I think of Tommy Kraemer. I think of – there are a lot of things that I think go into just the nature of how you make things run. You have to go in and then figure out where you want to go. You have an idea – for example, Pittsburgh I had an idea we needed to run it. We wanted to run it and we knew it was going to be sloppy, it was going to be windy, and then little did I know that there was an oblique issue that popped up. But then once that happens, now you’ve really got to lean on it. And so, you go where it will take you.” On why the Lions should uphold the tradition of playing on Thanksgiving in the future: “Look, I just think of the fact that, there again, to me it’s special because I remember watching the Lions growing up and it was part of Thanksgiving. Like, that’s how I think of it. Win, lose or draw, I was like, ‘Hey, the Lions are part of Thanksgiving, just like the Cowboys are.’ But I think this city deserves it. In its simplest form, to your question, it’s easy to say, ‘Well, you’re not winning games, so you shouldn’t have it anymore.’ To me, I think – well, I’m selfish, man. No, it should stay here. I’m part of the Lions and I’m the head coach. We’ll make it worth it. We’re going to make it worth it.” On if there have been any issues with Offensive Coordinator Anthony Lynn after he began to call plays: “No. No, it’s been good. No problem. Everything has flowed well.” On the report about QB Jared Goff and Offensive Coordinator Anthony Lynn’s relationship: “I saw that. Somebody showed me that it was a team source. I would love to know who that was. It wasn’t me.” On how the relationship is between QB Jared Goff and Offensive Coordinator Anthony Lynn: “Fine. Yeah, it’s fine.” On if he will continue to call plays on offense for the rest of the season: “I don’t know. We’ll see. I’ll let you know after this game.” On how he keeps the defense focused when facing a team’s backup quarterback: “I don’t think they’ll – I’m not worried about that. We have to – look, this game is all about your recovery, recovering properly. We had a couple of tough, physical games these last two games, an overtime game and then you come back, our defense has played a lot of snaps. But, recovery is important and then just the mental focus, your body is tired, it’s beat up, it is for them, too. But, the mental focus and then gameday is energy. And then those two things if we’ll just lock in again, then we’ll be ready to go. But, I think that it’s more about – it’s less about them or anything like that. It’s about preparing yourself one more time here, four days away from the last game and going in with energy because those are the teams that win.” On Bears QB Andy Dalton: “I think that for him, there again, he’s run it, he’s done it, he’s seen it. He doesn’t need a lot. He doesn’t need a ton of reps to prepare for this game, so he’s been in that system. They are going to have things that he’s done well that’s probably staple for the offense, but more importantly things that are staples for him and that they know he can function with. There were a lot of gun run-type things out of there, the read runs with (Justin) Fields. It doesn’t mean they won’t have gun runs, but you’re probably going to get a little bit more under center, things of that nature with Dalton, play action pass under center.” LIONS QB JARED GOFF QUOTE SHEET November 23, 2021 On Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell saying he is trending to play on Thursday and an injury update for his oblique: “I feel good, better every day. We’ll see. I don’t know what he has said but I would probably categorize it as a game day decision. I feel good, though. I feel really good.” On how much he leans on Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell to make a decision that is best for him on whether or not he will play: “Of course I am and his job is to protect me and protect all of the other players. So yeah, there is that absolutely.” On if he feels better after recovering for the last week: “I would describe it as any other strained muscle. It gets better over time and there can be setbacks if you push it too far, if you push it too quickly. So, it’s that delicate little dance that we’re managing.” On the potential to play with the team on Thanksgiving: “I want to be on the field. Absolutely.” On if he feels his functionality in his mechanics has returned or if he still has limitations: “I feel good. I will never use it as an excuse. I feel good. If I’m on the field, I’m ready to go.” On the report about he and Offensive Coordinator Anthony Lynn’s relationship: “I was just told about that. I don’t know where that came from. We have a great relationship. Me and him talk daily. I don’t know where that came from.” On if there are times that a different voice on the headset can change things up: “Sure, absolutely and I think that was probably the reason why (Head Coach) Dan (Campbell) wanted to do what he’s done was to make an impact in some way. I think he’s done a great job. I’ve had a handful of play callers over the years and that’s absolutely part of it.” On if he looks at the previous matchup with the Bears as something to build on or if it is an entirely separate game: “You look back on it, but we were a different team then, they were a different team then, things have gone on. They’ve had some injuries, we’ve had some injuries. We’ve actually had people come back off with (Taylor) Decker coming back and added Josh (Reynolds). So, it’s a little bit different, but at the same time you do look at that and see things you like and see things that you maybe wish you would’ve had up that week and maybe put them in this week.” On the experience of being on the sideline for the Browns game due to injury: “It’s hard. It’s always hard. You always want to be out there. I was happy for Tim (Boyle) to get his first live action and was supportive of him, but you always want to be out there. It’s always hard. For me, it was only the second time I’ve missed a game in my career and it’s just different. It’s weird. Not something I ever want to get used to.” On how much the team has learned from their previous matchup with the Bears: “We had some success in certain areas offensively, sure. But – I don’t know how many – six weeks ago or seven weeks ago that game was? It’s a different game. It’s a different team. A short week changes a lot of things. But yeah, sure, there were some areas of success