Detroit Lions: Jim Caldwell, Players Comment on Win over Chicago Bears
By Zac Snyder
Tahir Whitehead
On the satisfaction when the defense stops an opponent late in the game: “Definitely, we enjoy the challenge. That’s why you practice situational football. Lately it’s been our offense. They’ve been able to bring home the victory. When we’re given the opportunity, we take it on just as well.”
On the defense limiting opponents to no more than 20 points in seven straight games: “We’re communicating better. We’re peaking at the right time and obviously every time we watch the film, there’s always something that you can do better and that’s what we’re striving for. We’re striving for perfection and that’s why I think we’ve been able to play better defense at this point in the season because we have a lot guys that take pride in their work. We’re fighting it tooth and nail to make sure that we can be the best defense that we can be.”
On how much the defense rallied around each other following the pick-six by QB Matthew Stafford: “Not after that, we know the type of offense that we have. We know, OK, they’re going right back out there and as you saw, they went back out there and they drove the field and got a touchdown. It’s a matter of everyone just going out there doing their job. We know the type of team we have. We have a lot of guts. We have a lot of fight in us. We know at no point in the game do we feel like we’re out of it. We’re just going to keep battling until the zero’s on that clock.”
On how the team remains focused week to week with a lead in the NFC North: “We just focus on the task at hand, don’t get too far ahead of yourself. Just take it one day at a time during the week of practice, then once the game comes around we take it one play at a time. You just focus on your technique, your job and everything within each particular play. You continue to do that, you’re going to stay focused on the game and then as the game goes on, you just keep pounding away. And then next thing you know, you’re playing good ball. You’re technically sound and that’s what we strive for, to be a technically-sound defense.”