Below is a look at what Detroit Lions head coach Jim Caldwell had to say on Monday. (Quotes provided by the Lions.)
Opening Statement: "I had an opportunity to look at the film. It didn't seem much different than what we saw during the course of the game yesterday. I think the guys didn't play perfectly but played well and it was a real good win for us."
On penalties: "Well, I still think that in our sport the last outpost of discipline is something that we kind of hang our hat on. It's an area we have to continue to improve, plain and simple. I'm more interested in winning, obviously. But, I know one thing, you have too many of them then they lead to deficiencies, they lead to problems and lead to losses. So, that's an area we have to get straightened away. But also, and the thing you guys don't have privy to, we speak to our team on occasion about them. On occasion, we turn in penalties. They may, to you, you see exactly what's on the sheet and what's called. We have an opportunity to turn them in, to voice our opinion on whether or not we think they were good or bad or whether a call should have been made or not made. So, we have that information as well. So, everything you see or read is not always as it is."
On DT Ndamukong Suh's penalty: "The thing is, when you take a look at it, you can see where his initial contact was made and then from there obviously, the hand kind of slid up a little bit, or the forearm slid up. It will be for the league to make a determination on it because he had two that were almost identical: one on one side of the field and one on the other. One was not flagged, but the league will take a look at it and see what they think."
On how he would try to scheme against Suh if he was on the opposing team: "That wouldn't be a good question for me to answer because I know our unit pretty well and I'll let the other folks figure that out and what they would do or what I would do. I certainly have a plan of attack because we face some similar to that. There are a lot of real good fronts in our league and this week will be no different."
On how dominant Suh was on Sunday: "Like most games that he's been playing lately, he's really a force to be reckoned with, he's disruptive, he's quick. The normal things that you may attempt to do to some guys at his position. Trap him, things of that nature, influence him, he's got such a quick up field charge that he nullifies that. Often times that's how his tackle-for-losses show up. He hustles, does all the little things right, he's very knowledgeable in what happens on the interior play and I think that shows week in and week out."
On how much better he feels about the place kicking situation than he did earlier in the season: "Well, the last two games he (Prater) hasn't missed one. I think he's been good in that regard and I think he's been solid. But, we'll see what happens this week, but I feel good about where he's headed."
On WR Jeremy Ross having the most fair catches in the league and if teams have been kicking to him differently: "I don't get that sense about kicking to him differently. I think they try to treat him much like they do other returners. They want to kick the ball as high as they possibly can so that it limits returns. I think he's seeing that, certainly. But, that's what we all try to do. If he gets a crack he can find some seams. He had a pretty good return there yesterday just in terms of his kickoff returns, so he's very capable."
On if the blocking needs to be better in the return game: "No, no I said what other teams are doing. What we do is we try to kick the ball as high as we possibly can to make it so that you have to fair catch it. It allows the guys to get down the field, gunners in particular, so I don't see anything and that's not a criticism of anybody else in terms of that unit."
On if he encourages Ross to be cautious: "I encourage him to be sound fundamentally. We're not worried about him taking a whole bunch of chances and things of that nature. He's a pretty good judge."
On if he saw it coming in regard to QB Matthew Stafford's strong play recently: "Experience sort of tells me that if you stay with it, that you believe in it and your guys are getting better that we're going to improve. We're starting to improve a little bit and hopefully it shows that we're hitting our stride. But like I said, every game's different and this game will prove to be another great challenge for us coming up."
On if they're doing something differently on offense: "Fundamentals and technique, that's basically it."
On if players being healthy has helped OC Joe Lombardi get a feel for what they can do: "I'm not certain what healthy means in that regard because I don't think you're ever at a point where you're completely healthy. But, I do think that he's always had a good feel for who our guys are. Yeah, you learn something along the way as you go, but I wouldn't say it took us this long to find out what guys can do, that wasn't the issue. The issue was execution and I just think that we're executing better."
