Jim Caldwell's quotes from Monday

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 think anytime you go through a weekend like this it's difficult and then obviously, there's some exciting parts of it as well, once it's all completed. The difficult part is, you have a number of young men that certainly maybe have to look to accomplish their dreams and fulfill their dreams at other places. They worked hard for us and did a tremendous job. The way it goes, often times with the numbers that we have nowadays, you have to let a lot of good football players go. That's the difficult side of it as well, but those guys all did a nice job. None of them got into any trouble outside of this building and in the building. We certainly appreciate everything they've done. Now, we do think we have a great unit to work with. From top to bottom, I think it's an exciting group. One that I think you're going to see grow and develop and get better as the year goes on. I think they have the right mindset as well. We've got a good mixture of veterans and also youth. I think we have a great group of leaders also within that group. It should be a lot of fun."

On not going after other veteran players who have been cut: "I believe that we've got a good nucleus of guys. The thing you know, and know extremely well, is that within this business, because of the fact that there's a 100-percent injury rate, that there's always going to be some adjustments along the way. You'd like to be able to think that you could stay extremely healthy. Hopefully we do, knock on wood, but it doesn't take long for the churning to start in that regard. Right now, at this stage, we're pleased with the group that we have and are excited about the group. We're looking forward to our first game next week."

On LB Kyle Van Noy's health: "The update would be that he did have a surgery and that surgery was successful. A lot of it depends on him in terms of how quickly it heals. We'll wait and see. He just got back last night, so our guys had the chance to talk with him or look at him and get a sense of things. That'll be happening today, so we'll get a sense here in the next couple of days or so."

On if the team's focus is on the New York Giants or themselves: "It's a delicate balancing act. What we'll do today in practice is, we'll work against ourselves for the most part. I believe in getting into a rhythm, just in terms of preparation. Our rhythm would be our Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday sort of routine, which would start for us on Thursday. These next couple of days will be once again getting an opportunity for us to get better at what we do, focus in on us and then we'll start our preparations in term of the Giants. There will be a little bit in there, don't get me wrong, but in terms of the wholesale practice as if it was like your normal week of practice and preparation for a team, it will not be that type of a practice."

On signing another pair of undrafted free agents (S Jerome Couplin and T Cornelius Lucas) who made the 53-man roster: "I think you certainly have to give credit to the scouting department and the personnel. They go out and find guys that can have an impact on your team. I think all across the league you'll find there are guys that certainly have been able to land on different teams, coming from the same sort of circumstances. We're always looking for ways in which to make our team a little better. That's the key, regardless of who it is. I think throughout the year you'll probably see some pretty unique surprises that occur, week in and week out across the league and it could happen with us as well."

On if he remembers his initial thoughts when he found out the team would be opening on Monday Night Football: "Other than the fact that I was extremely excited about it, it's a great platform for our team, for our city, for our organization. I remember my first Monday Night Football game that I was involved in. I was in college for 26 years, so I've been involved with bowl games and a national championship game, so there's a lot of big games I've been involved with coming through the ranks. My first Monday night game was when I was with Tampa (Bay) and we actually played against the St. Louis Rams, I believe. It was right around that time with ‘Greatest Show on Turf' and we had a pretty good team in Tampa (Bay) as well. I just remember the buzz in the air. People had all day to get ready for the game. It didn't happen in the middle of the afternoon where they only had a few hours. Maybe they went to church and then ran to the ballpark or whatever. You have literally all day to get ready for it, so there's a huge buildup. Not only that, but it's on a unique platform because of the fact that it's the only game at that time slot in terms of our league and even though there's a game after ours. So, I was really excited about that because it is a unique opportunity. It doesn't come around very often and for us it's the only night game we have, so we're really excited about the opportunity."

On if the way QB Kellen Moore played in the preseason affected his decision to keep three quarterbacks: "Certainly, yes. He played well. He did a very nice job obviously being able to lead a group at the end of those ball games where he was able to help get us in position to win. Obviously, there were a lot of other factors too. There were a lot of our young guys which I'm proud of. The fact that they could play so well, that just shows you that they were able to absorb the information and the material and get enough reps to be functional. Not only that, but they could learn by doing so shows that they have a pretty solid aptitude. With him in particular, obviously he took advantage of his opportunities. "

On why he chose to keep WR Ryan Broyles: "He was extremely productive. I think you could see that throughout the preseason. He caught the ball well, he did a very nice job of catching the ball and doing what we call, you dodge one and split two. His run after the catch was certainly very good. There were a number of times for a while where every single time he touched the ball he converted for a first down. But that ended a bit, but a number of times where he was able to do that. He showed he obviously recovered from his injuries he's had previously, showed his explosion, nice hands, spatial awareness and had a good sense of what we were trying to do from an offensive standpoint. He was productive and that's what we look for. He did a nice job."

