On why Marcus Maye hasn’t been practicing…
We’ve just got guys resting and we’ll see how people are later in the week.
On if Maye is someone he is worried about for Week One…
It’s too early to tell.
On what he saw from Davis Webb that made him want to sign him…
He was somebody we looked at coming out (of college). To have him available and be able to work with him on the practice squad is something that intrigued us about him—with the size and the arm. We aren’t surprised or not surprised that he’s available. We just thought we’d take a look at him, and he’s a good guy to sign for the practice squad.
On if he’s addressed the team about turning from training camp mode to regular season mode…
No, we’ll address that on Thursday.
On how he is handling the extra day of practice…
It’s an extra day. After a couple days off it’s good to get them back on their feet and get some plays in. Today was just like an extra day of preparation. We’ll have off tomorrow and they’ll come back and our Thursday will be like a Wednesday.
On if the last two days of practice were light or if he pushed them…
We’re always pushing them. They weren’t in pads, but we got some work done.
On Kelvin Beachum returning and if he is excited to see the entire offensive line unit together again…
It’s always good to have all of your starters. It’s just the continuity we are working through this week. It’s good to see all these starters back when you can have them.
On if he loses something by not seeing his entire offensive line together during the preseason…
I don’t know if you lose anything. You get guys that have a chance to play and prove themselves, but injuries are going to happen through the course of the year, so you may be without some guys like we were last year. You just find out more about the backup guys and when your starters come back make sure they’re in shape and make sure they’re ready to go.
On if the offensive line has had enough time to gel together…
They do, because they practice all spring and most of the summer together. Just because they miss a week or two doesn’t make them not gel, but they’ve been practicing with each other for a long time.
On how comfortable he is with his backups on the offensive line, specifically at left tackle…
They’re backups for a reason, obviously, but when they have to go in and play, (Brent) Qvale, I’m comfortable with him. That’s who we have and I’m comfortable with him.
On if he is comfortable playing Qvale at left tackle in a game…
If need be.
On how he viewed Qvale’s performance against the Giants…
He played alright. He was going against a good player over there.
On if he anticipates the Lions to make any big changes offensively…
Well it’s the first game, you have to expect the unexpected. Obviously, they are going to change some things up—they self-scout themselves. We have to change some things up too. We’ll go in and try to read our keys and play a good football game.
On how important the relationship is between Sam Darnold and Spencer Long…
It’s very important. They get to see how each other thinks and they understand what each other is doing in certain situations. Obviously, you are under center and you’re in the gun getting the ball from him all the time. The chemistry has got to be there, and I think they’ve been doing a good job.
On if they will sign Dan Bailey…
I don’t talk about (potential) signings, only the people on this team.
On if there was a deal done with Dan Bailey after his workout yesterday…
I only talk about guys on the team right now.
On why he thinks Week One is always so unpredictable…
Because you don’t have anyone on film number one. Everybody gets last season and they do their own self-scout and they make adjustments and changes. You have to anticipate every trick play. You have to anticipate every special teams gimmick. You have to anticipate everything you need to anticipate. You don’t really get to hone in, you get to hone in on the past, but the new wrinkles that come up, you just have to read your keys.
On how much he expects the Lions’ defense to look like what Matt Patricia did in New England…
Well you look at tape from everybody. Obviously what they did last year in Detroit, because they have like players, and then you look at some of New England. But Matt is a very smart guy. I’m sure he is going to tweak some things and change some things up.
On the importance of the rest of the team, specifically the defense, “picking things up” around Darnold…
I don’t think we have to pick things up. I think we have to play well defensively whether it was Sam or whether it was Josh (McCown). Whether it was anybody, we have to pick things up defensively and play well if you’ve got a chance to keep the score down and win the game. Regardless of whether you have a Hall of Fame quarterback or not, you have to keep the score down on defense. As defensive players, that’s our guys’ jobs and that’s what we try to do.
On how much of an additional challenge is it to have a rookie quarterback starting in a dome…
I don’t think it’s very difficult. He’s been playing football all his life, he’s not just coming fresh out of the womb and just grabbing the ball for the first time. He’s been in crowds. He’s seen crowds and he’s been playing football. I don’t think it’s that big of a deal. It’s always going to be loud in a dome and Detroit is a tough place to play, I get that, but he just has to play football. He’ll be fine.
On how he feels about the team and what his expectations are for the team…
I like our team right now. Again, we haven’t played a game yet. We are still gelling. The chemistry is still coming together and the key in the first four or five weeks of the season is to win while you’re trying to gel. I like what we have and I like where we are going.
On if he has more information on a timetable for Elijah McGuire’s return…
Well he is on short-term IR so he’s going to be out for a while and we’ll see where he is when it comes to that point.
On if the doctors have given him a number of weeks for McGuire’s return…
Not to the point where they can pinpoint it down.
On if McGuire had a setback…
No, he had no setbacks.
On if the time frame for McGuire’s return was longer than he had expected…
Longer than the doctors thought, yes.
On what his concern is for Jermaine Kearse…
I don’t have a concern right now.
On when he would have a concern about Kearse…
I’ll see as the day goes on.
On if he feels good that Kearse will be ready to go…
Too early to tell.
On if he is worried about Kearse…
Not right now, it’s too early in the week. I’ll see how the days go by.
On if there is anyone he is worried about…
Not at this time.
On how much more difficult it is to generate pass rush if the team cannot get it from the outside linebackers…
You have to generate it however you can get it. It’s not just the outside backers. We have to get it from the defensive line, the inside backers and the DB’s so stress is not really on the outside backers. It’s for us to come up with a gameplan. You’ve got to disrupt the quarterback. You don’t have to hit him all the time, you’ve got to disrupt him and make sure the percentage is lower, and they have a great quarterback they are going against. So, the challenge is going to be against (Matthew) Stafford because he has seen everything.
On if it puts more onus on defensive play callers to be more creative more often…
Well you always put onus on the play callers. That’s what comes first. You’ve got to get your guys in the best position they can be in to make plays, and that’s our job as coaches.
On what led to Frankie Luvu not making the 53-man roster…
Again, it’s a numbers thing right now. We like Frankie, he can do a lot of things, that’s why we put him on the practice squad. He still needs a little time to develop and work on some things from a mental standpoint, grasping some things. But we really like the player.
On if he is referring to Luvu’s penalties in the preseason when he says he needs to develop mentally…
No, those weren’t mental, those were physical. The mental things as far as grasping the system and seeing a lot of formations and just playing ball in general.
On his expectations for the team…
Again, our goal is take one game at a time and get to the playoffs and win the Super Bowl, and that’s our expectation. That’s what it was last year. Going into Week One is no different for us.
On if he feels closer to accomplishing that than in years past…
We haven’t played a game. You’ll have to ask me at the end of the season. Were still gelling, like I said. We put our head down and work. I’m not here to make predictions, I’m here to win football games and play football games and you can only do that by playing.
On if he goes through a feeling out process at the beginning of the season before he knows who they are as a team…
It’s not so much a feeling out process, it’s more or less them developing an identity and chemistry on their own and saying, ‘Okay we are very good at this, let’s focus on that,’ and, ‘We’re very good at that, let’s focus on that,’ or, ‘Maybe we shouldn’t try this too much or try that too much.’ It’s not so much a feeling out process of who our guys are, it’s a matter of us gelling and being good at the things we are good at as opposed to just trying everything.
On if he can get a read on the chemistry before the season starts…
You can get offseason chemistry and you can get on-the-field chemistry, and it still develops for a little while, but you kind of get a feel for it.
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