August 18, 2020
Opening statement: “Good to see everybody. Really just another good workday out there on the field. Guys are working hard, obviously our second day in pads, so we had a lot to improve on, but I thought the effort was really, really high from the guys. I think they were trying to get things right. Obviously Jashon Cornell – we had a pretty serious injury out on the field today that was not good. So we are getting with the doctors now to try to figure out exactly what that look likes, but that was a pretty severe injury from that standpoint. He was in a lot of pain. He was down for a while. Unfortunate that that happened in that particular part of practice. I think other than that the guys are out there working really hard, trying to get better. It was kind of our second day here of early down stuff as we work and build our fundamentals in that part of the field and start to get in some situational stuff here after the player day off. Continually trying to get as close as possible to football and going out and simulating normal football scenarios and situations. It was good. We had a couple live snaps down at the goal line. So that was good to kind of get that in and get a little bit of tackling going and get some live work. So just trying to build it as we go further.”
On the value of QB Matthew Stafford being able to set the standard for teammates to follow: “It’s really huge. It’s huge for me in that standpoint, especially because we are in a training camp mode when we go offense versus defense. One of the things we talk a lot about with the offense, and really Stafford’s done an unbelievable job of, is just getting in and out of the huddle and having those substitutions be really sharp and crisp and that puts a lot of pressure on the defense when that happens. He’s certainly is very comfortable with the offensive system and being able to get guys where they need to go very quickly. That sort of leadership and the command that he has of the offense and the way that he can run it at a high tempo and get it corrected or get it adjusted or make changes on the field based on what he sees against the defense, you know that does put a lot of pressure on the defense. That’s really good for us to get those almost ‘game-like’ reps as much as we can in practice.”
On explaining how the rookies appear to be acclimating quickly: “I think I totally agree. The guys have been able to really showcase what they do in a skill set sort of manner and have been put in situations where they maybe isolate their specific position and go out and show us what they can do. First of all give credit to the players, those are the guys who are out there working and I think they’ve all done a really good job through the course of an unusual spring to try to come in to camp as ready to go as possible, and then through the course of the day, and working with their teammates and kind of getting in there and listening, and certainly the coaches on top of that of getting them ready to go. A lot of camp right now is some fundamental stuff, so we do have those guys in isolated one-on-one situations, or it’s a very small scale football stuff, but just so we can see what their skill set and level is – if it’s competitive and what needs to improve. Certainly as things pick up here and as we get into more game situational things – down and distance, red-(zone) area, the third down, two-minute, those mental bricks that get added on – that’s where you see those guys slow down a little bit. So hopefully we can build those in the right way, and they can kind of keep showcasing that performance on the field that we’ve seen, that production, along with trying to learn the intricacies of what’s happening in the game.”
On the role QB Matthew Stafford plays in bringing along the rookies: “You give it to the individual player first, but certainly the quarterback is key to all of that. I think Matthew Stafford does an unbelievable job with those guys, really just spending extra time with them and talking to them about some of those intricacies, the details of things that you see down on the field – probably a lot of it in the passing game. Certainly with the coverages and the routes and the leverage and things like that that he can talk to them and work through some of those scenarios for them. But certainly in the running game too, even with (D’Andre) Swift out there and some of the reads, the checks they’ve made at the line of scrimmage. He’s part of all of it and those guys are doing a really good job at just listening and following his direction.”
On T Halapoulivaati Vaitai and the value of the starting reps he’s receiving: “‘Big V’ – I would say things that impress you right away is he’s big. He’s very large, he’s got really good footwork and strong hands. When he punches those guys and gets his hands in their chest, and he can get a hold of him – you know, he’s stoned a couple guys out at practice that I think were surprised at just how strong he is. But his footwork is really good too. He can move laterally and stay with some of those quicker guys. So that combination has been impressive so far. I think from the standpoint from just coming in and being ready to go – whatever position it is, tackle or guard or whatever we ask him to do, he’s going to do. He tries to do it at a really high level. But I would say (that) the reps that he’s been in there, in specifically in tackle, he really hasn’t missed a beat. He’s gotten all the information; he’s done really well. This guy has played a lot of football in the NFL. He started a few games – one in particular that I don’t really care for – but he’s done it at a high level. I think the expectation is there that he can do that at a high level, and certainly – we’re in practice and we’re trying to grind through camp, so it’s still competition from that aspect of it – but the skill set that he’s been able to display has been good.”
