October 22, 2020
Opening statement: “OK, all right, we’re just going to dive right into it. Obviously a big day for us out there on the field, just kind of keep going through the course of the week, but a big challenge in front of us. Like I said, the more you dive into Atlanta, the more you just see on tape how good they are, how explosive they are. They’ve got some great players. Obviously like I said, they played at a high-level last week. So we’re going to work. What do we got?”
On what maintaining the running game means for the offense and QB Matthew Stafford: “I think as an offense, you always want to have balance, you always want to be able to run the ball and use the play-action game, and obviously mix of the drop-back and the quick game to complement all of that on early downs. I think the more you can do that, the harder it is for the defense to defend all of those different plays. Certainly gameplan-wise, it opens up some stuff for you. I think Stafford does a great job of utilizing all of those different runs that we have and mixing with the play passes, the misdirection plays, the boot plays, things like that. So I think it just helps us be able to reach the ball into different areas of the field. That’s always great, it’s obviously part of what you want to be able to do. Diving into Atlanta’s defense, they don’t let you run the ball. They’ve been phenomenal all year with it. We do understand what a challenge that is. Just for us, it’s going to be about execution, whatever it is for that particular play because this defense is playing at such a high level.”
On Falcons DT Grady Jarrett being an example of not being a positional prototype: “Grady Jarrett is unbelievable. This guy – I think he’s just really come along and has just exploded out on the scene. It’s funny – I was just going through all the plays last night of what he does on the field and how impactful he is in all the situations – he has a tremendous mix of power, explosion, speed and just great instincts. When you look at the tape, you look at – you start with the run game – you run to him, he’s going to make guys miss, he’s going to get in the backfield and make a play. If you run away from him, especially some of the movement stuff they do defensively, he’s just in the backfield and you can’t cut him off. It’s an unbelievable quick twitch off the ball. He’s a problem there, and then you get into the passing game, and he’s just in the middle of the pocket. I think one of the things that I think is really, for him, been majorly productive is some of the games and things that they do where they’ll run the pick stunts and the TEs, the ETs, and he’s able to bend around those corners where you might think that he’s kind of out the picture, but can also wrap around a tackle and he has a great ability to turn and just explode through the middle of the pocket where the quarterback is. I think that Atlanta has done a phenomenal job of using some of their stunts and movements with him. I think that’s where he’s really thrived. He does have power and strength and (can) move the line of scrimmage back. I think those guys, like you mentioned, it’s that conversation of what can a guy do and let’s not just put him into a mold of what it should look like because this is a productive, productive player.”
On the challenges of balancing coverage of Falcons WR Julio Jones and WR Calvin Ridley: “I think you’re exactly right, and I think that’s where they’ve done an outstanding job of balancing off their weapons and their skill players. (Russell) Gage in the slot, too – he’s done a great job of being productive. I think both of those players have just taken their opportunity to grow when Julio was not out there, and just can see how dynamic those guys are. Like I’ve mentioned before, I think (Hayden) Hurst is kind of the hidden guy in there that you fall asleep on, and he has really come along, too, to be productive in those situations. There are some outstanding shots on third down where you’re trying to do the best you can to take away those two main guys, and he just gets open. He can win the one-on-ones against a linebacker or a safety. I think it becomes very difficult at that point to try maybe just play one particular way. I think that’s really hard to do when you have so many different guys you have to deal with.”
