The Detroit Lions had a poor performance in their second preseason outing of 2016. Here is what Jim Caldwell and select players had to say after the game.
Detroit Lions head coach Jim Caldwell and several Lions players met with the media following the team’s 30-14 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.
Here is a look at what they had to say.
Jim Caldwell
On the level of concern for the run game: “At this stage of preseason, you’re concerned about everything. It’s a work in progress. You’ve got a lot of different groups playing, different people. We were just sloppy. I’m more concerned with the sloppiness than anything else, penalties, turnovers. You take those out and you’ve got a chance to at least hang in there and get some things going. But those stalled drives for you end drives, that kind of thing. Wasn’t real clean, so we’ve got some work to do.”
On if the defensive line produced enough pressure: “I think any time that you’re playing against a guy that can get the ball out against you at a reasonable rate against you and those kind of things, you have to take a look at it and see. I don’t think there was a situation where we were holding the ball back there a long time or anything of that nature. Maybe a couple times, but if you don’t get them on the ground enough, it could make for a long day. But I think across the board, I don’t think we did a lot of things well. I don’t think we tackled well, I don’t think we ran the ball well, I don’t think we stopped the run very well. So, we got work to do.”
On having optimism that the run game will pick up: “It just takes work. It’s just like anything else, you just got to keep working at it and sometimes you got to be just a little bit more patient. We got work to do, but we’ll get it there.”
On the chemistry between QB Matthew Stafford and WR Marvin Jones: “I think that he’s gotten into a pretty good rhythm with him where he’s got a feel for him. They made a couple pretty nice throws along the sideline, Marvin made a couple nice catches. Yeah, I think it’s coming, I think that’s coming. He’s got a feel for some of the other guys as well. He and Anquan (Boldin) are still working through things, and I just think Marvin’s been doing a good job, so he’s getting better.”
On QB Dan Orlovsky’s performance: “I don’t think anybody played particularly well, to be honest with you. Obviously, he had a miscue there that we certainly would like to have back. Everybody’s got to get better.”
On Orlovsky throwing two pick-sixes in the preseason: “Well, I’m concerned about everything. Like I mentioned before, there’s not anything that I’m satisfied with. We lump all of those in there together, everything needs work.”
On if he’s disappointed when the home crowd boos a player: “I’m involved in the game, I’m not certain what you’re referring to or anything of that nature. When you don’t play well, obviously you’re going to get some criticism. It’s our job to play well, not our job to worry about anything other than that.”
On RB Stevan Ridley’s position in the running back rotation as a veteran: “We have our reasons as we look at it. With guys, we put them in different spots and rotate guys around and give them different looks. Next week he may be somewhere else, so we just kind of juggle and make sure we get a fair assessment of everyone.”
On RB Dwayne Washington’s performance: “It’s hard for me to tell you, I’ll look at the film and get a sense and get an understanding. I know he did some pretty good things. We didn’t put him back there in the return game much because we wanted to look at some of the other guys, you saw the rotation that we had going. That’s one of the things I think you have to do in preseason, you have to be able to evaluate. A lot of evaluating goes on out there, we’ll take a look at some of these young guys and see how they function. You put guys in different spots and different situations and make sure that here, in the next couple weeks or so, that we’re able to make a real good decision. At least a sound decision for us. We’ll just kind of keep doing that as the weeks go by.”
On his concern for the performance of the special teams units this preseason: “I’ll lump that in with everything else. There’s concern, obviously when you aren’t operating as well as you can, you’re capable. So, you’re going to have to work at it. Couple things that are just things that shouldn’t happen, so we’ve got to make sure we get those corrected.”
On if Washington’s performance will earn him more preseason playing time: “We have a plan in place. We kind of take a look and reevaluate after every week, then we’ll adjust it and readjust it. He’s helping himself that’s for sure. He’s not hurting himself. Any time that you do what he’s been able to do, he’s certainly trending in the right direction.”
On when TE Eric Ebron will return: “He’s getting better.”
Next: Matthew Stafford
Matthew Stafford
On his chemistry with WR Marvin Jones: “Yeah, I thought Marvin did a nice job. Golden (Tate) did a nice job, Anquan (Boldin) had a catch early, it was good. Still things to correct obviously throughout the game, and also even when we were in there. So, got to find ways to play better, just go back to work, you know? I mean, it’s early but we play real football in whatever it is, two and a half weeks, something like that, so got to get it going.”
On how much better the pocket protection looked in this game: “It was good. You know, I think that’s a really good rush. They’ve got some Pro Bowlers, some talented players up front. Not to say we were perfect, myself included, but I thought our guys battled and did a decent job up front.”
