Opening Statement: “I would just start with this, there again, we did enough to win a game. That’s a credit to everybody, the staff, the players. Defensively, a little bit of the tale of two halves. We came out in the first half, did a really good job, limited their ability to do some things. Second half though, they got on us 21 points, which is too much. Now offensively, we put them in some tough spots certainly, but ultimately, our guys responded and we did enough to keep them from scoring more points than us offensively. And, the three two-point stops were huge. They were huge. Defensively, some players that really stood out, I thought Charles Harris was outstanding. Jerry Jacobs was a factor in that game. C.J. (Moore) did a good job. Alex Anzalone and then our two young guys, our two tackles, Levi (Onwuzurike) and Alim (McNeill) really stepped up. I thought they had pretty big games for us. I thought from a special teams standpoint, (Jack) Fox really stood out. His kickoffs and his punts and then even holding on the field goals, just his procedure, he’s really come a long way and he’s a weapon for us. But, he’s got a ton of versatility. He had a nice game for us. I thought our deep snapper (Scott) Daly and certainly (Riley) Patterson our kicker to go in there and nail three of those was really good. Both of our returners were good. (Kalif Raymond) Lif and Godwin (Igwebuike) I thought made good decisions on the day. I thought (KhaDarel) Hodge, our gunner, did a good job on special teams. And offensively, look here’s what – it was a cleaner game certainly from the aspect that penalties didn’t kill us. We didn’t have explosive runs, but yet we were efficient in the run game. It gave us the ability to get to first, second down, back to first. It was big. And really, ultimately, we won this game in two-minute, which was kind of a focal point for us. What we said last week is, ‘Man, we’ve got to be so much better in two-minute.’ And really, we came away with 13 points in two-minute situations before half and then at the end of the game, which was big for us. We had five explosive passes, which you’d like to have more. However, the explosives we had were big at big times. One of those was a touchdown to Brock Wright. So, that was encouraging. Here’s what’s negative, the third downs are still not good enough and then certainly when you go for it on fourth-and-1 twice and don’t get it, that’s a gut punch. That’s not good enough. I wanted to be aggressive this game. I felt like we needed to be, but you don’t want to be aggressive and then not get it because now look what happens. We put ourselves in a bind. That’s not the point of it. Defense bailed us out. Offensively, we came through when we needed to. We’ve got to start faster in both halves offensively. It takes us a minute to get going and once we do, we strike pretty good, but then we lull again. But, I thought (Jared) Goff came out and drove us down the field and our skill players showed up and the O-line protected him. So, good job.” On beating the Vikings and overcoming some mistakes that were made: “I think that’s what this League is about a little bit. You’re striving for perfection knowing you’ll never get there. But ultimately, it’s got to be about you’ve just got to be one play better than your opponents. I think it does say something to our guys that they just hung in there, they continued to work and to be able to go down and – look, here’s one of the things I’m most proud of is that we finally finished a game with the ball in our hand offensively. We put our defense out there so many times, they held up and they stood their ground. And offensively, you want to be able to end these games, whether it’s in kneeling it down or you’re finishing it with the ball in your hands. So, that was good. And there again, we just made one more play than they did. I didn’t say this, I do need to say this, certainly (Amon-Ra) St. Brown had a huge game for us. I kind of gave you guys game-ball winners, but St. Brown offensively. I thought Josh Reynolds, Jamaal Williams, and Brock Wright did well, too.” On if the increase in deep throws downfield was to counter RB D’Andre Swift’s absence: “I would say this, more of not so much the explosives down the field – although, you bring up a good point because he does – he’s been an explosive play-creator for us, but it’s more about filling the void of the yards that he has gotten us in the run and pass game. And so, just being able to find those completions or those runs for the other guys were big and it got spread around pretty good because of that. Looking for explosives though is just – you are always looking for those and particularly this game, we felt like we had some matchups that we wanted to take advantage of. Honestly, they did a pretty good job. Just schematically, they took a couple of them away, but we were able to find some. So, it was enough to help us.” On the comparison between his first win with the Dolphins as an interim head coach and his first win as a head coach with the Lions: “I don’t know. I don’t know how to – I think this one was special because it’s just been – we’ve been through a lot already this season. There again, to know when you are in this building and around these guys almost 24/7 and these coaches and the amount of work that goes into it and what you’re trying to do, what you’re trying to build and validate everything and to know they just continue to work and lay it on the line, that’s what makes you feel so good, it really does. We got over the hump for a game and now they’ve got a taste of it and it feels good and you should be able to enjoy it, but knowing that we’ve got to buckle down and get to the next one. So look, yes it was great to get the first one here as a Lions coach, but I just bring this up again, I don’t care what win it is, winning feels good. I don’t know when it is, how it is, when it comes, but that’s what you do this for.” On if he spoke to anyone that reached out to him after the win yesterday: “No, only because I don’t have time to respond back to everybody. So, I think a lot of them have been holding out, waiting for the first win to be able to send a text. But, I received a number of texts, which is appreciated.” On the players dumping water bottles on him in the locker room after the win: “I was drenched and I actually felt – they drenched me with water bottles and all of this stuff, which is fine, and then I go back to my office and there is (Owner/Chair Emeritus) Mrs. Ford, Mrs. Martha Ford back there. I