Detroit Lions: Jim Caldwell's Quotes from Day 6 of OTAs

Detroit Lions head coach Jim Caldwell met with the media following the team’s sixth OTA practice of the offseason. Here is what he had to say.

On DE Ezekiel Ansah’s energy: “You kind of summed it all up. He’s an unusual guy. He loves what he’s doing. It’s a real competitive atmosphere at the position in which he plays, I mean, the guys that are interior and on the edges, and he does it with an unusual amount of energy, every single day, and he’s talented. When you put that kind of work ethic together with a very, very talented guy it’s pretty special.”

On DT Haloti Ngata’s confidence in the depth of the defensive line: “Particularly up front, I mean, is one of the things that is extremely difficult, not only is making sure you can stop the run, but having some guys up front that have some bulk and size and power makes a difference, and right now, you know, our depth has been pretty good. We got a lot of guys working, a lot of guys trying to better with the competition.”

On CB Darius Slay working on getting more interceptions: “You know, I think that what you find about guys like him who have a lot of ability and talent that they start to work on what they consider to be things that are weaknesses, and try to hone in on those and I think that’s what he’s doing. He’s trying to isolate some things and trying to get a little bit better. There’s always room for improvement in our game, because if you’re not getting better your opponents certainly are.”

On the camaraderie between CBs Slay, Quandre Diggs and Nevin Lawson: “You know, I think that anytime you can have good cohesion and camaraderie, it’s good for morale overall. You know, those guys hang out together and the entire secondary, you know, they go out to eat a lot together and in the long run I think it makes a difference.”

More from Detroit Lions

On Lions Defensive Coordinator Teryl Austin not getting a head coaching job: “You know, in our business that happens. I mean, I think Tony Dungy had, I don’t know how many interviews, but quite a few. There’s several other guys. I might have had seven or eight. I can’t remember the exact number, but it was a quite a few, and often times it just takes time. I think in some point in time he’ll get his opportunity, but he shows no disappointment with not getting one and that kind of stuff, no residual sort of effects. You know, he’s a professional and his main focus and interest is getting our defense playing as well they possibly can.”

On TE Cole Wick’s opportunity to get first team reps: “Well, it’s a very unique opportunity. You know, because we have couple guys, few guys that are down, that ordinarily he wouldn’t get nearly as many reps as he’s getting. So, the big thing is that he takes advantage of those. It’s one to be able to get those reps and show that you can play. It’s another to get those reps, you know, and there’s some doubt left in your mind. So, you know, he’s a smart guy, he works at it. He’s certainly been meeting the challenge head on, but it’s not easy for him, but he’s one of those guys that tries to get better every day.”

On T Taylor Decker playing on the left side of the ball: “You know, he’s working. That’s the thing, you know he’s smart. You know he’s athletic and he’s working at it, you know, and I think he’s grown and developing. He’s still a long ways off yet and we haven’t had pads on, but he’s working extremely hard at this point and doing well.”

On the switch from one side of the ball to the other on the offensive line: “You know, I think in some case it may be a factor if that is the only thing that they’ve done for a number of years, but for the most part any guys that play in the interior, typically, they’ve played both sides at some point in time in their career. They’ve had to put the other hand down. They’ve had to stand in a little contrary stance, little different than they’ve had before, and they all have to function. A good athlete can do that. Most of the guys in our league that play inside on the interior from tackle to tackle are pretty athletic, big guys.”

On the switch from one side of the ball to the other, specifically regarding offensive tackles: “You know, it depends on who it is. If they’ve done it before, I mean, it takes a little bit of getting used to, particularly, when you’re dealing with elite rushers that we face week in and week out, but if he’s a good athlete they can typically overcome that.”

On if he’s happy with his team’s execution in OTAs: “You know, we’re never satisfied, you know that, and we’ve got a long way to go. We’ve got a lot of young guys that we’re working with out there, so, you know their work has been good, in terms of they’ve been working hard, they’ve been focused. It’s a real serious group of guys but yet they enjoy the game. We still got a lot of work to do, no, not quite satisfied yet.”

