Opening statement: “Good morning everybody. Looking for an exciting day here for us out on the field – it’s going to be hot. So it’d be good to get some different type of weather in. Yesterday it was great to get out there and work in the rain, kind of have that opportunity to work on those different skill sets, being in wet weather and wet grass. We’ll get the exact opposite here today. So just kind of keep moving and take advantage of all the opportunities we can to get better in those situations. Getting out to practice today – Hunter Bryant, Da’Shawn Hand, Bo Scarbrough and (D’Andre) Swift – they won’t really do anything at practice. They’ll be working out there maybe with the trainers, but we’ll limit them as far as practice is concerned. Other than that, we’ll go with questions.”
On the importance of having a knowledgeable veterans on defense ready to go at the start of the season: “I think in general with any of the phases of the game, I think even just having guys who have played in an NFL game before and understand that atmosphere. Certainly without the preseason games, that’s something for us that has a lot of our attention as far as: How do we get these guys acclimated to what the NFL game feels like compared to maybe college, and what’s it like to be in our stadium and play on our field and travel? We’ll have none of those experiences going in (to the regular season). So just having veteran guys who maybe, I don’t want to say roll with it a little bit better, but have that veteran experience to handle all of those situations a lot easier. It’s not new. Sometimes we say with the younger guys, new guys, that the lights are pretty bright, and sometimes the veterans, they have that savviness where they’re just focused on the game. So that’ll be a big part of it.”
On his reaction as players across professional sports express their concerns with what’s going on in the world: “I think for us – and certainly, I appreciate this team and really thankful for this team and the players that I get the privilege to stand in front of every morning, so certainly that’s not lost in any of this conversation. I think those guys are great, and I think that if there’s any chance that we got everybody to maybe stop and think for a minute, that’s really great. I think we have a simple saying as ‘just listen.’ Right now, that’s all we want people to really do is listen. We understand that this isn’t a sprint, it’s not a race; it’s a marathon. It’s something that we just have to make sure we do a good job of continuing the conversation. This team is special in that accord. It’s a great group of guys. They’re great leaders; they’re great teammates. I just appreciate that.”
On how his daily routine with the team has changed to allow conversations outside of football: “I would say from the offseason (is) really where everything probably started, and we started having conversations. (I) just wanted to make sure that we have space. Sometimes it’s not really formatted, it’s not necessarily the same every day. Every day is a little bit different. We try to do some things each day to grow as a team, to grow as people and to do different things to help and reach out and be out in the community in a positive way. Certainly we try to do a little bit of that every day, and then on those occasions where you can really feel the space is needed, we just want to make sure that we’re giving that to everybody.”
On if there are plans to help with social justice initiatives going forward: “That’s obviously a big part of all the conversation is trying to always converse about what we do and what we do next. We’re certainly trying to put ideas together. We have some ideas that we’re trying to put into action, and a lot of it is just making sure we do it the right way and trying to figure out that it’s impactful and that it does continue to (make) people to stop and think, to have a conversation and listen to each other. I think if there was just one answer, I think any of us would just do it. But I think that’s really the difficult part is that we just have to make sure that we don’t get numb to anything and that we do continue to just have the conversation. I think that’s the biggest part of it.”
On how he is checking in on player mental health: “That’s really been something, really ever since I gotten here, we’ve definitely made sure the mental health of our players is (a) top priority and provided services and people and space to be able to make sure that everyone is in mentally and emotionally good health. I think that’s a big part of it too. It’s something that I think that just in normal times is important. Every single week going into the games, there’s a lot of pressure, there’s a lot of just things in general that cause anxiety. Certainly in the times currently, that’s amplified even more. We do have all of those things in place. It’s something I made sure that we did as soon as I got here because the game itself is hard and then life on top of it is even harder. We do want to make sure that everybody’s OK on that facet of it. (It’s) just as important as we talk about soft-tissue injuries and muscle pulls and training and all that stuff, the mental and mental health and mental well-being and emotional well-being of our players is critically important.”
On if there was further talk about not practicing today and if there’s a plan should the team boycott a game this season: “I would say just for us, I’ll only want to speak on the Lions, but part of what we do right now is day-by-day. I think that everything is moving at a fast pace and things are happening for us. We try to stay as normal as possible in unnormal times, but we certainly know that everything is unnormal. So day-by-day, we need to just make sure that we’re all in a good place, and we’re all just OK and ready to do whatever the team needs to do that day. So there is a little bit of a daily-check – I guess that’s the best way to put it for you.”
On if he will have a controlled scrimmage before regular season begins: “Great question. Obviously working into this week, which is – let’s call it what would be ‘Preseason Game No. 3 Week.’ This is a week where we’re building towards the end of the week for a little bit more of an intense, competitive practice here this weekend. So we’re looking forward to that as long as, again we take it as it comes here with injuries and the health of the players. But if we stay on track with that, we try to get some really good competition this weekend, and then mid-next week will be another target point for us so that it’s far enough away from the start of the season, but also we’ll get enough of an evaluation whether it’s front-end evaluation of the roster or back-end evaluation of the roster. We want to make sure we have time to do that.”
On where he has seen CB Jeff Okudah progress: “I think Jeff Okudah has done a really good job of, just all the way through camp, of learning. I think in the beginning of camp, as we know with young players all the way across the board, there is a lot to learn, a lot of technique, but just the system too on top of it. Certainly sometimes learning how to practice like a professional is part of it and staying on our feet and making sure we’re under control with things. Jeff is extremely competitive. He wants to compete on every play. It’s just learning some of the things and how we do them that I think he’s made some really great strides on. I really think he’s done a good job and improve in that area. I think the communication of the defense is a big part of it, especially at the corner position working with the safeties, being able to get that communication down. I think he’s done a really good job of that too. It’s a progression; it’s a long road. There’s a lot to be covered here in a short amount of time. That part of it has been good, but his competitiveness and the way he approaches it and works, that’s been great.”
On CB Tony McRae: “Very savvy player, smart, and he’s got great quickness, great short-space quickness, and really does a good job at top-of-the-route stuff right now. He’s done a really good job of playing up and through the pocket and playing the hands in some of the passing situations. He just plays hard, plays hard, plays aggressive. With that, we’ll see how it all works itself out and carving roles – special teams and defense – we’ll try to figure out those scenarios and certainly the more value you can add, the more positions you can help with, that just helps overall. Just really impressed with his work ethic, the way that he shows up every single day the same and produces every day. That’s really what you want.”