On the importance of establishing continuity amongst the starters without a preseason: “I think it’s really similar to other training camp years. I don’t really know who the starters are. There is a lot that needs to be proved out on the field. Every year we start over. Guys go out, and it’s not really what they did last year, it’s about what they can do for us this year. I think they understand that, and we like to keep the competition high. Certainly, at some point you’d like to have some continuity all the way across the board because I think it helps with the communication. Quite frankly, that’s something that we really stress to try to get our guys comfortable not being in that scenario because there are going to be changes week in, week out during the course of the season. Whether it’s particular game plans, or injuries or whatever the case may be, so just getting used to having different guys out there and communicating and kind of also that next-man-up feel and being comfortable in those scenarios are critical for us. So, there will be a point as we grind through camp and we kind of hit our markers that we’ll probably settle on some guys that we think are kind of that first group, whatever that may be from that aspect of it and really try to do our best we can to gel that group together. Right now, it’s just about competition. It’s about really just going out and seeing what skill set everybody has and how we can utilize that as we get into the season.”
On if the team has a group of free agents already in mind for potential roster moves due to injuries: “It’s a really good question as far as the process. I think that’s the biggest thing for us. So, we’ve really tried to do a good job of having workouts and making sure that we have our short list, and ready list of all positions in case something happens in that aspect of it. There is the testing part of it. That is a little bit that we have to work around. So, even in the case where you may have done a couple position groups, or worked out guys, or kind of have your next-in-line sort of list ready to go, they still have to kind of get into the testing and we have to go through that process, too. So, it could take a couple days.”
On what the teaching points are on plays at practice where it appears that the young players could not have competed any better: “Certainly, it’s good to have those guys on our team. That’s a positive. I would say there are some plays in the NFL – these are great football players – that sometimes you’re just like, ‘That was a really good throw and that was a really good catch.’ There’s no doubt that happens. Now, obviously from a coach’s perspective we’re going to look at the totality of the play and see, ‘Hey, could we have done something maybe at the line of scrimmage? Could we have done something in the transition?’ The one play with ‘Marv’ (Marvin Jones Jr.), actually is something that we’ve been working on for a while and we actually got it. To Marvin’s credit, he hit it perfect. It was a great throw. Obviously, he made a tremendous catch and certain situations where we are fully competitive, and we’ve got to fight that thing all the way to the ground and try to get it out. You know, that’s some of the things that we’d have to do there. One handed catches are hard to defend, when guys make great catches. So, that’s part of it, too. But maybe there’s other things like in that particular play that we could’ve done before the actual catch point that would’ve made that play a little bit different or a little bit better as a scheme for the defense. Certainly, the Kenny (Golladay) play was a great catch. That was another high-point play. It was a great throw by (Matthew) Stafford, playing off the leverage, and certainly there was some technique there by the DB, in which way that we turned and kind of took on the receiver, maybe at the point of the catch that we could’ve done a little bit different that we’re coaching through. And then certainly, being able to go up and through, and trying to get the ball out is important for us and fight that thing all the way to the ground, which we don’t want to do right now because you’re certainly increasing the possibilities for injuries. But as we get closer to the games and game scenarios, we’ve got to do whatever we can to get that ball out.”
On what he’d like to see from rookie RB D’Andre Swift and if he will compete to start: “I think the running back one is always the hardest. We kind of had this conversation a couple of years ago with Kerryon (Johnson) too and just the adjustment to the game and the length of the NFL season. For me, for Swift, obviously I think he’s got a great skill set of what we saw in college and we’re exploring those different things that he can do, certainly at our level, and just being out there to do it consistently is a big thing for us right now. I think some of the different reads in the run game right now, we’re trying to get improved for him and his eye control and some of those scenarios. We do know that he’s a smart guy and he can handle a lot, not only in the run game, but the pass protection and being able to get the blitz pickups and some of the technique there, which – some of the linebackers at this level are maybe a little bit bigger than maybe what they were in college and some of those guys coming through there. So, the technique is really important for us to be able to make sure that we have that pocket protected. And then certainly we know that there’s different things that he can do in the passing game that we want to try to build on from that standpoint. Not that it’s small steps, but we try to make sure we build it in a proper manner, and so far, he’s done an outstanding job of handling all that. And certainly as we get toward more and more live contact at the running back position and being able to have really good contact balance, things like that that we saw in college and being able to break some of those tackles, the more of those scenarios we can get into and see and have that confidence in, certainly that will help him along the way.”
