Jim Caldwell's quotes from Friday

Below is a look at what Detroit Lions head coach Jim Caldwell had to say on Friday. (Quotes provided by the Lions.)

On liking the top cornerback to cover the other team's best receiver: "You know, every game is a little different. It just depends if we find it necessary to do so we will, but other situations it doesn't fit with what our plans are that particular week, so it depends."

On if some injuries are more concerning than others: "I think every one of them has its own unique sort of qualities. There are some because of the depth and number of guys you have. If you get hurt at the quarterback position it can be a bit more devastating depending upon your situation. For the most part they are all the same to me. An injury is an injury you got to have someone in position to make certain that they can step in and do what you're asking them to do."

On who the captains will be against the Carolina Panthers: "(Ndamukong) Suh is going to be our defensive captain, Calvin (Johnson) is our offensive captain, and (Don) Muhlbach is our special teams captain."

On making a decision on the right tackle position: "We're still looking at it. We'll finalize things after today's practice. I think it's a little bit better for us we know where we are heading, we just want to make certain that we don't have any issues that pop up here in the next practice. This practice is not one that's just a walk through, there's activity, so we'll wait."

On having athletic linebackers and how it helps against Carolina Panthers QB Cam Newton: "Anytime that you have a quarterback that's mobile you hope you have guys at that position, your linebackers, that can actually close ground on him and certainly contain him and catch him when he gets out there. That has always been a problem with some quarterbacks. It was a real problem when Mike Vick was in his early years. There was hardly anybody on the field. You had to have pretty speedy guys at linebacker to keep up with him but, Newton presents some of the same problems you're right. It's a good thing that all three of our linebackers can run. Tully (Stephen Tulloch) is also a guy that can cover some ground and really close those angles as well. I know one thing, he'll put us to the test that's for sure."

On deciding if CB Nevin Lawson will be the nickel back: "He's going to play there and you saw last week. We'll train a couple other guys as well to try and get ready, but yeah he'll do the bulk of the work at that spot." 

On signing T Garrett Reynolds as opposed to signing a "true tackle": "One thing about him is that he has flexibility and he's a guy that can do both. He has the size to do both, the dimensions, has the length, so you're not as concerned about that. He can play tackle and he can play it well."

On keys to winning on the road: "One of the things that we try and pinpoint is the fact that you have to travel with poise. You need to have poise because of the fact that the crowd is going to be loud and you're going to be away from home. It's going to be a little uncomfortable in that regard. Things are going to be a little different, so poise is extremely important for you in particular with dealing with crowds and things of that nature. Also, you never know what weather conditions are so that's always an issue that you're going to have to contend with and understand what your problems may be and prepare for those. Whether it's humidity, or whether it's rain, snow or sleet whatever it might be. Make certain that you travel with a bit of confidence and knowing what you do and understanding your assignments extremely well. Get them down pat during the course of the week so that the focus and concentration is key so when you get there you don't have to worry about those kinds of things. Passion for the game is something that I think you have to carry with you. It's one of the things I think when you travel that you better make certain that it rings true and what's part of your DNA is displayed out there on the field when you're in foreign territory. All of those things I think are essential."

On how he plans to game plan for Panthers TE Greg Olsen after Giants TE Larry Donnell had success against his defense: "What we try and do for the most part, we take each team and look at them, look at our problems that we had and make our corrections by walking and talking through them, how they impacted or affected our scheme and see if there is something that we need to do internally in terms of how we're teaching or positioning in order to correct it. Then, we're able to move on to the next team. Every team has their strengths and obviously Olsen is one of those guys. Regardless of if we played well, which I think we did, there's not going to be anybody in this league that we're going to completely shut down, it's not going to happen. There are too many fantastic athletes and too many smart people. We have to be concerned with that position because there's a guy that has experience, the ability to catch and run and he's very, very effective.  He's going to be a concern."

On what DT Ndamukong Suh does behind closed doors that makes him a true leader: "Number one; he does what we ask of him. He does everything in regards to what the rules require. Often times people get hung up on when he was here, when he wasn't here and all that kind of stuff. Well, he wasn't required to be here, it's voluntary not mandatory. If it was a guy that I had to be really concerned about that was away from here that would come back out of shape and certainly not in position to be able to function, but this guy comes back in impeccable shape. He does all the things you ask of him when he's in this building, he's exemplary in every fashion. He plays the game hard and tough and his teammates respect him as a result of that. I think, obviously, so does the rest of the staff as well and most often anybody that plays against him has a pretty good measure of respect for what he's able to do on the field."

On if Suh's leadership is more by example than by vocal: "We don't have a whole lot of vocal guys, which I kind of like. The "rah rah" guys that make a lot of noises running around and yelling, typically, that stuff usually wears off at a certain point. I like the guys that just do it, and he's one of those types of guys. He doesn't have to say a whole lot. Lead by example, when all else fails, use words, that's what I believe in."

