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Lions quotes: Jim Schwartz's comments from Tuesday's press conference

Quotes from Jim Schwartz's Tuesday press conference.

Joe Robbins

Below is a look at what Detroit Lions head coach Jim Schwartz had to say during Tuesday's press conference. (Quotes provided by the Lions.)

On WR Titus Young working his way back: "Yeah, not here today. But we'll reevaluate that as we go and again, we'll decide based on his behavior getting him back with the team and getting him possibly back in a role."

On what Young can do to get back with the team while being away: "Well it's more when he gets back with the team, if he gets back with the team. But it's more when he gets back and the behavior that he does then."

On if Young has played his last game as a Lion: "I mean I think it's way too soon to tell and stuff like that. But it's definitely going to be in his court when it comes to his actions and where it is."

On what point he becomes concerned about DT Ndamukong Suh's disruptiveness on and off the field: "The No. 1 concern is what's here at the facility and on the field on Sundays. I mean we have traffic citations for a lot of different players and those generally don't come across my desk. Don't really come on our radar when it comes to stuff like that as long as people are taking care of what they are supposed to be taking care of and stuff like that. Now as far as his actions on the field, I don't think it was any big news that he wasn't going to be suspended. I thought that his play was within the natural course of the game. When you're a quarterback, when you're a defensive lineman - I mean, we got practice in training camp all the time and we're on the same team and we're trying our very best to avoid contact with the quarterback and stuff like that. And there are times that we had the same issues with that. No matter what you do, you can't avoid all contact so we exalt the same way and I think that's rightfully so. I think that Ndamukong has done a really good job this year of avoiding penalties. He's been penalized one time all year and that was a five-yard off-sides penalty. From where he was the two previous years he's obviously worked very hard to put those kinds of things in his past. I think that we've been pleased with that."

On there being a second act to the kick: "I didn't see it on the field, and I didn't see it on the replay. What I saw was his head was down and away from that play. In my mind you would have to have eyes in the back of your head to be able to do it but that game's over with and move on."

On people potentially looking for things because Suh has become a controversial figure: "I think that anytime you are a high-profile player, and I think he fits that bill obviously as a high profile player, there's going to be cameras on you every single play. If that had been probably a lot of other guys on the field, nobody would have even spoken twice about something like that. But that is just something that he now is going to have to deal with and live with probably his whole career. He is a high-profile player, he is a person that people are interested and when they have a game, particularly of that magnitude, there is going to be a lot of scrutiny. Everything he does is going to be a matter of attention."

On if he likes what he is getting from Suh on the field: "From that standpoint he's had one penalty all year. I think he has been very productive for us this year. Again it hasn't been necessarily showing in the stat sheet all the time, but just getting ready for the Colts and we're sitting there watching Dwight Freeney and watch him just affect the game on just about every play and really raising hell as a pass rusher and he sacked (Jay) Cutler on the very first play of the season and he has two sacks on the season. I mean, what do you judge on? Do you judge on what he's doing on tape? Because based on tape we are going to have our hands full with Dwight Freeney. Based on the stat sheet you wouldn't even pay a second thought to, 93 but we certainly are."

On handling his emotions on the sideline after noting the coaches need to contain emotions after the Jefferson-Linehan incident: "I think I was speaking more to arguments on the sideline and stuff like that. Obviously you don't want to make bad decisions on the sideline, and I think particularly from my standpoint that's where that ended up. And as far as Gunther, he was upset just like me in the fact that the play was never whistled and it was obvious that he was down. I wish I had a clipboard to throw or to kick because maybe it would have been a 15 yard penalty. I mean, that's the first time I've ever gotten a penalty in any game as a coach and certainly will be my last. But I wish, like I said, I wish I had taken a shoe off and thrown it like that guy did to President Bush that one time. Or if I had a hat, if I wore a hat I could have thrown that...or thrown the headset down. I mean, I've smashed headsets before, that would have been a much better solution there, but again, it was overreacting and being frustrated at the call on the field. Like I said, I didn't need to make a quick decision there. I threw the flag before the guy was even in the end zone."

On if Ndamukong Suh has played well the last few weeks: "Yeah, and Green Bay I thought the same thing. And again, it's not always shown in the stat sheet. But, again, I think the example of Dwight Freeney is pretty strong here because he's been pretty impressive on tape."

On why Ryan Broyles was able to have yards after the catch: "Well Ryan's a very strong guy and he runs after the catch different than our other wide receivers. He was a punt returner in college. Hasn't returned for us here, but he certainly has that capability and in order to be a punt returner you need short area speed and you need to be able to run through some tackles and he has that ability. He's also been working out of the slot and that's where most of his run after the catch has occurred. That's something that Nate Burleson also did for us. Nate Burleson was a very good run-after-the-catch guy also, had a lot of the same kind of things. Physically strong, short area quickness rather than long speed which is the outside part of the field."

On if there are any catching or ball protection drills TE Brandon Pettigrew can do: "We do any awful lot and we have this whole offseason and things like that. I mean, I think that you need to be able to secure the ball. Obviously turnovers are critical in the NFL particularly when you're in scoring range, particularly in end game scenarios. There's a lot of things that happened in that game that we have a chance to come back and overcome but when you're at the end of the game and you're trying to get that field goal to get you over the top or something like that, that's a situation you don't have time to overcome. I think we've seen that against Chicago earlier this year we fumbled, a couple different guys fumbled. But they fumbled in the red zone. We have a lot of confidence in Brandon Pettigrew. He's made a lot of plays for us. Has been a rough spot for him as far as some drops and some fumbles, but he'll get through it and prove that he's the good player that we all know he is."

On RB Jahvid Best receiving the Ed Block Courage Award: "Jahvid is our Block Courage Award winner this year. It's one of the longest standing traditions in the NFL as far as awards. You know, ask all the guys that have been to it, I mean, he really fits the bill for everything that's spelled out in that award. You know, as far as dealing with adversity or coming back from an injury. You know, just exemplifying team and perseverance and all those things. A lot of guys that win that award have come back from a major injury, you know, fought through a personal issue or something like that. I think in a lot of ways, Jahvid's battle is harder than those guys. You know, you tear an ACL or you have a shoulder, you can look at a very specific timetable and say, ‘Yeah, if I work hard over the next six months it's going to be behind me,' but he's fighting an invisible opponent in a lot of ways. You can't always rehab and you can't do anything other than, you know, try to be patient and try to be positive. He certainly deserves that. He's been an inspiration for most of the team with the way that he's dealt it, particularly after OTAs and not being cleared in the last minute. He's well-deserved."

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