On CB Jamal Agnew’s transition to wide receiver this training camp: “And obviously without the spring, that was kind of the other thing from that standpoint, to be able to get those reps. I’ll say this: He’s handled it really well. I think he’s done an outstanding job and honestly it was something that we kind of threw him over there at the end of the year last year a little bit in the wide receiver area and said, ‘Hey, what does this look like?’ I think we try to cross-train guys that we think can handle it and he’s someone that’s kind of had that cross-training before, and just looking at ways to try to get him the ball. We think that he’s pretty dynamic when the ball’s in his hands, so we were doing some of that last year. But really, I think he’s done a really good job of running some of his routes and learning the intricacies of getting off the line of scrimmage. I think that, obviously at this level, press coverage and getting up and man-to-man and things like that with the DBs, that’s a hard skill to learn if you’re not used to it. I think his quickness has really kind of helped him there. He’s been able to kind of get off the line of scrimmage, and I think once he’s in open space, you can really see that quickness, that speed and his feel, which is really good. He’s still learning some of the details of the routes. We have a lot of plays that have adjustments based on coverage and the one thing that he does know coverage, so he’s able to kind of see the coverage, it’s just getting down the adjustments on top of that. Really working extremely hard. He’s been on it all the way through the spring, of just trying to get ready to go and take advantage of all those opportunities that he can.”
On if CB Jamal Agnew’s experience on defense helps him more at wide receiver: “It certainly doesn’t hurt from that aspect of it. I can’t say it gives him an advantage over anybody else, but I certainly know that when we talk coverages and he looks at the defense, I know he knows what the defense is supposed to be and where they’re supposed to be, so he can take advantage of that. That happens a lot. There’s a lot of transition even if you’re looking at college players that played wide receiver that moved to corner, then transitioned that way, also. I’ve had experience in the past where I’ve played wide receivers at DB positions and it’s funny when they come out and they’re like, ‘I knew what the route was because I’ve run that five times on third-and five.’ I was like, ‘OK, well there you go. That’s football.’ I think from that aspect of it, it’s pretty good. The flip side, he sees the coverage, he sees the help. I think that’s one of the hardest things, when you’re a receiver and you release off the line of scrimmage and it’s a defense that disguises really well, you’re trying to figure out, ‘OK, where’s the help? Am I going to run into something?’ You don’t want to do that. Either you’re going to be lit up or you’re going to be covered. So, from that aspect of it, he does see it.”
On why RB Kerryon Johnson didn’t do much at practice: “Nope, scheduled. Trying to do everything we can – I thought he practiced really hard yesterday. I thought he had some really nice runs, and he’s been doing some great work. Certainly with the player day off tomorrow, just trying to maximize as much time as possible with the rest so we can hit it when we get back.”
On why the team’s backup center position is important and what he’s seen from the team there: “The backup center position is one that I think is completely underrated. It’s kind of like your backup long snapper – it’s not important until it’s important. During the game, I’m talking about, because when we get into those game scenarios where you’re bringing so many offensive linemen to the game and being able to have swing tackles, guys that can play left and right, and same thing on the interior – are they guards only? Are they centers only, or can they play center and guard? Just the overall value of that player goes up for you on gameday, and that’s really important and critical. So, when we have the time, which is now, even though we’re pushed, you do try to make as many different scenarios where you can see if guys can handle it. Certainly from the center position, with as much as is put on that position from mic points and different callouts that the quarterbacks do for protection and the run game and things like that, you certainly want to get guys in those scenarios as much as possible, and then just on top of being able to snap the ball and move. So, trying to see that as much as we can. I think those guys have done a really good job. I think they’ve all really mixed in there without missing a beat. I’d say the most impressive part of all of it has been the communication. I don’t think we’ve had any communication problems. Maybe some of the fundamental snaps and some of the movement skills there still need to be improved, and I would say it’s a little bit more difficult up under center, so we’re trying to get some of those as much as we can. But there’s been a couple in shotgun, too. It’s just kind of the familiarity with all of it.”
