Opening Statement: “I would just start with a few things, number one we’ve let Darren Fells go. We’re activating Brock Wright to the active. Darren, that was basically a mutual parting on both parties if you will, so no ill will. It’s all good. Brock moves up officially to the active. We’ll start Tim Boyle’s clock as of today just to get him working in and then I see Taylor (Decker) working into practice Wednesday and we’ll see where he’s at. So, that’s kind of the moving parts as of right now just to keep everybody up to date.” On what he found from self-scouting over the bye week that he would like to improve on and what encouraged him: “Both sides of the ball we certainly need work in red zone. In particular, our defense is five to the one, but offensively any time we’re getting down there – now, a lot of the issues we had early were from turnovers, but it’s still something that is pretty glaring. We worked on it last week for a couple of days. Obviously, in the bye week we spent some time. That’s something that we certainly need work at. I think offensively it’s just – I think we need to – we’re going need to find a way to pull the trigger on a couple of these 1-on-1s, whether we just design them that way and it’s like, ‘Hey man, you’ve got to go win,’ and we’re pushing down the field or we’re throwing a couple of these things outside or to outside receivers. I think we’ve got to push the issue, which starts with us because (Jared) Goff will do what we’re asking him to do and he’s certainly got the arm and accuracy to do it. I’ve said it once again, it’s just trying to get more guys involved offensively. It’s something I know we need to work at because I think it will help everybody. So, I know we need work there. Look, there are a number of things that – I just bring it up again, there is a lot of young talent on this team when you go back and just dive into the last eight weeks that you see improvement. And look, the hard thing right now is the fact that what happened in Philly puts a bad taste in everybody’s mouth and it does ours, too. But, when you do go back and you kind of step back and look at it in its totality, you do see improvement out of young players.” On the Lions not sending any scouts to watch the quarterbacks in the Ole Miss-Liberty matchup over the weekend: “I’ll be totally honest with you, I don’t even – I didn’t even think about that. It was the last thing on my mind, so I’m not sure. I don’t even have an answer for you there. I’m so far from that for me, no offense.” On if there are any players on the waiver wire they would be interested in signing: “Anybody we feel like does upgrade us and is our type of guy, if we really feel like it’s a true upgrade or somebody that’s worth looking at in any of these positions, yeah, we’ll do it. I mean, (Executive Vice President and General Manager) Brad (Holmes)’s already proven that he’ll do that. Like I said, our eyes are always open for anybody we think can help.” On how he would describe the first half of the season on an emotional and personal level after everything that has transpired: “I don’t know. Yeah, I guess a lot has transpired. I don’t know the best way to even really answer that. Look, there’s frustration, but there’s also – my mind is so much into the ‘Alright, how do we improve? How do we help our guys have success? Have we gone through the roster? Have we given some of these practice squad guys a play? Are we coaching it properly?’ Like, I’m so much into the next game that it’s hard for me to say, ‘How has it been or what does it look like?’ Just as far as my own feelings. I just know this, look, yes, there’s been – well, when you are 0-8, there are a lot more lows than the highs, but there are some rollercoasters in it. We’ve lost a couple of hard ones there, but at the same token it’s like, ‘Hey man, I know this, just because a team only has two wins or a team has six wins or seven wins, it really doesn’t mean anything.’ It means, ‘How do you prepare to find a way to expose them and win a game? Where do you feel like you can get an upper hand?’ I think about moving forward, and how do we do that? This is a tough opponent we’ve got in Pittsburgh that’s playing tonight. That’s really my sole focus is, ‘Man, how do we find a way to move the football against these guys, stop their run game, and score some points and maybe create some turnovers or something special teams, how can we gain an advantage?’” On if they will be in the market to claim WR Odell Beckham Jr. off of waivers: “No.” On releasing WR Tyrell Williams with an injury settlement last week: “The writing was on the wall. I mean, I think that it just – I think both sides felt like there’s nothing happening this year. It’s not going to happen. I talked to him a little bit ago. I wish him the best and I hope that he heals and everything, but it was, there again, kind of a mutual parting of ways.” On if WR Tyrell Williams is feeling better from his concussion: “He’s better. He’s better.” On activating T Taylor Decker to the active roster last week and his expectations for this week: “I know this, I looked at him today and he had the right look in his eye and I know he’s ready to go. Like, I can tell that he’s excited about jumping in there and starting to rep, rep at the left tackle position. And so really until Wednesday comes and we get through that practice, I won’t know a lot. We’re certainly prepared to – if he’s got the right look and you can tell that he knows he’s ready and he feels good and we get through it, then we’ll move that way.” On if there is hesitation to move T Penei Sewell to right tackle with the return of T Taylor Decker: “I don’t think so. Really because I go back to this, now look, it’s different playing tackle, but I know plenty of people that play left hand and right handed stance. I mean, tight ends have done it for years. Now, they’re not tackles, I get it, but at the same token, you get comfortable with it when you do it. I think he’ll go over there and won’t miss a beat, me personally. It will be a little odd, but I also know he’s got enough reps over there and look, he’s a damn good athlete and he’s a professional. He wants to win. He wants to win his reps. So, I think he’ll go over there and do just fine.” On the defense digging a hole and burying the game film from the Philadelphia Eagles game last week: “I was talking to (Defensive Coordinator Aaron Glenn) AG. AG did that with the defense. That was a defensive deal. AG took them out there and already had a hole dug. I don’t know who dug the hole by the way originally. I don’t know who did that, but there was a hole and so, yeah it was. They took what they needed from it, learned from it, and then just threw it away.” On if the theme of burying the film was to move on from the Eagles game: “Yeah, that can’t be us, let’s put it that way. It cannot be us.” On what the conversations are like when a player of WR Odell Beckham Jr.’s caliber becomes available mid-season: “Look, (Executive Vice President and General Manager) Brad (Holmes) and I talk about everything. He was no different. So, he was no different. I would leave it that. Look, our ears and eyes are open to everything and if there was a certain way to make things work, we’d be open for just about any player if it made sense.” On the backup quarterback competition between QB Tim Boyle and QB David Blough in training camp and what Boyle needs to do to claim the backup spot now that he is returning to practice: “It’s a good question because – look, I would say it was close. I would say it was close, but I thought Boyle was doing some pretty good things. So was Blough, but I would say there was maybe just a little bit of an upper hand to Boyle and then the injury happened. Now, that’s been preseason, but I would say for him, I guess – OK, does he still have the – I think more than anything, we know the thumb’s going to be back. He’ll get the strength back and he’s going to begin to throw, but just the, ‘Man, can I sit in the pocket and make those throws?’ I just want to make sure he doesn’t get lost in his own head. Sometimes, you never know when you’re coming back from an injury, particularly when you’re at that position throwing with somebody in your face, does it just creep back into your head that, ‘Man, my hand’s too close to somebody’s helmet.’ Just making sure that he’s back from that I think mentally is going to go a long way. That for me is what I feel like I need to see. Look, he’s been in all of the meetings. He’s been doing everything, and so mentally he’s ready. I mean, he’s locked in. He knows every game plan we go through, and so that’s not the issue. It will just be getting through some of these little cobwebs and making sure that he feels 100 percent comfortable in his own skin there I guess under duress.” On what it means to him that former Lions QB Drew Stanton said the players and front office have not lost faith in him: “That’s good, but I would be shocked if – I wouldn’t think that I would either and certainly that’s good. Look, nobody wants to be in a position we’re in, but I go back to this, it’s more about the guys we have here than it is about – you’re talking about bringing me up, that’s because we have good guys. I do believe we have guys that want to go to work and better themselves and they want to make something of themselves. Nobody wants to be in this position. I think just that, that does go a long way. That’s a credit to those guys and we’ll get through this.” |
