Detroit Lions: Jim Caldwell’s Final Mini-camp Quotes

Detroit Lions head coach Jim Caldwell met with the media today as the team wrapped up their 2016 mini-camp. Here is what he had to say.

On the rationale behind switching the last practice to a walk-through: “We just kind of feel we can get a gaugeof the team, how much work we’ve gotten done, how well the guys have done. Attendance has been great and we made an adjustment in our schedule. We do that from time to time.”

On if practice was mandatory: “The players have a choice. They always have a choice whether or not they have to be here or not, right? They always have a choice.”

On LB Stephen Tulloch: “That’s been asked a number of times. I think Bob covered it pretty well when he answered that question and I’ll leave it at that.”

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On getting DE Brandon Copeland in the NFL Veteran Combine and his thoughts on the value of that event: “I’m not certain if it’s going to come back or not, but the timing of it was good. There were a lot of people I had a chance to see a lot of guys that were out run and for us it worked well. We were able to get a guy (Copeland) that I think certainly has a chance to really good. Of course, he played for us last year and he keeps getting better this year. So, it was good for us, but I think the league looks at whether or not it’s of great value to the rest of the league and those kinds of things to determine it, but I thought it was pretty good.”

On what went into the decision to make Copeland exclusively a defensive end: “It just kind of depends on where we see him. Often times, it may take a little bit to kind of make a determination on guys’ body types. He’s one of those guys that had been really heavy when we had him at Baltimore initially. When I was there the first year he came out and he had gained a lot of weight. He tried to make the adjustment to the line and I think he put it on maybe a little bit faster than he’d like, and maybe not quite the way he’d liked to have put it on, and then he ended up getting released. We brought him here where we had a chance to kind of see him and he was back at his regular position in terms of using his speed and not quite as heavy and now he’s putting it on gradually, and I think he’s one of those guys when he’s rushing the passer well for us right now and it looks good. We’ll see what happens when we get pads on, but I fully expect him to be a real factor.”

On if the team plans to sign WR Anquan Boldin: “We don’t talk about things that happened in terms of who we bring in and those kinds of things. I know you guys get that information, but you got it and that’s kind of as far as we want to discuss it.”

On Director of Football Research Randy Edsall’s role with the team: “He does a lot of things for us. There’s going to be quite a bit. I’m going to certainly utilize him in a number of different areas. There’s nothing in terms of one area that we’re going to have him work. I’m going to have him work on things. He’s going to do a little bit of advanced scouting for us, taking a look at teams from a defensive standpoint to help our offense. We’re going to have him work with a little bit of time management issues, clock management issues. Across the board, there’s going to be quite a few things.”

On if Edsall will be the clock management coach: “No.”

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On his message to the team before they take time off: “Yeah, really been trying to talk and run the gamut here the last few days leading up to this, and there’s always issues that pop up during the course of the summer that we try to make certain we keep them away from. So, we talk about all the perils that can happen to you when you’re away from the facility, and how we don’t want to lose anybody during that time period, but also our guys have done well in that area. But the big thing besides that is coming back in great shape as well to kind of carry over from what they’ve learned, study their notes because in the fall everything goes a lot faster. We just don’t have the same kind of time we have during the spring where we put it in slowly, we talk about it, we have different phases, phase one, phase two, phase three. We certainly have a couple days for acclimation, but after that it rolls around quickly. So, we’re putting in chunks of information. So, guys have to really be on top of their game.”

On the benefit of extra reps for RB Zach Zenner: “With Ameer (Abdullah) not going, and we have a couple guys bumped up at that spot I think he’s benefitted from it. He’s one of those guys also that’s done well in terms of learning without doing, smart, but I think anytime you can get in and get reps it’s going to help you. So, I think he’s a bit more familiar from an application process of what we’re doing, and I think that’s going to help him.”

On if players need to step up in the receiving corps: “The development and maturity is something that you look for. I mean, you talk about the receiver spot and that’s certainly the case. We have some guys that are young, TJ Jones did a little bit for us last year. We expect him to be better. Corey (Fuller) was one of those guys that hurt his foot, so he’s going to be a little bit slow. We’ll see what happens when he gets back. There are a number of guys, I mean Golden’s (Tate) role, even though I think you’ll see that he’s been in our system, the system’s changed a little bit, but it’s his third year. Typically, you still see some maturity and a rise in production and things of that nature, and Marvin’s (Jones) learning. But I think, as you can see, he’s a good route runner. He can catch the ball, he can go with it. So, we’re learning something about some of these guys, (Jeremy) Kerley, you guys hear a name. So, with those young guys, got to step up and work hard and see what they can do. It’s a competitive situation.”

On having four tryout players here for three days: “What we get from it is an opportunity to, obviously, evaluate, to take a real good look at them, a little bit more extensive than we do with a workout when we bring them in, guys we have an interest in, obviously. So, we put them out here to test. Give them a chance to see how quickly they learn. We get to evaluate them in a number of different areas. That’s the reason why.”

On if the team is signing a tight end: “Whenever we do we certainly will let you know whoever we sign. We’ll let you know.”

