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Head Coach Jim Schwartz Post-Practice Quote Sheet 9-11-09

Posted Sep 11, 2009

Comments:
On the possibility of G Stephen Peterman not playing and how that affects the offensive line
“Yeah, I mean the situation, everything that we did as we went through training camp, was to mix and match our groups the best we could with stuff like this in mind. If you do have a situation where you have an injury and somebody has to play that it’s not new to them being in and playing with a different group of guys. We rolled a lot of different positions, including the offensive line, so it was planned for many months ago. It’s not just a weekly thing.”
On how eager he is for a game that counts
“I think we’re ready. I think it’s something you look forward to all year. Everybody looks forward to the first game of the year. We’ve tried to stay focused on training camp. We’ve tried to stay focused all along. We had very few periods in training camp where we were working on the Saints, because it wasn’t relevant to what we were doing at the time. But this week, when you have so many practices against a particular opponent, you want to put that to bed. You want to go out there and see how your plan’s going to work and see how your players do. So yeah, we’re excited about it.”
On whether this ‘launch’ is different because of the kind of season the Lions had last year
“Yeah, but the good thing is it’s the first game. Everybody’s 0-0 – actually 30 teams are 0-0. Everybody is optimistic this time of year; it’s part of the system. Part of the great thing about the NFL is that everybody has a chance from year-to-year and teams can flip it around from one to the next. Just because you had a good team last year doesn’t guarantee anything this year. You prove yourself everyday in this league. I think that’s what makes it so exciting. Not just for the fans, but for the players.”
On what kind of process he has seen RB Kevin Smith go through during training camp
“I think I’ve got to go back to one of my first weeks on the job when Kevin was one of the first guys, not to speak with on the phone, but one of the first guys here in Detroit that I met with. You could tell right away that he has a burning desire to be a good player. It’s not token.

“He’s a hard worker. It’s important to him and his journey, really, like I said, it wasn’t a training camp thing, it started back in January. Every step along the way, the leadership he’s shown through his work ethic, the way he finishes – he’s had a few setbacks here and there. Some minor setbacks with injuries, but he’s a tough customer. I think you saw when we played that Indianapolis game and there was some question whether he was going to be able to go with his hip, he made it a point that he wanted to go and was out there. He wasn’t 100-percent, but the performance he put on in the first quarter of that game shows what kind of player he can be for us.”

On how much of their game plan is predicated on getting the ball to WR Calvin Johnson
“I’ve never been one to scheme it that way. I’ve never been one to scheme it that way and say we’re going to run 12 blitzes in the game or we’re going to run six snaps with cover-two in the first half or anything like that. I think you’ve got to play the game situations. You’ve got to have a good game plan going in and obviously part of the game plan is putting the ball in the hands of your playmakers. We want to go through and find ways for him to get the ball but that being said, a lot of things go hand-in-hand there; like how well we can run the football. If we don’t run the ball well, it’s going to be hard to get the ball to Calvin (Johnson). We know that. That’s one of the reasons we work so hard on running the football.”
On the team captains
“We voted on team captains yesterday. Our offensive team captain is Dominic Raiola, our defensive captain is Larry Foote and special teams is Jason Hanson. There were a lot of other players that got votes but I’ve never been a believer in having 14 team captains. We have one offense, one defense and one special teams.”
On the intangibles of each captain
“All three of those guys are veteran players. They’ve had a lot of success in this league.

“Dominic is a guy, obviously, that we felt strong enough about him being here that we wanted to get him under long-term contract. It’s not just his leadership on the field but off the field; his work ethic, all those things.

“Larry comes in, he’s a new player for us and he wasn’t in the locker room last year. I think it speaks volumes that he can get that kind of vote from his teammates when he was a guy that got here in the spring. He’s a guy that comes in with some credibility. He’s got a couple Super Bowl rings and I think, again, his work ethic and the way he conducts himself is what gets him the vote from his teammates.

“And Jason Hanson, I don’t know if I want to say he’s one of a kind, but there’s very few like him. One thing about Jason, all three of those guys will wear a little captain’s badge – the hockey badge – but Jason may not go out for coin tosses. I’ve actually had this conversation with him, because when you go out a lot of times there’s very little turnaround between the actual determination of the coin toss and having to kick off. Most kickers that I’ve been around like to go take a couple warm-ups just in case you lose the toss and you’re kicking off. I’ve talked to him about that so there may be situations where you may not always see him go to the middle of the field but he’s still one of our captains.”

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