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Below is a look at what Detroit Lions head coach Jim Schwartz had to say after Wednesday's practice. (Quotes provided by the Lions.)
On RB Reggie Bush and RB Joique Bell being the best running back tandem in the NFL: "We got the running backs that are leading the NFC North and running backs that are 7-5. In my mind those are the stats that really count right now. Not how many yards we are rushing for or who is getting them or anything else. I think both of those guys complement each other well. We have good plans for both of them. Both of them have made a lot of plays and have scored touchdowns for us this year. As far as ranking them against everybody else and everything else, we can't do that. We can only be who we are."
On what a defense can do to control the tempo of a game when the offense wants to control the tempo: "Go three and out. Hard to beat tempo if it's one, two, three and punt. That's easier said than done because I think the Eagles are the number two offense in the NFL or something like that. They have gotten a lot of yards. We're ready for it. We have seen similar stuff from a lot of other teams and things like that. We will be okay."
On how hard is it to scheme against the productivity of an offense's pass game: "A lot of that goes to having playmakers that can get open. A lot of it goes to the quarterback. A lot of it goes to the offensive coordinator. I think all those guys have done a good job. You can have a quarterback trying to spread the ball around and if guys can't get open it doesn't do a whole lot of good. I think you need a coordinator that can put those guys in position. I think you have seen that. Nate (Burleson) is an important guy for us. He didn't make very many plays for us last week, but we didn't really need him to. We ran the ball for over 200 yards and a lot of that sort of took the slot receiver slack up, but we made enough plays in that game to win and that's really the only thing that we are concerned with."
On the Eagles being a running team alluding to Foles' success: "I think they are number two in the NFL in run. That does set up and they have one of the best running backs in the NFL. I think he is leading the NFL in all-purpose yardage, or not all purpose, but passing and receiving. He's a threat every time he touches the ball. They run the same stuff that they ran with Michael Vick at quarterback. Foles is a different kind of quarterback in there, but that hasn't stopped them from running anything that they ran early in the season with Michael Vick. They have executed their offense well. They have run the ball and avoided turnovers. There is a reason that they are 5-1 in the last six games."
On what he has said to players in light of LB Travis Lewis' situation: "Again, that's just another reminder that you are responsible for everything that you put in to your body. Travis is going to pay the price for that. I have a lot of support for Travis. He's a good, young player and he's worked really hard to improve and things like that. We'll plug the next guy in until he's able to get back. Particularly this time of year, it's difficult on a team. We have seen it from some other teams where you lose the availability of a player when it's not an injury, that's a tough situation."