On if there is a concern about not being able to run the ball consistently: “You know, I think it’s too early. We’ve got to put the work, you know, keep putting the work in. That’s what it boils down to. Just showing up to practice with the attitude to make sure we can run the football, make sure we can throw it, do whatever we want on offense. Just got to continue to have that and keep working.”
On what gives him confidence that the run game will improve: “Just the people we have in the room. You know, we’ve got talented offensive linemen, we have talented tight ends, running backs. We’ve got the guys to do it, just got to hone in on little things and make sure our technique is great. And then, rushing the football is obviously great at the end of games. Got to get some leads and not be playing from behind.”
Next: Marvin Jones
Marvin Jones
On what has validated his decision to join the Lions: “It was something that was very intriguing to me. Obviously, they showed a lot of interest and that was good.”
On what experiences so far in Detroit have validated his decision: “I mean, I love it here. Obviously, the family is settled in. It’s a great place and I’m having fun so far.”
On if there was anything special about playing his former team: “It was just fun to see them. Like you said, it is preseason, probably had it been the regular season it would have probably meant more just with the extensive playing time, but it was good to see them and good to play against them. We’ve been banging it out since I came in in 2012, so it was good to see those guys.”
On the chemistry with QB Matthew Stafford: “It’s good, you know, us as wide receivers we’ve had a lot of repetition with the quarterbacks, so it’s been good. You know, obviously it’s still a process and there’s still a lot more in there, a long way to go, but it’s going in the right direction. Between the receivers and quarterbacks, that’s what we do. We go out there and we see everything through the same eyes, in the film room and stuff like that, and you know it translates.”
On if he senses the magnitude of potential on offense for this season: “Definitely. Like I said from the beginning, the potential is out of this world for this offense and the players that we have. We have so many players that can do different things, do the same things and just add that element that we need to drive down the field, to make those big plays and be successful. So yeah, I definitely still see that and we just have to capitalize on all of our opportunities in all phases and stuff like that and we’ll be good.”
Next: Kyle Van Noy
Kyle Van Noy
On how the first-team defense performed tonight: “We have some work to do. We’re not happy with our performance today, and we have a lot of work to do next week. I think we’re going to come out and prepare as hard as we can as a group and get together and focus in and fix what we need to fix and play hard.”
On tightening up the run defense: “Yeah, I mean, it’s a little bit of everything. It’s reps, it’s practices, it’s knowing what you’re doing and executing it. When live bullets are flying, you know, you’ve got to know your job and you’ve got to do it to the best of your ability.Tonight, we didn’t do that, and we’re going to correct those things and we’re going to come out as a group next week and we’re going to play hard.”
On if he is his own toughest critic when it comes to evaluating his performance: “Oh, for sure. I mean, I wouldn’t be here, where I’m at, if that was the case. I mean, I’m always going to be hard on myself and I always want to play better. I want to play better as a group and I’m all about the team, and I want to win.”
Next: Theo Riddick
Theo Riddick
On his spin move to pick up a first down in the first half: “Just got jammed up in the middle and I tried to find an escape route on the outside with the best key, so I just tried to turn it into a positive play.”
On how well the first-team offense moved the ball in the first series: “I thought we moved the ball well. It was just penalties that kind of hurt us, so we just have to be more detail-oriented.”
On what changes need to be made to the running game: “Just detail. If we know all of our assignments and just tighten some things up, we’ll be fine.”
On if he has confidence running in between the tackles: “Yeah, I believe so, and that’s why they’re trying to give me the opportunity to do so.”
On the run game as a whole: “I mean, you saw some glimpse today. I think our line did overall well. Again, we just have to hone in on a few things and we’ll be OK.”
Next: Dwayne Washington
Dwayne Washington
On his touchdown run in the fourth quarter: “I just gave it all I got. It was the end of the game, but I kind of saw that the defense was fatigued, so we kind of took over our run game from there and it was a touchdown.”
On the importance of making the most of his opportunities: “It’s very important. I have my role, which is running back, so for me it’s trust issues into carrying the ball and getting positive yards. I just have to run the ball and just give it all I got.”
On making his case to make the 53-man roster: “I’m not too worried about that. Like I said, I’m just taking it one day at a time and just doing what I can do to help the team.”
On his comfort level with the offense and his role through two preseason games: “Yeah, I would just say it’s more of me being in my comfort zone, which will just have me slow the game down and then just carry everything on from there.”
On if he feels like the game is slowing down a little bit: “Yeah, pretty much.”
Next: Preseason week 2 game ball to Tahir Whitehead
*All quotes provided by the Detroit Lions.