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Below is a look at what Detroit Lions head coach Jim Schwartz had to say after Sunday's win over the Minnesota Vikings. (Quotes provided by the Lions.)
On who he would give a game ball to: "I really didn't even think about it, to tell you the truth. I thought it was a good team effort. We put ourselves in a couple bad situations in the first half. We had a nice drive on the opening drive, went down, bobbled a snap on a field goal, missed an opportunity there, gave up an 80-yard run right away. Working all offseason on stopping Adrian Peterson and first play goes 80. Just seemed like every replay was going against us. Not that they were bad calls - they were all good calls, at least from what I saw, but team stuck together and they stuck with the plan. After we gave up that long touchdown in the beginning, we didn't change our defensive calls. We stuck with the plan offensively. We didn't let a bobbled snap or a replay or anything else go against, or takeaway, from us. I thought that was probably the biggest thing that came out of it - it was a team win."
On alternating giving the ball to RB Reggie Bush and WR Calvin Johnson this season based on defensive coverage: "Yeah, no question. And that was the dynamic that he brought. We like Reggie's talent, but what we really liked was the way his talent complemented Calvin's and the way Calvin's complements him. A lot of first downs, big plays and things like that. Fantasy owners might not be happy, but we're sure happy."
On how he balances victory with some of the recurring mistakes: "The one (penalty) I was disappointed in was on their sideline when we got that penalty. I think that was the one I was most disappointed in. But I'm not going to apologize for any win. We won this football game. There are a lot of positives in this game, we were resilient, we played hard, we played physical and we went out and beat a playoff team at home in the opener. I'm not going to apologize for anything this team did."
On the gang-tackling of RB Adrian Peterson: "We put our corners on a bunch of islands. They gave up a couple plays, but they also made a couple plays. I thought our D-line rushed well. Obviously, we did a good job shutting down Adrian Peterson after that and when we were able to get the lead, I think you're really able to see us rush the passer and things like that, particularly in the second half. Yeah, I mean, he's that kind of guy. One person's out of position or one person misses a tackle and it's not a first down, it's a touchdown. We knew that going in. We didn't play that first one well, but after that I was proud of the way we played him."
On how the Lions were able to run the ball and how Bush changes that: "Just yet to be seen. We're prepared either way it goes. If they choose to play back, we can run it. If they choose to play up, I think we can make plays in the passing game. I think the one thing that might go unnoticed a little bit with what Reggie did today is the contributions we got from a lot of other offensive players. Patrick Edwards had a couple big first-down catches, Kris Durham made a big catch in the red zone. Joique Bell scored, Nate Burleson made a couple big plays, including one in the red zone - another big first down catch. Joe Fauria, not only the fade touchdown, but also a big first-down catch down the field. We got contributions from a lot of guys on offense. This was not a one-man show and I thought we protected the quarterback well also. We lost Jason Fox early in this game, Corey Hilliard had to come in and play - came in and did a nice job. Riley Reiff was matched up on Jared Allen, he made his plays, but we also kept the quarterback clean enough to be able to get the ball down the field and make our plays also."
On the offensive line and the running game: "There was probably a lot of fretting about our offensive line from people outside our organization, but we had confidence in those guys and what they can do. Like I said, we lost a starter early in the game, didn't miss a beat. Stepped in and played and that's what we expect from our guys - it's what we expect from a veteran player like Corey Hilliard. That's a tough matchup. They didn't have Kevin Williams, but they have an outstanding front. (Josh) Robison, Jared Allen, I mean those guys are tough. First-round draft pick in (Sharrif) Floyd. Pro Bowl linebacker in Greenway - a lot of respect for him. I mean, that's a very, very good front and they've given us a lot of problems - last year they gave us an awful lot of problems. We had a hard time getting a pass off without getting hit last year. We couldn't run the ball for an inch. This year was a different story. I think a lot of that credit goes to our offensive line."
On Bush's toughness surprising him: "That's what those guys do, though. No guy's going to come out because of a little thing like that. I think the only, I don't want to say it was a surprise because we found it out early in the process when we started talking to a lot of other people, but, for me, the only surprise with Reggie was how humble he is, how much of a team player he is; what a hard worker he is. You don't see a lot of that stuff until you're around him. You hear a lot of the TMZ and the Heisman stuff and all that different stuff, but he's the right kind of guy. He's humble, he's a hard worker. We're just really happy to have him and his personality fits in well with this team."
On if last year's team wouldn't have won this game: "I don't know. We have some firepower and the offense never lost faith because they kept on driving the football, so it's easy to keep faith. Defense, after we gave up the one play - you have to be resilient. Again, that's a playoff team over there. That's a team that was a playoff team last year that has one of the outstanding players in the NFL - not just Adrian Peterson, but defensively, great left tackle, skill guys - that's a very, very good football team. That was a playoff team, it was a division opponent. I can't talk on last year. All I know is we won it, I'm proud of the team for winning it."
On if he felt Johnson made a football move on the touchdown: "If he wasn't going to the ground as a part of the catch, that would have been the case. If he would have been on his feet and reaching over and then it would have been a football move. But he was still going to the ground as a part of that catch. I mean, he's a two-time loser on his own rule. Then the one at the back of the end zone, that was close. I was ready on that one ... to get ready to challenge that one because I don't know how many times, Calvin's got feet that are ‘that' long and he has an amazing way of getting those things down. But, again, he was just a little bit out on that one. But he affected the game in a lot of ways - might not have been with touchdown catches, but he affected the game in a lot of ways. I mean, our touchdown to Joe Fauria, I don't know if anyone else was looking, but there were a lot of guys who were on Calvin's side. I think that's the role that he plays."