On how to make a young center, like OL Frank Ragnow, make the leap to becoming an established player like Falcons C Alex Mack: “Obviously you’re talking about a long journey. You’re going 12-year-in vet, a guy that – obviously my affinity for the offensive line, the offensive line play, and certainly the center position – I just think that he is phenomenal. I think what he’s been able to do through his career and going against him – one of the things about him that is so amazing, and I have the utmost respect for, is how tough he is. This guy is a tough, tough guy. He’s played through so many different things, and even when we played him last time in the game at the end of the season, he was on the injury report for two weeks, and wasn’t really sure if he was going to play, and he went out there and he played phenomenal. He played strong, he played powerful. He wasn’t hampering at all, and I think he has a vet savvy about him that he knows how to work different things in the middle with whatever is going on around him, and you never miss a beat. I think his communication at the line of scrimmage, and certainly you can see where he and Matt Ryan really have grown from that. A lot of the Mike points and protection calls and some of the run game check-with-me plays that they run, where you can see his ability to handle all that and communicate it back out to the offensive line. I think when you look at a player like that, who’s been doing it for so long, and you talk to Frank, and you do watch other guys in the League, certainly skillsets are a little bit different or strengths and weaknesses from the physical standpoint, but I think it’s all those other things that I talked about that you can really look at. Frank is a tough guy, he’s a smart guy. He’s going to have all of those tools and is just continually building on that stuff until it gets to that level like only a 12-year vet can do. But I think those are the things, those intangibles, that you look for for those guys that have been doing that, especially that position, for so long.”
On if he likes playing in newer stadiums or appreciates older stadiums: “Obviously, you just love to play the game. I think the new stadiums are cool, and they have different features. I always just think it’s fun to travel and play in a new stadium, I think that’s really neat. For us this week it’s, ‘Is the roof going to be open? Is it going to be closed?’ There’s a lot of unknowns for me, form that aspect of what does it look like in that stadium, just from that standpoint. I think as a coach, or a fan of the game, I always keep track like, ‘All right, what stadiums have I played in, what have I not played in?’ You try to think of which ones that you enjoyed and the moments in those stadiums. But it’ll be fun, it’ll be exciting. I can’t say I don’t – I always enjoy a good outdoor game, too. Now there’s nothing wrong with that, being on grass and getting some weather – that’s usually fun.”
On what happens to the defensive scheme if DE Trey Flowers is unable to play Sunday: “I think for us, we always – we probably talked about this, probably not in a while – but where the multiplicity or flexibility of our defense comes into play, that’s where we like to cross-train some of those guys. Whether they’re maybe a defensive tackle that can play end or end that, or linebackers that go outside, and we kind of have some versatility there. So we’re always trying to back that up, and we always rep it too, during the course of the week just to make sure we’re always in that next- man-up mentality to make sure that we are looking around corners in those situations in case we do have injuries or situations that come up. I would say this year more than any year, certainly even with COVID-19, that we’re trying to look around those corners and see what happens. This is really two games this year for us where we’ve had two injuries at one position and how impactful that is during the game. So we’re trying to make sure that we get enough reps and learning and flexibility to be able to handle those situations.”
On if he has to talk to WR Kenny Golladay about contract negotiations and how that is progressing: “Well I never comment on any individual player’s or coach’s contractual situations. I just don’t think that’s right. But Kenny’s a phenomenal player. He’s made some unbelievable plays in the game that I think were great. I think he’s a great part of our team. He’s dynamic and I love being around him, and I love coaching him. It’s fun for me. Other than that, we’re just week-by-week getting ready for the opponent. I don’t want to get into anything outside of that. I think he has continually developed in certainly my time with him, and I think he’s seen a lot of different things through coverages that have changed compared to his first year on the scene, and guys or teams have to play more attention to him. I think that’s a huge compliment as a player when defense has to do stuff to really make sure that you’re not out there doing what you can do. That’s really probably it.”
On if he views WR Kenny Golladay as a long-term player for the Lions: “Again, I think for us, I’ll probably just focus on Atlanta and what we’re doing this week. I don’t really get into all that stuff. So, I think I probably expressed pretty strongly how I feel about him as a player.”
On if it’s striking that there are so few Black head coaches in the NFL: “You know what, I think that’s a great question, and certainly, I think that we have to do a better job to make sure that everybody has an opportunity and certainly, that we’re doing our due diligence with that and making sure that we’re developing coaches. Obviously, Brian Flores is an extremely close personal friend of mine, and he’s so qualified to be where he is, and he should be. He’s earned that. I think that we need to make sure that we’re developing coaches, minority coaches. Just even when I got here to the Lions, I started a different program to help develop minority coaches, and really commit more to that. I think that’s what we need to do. Through the two years of our program, we’ve been able to elevate coaches that maybe didn’t have that opportunity or maybe guys that played in the League that maybe didn’t kind of get that calling in your early 20s – sort of coaching experience – because they were playing, which is a whole other level of experience that you can’t get as a coach. Then, how do you really look at that and put that together to make sure that that guy learns everything he needs to – maybe in a shorter window, maybe he already knows that stuff – then to be able to be promoted and pushed through the ranks. So, I think we have to do that stuff, and it’s really, honestly, it’s something that we’ve been pushing through the League, and the League actually adopted, this year, a model of our program, which was phenomenal, because we need that in place. That’s what we have to do. I think we have to continue to make sure that we’re getting that equality with it because it’s so important.”
