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Below is a look at what Detroit Lions head coach Jim Schwartz had to say after Tuesday's practice. (Quotes provided by the Lions.)
On DE Ziggy Ansah‘s ability to play on Sunday: "Injury report will come out tomorrow. We'll get all those guys back as quickly as we can. I think we'll be fairly healthy going in to the first game. That's about the best we can expect coming out of training camp. As coaches we're ready to go in any direction if we have to."
On what Ansah missed by being out the past 10 days: "He got a lot of reps early in camp. I think all our players need as many reps as they can possibility get. He's no different than anybody else on the team as far as that goes."
On if G Larry Warford and T Jason Fox are the starters on the right line: "We're not going to announce any starters. It doesn't do us any good to announce that stuff right now."
On the cuts: "First of all, it was a very, very difficult situation over the week. We cut a lot of guys who haven't played their last football. I think that spoke for the hard work that they put in and the talent that they had. A lot of those guys will find homes and there will be a lot of guys that when we get injuries later in the season we'll be calling again. It's a different feel. Meetings aren't as crowded. Stretch lines aren't as crowded. It's regular season and we'll get used to it pretty quickly."
On if there is a different excitement level for regular season games: "Well yeah. Everybody is ready for the opener for sure. This team does a good job with focusing on what's important. When you're in training camp you have to focus on that day and improving on what's in that practice and working hard in that practice. Now we're to the point of preparing for an opponent. Today was just a taste of the opponent. We didn't have a full meeting today or a full practice, but for sure. I think we do a good job with keeping our eye on the immediate goal and now our immediate goal is the Minnesota Vikings."
On his level of concern with QB Matthew Stafford: "We have all the confidence in the world in Matt (Stafford). Matt played a lot of games last year and Calvin (Johnson) set an all-time NFL record. Calvin missed quite a bit of practice last year. Matt has good command over what we're going to do. All those pieces will fit together very well."
On Vikings' RB Adrian Peterson: "His record speaks for itself when it comes to running the football. A lot was made last year of him coming back from the ACL, but it wasn't just coming back from the ACL. It was the fact that he was already a talented running back and he seemed to take it to another level. They were, I think second in rushing in the NFL last year, near the top in the NFL in rushing last year and he was their main ball carrier. He's a guy that can go the distance. There are a lot of running backs that can get three and four yards. He's a threat to take it to the distance every single play. So not only is he a workhorse running back, but he's a big play threat also. Our defense is going to have their work cut out for us getting him contained."
On if the Vikings are different to prepare for with the weapons they're added on the outside: "Yeah a little bit different. They had (WR Percy) Harvin last year. (WR Greg) Jennings has seemed like he's moved in to some of those roles and some of those roles went to (WR Cordarrelle) Patterson. It's the same scheme. They're fitting different guys in. They didn't play a lot of their guys in the preseason also. Peterson didn't have any carries in the preseason. I'm sure that (QB Christian) Ponder hasn't forgotten how to hand it off to him. I think they'll mesh just fine. They have a talented offensive group. They have a Pro Bowl left tackle, an experienced offensive live, a Pro Bowl tight end, playmakers at the skilled positions, and we're going to have our work cut out for us. It's not just going to be Adrian Peterson being the only guy we're going to have to stop."
On how the changes on the defensive line will help take down Peterson: "We'll see on Sunday. We're playing the same scheme on defense. It's a little bit different look to that scheme because of the size that we have out there. I think that it should put us in a little better position to play some of the runs we just played. A little bit different than we played in the past."
On the offensive line: "We feel good about our whole team. We wouldn't have taken them to our 53-man roster if we didn't feel good about them. Whether you're starting or not, every man has to be ready to play. We're going to have 46 active and you're one play away from going in and having to play 60 snaps in the game. There is nobody on the team that we don't have confidence in to go out and fill a role and also having to play an awful lot if they have to."
On if Peterson has set an unrealistic standard for players coming back from an injury: "I think the key is he was supremely talented before he was hurt so he was supremely talented afterwards. It was probably a time table wise. He came back very quickly. There are a lot of players that have come back from ACL's and have gone on to have very productive years and careers. The fact that he was able to carry such a load so quickly that certainly set a standard that would be tough for anybody to ask."
On what qualities attracted the team to pick up S DeJon Gomes: "He had a little bit of experience. Good tackler. Can play some special teams. Has some starting experience. Good ball skills. Play free or strong. We had a target on him and we were able to get the claim in on him and able to get him. We'll get him up to speed as quickly as we can."
On what he has learned about T Riley Reiff being able to matchup against Vikings DE Jared Allen: "That's going to be a tough matchup. His first start was last year on Thanksgiving. He had some tough matchups in that game too and he did a good job in there. Every time we put him in a game, he has gotten the job done for us. Riley is a young player, but he's a very mature player. He's a smart guy on the offensive line. He's still growing and developing. He's very serious about what he does and we're in good hands with him at left tackle."
On what makes WR Micheal Spurlock good in the return game: "He's very experienced in doing it. He can do both and he had a couple of touchdowns last year doing it. His experience and what he did in practice, you sort of knew what you were going to get going into games with him, real games. He got enough work to stay ready, but he can play wide receiver for us. There are other roles on special teams. Can return. He has a lot of skills that can be used in a lot of different areas in the game."