On if worrying about Newton scrambling makes Olsen harder to cover: "It creates a problem, not only for a tight end position or an inside receiver, but all over the field. Guys have to be ready to adjust and do what we call plaster, you have to stick with your man, particularly when he's on the loose because he can hurt you. Let me put it this way, you'd have a guy that perhaps doesn't run like he runs, if he gets outside of the pocket you can just stay with that receiver and the quarterback can run with it but he'll probably get out of bounds, slide, maybe get a 10 yard gain. But, this guy can run for 60, 70, 80 yards, so that's a difference. He creates a concern, but then with that, you have guys on the back end who are covering deep receivers, not only intermediate receivers, that have to be concerned with this guy. Last time he maybe had a 30-yard run, so you get ready to come out of coverage and he tosses one over your head. He creates problem for everyone on the field."

On how many CB's he prefers to keep on the active roster for Sundays: "Every week is different. It just depends on who you're playing. You guys have covered football a long time and know that teams that come out who don't use a lot of three-wide sets might allow us to do something else in terms of our personnel grouping. It would only make good sense that you don't use quite as many. Other teams, they use four-wide sets, we might have an unusual number up because of that reason. We try to adjust according to the tactics that we're going to see from a strategic standpoint. As you look at those things, you may not see it but we know how they attack us or how they'd like to attack us, so we will in return adjust our personnel groupings accordingly. We see a lot of give and take with that, both with your defensive backs and also with wide receivers as well."

On his thoughts about P Sam Martin's play on Monday night: "I think he did well. After the game was over with I talked about his impact, those balls being kicked out of the end zone and that we don't take that for granted because of the fact that it just doesn't allow returns. Any time a team can start back that deep in their territory consistently, the law of averages tells you that it's going to be a very low percentage in the number of times that they score. I think that's extremely important. He does a tremendous job and he works at it. It's a weapon, which I certainly appreciate."

On DE George Johnson playing more snaps than DE Devin Taylor vs. New York: "We adjust according to what we need. Sometimes we go in with a specific hard and fast rule, but often times in games, it doesn't turn out that way. Both guys we're comfortable with. Both guys can be effective for us and you'll see both guys playing for us."

On if he'd like the ball to be kicked out of the end zone every time during kickoffs: "It depends on who they have back there. With (Baltimore Ravens WR) Jacoby Jones, I want it out of the end zone, not in his hands because he'll bring it back from the back edge of the end zone. It just kind of depends. Every game we kind of go into it with a little bit different philosophy. Sometimes we want a directional kicker who can give them a chance to pin them in one side or the other. Let him come up that sideline, maybe it's toward our strength. There are other games that we want to say, ‘Hey, we do not want this guy with the ball in his hands.' So, we'll adjust it accordingly. (Special Teams Coordinator) John Bonamego does a tremendous job in terms of our special teams. He looks at every angle, every detail and buttons down all the strategy. We try to utilize that versus everybody we play."

On what he sees from WR Jeremy Ross as a receiver: "I think sometimes it's tough. There's only one ball to go around and we have a lot of guys that can do something with it when they get it. But I think his time will come. He has talent, obviously. He can make you miss. He shows that and demonstrates that in the return game. He also can catch the ball. He understands how to get open. I think he has a good feel for adjusting to zones, running away from man-to-man, the things you would expect him to do. We just obviously, haven't had a chance to get him the ball as of yet, but I think you'll see, that during preseason he caught us one and he did some pretty nice things with it. I think you'll see him help us somewhere down the road as well. Every game is going to be a little different. There will be some games where some guy will have eight catches and then some other games where a guy may have two or none. It just kind of depends. Often times, it may depend not just on them, but also in terms of the strategy that has been employed against them in terms of the defense that we're seeing as well."

On his charity event this afternoon: "It's really something that's dear to our hearts, my wife and I. It's one of the things we did before I became a head coach in this league. We did a number of things in college, but it's something we did in this league in terms of what we wanted to do for the communities in which we worked. Not only that, but for the communities in which we lived. We thought long and hard about what approach to take, so we have the Jim and Cheryl Caldwell Foundation and we put together a project called the Phoenix Learning Center. We look at underserved areas in the community. That could be charter schools, it could be community centers, etcetera. Areas maybe where they do have the children that come, but they may not have the resources necessarily to provide the technology for them. At this point in time, there's a huge gap. An educational gap from the individuals that are underserved in terms of an economic standpoint to those that have money. There are a lot of young kids that go home after schools over with and they can't complete their homework because of the fact they don't have access to technology, the Internet, etcetera. There are others that have that advantage. Also, on the weekends as well. What we try to do is provide the technology, a 21^st-century classroom that has computer terminals. Sometimes it's mobile with laptops and often times, they're desktops. We put at least 20 in those facilities, along with SMART Boards. Some of you have children, so you know what SMART Boards are. Those things are absolutely incredible in terms of what they can do. They have teaching curriculum on it, etcetera. So, we put SMART Boards in and also educational material. We have individuals, one in particular, Jared Grant, kind of puts it all together for us. It used to be an instructor, but he does a tremendous job of making certain that he gets all of those things set in the facilities in which we choose. This is number six for us. We've got three in Indianapolis, we have two in Winston Salem, North Carolina. And so, this will be our sixth one, which we're certainly proud of and they've been impactful I think in the communities in which we've been able to place them."