On how difficult it is for the Falcons to evaluate Interim Head Coach Raheem Morris and the Texans to evaluate Interim Head Coach Romeo Crennel when there are so many factors to consider at the end of the year: “I totally agree, and obviously knowing both of those guys – Raheem, I’ve known him for a long time. He’s a great coach. He’s organized (and) I played against him when he was the head coach in Tampa, and how phenomenal and how hard his guys play for him. Certainly, Romeo Crennel is – I mean I absolutely love Romeo Crennel. He’s a guy I’ve known a long time, he took great care of me when I was a young coach and educated me and helped me along the way. He can certainly do whatever Romeo wants to do. I don’t know his particular situation. Romeo’s one of those guys where you always think, OK, he’s going to take a step back, then he steps back in, then he takes a step back, and then he steps back in again, and he loves the game. I mean, man, he’s forgotten more football than I’ll probably ever know just with his experience. I think it is important that when those situations come up, obviously whatever they’re doing out there is important. I can’t probably answer for the people that are above them and kind of what their thoughts are, but I think anybody in any profession – when you have an opportunity, you try to make the most of it and go forward.”
On if stacking wins comes from within the team or if it’s based on the opponent: “I think obviously that’s goal every single week, is to try to go out there and they’re one-game seasons and you’re trying to win each game each week. Certainly, I think there is a mentality about that where, OK, when you come off of a win and you played a game that is positive, that you learn from whatever mistakes may have showed up, and obviously we’ll learn from the good things that you did, and then carry that over into the next week to build on it and kind of – we say stack them together or build on top of each other – and I think that’s how you show your growth and your improvement. That’s certainly in the forefront, I think, of everyone’s mind, what they want to do, but understanding that each week is different. Every opponent is different each week, and whatever it is that we did last week is going to be different this week, and we’ve just got to do a good job of going out and executing the game-plan this week and trying to build on that as we go forward.”
On if he knows how many stadiums he’s coached in, his favorite stadium coached in and if Atlanta’s roof being open impacts their strategy: “Well, certainly the roof being open and closed is interesting for us. Just what does it impact, from sun or rain or wind? That will be interesting stuff that we’re looking at from that standpoint. And then sometimes, we look at the month. Sometimes, what does it look like in October versus September, and kind of as you push along, things change with that. I think all that’s part of the game and part of understanding the environment that you’re going to play in from that aspect. Certainly, we haven’t played in a particular stadium like that before. Trying to get as familiar as you can before you get there so that when you get there, it’s comfortable from that standpoint. Even checking stuff like play-clock and scoreboard and where you’re going to be looking during the game when a critical situation of football comes up so that you’re not missing something from that standpoint, just getting familiar with your surroundings. So, that stuff’s really important. Stadiums, obviously Ford Field, of course. Just waiting to get our fans back in there too when that’s safe because the noise in there, it’s as loud as anything in the League. I’d say probably one of my cooler stadium moments was probably when I was coaching college football and we were in the Orange Bowl at the old Orange Bowl (stadium), and one of the coaches that I had worked for back in the day, George DeLeone, he and I were walking the field and he was just telling stories of Super Bowl III and where the plays occurred on the field and the end-zones and the history with Joe Namath and some of the plays that had happened in that game and where they were on the field. So, that stuff’s really cool to me. I think that stuff’s neat to kind of be in the spots where – whether it’s some of the greatest games or greatest moments in our sport happened, that nostalgia’s pretty cool.”