On LB Kyle Van Noy’s progression: “You know, he’s getting better. One of the things that you guys don’t have privy to this information (is) when he came back, he’s in better shape than he’s ever been, body fat percentage, strength levels, all of those kinds of things. During our time off, he didn’t take time off it appears, looking at his numbers. He just went right to work and I think you can see a difference out there that he’s moving along extremely well. He’s playing the position a lot better, so he’s making good progress.”

On Dominic Raiola’s role with the team: “He’s working with the assistant strength coach, working with our strength guys and, you know, he’s been with us, I guess since about April 4^th or so, the start of the offseason program, somewhere in that area. We started on the 18^thbut he started on the fourth, so he’s doing a good job for us.”

On how long Raiola will be in his role with the team: “We’ll see. He’s getting a feel for what he likes and enjoys and, you know, I think those guys often times when they leave the playing field they search a little while looking for where they can focus their attention, cause they’re all so highly disciplined and also goal-oriented, so he’s working at that, but we’ll see. He’s doing well.”

On if Raiola can be a coach: “He can do whatever he wants to do. Obviously, he has the aptitude, he’s played the position for, you know, an ungodly number of years. A lot different than most people that play that spot. Not only that, he played it with excellence. He has all the necessary tools to coach if he wanted to. I’m not certain that’s what he wants to do.”

On T Riley Reiff’s adjustment to the right side of the ball: “If you’ve gotten to know him, I think most of you guys have through the years. He is a warrior. He does not flinch, does not complain. All he wants to do is find a way to get better. He’ll do whatever is asked of him and I think that’s admirable, in particular, this day and age where you have so many individuals that are pretty selfish in that regard. You know, he’s been great. He’ll adapt and adjust. He’s been in, I get in here pretty early, he’s in here real early in the morning working at it. Just trying to find ways to get better, not for show or anything of that nature. It’s what he’s always done, but I’m certainly pleased with where he is right now.”

On C Gabe Ikard’s progress: “It’s certainly helped us quite a bit, just in terms of having a decent look at him last fall where we had pads on and had a chance to work some of the look teams stuff and things of that nature. He’s a smart guy and he’s got size and girth. Coming in to get a little bit of an introduction to the system has helped quite a bit. You know I think he’s growing within it, but he’s been doing well.”

More from Detroit Jock City

On DT A’Shawn Robinson adjusting to his system: “It’s simple. Size, speed, aggressiveness, talent, strength, you name it, he’s got it, explosiveness, so, you know, often times schemes are schemes. You see a lot of guys go from 3-4 to 4-3 or go from a read, sort of a scheme to, you know, a disruptive, sort of get off-the-ball kind of scheme. If they have the athleticism to do so, you know, they fit right in and he’s one of those guys, you know, he’s not one of the guys that stands out and plays the five technique that’s really out of place cause he has no get-off. He’s got get-off. So he’s rolling and he’s in a real competitive group. A lot of good players on the interior with him there, so he’s learning, but he’s got the right attitude.”

On if S Glover Quin was not at practice because he is injured: “No, sir. Personal”

On why he chose to do joint practices with Pittsburgh: “We’ve done them through my career. We’ve done here and there. For me, it’s always been a situation, we looked at it every year and I’ve talked to several coaches and sometimes it didn’t fit depending on when they wanted to work, if they wanted to work during the last week or the third week. Sometimes it just doesn’t blend together as well. The first week is good for us, we’re coming back just a hair earlier than we normally do. I know Mike (Tomlin). He and I worked together. So, you know, we have a good feel for one another and I think it’ll be very, very beneficial for both groups.”

Next: 30 Best Draft Picks in Detroit Lions History

On if he was opposed to joint practices before: “No. we’ve done them before, but I’ve always kind of looked for a selective, the right situation and this is indeed it.”

*Quotes provided by the Detroit Lions.

Home/Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions: Jim Caldwell’s Quotes from Day 6 of OTAs

By Zac Snyder | Jun 2, 2016

Detroit Lions head coach Jim Caldwell met with the media following the team’s sixth OTA practice of the offseason. Here is what he had to say.

More from Detroit Jock City