| August 2, 2022 Opening Statement: “First day of pads yesterday, and my first impression was I felt like the energy was a little low coming off a day off. I can’t say that I’m totally surprised, but man, when I went back and watched the tape it was a lot better than I kind of felt and that’s normally how it works. But I anticipate it as being even better today. We’ll be better.” On the lack of sound from the Guardian Caps hitting against each other: “Well, you know what, it’s hilarious because one of the first – we had the combination drills with the tackles over there, the tight ends doing some stuff and that was one of the first thoughts I had was, ‘Man, I don’t hear anything. Nobody’s –‘ because you’re just so in tune with hearing the helmets hit. So yeah, it does take away a little bit of that sound, but that’s just perception because they’re still coming off it’s just taking the impact of some of that. So, I guess they’re doing their job if you’re not hearing as much of a thud with the helmets.” On the significance of giving a rookie like Lions LB Malcolm Rodriguez a snap with the ones in practice: “Yeah, I think it’s just a little bit of a test just to see what he can handle. I mean, I would say this, he showed up yesterday. And so, we’ve been pretty pleased with him and all of a sudden, we go first day of pads and guess who shows up? Which he’s one of those guys, which is inevitable. (Lions LB) Shaun Dion Hamilton is another one, it’s like all this stuff, like we said the ‘pajama party,’ and now that we’re in pads, man, all of a sudden guys come to life and Hamilton’s one of them. But Rodriguez, I’ll tell you what, his key and diagnose for a young guy right now is pretty good, pretty good. And so, as you see the competition in that room and you just watch, ‘OK, here he is. Let’s just give him a rep,’ and (Lions Linebackers Coach Kelvin Sheppard) Shep’s done a good job with that and now there’s already conversation, ‘Hey, let’s push him to the next group a little bit and give him some more reps and see where that goes.’ So, we’re going to give those guys a fair chance in that room to compete and let the two or three best come out of there, defensively.” On what the cornerback competition between Lions CB Jeff Okudah and Lions CB Will Harris could do for Okudah: “Yeah, I think that’s just kind of the essence of this League, I just – I really do. I mean, we’re at the highest level here, it’s the highest level of competition and these are two pretty damn good athletes. And Okudah certainly has got a ton of stuff in his body coming back from injury, and so I think as he just continues to work through it – here’s the other thing, let’s not forget that, yes, Jeff’s going into year three, but it’s like he’s kind of year two because he didn’t really get to play last year. And so, he’s still growing, he’s still – he’s coming back from the injury, he’s doing well, he’s moving well, but he’s still in a growing process. No different than Will, who’s really never played corner other than a few – a little bit last year, a few games. So, I just think the – you’re pulling out the best of each other. I mean, they know it’s up for grabs and, ‘I’m going to give my best, you’re going to give your best.’ And I just think it does, there’s no complacency.” On what he looks for when evaluating the backup tight end spot: “Yeah, I think it’s really you – I kind of look at as you need three guys and we’ve got (Lions TE T.J. Hockenson) Hock that we certainly like and feel good about what he can do in the pass game, and I think as a bonus he can do some things in the run game. You need a blocker, which is where I think (Lions TE) Brock Wright and where (Lions TE Garrett Griffin) Griff are battling it out right now. And then I think you need a hybrid, you need somebody like (Lions TE Shane) Zylstra that you think can do – he’s a jack of all trades, he can do a little bit of everything. You know if something happens to one of those, he can step in and produce in a game for you. I’m just using those as examples. We’ll see where (Lions TE James) Mitchell comes. He’s going to get a little more today, certainly. He had a 7-on-7, he’ll get some more of that and hopefully with him this week, we can get him some team reps, but let all those young guys battle it out. But I think you really, ideally would like to have a little bit of a mix of those guys.” On what went into the decision to have Lions LB Jarrad Davis play off the ball more this offseason: “Yeah, I think we’re just trying to get a good look at stack-backer. By the way, he’s another guy who showed up yesterday which we knew he would. You put pads on, that’s his deal man, that’s his game. But I think we want to give him a fair shake inside, at the MIKE and the WILL, like all those guys. And so, I think that’s kind of the starting point is – as we begin to get into more of our third-down packages, we’ll start to mix some of that stuff where he’s on the edge and he can do that. But we just want to see what it looks like. His run, his pursuit, all good.” On how Lions LB Malcolm Rodriguez can compensate for his lack of size: “Well, kind of what he showed yesterday, is his explosiveness and his willingness and his power to come down and hit those guards, hit the offensive linemen, get off blocks fast. And a lot of that is look, when you can key and diagnose quick and get a good first step, and then you’ve got to step on those guys, so you’re beating them to the spot and once you get to that spot – 320-pounder, you’ve got to be able to punch off of him. So, I think the big thing is he can do it, and the size is not an issue as long as everything is perfect every play. I mean, that’s the reality of it. As long as you do that and you’re consistent and you’re on top of your – I mean, there’s a number of guys in this League that have played that position and been able to do it that were undersized. So, he’s explosive and he’s fast, and he can key and diagnose, I know that. And we’re early in camp, so we’ll see what happens.” On if signing Lions RB Justin Jackson was related to Lions RB Greg Bell’s injury: “It is. We feel like Bell’s going to be down for a little bit here. And so, we just wanted to make sure that we had another runner in here ready to go, kind of spread the load.” On his reaction to seeing Lions T.J. Hockenson block Lions DL Aidan Hutchinson for a touchdown on practice film: “Well, the first reaction is that’s – it’s – welcome to the NFL. That’s something he hadn’t seen or he’s not even thinking about that. He’s thinking about – his rear’s up in the air and he’s going to get his best rush against (Lions T Penei) Sewell and all of a sudden, it’s like, ‘Woah.’ But that’s – he’s not the first one that’s happened to that’s a young guy that comes in. And so, he’ll memory bank that and I’m telling you he’ll – it may happen one more time and I bet that’s about it. So, because he picks up things pretty quick, but listen, it’s good to see, it really is. He needs that.” On how the culture the team built through losses last season has helped set the tone for this year: “Yeah, I think it’s everything. That was the point was, ‘Let’s pick up where we left off as far as what we’re made of inside and the way this group bonded together and just didn’t give up and believed in each other and believed in what we we’re trying to do.’ So, I do feel like this is all about having the right people and (Lions Executive Vice President and General Manager) Brad (Holmes) and I have gone to great lengths to make sure that we have people that are about what we’re about, that are built that way and they’re guys that just don’t give up, they’ll just constantly go to work, constantly compete. And so, now we’re just trying to sharpen those guys and try to pull the most out of it and then, collectively as a team get the best 53.” On if the team can expect a collective year one to year two leap despite changing offensive and defensive schemes: “Yeah, I mean look, there will be some kinks in there, but I think ultimately because so much of it too is the staff, it’s all of us working together. My coaches know what I expect now, which last year as you’re working through some of this stuff and then in turn, their staff understands what the coordinators are looking for, and the players now from the staff. So, I would say it’s – we are – look, we’re functioning better right now than this time last year, we just are. We are functioning, now what does that mean? It just means we’re functioning better than we did last year at this time. And so, that’s kind of where we’re at, but we just got to keep working man, one day at a time, you guys know.” |
