Lions quotes: Players comment on Sunday's loss to Colts

Below is a look at what various Detroit Lions players had to say after Sunday's loss to the Indianapolis Colts. (Quotes provided by the Lions.)

LIONS QB MATTHEW STAFFORD

On if there was anything good at all today: "Mm-mm (No)"

On what was going through your mind on the last drive: "Obviously you don't want them to score a touchdown. Kid made some plays. Good player."

On how the team responds to such a devastating loss: "Gonna learn from it tomorrow, watch the tape. Move on from it and get ready by next week

On not wanting the clock to stop being the rationale for running on third down in the last drive: "That's the head coach's call. Wants the clock not to stop so keep it on the ground. That play had been getting some pretty good yardage and they made a play. Stopped us."

On if they were too conservative on that drive: "I don't think so. We did the right things. It was a group effort out there as far as what we were going to do and how we were going to attack it. We did it. There's plays all over the field that could have changed this one."

On WR Calvin Johnson's big day: "Yeah, he's a heck of a player. I even missed him on a couple, could have had a really big day. So still some things to iron out with him but obviously we leaned on him when (WR Ryan) Broyles went down. Then (TE Tony Scheffler) Scheff went down for a little bit so we leaned on him big time."

On being short at wide receiver being an issue at all today: "You know, not a big deal. When Scheff came back, we just stayed in that personnel. He played a bunch and did fine."

On if you are shocked to be where you are: "Disappointed. I mean obviously you show up every Sunday expecting to win and played a lot of parts of this game well enough to do that. Just for some reason...one reason or another it didn't happen."

On if settling for field goals gnaws at you: "Yeah, I mean you're not going to score a touchdown every time you have the ball but some opportunities - I threw one a little bit behind Calvin on a skinny-post route. A couple of times our defense got us some turnovers and got down on that part of the field and we kind of...it was a miss-pass, a drop ball, or a penalty, whatever it was. You settle for three and any time you put up 33 points feel pretty good about it but, you know, they made more plays than we did."

On a sense of being ‘snake bit' or if the team is not executing: "It's on us. It's one play away."

On what you expect the rest of the year: "Show up and try and win. It's what you have to do. This is a tough league. You have to be mentally, physically, emotionally, (tough). You got to be strong, you got to be square, and you got to be ready to go. The guys that can do that will last and the guys that don't won't last. You get tough times like this and you have to see who is ready to go."

On how WR Titus Young being inactive affects the offense and where do you go from here: "I don't know. It's not my decision. I'm just a player on the team."

LIONS RB MIKEL LESHOURE

On the way the game ended: "Yeah, it's another tough loss. I felt like the last three weeks easily could have been the other way around but unfortunately we made some mistakes. We didn't get first downs when we needed to and we gave the offense the opportunity that it shouldn't even have had and it hurts. This is a tough one."

On if he was surprised by the running play call on third-and-two late in the game: "I'm not surprised by it. I mean, offensive coordinator makes the calls. Our job is to go out and execute. It's not about whether it's a good or a bad call. So it's no blame on the offensive coordinator for the call. It's just our fault. We didn't execute. We didn't get the first down. Like I said, we gave their offense another chance to score."

On WR Calvin Johnson's game: "He played well but we lost."

On if he has seen anything in the last three games to determine why they have been unable to win: "I think maybe coming into the second half we've got to play with a better sense of urgency. I feel like sometimes we just come out a little flat. Beginning of the game, that was the offensive problem all year and I think it's kind of carrying on now into the second half. We're getting off to better starts but now with the lead we're getting a little complacent, a little comfortable and we need to eliminate that."

On moving forward with 8-8 as the best possible scenario: "We just need to finish strong. We're not worried about that. We're worried about next week and we need to get a win next week."

LIONS S DON CAREY

On his two interceptions being wiped out by a loss: "Yeah, man. I'm excited about the two picks but if we don't play better it doesn't really matter. We had a good game plan for these guys, we've just got to execute."

On what happened on the final play: "Man, he's a first round draft pick. He was able to stay alive. He made a good play. Like I said, we've just got to execute better."

On how tough a loss this is: "Man, it's heartbreaking. Not just this one, the last few weeks we've been right there just one or two plays don't go our way. We've just got to find a way to make those plays as a defense."

LIONS LB STEPHEN TULLOCH

On if the season has gotten to the point where he thinks this cannot be happening: "I've played football a long time in this League and I've never really been a part of anything like this before. A team that has so much talent and ability (that) plays three quarters of football and find a way to lose in the fourth quarter. It's tough."

On the last play: "They ran a forty-niner which is three vertical and they drag the receiver across the field. Everybody kind of plastered when their quarterback started to scramble and when that happened one of the players, I guess, there's a dead zone there and he just caught it and ran up the field."

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