On if he anticipates teams will try to change their game plan because of the success the defense has had stopping the run: "I'm not sure. I can't get in their head and figure how they see and view us. I think most guys in our business think that you have to prove it. Even though your number may look good in a particular area they're still going to come out and try and run the ball on you. Some teams may have felt we didn't have weaknesses up front so they decide to throw the ball maybe a little bit more and get away from the running game. I think all teams look at you a little bit differently depending upon their personnel."
On why he thinks it's important for WR Calvin Johnson and WR Golden Tate to get plays off during the game: "What it is more so than anything else is that we operate according to what we see best fits for that particular game. We have packages that we operate with, sometimes they're in, sometimes they're out, but they get a fair number when you look at the number of reps they had. Both guys get a pretty good number."
On why RB Theo Riddick wasn't more involved in the game plan: "Theo does a lot of things that Reggie (Bush) does. When Reggie's out Theo kind of takes on a number of the same roles, so when Reggie's back there's only one spot for one guy and that gives you a few problems. We talked about (Ryan) Broyles, you guys have mentioned him I think every week for the most part, someone does at least, and same thing holds true there. There are only so many spots for guys to occupy. So you got to do what you have to do in order to get the guys in, work them and try to spread it around as much as we can. We can't use everybody."
On why he decided to play Bush more than Riddick: "That's for you to take and what you think. In our estimation that's not the case. It's a guy that's done it and that's done well. You can look at the numbers but numbers don't always tell you the whole story. That guy (Bush) is still capable, still a talented individual, can still take it the distance if you give him a crack, so that's how we feel about it."
On if defensive penalties are a part of having an aggressive defense: "Some people coach that way because there have been a number of teams that have won the Lombardi Trophy leading the league in penalties or someone close. Maybe it's not exactly leading but they're up there near the top and believe in that, I don't believe in it. I just think you have to make certain that you're good in every single area. We talk about being somewhere around in the top five in terms of fewest penalties, we're not there, we're working to get there, and when we're not there I'm not satisfied with it. That's our goal and our aim. Nobody, and we've been doing this for years and years, talking about that particular aspect, it's an important aspect to us. We won't get there overnight I know that for a fact. It just doesn't happen that way, it takes time, it takes an understanding, it takes development, and to continue to talk about it. It's not just training but it's educating as well. I think as time goes on you'll see we'll have a game more like we had last week. How many penalties did we have last week? Do you recall? We had five but that's what I'm talking about. When they're up you notice, when they're down. The fact of the matter is last week was a little bit closer to where we like it, but it's still too high for us. We like to get one on offense, one on defense and one in the kicking game maximum. That's what we look for."
On if all penalties are treated equal: "You always look at concentration. There are things that happen prior to the snap. Obviously those that you can control you try to avoid. Sometimes the body gets in odd positions, things happen like that during the course of play, but still I think the great majority of them you can still control. Blocking a guy in the back, holding, or things of that nature I think can be controlled."
On what DT Andre Fluellen has brought to the defense: "Because of the fact that this is really my first opportunity to kind of have Flue around during the season. I know he's been here quite often before and he's made a valuable contribution. Certainly has made a valuable contribution to us thus far. He's come in and really given us some production. I think the reason why he's able to do so, he's probably the perfect example of a guy that you want to look at. From a physical standpoint he may not appear to be as big and strong as some guys, but in terms of his technique and ability he maximizes every bit that he has. That's why he's effective."
On the impact the defensive line had: "I think they all feed off one another. Ziggy (Ansah) continues to get better. You look at the effort that he gives, I mean he'll jump over you, go through you, around you, and out hustle you. George Johnson is also a guy that just kind of gives you everything he's got upfront. Devin Taylor gets in there and contributes, Darryl Tapp comes along a makes plays, C.J. (Mosley) is doing his job on the inside, and sometimes an unsung hero because of the fact that you can't see a lot of the dirty work that goes on in there. That entire unit, I could literally name every guy, is a factor out there when the ball is snapped. You better block every one of those guys. Yesterday what perhaps you did notice was that (DeAndre) Levy has two sacks. A lot of that has to do with the fact that people have to pay so much attention to our guys up front that they kind of lose a little sight of guys that are scrapping linebackers, getting involved in the rush, and things of that nature. They help our defense all the way through and through. It helps in our coverage and it certainly helps in terms of stopping the run and rushing the passer. It's a formidable group."