know she was super excited, but I’m just drenched. I think she wanted to hug, but I didn’t want to hug her. So, it was a little awkward, but I felt like – I felt awful because I knew I would dowse her because I was just dripping off of me. Look, it was cool. I appreciate those guys.” On if today was considered a victory Monday and the reaction of the players in the building today: “It was kind of victory, but yet it wasn’t. So, we had the players come in on their own as a group and lift and run with (Director of Sports Performance) Mike Clark and our strength staff. And then, just reach out to your coaches about the film individually. So, we didn’t do a full meeting and all of those things. So, we wanted to do that. So, no, I haven’t been able to see anybody. I just know when I left last night, a lot of those guys – well, all of them, they were on cloud nine. It was a good feeling.” On the recent uptick in delay-of-game penalties: “We’ve got to get that call relayed in the huddle.” On if the team has changed the structure of practice after he took over offensive play-calling duties: “Really, what we’ve done – probably the one change we’ve done – we’ve just added a little more to our group periods, which comes right after individual, to really try to hone in on the details, particularly in the pass game. Look, all of it needs details, but I think the pass game, it takes more time and it does. You have to be a lot more thorough than even in the run game at times. So, I do think that’s helped. I think that’s helped with it a little bit.” On if he took some time after the game yesterday to celebrate the win outside of the practice facility: “Look, yeah I went home, went home with the family, and just kind of laid low. I’ll be honest with you, crazy as it sounds, I was spent. I was spent, so I really didn’t have much left. However, I couldn’t sleep, in a good way though. Normally, you don’t sleep when things don’t go great, but I didn’t sleep well in a good way. You’re kind of full of just things going through your head, the positives. You still go through things you wish you had done better. So look, it just felt good to sit on the couch and sit back with the family and just have a laugh, have a smile, build a fire, and just kind of hang for a little bit before I watched the game on my iPad, which is good. It’s satisfying, at least for a little bit, a few hours.” On CB Jerry Jacobs and CB Amani Oruwariye combining for 14 tackles and their performances: “Look it starts this way, if they are tackling, it’s a good thing because that means they’re trying to attack your corners a little bit and we have enough coverage variation where our corners have to force the run or force some of these shorter throws. (Defensive Coordinator Aaron Glenn) AG will be the first one to tell you, if you can’t tackle, you can’t play on this defense and both of them did that and Jerry really showed up. He’s kind of a pitbull out there and he can cover 1-on-1, but he’ll also come up and tackle you and hit you, and so that’s good. And then look, Amani there too made some plays in the run game, but that’s part of their job description as well. There again, Amani has been pretty steady for us. Now, we’re going to hold him to high standards. We still expect more out of him because I think he’s even better than some of the stuff yesterday, but I thought he did some really good things. But, Jerry continues to get better.” On if he watched the Denver Broncos last night while he was relaxing and reviewing the game film and if there is a benefit in watching a game live to scout the next opponent: “I did. I watched Denver and KC. I didn’t watch the whole game, but I did watch bits and pieces of it. Yeah, sometimes it does. It just kind of gets you a jumpstart on what they’re doing and what went down in that game. So yeah, I kind of like it. I think it helps – I think when you have the – when it works out that way.” On the decision to call a pass play on fourth-and-1 in the fourth quarter rather than run the ball: “That’s a good question and honestly it’s funny because when I go back to it, if I could have a play over in that game, it wouldn’t have been the fourth-and-1, it would’ve been the third-and-2 right before it. That’s the one I regret because I wish that I had given a better play to Jamaal Williams there and we wouldn’t even have been sitting in a fourth-and-1. So, as far as the fourth-and-1, did I love it? No, however if we would have – we can be so much better on how we should have done that play, just the little details to it. We would have outflanked the defense. There again, we just – a couple of little things there procedurally in the way that we needed to function on that play and it would’ve been there. So, it didn’t work out, but more than anything, I regret the third-and-2 call that put us into that.” On if the Vikings’ defense was showing anything that confirmed the call to run a quarterback sneak with QB Jared Goff: “No. I mean, I think that we had a pretty good idea of what was going to be there, but we also – look, we haven’t run a quarterback sneak all season, so it’s like, ‘Hey, we think it’s going to be there. If you feel like you’ve got a gap, maybe we take one.’ And, it didn’t work out. In hindsight, it’s easy to say because Jamaal has been so good, but there again, you are – as a staff, we go through these calls, ‘What’s out first call? Are we good if there is a sneak ability or opportunity?’ We take it and we did. You live and die by gambling sometimes.” On the corrections he will apply to make the offense more efficient on third down: “Well one thing, all of us being on the same page. I mean, the first sack we had over there, he gets blindsided. That’s a mental error. That shouldn’t happen. The other one that we get to where we’re in the first – the one that’s fourth-and-1, the ball ends up going where it should. It just needs to get out of (Jared) Goff’s hands a little faster and then we get the first down instead of being in fourth-and-1 or whatever that is. But, the scheme was there. We’ve just got to pull the trigger a tick faster. And so, there again, there are so many little things that you’ve got to hone in on. And so, I feel like we’re beginning to find some of these schemes we think that we can work with and find ways to get our guys open. (Amon-Ra) St. Brown and some are stepping up, Josh Reynolds. So, we’re getting there, but certainly – our third-down percentage is still not good enough, so we’ve got to continue to improve so we can stay on the field.” |