On if Edsall will handle clock management in a similar role to Jim Tressel’s position on his staff in Indianapolis: “The thing about those guys, he’d (Edsall) probably do some things similar to. We have a guy that works in clock management. We do those issues, we have I think a pretty sound system that we work with, but I don’t think you can ever get too much experience. You know, when you have guys like that that have been around a long time, they’ve seen it from a number of different vantage points, they’ve had experience with a number of different things, and so why limit him to just one area? I use him in a lot of things. I stop by his office, we talk about practice, we talk about what practiced looked like, we talk about what he saw. One of the things that you, you know, it’s a perspective that’s similar to yours. If you knew exactly what you were looking for, you have a chance to kind of observe it without being in the forest, some of the assistant coaches are down there in the trenches. So, often times you’re stepping back, you can kind of see some things that they can’t see, and it’s always great to have somebody else to kind of bounce that off of. Real, strong football knowledge, which is what he has. Those guys are valuable to me. That’s why I also think the value of like an Al Golden, the value of a Ron Prince, you know, those guys have been head coaches before. Once you’ve had that experience, it’s pretty unique and I don’t think it should ever be taken for granted. But also I think we have to be able to use every bit of intellectual property we have. We’re always trying to find an edge, and where we can find an edge with guys like that we utilize.”

On the process of managing the clock during a game: “Yeah, I think we have a pretty good system in place. I mean, nobody’s perfect. That’s the thing that I think often times people don’t quite understand, but nobody’s perfect in that area. But I think we have a system in place.”

On having healthy veterans such as DT Haloti Ngata, DT Tyrunn Walker and LB DeAndre Levy back at this year’s mini-camp: “It’s great having those guys back. They are just superb leaders in terms of setting great examples for young guys, but not only that, I mean, they add some firepower to our defense up front. You know, having Tyrunn back, the other day when he’s out on the field, I mean, you can feel his presence rather quickly. He’s a guy that can run, he’s powerful. Obviously, Levy, I mean, there’s a couple plays that we were watching film last night, I was watching with the offense last night a little bit. Levy takes off so fast on his reads, Jim Bob (Cooter) asked the question, ‘Does he know what play’s coming?’ I mean, he moves and it’s really uncanny. So, things like that and guys like that, they help you. I mean, there’s no question about it. Just keep them healthy and we’ll be alright.”

On Ngata saying he feels like himself this season: “He’s hard to handle because he’s a big, powerful man that can run. We’re getting a sense of that now. Last year he was a bit hampered a little. You didn’t quite get to see who he truly can be. You saw it in spurts last year. I think you’re going to see it more consistently this year and he’s been really good during the course of the spring, so that power and explosiveness down there in the trenches, when he lines up on the edge of an offensive lineman, you’ve got to think twice about how you’re going to handle him schematically.”

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On DE Brandon Copeland switching to defensive end full-time: “You know, I kind of answered that in a roundabout way earlier, but we took a look at him. You know, we’ve had him now, for Teryl and I, for example, we saw him at Baltimore, we’ve had him here in his second year and we’ve seen both. When he was a big guy coming out of college and looking to be kind of an interior, outside guy that’s thick to a guy that was a linebacker type, which we tried to work with him a little bit. And then we’re trying to just narrow in on a guy who really has a skill set that sometimes it’s tough to peg because, you know, his size early on might have been a little bit too small for a defensive end. Now he’s getting bigger. He’s always had the ability to run. You know, he’s a sub-4.6 guy and he’s a powerful guy, so we’re trying to put him in a spot where we’re not jumping back and forth consistently and then concentrate on an area so he knows what we’re going to want from him in terms of weight, knows what his responsibilities are. I think we found at this point in time that we think that the best spot for him is more up front than the linebacking corps.”

On if T Taylor Decker is the team’s starting left tackle: “What you’ve seen out there on the field, obviously he still works both a little bit. You know, he’ll work a little bit of both. He’s playing more left tackle than anything else at this point. So, you know, pads go on when we come back, alright? So, we’ll see what’s happening. There will be a number of guys that we’ll get a real good look at, so that will be fun.”

On if he likes what Decker has shown in practice so far: “Yeah, I do. You know, that whole young group, I think I told you early on, they’re a very serious-minded group. That’s the thing that jumps out at you. I mean, these guys act like they’re 40 years old in terms of their focus and determination. They don’t smile a whole lot out of that group because they’re so concentrated on their work. I don’t think they understand old man jokes anyway. They hardly ever laugh at my jokes when I do tell a few here and there, but nevertheless, the great thing about them is it’s a class that has some unity amongst them, there’s talent in that class. They’re hard workers, they’re dedicated individuals and I can’t wait to see those guys with pads on. That’s going to be fun.”

On rookie classes growing more mature and focused over the years: “I think it changes. There have been some groups that have been through the years, I’m not necessarily talking about a group we’ve had here, but through the years you’ll find that you may have some guys that are immature that have to mature quite a bit in order for them to get in position to play. These guys from a maturity standpoint, if they’re capable physically, are going to be able to step in and play for you because they are a little bit more mature I think than the norm.”

On C Graham Glasgow’s development: “Yeah, coming, making progress. Really, the last week or so he’s really made some strides because we put a lot on the center, a lot like we do on the quarterback. I think you guys are probably getting the sense of it. They run the show, and the two guys that have to be in sync and have to have a great understanding of everything that’s going on is the quarterback and the center. I mean, those guys direct traffic. The center directs all your calls that you give inside and out, he identifies the front, they make the key indicator calls along with your quarterback. If there’s something that one sees that the other doesn’t jive with, they have to be able to communicate well. That is a lot of information for a young guy to handle, so it takes them a little while. He’s not arrived yet, but I can see now that he’s a little bit more comfortable with things that he was sort of struggling with early on. But obviously, I think we all can see that he has size, he has strength, he has the will power, he’s a smart guy and he’s gotten better, so I’ve been pleased with his progress.”

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On what offseason activities he has planned: “You know, I asked (DeAndre) Levy for a little advice, but he hasn’t given me any yet. The big thing I’m going to do is enjoy some time with my family, my grandkids. I’ll be seeing the three of those boys tomorrow and have a good time with them and my kids, so I’m looking forward to it. And my wife, better say that before I get in a little bit of trouble.”

*All quotes provided by the Detroit Lions.