that we did have offensively that you look hopefully can do it again.” On the offense’s success in the run game over the last few weeks: “It’s huge. It’s huge. It’s always a quarterback’s best friend is the run game and when we’re rolling like that, you’d like to think that our play action game will become a little bit more explosive than it has been. We’ll see as time goes on how much we want to lean on the run or lean a little more on play action and play those back and forth. It definitely helps the overall operation of the offense when we can run the ball like we have.” On if he played on Thanksgiving during his time at the University of California-Berkeley: “No. They just beat Stanford last week. The axe is back home.” On his experiences of playing football on Thanksgiving: “I think back to when I was really little, we’d go out and get muddy on the field and I was probably 12 years old and go out and run around and do the little Thanksgiving Turkey Bowl. I think back to all the times that I never played on Thanksgiving, but having practice and just being around the guys thinking about how thankful you are for certain things and football and your teammates and your coaches are absolutely towards the top of that list. So, being around those people on Thanksgiving, being able to share the day with them and then go home and be with your family, it’s always kind of a special time of the year. Mine has always kind of fallen obviously during football season, so it creates that extra thankfulness I guess.” On the tradition of the Lions playing on Thanksgiving every year: “I’ve heard all about it. I haven’t played in it, but I’ve heard all about it, knew this was coming all year and excited about it. It’s a tradition that’s been amongst this team for a long time and hopefully can make my mark on this game this year.” On if he watched the Lions on Thanksgiving growing up: “I always remember finishing practice – we usually practice early on Thursday my whole life just to get home for Thanksgiving – and you finish practice and you kind of get home and it’s about halftime of the Lions game. Now I will be able to be in that game. It’ll be fun.” On the experience of helping QB Tim Boyle prepare for last Sunday’s game against the Browns and his thoughts on Boyle’s performance: “Like I mentioned, I was so supportive of Tim and wanted the best for him, but you never want to – I don’t ever want to be in that position again. You’d like to stay on the field as much as possible, but I was trying my best to give him any little nugget I could, specifically for a first start. He played football for his whole life, but there are weird things that happen in your first start that just feel different. So, I tried to give him as much advice there as I could. I thought he did well. I thought he managed it well and played great.” LIONS QB TIM BOYLE QUOTE SHEET November 23, 2021 On if he feels different now about his performance against the Browns after reviewing the game film: “Ultimately, when you look at the big picture, the quarterback’s performance is revolved around wins and losses. So, as well as I think I could’ve done or as much improvement as I think I could’ve done for the game, ultimately we didn’t get the job done. For the most part, I felt like the ball was going to the right place. I felt like I was accurate enough. I wish I could’ve had the two-minute drill back before half. A couple of third downs I think I could’ve stayed in the pocket just a little longer, but that’s just being hyper-critical of myself as a player. But, like I told you guys after the game, every rep I got was crucial in my development as a quarterback. So, I’m glad I got those under my belt and I’m a better player for it.” On how this week is different in terms of preparation compared to a normal game week: “Thursday is a grind. Early mornings, late nights, and it’s just trying to memorize the call sheet and understand what you’re getting yourself into from a defensive schematic standpoint and understand what Chicago is going to do. It’s just such a quick turnaround. You have install yesterday, install today, and tomorrow night we’re staying at the hotel and we kick off noon Thursday. I’m ready to go. That’s my job. Whether I’m the starter, backup, third string, P-squad, every quarterback has to be ready in this League because weird stuff does happen as you guys have seen. So, I’ll be ready to go. I feel good about the plan. I feel good about what Chicago does on defense and excited for Thursday.” On if game planning on a short week against an opponent that the team has played before is easier for a quarterback than an unfamiliar opponent: “I think there is some familiarity with Chicago just because we’ve played them, so we can kind of go back to our notes and kind of see what they did and see what they’re probably going to come back and attack us with. Thursdays, especially on the coaches I give them a bunch of credit. They are here ridiculous hours just making sure they have a good game plan for us and it’s up to us to make sure we’re studying and watching film and making sure we put our best foot forward on Thursday. But definitely some confidence moving forward with Chicago because it’s a division game. We’ve seen them before.” On if playing at Ford Field indoors will allow him to throw the ball more as opposed to in the weather against the Browns: “Of course, yeah. I’m a quarterback. I want to throw the ball. When you have really good running backs, you love handing the ball off and letting them go spin. But, any quarterback, especially inside and on a big day like that, we’d love to spin the ball and throw for a bunch of yards and a bunch of touchdowns. At the end of the day, it’s about getting a win and I’ll do whatever it takes.” On how QB Jared Goff has looked so far this week: “Awesome. He’s sharp. He’s always sharp and that’s his standard. That’s his expectation just like it’s my own. But yeah, he’s done a good job of just doing the treatments and recovery and getting his body right. He’s been sharp mentally and we’ve been going through the call sheet together back and forth and David (Blough)’s been awesome and so is Steven Montez of just making sure that we’re all feeling comfortable with the game plan going into Thursday.” On QB Jared Goff throwing earlier in the day to test his oblique injury: “He looked like he was moving good. He looked like he was moving good.” |
