Detroit Lions Training Camp Day 8: Jim Caldwell’s Comments

Detroit Lions head coach Jim Caldwell met with the media today after practice, here is a look at what he had to say, as provided by the Detroit Lions.

Opening Statement: “Another day of good work, the weather has been cooperating with us. We practiced in the morningyesterday and it rained in the afternoon, rained this morning and we practiced this afternoon. So it’s kind of working in our favor and certainly that’s been good for us. Had an opportunity to get out here on the grass and got a lot of real good work done. We got everything done that we wanted to get done. Lot of different situations today was predominantly a red zone day, and the guys I thought functioned well. We put them in a couple awkward situations, very, very tough, some second and third down situations that were difficult for the offense and the defense. I think they both did a great job of adjusting. Guys are getting better, we’ve still got a long way to go”

On DE Ezekiel Ansah: “Not worried about him, he’s progressing well, he’s working, they keep ramping up his activity. He hasn’t had setbacks, so we feel good about where he is. Power, speed, athleticism, and experience he’s got it all.”

On his philosophy of giving veteran players the day off: “I just think that at some point in time you have to be prude, particularly with guys who have played in this league for a long time.  We just think we need to periodically give them a little time off, particularly those guys that are getting in that 30 year-old range. Even though chronologically it’s not very old for the most part, but in this game you have to really keep an eye on them and take care of them where you can. From time to time we will do that for a number of guys. You’ll see the number of reduced reps that a number of guys that have been around awhile have had thus far.”

On the depth of the defense: “Potentially, I think we have a real good situation up front. You know this game, one day you’re in great shape in terms of depth, the next day you’re having some difficulties. At this point we have some guys that we like what they’re doing out there on the field. We can rotate guys in and out. We don’t have to have guys in there for an inordinate length of time because we do have guys that are in a backup role that can play, we are excited about that.”

On how he’s preparing for Browns QB Johnny Manziel: “We’re not. We’re preparing for ourselves right now. We’re getting ourselves ready and are focusing in on us. It’s our offense against our defense at this point.”

On the toughest thing about being a rookie cornerback in the NFL: “Facing the speed, the experience, particularly the guys out on the outside have been playing a while. They know every certain trick in the book, but they’re also very skilled. Playing the corner and getting matched up against some of the best athletes in professional sports is difficult. Particularly, you get left on that island out there quite often, in man-to-man situations. It’ll really test you in a number of different ways.”

On if he’s noticing any certain personality with his defensive unit: “I think it’s developed over time. You can kind of sense it and see it, but I really do think it’s developing. They’re getting a better feel for the system, they’re functioning within it better. They’re getting a better understanding where they’re reacting more so than thinking. This is going to be our first game really working against the opposition, so I think we’ll be able to tell quite a bit about where we are in that regard. I think you’ll start to see the way the defense plays start to take shape.”

On QB Dan Orlovsky: “Dan is working well. Dan is a pro’s pro. He has a really good knack for being able to come in and function within a system in a hurry. He’s smart, he’s highly competitive and he’s a very fine leader. I’ve had some experience with him before. We just think he’s really doing a great job at this point running the second unit.”