On what having a strong defensive line does for a team, strategically: "First of all, every game is different, so you have to see where you are according to that particular game. Teams have not been able to run the ball on us, but it doesn't mean that they don't try. But when you can get them to the point where they're one-dimensional, where they have given up on it due to the score or some other perceived issue that they're dealing with, then I do think that helps you. You throw the ball an inordinate amount of times in this league, bad things are going to happen. Case and point, I think we probably have two safeties that are playing as well as any two safeties, at this point in time, in terms of their combination. They have nine interceptions between them and it's because of the fact that that ball has to come out. The quarterback doesn't typically have a chance to scan the entire field because they know that rush is going to get there, and our guys have been able to certainly make some plays. (Glover) Quin has made some incredible plays over the last couple of weeks. One from the middle of the field, all the way to the far sideline on a tip, and the other from half-field position, yesterday. And I think that's due to the kind of rush that they're getting up front. I think those things all play in together. They're playing well, they understand the benefits of a rush and what kind of pressure it puts on the perimeter. So, I think all of those things help."
On going for it on fourth and one early in the game and if having a stout defense allows the team to take more chances: "I think sometimes we may play it a little bit more conservatively. There are other times where we feel we're deep down in their territory and that we might go after. We might not do it that way all of the time, the next time we may kick it. But if we feel we have something going and we think we have a good schematic opportunity there, just in general, we may take that chance. But like I said, every game is a little different. It kind of depends on who you're playing, what the circumstances are, the health of your team, all of that kind of stuff. You weigh a lot of stuff in that situation, but having a defense that can play the way our defense has been playing, you certainly feel pretty good about it. But you still don't want to give any team in this league a short field, necessarily. They'll take advantage of it."
On how the defensive tackle plays off of the end who plays opposite of him in the Lions' defensive scheme: "It just happens different times, depending on what kind of stunt we have going on because sometimes they'll come to the inside. And you'll see it kind of happen naturally once in a while. Ziggy (Ezekiel Ansah) will come down to the inside and (Ndamukong) Suh may be rushing the gap and feels him down inside and he'll loop around the outside, and you'll see him with a free rush off the edge or something of that nature. So, they kind of play that game with one another. They also talk to one another. They operate games and things of that nature in conjunction with what they're seeing from a pass protection standpoint, so that's typically what happens."
On the importance of the defense's ability to disguise itself: "I think it helps. I think it does kind of force teams to make decisions on how they're going to pass protect. Once you do that, it kind of tells you what they're doing, how they're doing it. It's like the game of chess, then he'll (Teryl Austin) make a determination on maybe what stunts work best from the way in which you deploy after you see that particular movement. The master of it is the team we're getting ready to play. They do as fine of a job with middle linebackers of anybody in the League. He (Mike Zimmer) did so when he was with Cincinnati and they're doing exactly the same thing now. And it creates all kinds of problems for you, it's a headache. So, we've utilized it and we're about to see the masters of it this coming weekend."
On TE Joseph Fauria's health status: "We'll kind of see what's going to happen with him. There are a few guys that always after a ballgame are a little worse for wear, but we'll see after the next couple of days or so."
On if referees sitting players out for a play because of an injury is a common occurrence: "I've seen it a couple of times. I've probably seen it maybe a couple of more times than usual, but I think everybody's sort of looking at players' safety and trying to make a determination there."
On if he has conversations with players about current issues after a player shows interest in the matter: "No sir, not necessarily unless he comes up and asks a question about something."