Below is a look at what Detroit Lions head coach Jim Schwartz had to say after Wednesday's training camp practice. (Quotes provided by the Lions.)
On if former Lions WR Herman Moore can compete for the 4th or 5th receiver spot: "We had a couple of alumni out for practice today. It's always good for our guys to know who came before them. Guys like Calvin (Johnson) and Nate (Burleson), they interact a lot with Herman and they know who he is. We have some younger guys who probably don't remember seeing him play. It's nice to know that before Calvin there was another guy down here that we could put in the red zone and get a fade if they went one-on-one with them."
On the team's fortune for not having suffered any injuries during training camps: "We've been fortunate so far, but I think you just got to go practice. Injuries are a part of this game. You have to be able to deal with them when they come and you have to be able to have some depth and adjust and be prepared."
On if a training camp injury shifts the balance of power across the League: "I remember I was in Cleveland and Rod Woodson, our biggest rival was Pittsburgh, and we were expected to battle for the division. Rod Woodson tore his ACL in the first game of the year and it was like ‘Okay! That's going to be the one that does it.' They still went to the Super Bowl. He actually came back and played in that Super Bowl game. Injuries are a part of this. Next man up and you have to be able to go. We're worried about ourselves right now. We're not worried about what's happening with other teams. We're not worried about balance of power or anything else. We're trying to go install our stuff, practice, be prepared, and play the best we can play."
On the tackles saying DE Ziggy Ansah has developed since OTA's: "He continues to learn and develop. No different than any young player that we have. It's been well documented the experience, or lack or experience, that he had in college football. He made up a lot of ground coming into being drafted and that whole process. He continues now. The biggest thing with that is Ziggy is very serious about his craft and he's willing to learn. He's willing to listen and put that time in. I think that's what you're seeing with those guys. They respect the time that he puts in and the workman-like attitude that he has. His willingness to be coached not just by his coaches, but by other players, I think that's probably what you're seeing more than anything."
On if Ziggy will be NFL-ready come opening day: "All our guys are going to need to be NFL-ready opening day."
On QB Matthew Stafford's feel with the new backfield: "Fine. There's not a whole lot for him to get comfortable with, handing the ball off. Just having those guys available in the passing game, that's stuff that we've done in all of Matt's years here. That's nothing new to him. There's a little bit more timing that goes into a new player like Reggie Bush for sure. We had Reggie all through our off-season program, all through our OTA's. They've had a lot of time together. We feel good about that relationship and the timing that those guys, not just Reggie, but Joique Bell, Mikel Leshoure, even (Theo) Riddick. I think Riddick has really stepped in during training camp and does some nice things, particularly in the passing game. "
On the tone or emphasis that is to be set for Friday night's first exhibition game: "Honestly, we did a few things for the Jets today, but we haven't had one meeting yet about the Jets. We're worried about this afternoon and coming out and doing the walk through. When it gets closer to the game, we'll talk about the game. I think it's easy to start getting ahead of yourself in training camp and sort of lose sight of the daily process that this all is. We certainly want to play well and we're going to do our very best to play well."
On the League having different views on tackling to the ground during training camp and what the Lions do during training camp in regards to tackling: " We've had a couple of periods where we have gone live tackling, not very many. We have shoulder pads pretty much every other day and full pads and shoulder pads every other day where we have some contact. I think everybody is going to try to control that. You're not going to have full contact and things like that. I remember going to a Baltimore Colt camp, in I think it was 1983, Frank Kush was the coach. They had three live scrimmages going on for two hours a day and the quarterbacks were live. I don't think that was conducive to them getting to and having a good season, but you have to balance for sure. We do a lot of tackling drills in individual period. We get some good contact, but it's all controlled. It's about positioning and technique. You don't have to go live to practice good tackling habits."
On if there is anything different that has to be done with the new offensive line: "It'll definitely be a little bit different. Riley Reiff is different than Jeff Backus. He doesn't have the experience that Jeff has and he's younger. There's going to be an adjustment period there. Like you said, there's also going to be pluses and minuses that are going to come out of it. That's part of coaching and that's part of what we do for a living. We try to manage the weaknesses that are there and we try to accentuate the positives. We have a very capable group of guys competing for those jobs. Whoever wins those jobs will feel confident that we can execute everything that we need to execute on offense: run game, pass game, short yardage, blitz pickup, all those different things."
On WR Corey Fuller's progression from rookie camp to now: "He's had ups and downs. We talked before about Ziggy and how well documented his inexperience in college was. Well Corey had a very similar thing because for two years he was a jumper in track at Kansas, long jump, triple jump, high jump, and things like that. Last year was really his first of production playing in college football. There are a lot of things that are new to him, but he finds a way to make a play. He's got great size. He's been inconsistent in some stuff, but then he has also flashed some very good things. He's another interesting player as we get into preseason games. Seeing where his progress has taken him."
On seeing the advancement on recognizing defenses at the line of scrimmage made by WR Calvin Johnson due to his relationship with QB Matthew Stafford: "I think we saw the most of that in the 2011 season. That was in progress already. I think that every year that they play together that becomes a little bit more and more. I think that it's easy for those guys to say, ‘Hey, remember what happened against Dallas three years ago? It that's happens again, let's do this.' The only way that happens is from experience. You have to have played together. Those guys have a great rapport. They don't just work well together on the field, they work well together off the field. Every bit of experience they get, whether it's a training camp practice or a preseason or regular season game, that's just one more thing that they've accomplished or situation they've been through together. It'll pay off."
On WR Ryan Broyles' knee and WR Terrence Austin's performance: "Terrence has had a good camp. He's a very good slot receiver. He's made plays outside and inside. He's been in the mix in the return game. He sort of silently boomed. I saw silently not so much from the coaching staff or the team but just in perception because the spot light has been on the other guys and he sort of soundly put together a good preseason. He's another guy that'll be fun to watch in the preseason games. Broyles, it's been a couple days in a row. Everybody's on a different program. He is coming back from his ACL and he's done a lot of work on it. He's had a lot more practice time this year at this time than he had last year. He really came on last year. We just try to manage it. He came out and did a little bit of stretch, but he didn't do very much. We'll just take it day-by-day with him. His knee is not a concern. It's just sort of a normal process. There's no setback or anything like that. Like I said, I think it's easy to lose sight of the fact that he's well ahead of where he was last year. So if he has a day that he's sore and needs to rest it, that's just part of the whole thing. He's doing very, very well. He's worked really hard to do it. What we're trying to do is prevent the setback."
On the fast recovery of ACL injuries: "I mean the poster child for that was Adrian Peterson last year. There have been plenty of others too. Just on our team, Brandon Pettigrew came back and had a very good year after his ACL as a rookie. The way Broyles was playing in the middle of the season last year, you really wouldn't have known he had an ACL the year before. There's a lot that goes into that, medicine and rehab. I think it also goes to the determination, resilience and hard work of the players. They put in quite a bit of time. It's a long, long road and a lot of the time it's thankless if you don't see the light at the end of the tunnel. Those guys that have been through it before, Pettigrew had been through it in high school and Broyles had been through it last year, it makes it's a little bit easier. They know what's ahead of them and they can focus on the long term rather than the short term."