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: “This morning for us is the day before a game, but a little bit different from the regular season. We tried to blend both our Friday and Saturday type (of) workouts. We were out here a little bit longer than we would be on an ordinary Saturday and probably not quite as long as we would be on an ordinary Friday, so it’s kind of a blend. But what we do is we try and go through all of the different substitutions with both the kicking game and also the offense and defense, in all of the different units. Certainly during this time of the year, because of the fact that you’ve got so many guys that are playing, we have to make sure the majority of them understand exactly where they’re going to be called upon and how each unit is going to be working and things of that nature. We have to all coincide. Everybody’s got to stay alert during this time of the year and know what’s going to happen during the course of these games.”
On how he determines playing time: “Well, it depends. We talk about it in a couple different ways, we talk about in both regards. You can’t tell if the opposition gets the ball or if you have an eight-man drive, you’re only going to play a group the first quarter. Then you’ve got to re-think it, so it just kind of depends. So we have our parameters set and how to judge it accordingly. But we’re going to let them play, as long as we deem necessary and get work.”
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On if he’s decided about anyone sitting out: “Not yet. It may be a couple guys here and there but it was good to get through today’s practice. So we’ll sit down with the coaches after this and kind of go through every guy and every situation. We had a couple guys from yesterday’s practice get a little dinged up, so we have to work out those things. “
On RB Joique Bell being one of the players sitting out: “No, he was out for personal reasons.”
On if there is a need to play the starters a little bit more: “You know, it depends. It depends on where you think they are (and) where we think they are. Everybody does it differently. Everybody doesn’t even play their starters. There are a couple guys you saw the last couple nights who didn’t even dress for the game or have their starters. Maybe they wanted to work with some other guys. Our guys have been working extremely hard. The work is important, but we’ll get some good work in tomorrow. I’m looking forward to that.”
On LB Cory Greenwood being released: “Yes. It’s one of those things where we have to take a look every single day. We’re looking at our roster to make a determination of changes we have to make and adjustments, and it’s going to be that way constantly. We’re constantly trying to find ways to get better. Sometimes we’ll get thin at other spots and other spots we think we’re fairly healthy, so we’ll make some adjustments.”
With the First Pick
On if Greenwood’s release had anything to do with his neck injury from last year: “Yeah, that part of it he was over. It’s a tough game. You’re never out there unscathed. There’s not a guy out there that doesn’t feel something at this point in time.”
On what he’s looking for from his offense on Saturday: “One of the things we’re looking for is being very efficient and obviously, put points on the board. I think that’s the thing you look for, for all offenses. It’s our offense, it’s the Lions’ offense. There’s some elements of it from a little bit of everything, but the fact of the matter is, we want those guys to make certain that we get a good sense of the running game, that we can mix it up with our pass to kind of tie in with it as well. Also, it has the ability to open it up a little bit because of the weapons that we have. We’ve got a pretty versatile offense, but efficiency is the thing we’re looking for and putting points on the board.”
On what he is excited about for tomorrow: “I’m excited about everything. Really for me, it’s a great opportunity I think to see our guys in action. That’s the fun part of it. I’ve heard one young man say, ‘They pay me to practice, but we play the games for free.’ The guys love to play the game and coaches love to coach them as well. It’ll be a lot of fun. I’m excited about every single position. I’m going to be wide-eyed and looking at the guys, how they function and react and it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
On if there are any rule changes he’s interested in to see how they will be called now: “We have a sense because we had the NFL officials out here last week and through our mock games. We know what the emphasis is going to be and we just have to make certain that we fall within those guidelines.”
On if the jersey grabbing rule change is something he will be watching for: “Certainly. If you’re not coaching and making certain that those things don’t happen to you and understand that it’s a little bit different than it has been previously that a jersey is grabbed, you better take heed.”