On if this team has the foundation to become a championship organization: "Having had an opportunity to work with a couple teams that certainly won it all, there are some things you see and look for and see. I think without question that this team has those things in place. Real strong leadership in terms of the guys that are playing for you, across the board we have a real strong nucleus of guys that do a great job of setting the tone for their particular rooms and sometimes we have two and  three in a room, which is unusual. The leadership is extremely important. The ability to be explosive in terms of putting up points from an offensive standpoint, I think without question we have that ability. Now whether or not we do it remains to be seen, that we can play strong defense. The good teams look the same for the most part. When it really boils down to it, they look the same. They can run the ball, they can stop the run, they don't turn the ball over a whole lot, and they do a great job in terms of minimizing penalties. That's what they look like. Our team is working on a couple of those phases, in particular, with the penalties. Other than that, I think we have the foundation to be champions, without question."

On how to get the team over the hump from the intangibles standpoint: "It all depends on me. I'm responsible for each and every little thing that goes on in this program, bar none. Wins and losses, conduct, every single phase, offense, defense, special teams, it all runs through me. There's not anything that I don't have responsibility for that doesn't fall upon my shoulders in that regard."

On C Travis Swanson: "Obviously, he has shown that he has significant amount of flexibility, but he also catches on extremely fast. Smart guy, he's got the toughness you're looking for and I think you're going to just see him continue to grow and develop. His level of play, I think you'll see it improve each and every week. He's one of those guys. Physically, he's still developing and Jason (Arapoff) and Ted (Rath) have him in that weight room working. He's a willing worker. He gets here early. He has great guys to emulate in terms of (Dominic) Raiola and also (Rob) Sims. I think there's huge upside with him. We feel good about him."

On WRs Kevin Ogletree and Corey Fuller and why they made the team: "For Fuller I think it was quite evident, the guy made plays. He's growing and developing. He's got speed, he's got length and he's hungry. Ogletree obviously is a guy that has the kind of savvy you're looking for, in particular playing inside. He can also double and play outside as well, so he has some versatility there. I think he's a guy who can catch and run with it, which is important."

On young players on the roster: "You know, there are a lot of things, but the obvious things everybody always talks about and they will probably even tell you themselves is how quickly things happen. How fast they happen, the speed at which it occurs is going to be something they will have to contend with on a weekly basis. The volume of material that they have to deal with in terms of learning from week in to week out about different systems and how to counteract those particular systems, the different techniques and styles that they will notice in terms of the guys that they play against that are absolutely experts at what they do. In particular, when you get some of those guys that have been around the league a little bit they know what their strengths are, they play to their strengths and they'll know what your weaknesses are because that's all they do is study the opposition. All of those things I think will be interesting to them, also trying to get into a routine in this league. A weekly routine that's good, that's good for them from a physical standpoint, that's good for them from a mental standpoint, that's good for them from a spiritual standpoint, I mean, the whole gambit, everything works together. Plus, they're going to have to have growth and development that continues to soar throughout the league or throughout the year so I think those things are key."

On being responsible for players: "Well, I do think that they have to take ownership of everything that we do literally from a system standpoint and they certainly have to be held accountable for how they function within that system on and off the field.  I come from a background where I spent a lot of my time in college where I would walk into the homes of young men and talk to their guardian whomever that might be and I would tell them, ‘Hey listen,  there's going to be some things that I am going to just tell you. When you turn him over to me, that I'm going to watch him as if he was my own. I am going to look at him closely, I'm going to make certain I know who he's hanging out with, I'm going to make certain I know what he is doing off the field, all those kinds of things.' In the college realm it's a bit different right? But I still, even back then, I felt extremely responsible for everything that happened in our program because I was. I still feel that same responsibility today, but the difference is these are men and these are grown men. These are men with families and I treat them as such. So regardless of even though I am responsible for it, we still hold them to the same standards that anybody else would working for any other company, that they still are responsible for their own personal conduct. We don't hold their hand outside of this building but I think it is our responsibility that we make sure we educate them. We do that on a daily basis. We talk about everything that comes up every instance, just like today we'll discuss in detail the new policy in terms of the NFL just released on domestic violence. We'll talk about in detail. I think that's our responsibility to make certain that we do that and if we don't do that then that's my problem that's my fault and I think we have to do a good job of educating our guys making certain our guys understand what the consequences are, that we're clear in terms of what's expected of them as well. So, we do think that we are extremely clear in that regard. We're upfront, we don't simply give it lip service. There are things we sincerely care about and we anticipate and hope that our guys will fall in line with those rules and procedures."

On the NFL's new Domestic Violence policy: "My thoughts are just like anything else in which the NFL decides that is best for the league, that there rules that we should enforce and make certain they're enforced. We should support them wholeheartedly, and we should make certain that our team understands them explicitly from top to bottom and even the spirit of the rule. So, I'm certainly in favor of it and thus we'll express that to the team as well."