Lions quotes: Jim Schwartz's comments from Monday

Below is a look at what Detroit Lions head coach Jim Schwartz had to say after Monday's training camp practice. (Quotes provided by the Lions.)

On if the element of flow is what needs to be seen from the offense: "I mean that would help you sleep a little bit better for sure. I don't think it's a prerequisite. I don't want to go too far back in the past, but when I was in Tennessee you would always watch Indianapolis every year. It seemed they went 0-4 every preseason and they couldn't gain a yard on offense. Then every year they were the number one offense in the NFL. We have some known qualities on offense and we have some unknowns. I think the more important thing is seeing how some of the unknowns fit it. I think one of the things that was good particularly last week is to see how Reggie (Bush) fit in and be able to make plays. We didn't have Calvin (Johnson) out there. It was a little bit of a rocky start. There were some things going on. I think those are probably more of the important things, but it would definitely make you sleep easier at night when you're efficient in not just offense but defense and special teams also."

On how practice changes when S Louis Delmas is practicing: "Stretches is a lot different. Warm-ups are a lot different. He makes his presence felt. We missed him when he hadn't been on the field. He worked very hard to get on the field the limited time he's been able to. He's made the most of it. We just got to plan as best we can and see if we can push through this part for him."

On LB Cory Greenwood: "He was having an outstanding camp. Making plays on special teams, but not just that he had shown some real good progress defensively. He has probably come farther than any other linebacker that we had because he had very little experience within our defense, but he picked it up quickly. Playing an off the ball 4-3 linebacker coming from a 3-4 team. That's a hard transition for a lot of guys and he picked it up fast. It's disappointing that we'll lose him."

On how facing an established dominant team helps to maintain focus: "I think it always elevates the level of preseason. We played them here a couple years ago. I think competing against guys, particularly Tom Brady, our guys are going to have to play their very best. Offensively, defensively, and their outstanding special teams unit, they cover very well. They're first in the NFL in points scored last year and I think they were first in the NFL in points allowed last year. That's a pretty good formula. All those other stats you can take those away. You do those things, you're going to have an outstanding year and they did. They were a game away from the Super Bowl again. They have been a consistent team, a consistent contender for a long time and we're going to have to play our very best. "

On the fast pace game the Patriots play: "That helps a little bit because of offense can up-tempo. We run a lot of periods in practice that way. There's no substitute for the real game and that kind of communication. Physically it's one thing, hustling and getting set and things like that. There's a lot of communication that has to happen very quickly. I think that's the thing that we have stressed to our players and that's the thing that we have to execute when we get to Thursday night."

On K David Akers' health and his 63 yard kick today: "Yeah, he looked pretty good. We have monitored him through training camp. We didn't just throw him out there every day, particularly early in training camp. He has developed into a good rhythm. We knew he would, he's a veteran player and we had a good idea where he was with the injury and things like that. He's made steady progress through camp and looks to be just about full speed. It's also been beneficial that with Havard (Rugland) and also with Sam (Miller) he hasn't had to spend a lot of time kicking off and that saved a little bit of stress on his leg."

On WR Cory Fuller's development: "He's had ups and downs, as most rookies do. He's also made a lot of plays. He's improved as a blocker. I think he improved from week one to week two in the preseason. We need that to continue. We need him to take another step this week."