Jim Caldwell's quotes from Thursday

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

On if he is impressed with how efficient the Packers' offense can be: "Yes, they do a very nice job in all phases really. They run the ball well and have a very well-controlled passing game. Also, it's a big strike passing game as well, so they do a little bit of everything."

On how the play of his CB's has contributed to the success of the pass rush: "I think they both go hand in hand. I think in order to have good coverage on the perimeter, often times that bodes well for a front four that can attack and put pressure on a quarterback so that he can't sit back there with the ball for an ordinate length of time. Then vice versa: we've been able to get some sacks as a result of our defense doing a nice job in terms of our perimeter with covering guys and giving our guys enough time to get to the quarterback as well. So, I think they go hand in hand."

On what has impressed him about LB DeAndre Levy: "Well, obviously I've had an opportunity to compete against him. You can see that he's certainly a talented guy that certainly made a lot of plays. As a matter of fact, there was one in particular when we played here at the end of the season when I was at Baltimore. We had a play that was kind of designed to fool a linebacker. Most of the time when we run this particular play, often times the linebacker would end up going with the flow with the usual four receivers, strong side. We actually called it in the ball game and ironically, Levy was able to pick it up. It wasn't noticeable on film but those of us that were facing him knew exactly that he thwarted this particular play. I think it's because he's instinctive and that he has a real good knack for finding the ball, but he does it in an unassuming way. You'll look up and he'll have eight, seven or nine tackles and obviously I think everybody has noticed his ability to catch the ball and make plays on the ball. That was an incredible interception he made in our first game. From the onset, I had a lot of respect for him and certainly he has lived up to that."

On if there is a word that describes Levy in all facets of his life: "Often times people would say that he's quiet, but he talks a lot more than what you think. He's highly observant and talks to certain people a lot more, I should say. The guys love him, that's for sure."

On how important it would be to have S Don Carey back this week: "If he's able to go for us, obviously he'll be able to give us some help in both areas as an experienced safety and also in special teams. He's been a big contributor in both areas."

On if Carey could help play as a nickel cornerback: "Certainly. He's a guy who has a real good sense of defensive football. He helps you in terms of balance and experience overall. He's versatile and can play a number of different spots."

On why he believes the Packers have been so successful against the Lions in the past: "Well, I can tell you that they're a good football team, plain and simple. From top to bottom, they are well-organized, well-coached and they perform well. In order to beat them you have to perform well. You certainly can't give them an edge in any form or fashion, they'll take advantage of it."

On if he believes his team needs to score a lot of points on the Packers to win: "I do think you have to score on them to win. I will agree with that. I know often times as you look at them you say that you'll have to score a lot of points in order to beat them. I just think that if you're playing good, solid defense, you know that they're going to get some points, they have too many weapons and they're going to be able to move the ball into scoring position. But I certainly like the matchup. I think it should be a lot of fun."

On if the play with Levy last season could have been something that he prepared for on film: "No, he'd never seen it. I'm reluctant to tell you exactly what the play was, but it was a trick play. Usually, it was a very difficult play to sniff out and he was able to certainly recognize it. He was the only linebacker that we saw that moved in the direction of the play as opposed to opposite. I haven't asked him yet why he did it but I will one of these days."

On the team's run game right now: "I don't think there's any question that we're going to continue to improve in that area, we have to. I mean, it's a must. I think when you look at us we've been pretty much a second half team when it comes to our running game. I think we average somewhere around a little over two yards per carry in the first half and in the second half I believe it has been over six yards per carry, if I'm not mistaken. So, that just shows you that we're capable, we just have to be able to bring that for the first half and make it more consistent."

On if he plans on rotating the RT position until T LaAdrian Waddle comes back: "No, if we did it again it should not be deemed an anomaly of any sort. It's something that just happened one week. We really believe that (Cornelius) Lucas is going to be a fine player. Both guys can contribute for us (Cornelius Lucas and Garrett Reynolds. If we happen to do it this week again don't consider that to be strange. We planned it last week and we look at every week a bit differently."

On if he worries about the continuity with the right side of the line: "No, the guys have worked together quite a bit. They're a very vocal group and take care of one another. They're a unique breed of cat within that group of guys and they communicate very, very well. I think you'll see the synergy work well with either one that is in the game (Lucas or Reynolds)."

On if he expects T LaAdrian Waddle, DE Ezekiel Ansah or LB Travis Lewis to be available this weekend: "You'll have to take a look as we go through the week and take a look at the report."

On if there is an injury concern with Ansah: "He's a big, strong man. This is our first year with him. We've wiped the slate clean and we'll see what happens. You can't determine injuries and things of that nature. He's a capable guy and when he's in there, he helps us a tremendous amount. Am I concerned with something continual with him? Not at this stage."

On if he was a Packers fan after growing up in Wisconsin and his how much he remembers of Vince Lombardi: "I was of age during that time period. As a matter of fact, as you can imagine much like the Lions have an impact in this area, in our area the Packers had a huge impact. It was not only in terms of people with interest but also in terms of football we played. I don't think there was anybody in our region that didn't run the Green Bay sweep and didn't know every single player on the team. It was just saturated in that area because everyone took such great pride in it. We also, mind you, in the southern part of our town there's a road called Shoreland Avenue. On the north side of Shoreland Avenue you're standing in Wisconsin and on south side of Shoreland Avenue you're in Illinois. So, there were as many Bears fans close to that area also. There was a combination of Bears and Packers. There are a few of my relatives who I certainly have to question when they come to our game, ‘Who will you be rooting for?' Otherwise they're not getting any tickets."

On if he was a Bears fan growing up: "I was and I was a big Gale Sayers fan when I was growing up."

On if he remembers taking away advice from Vince Lombardi: "Two things: Number one was that he had such a great impact on the state of Wisconsin. So many great players, such as Bart Starr and (Paul) Hornung, Jim Taylor and the whole gambit of guys that have gone through there. We had a good sense of everyone. Him (Lombardi), he was on television quite often. There were not that many channels but one of the things for certain is that it was a black and blue division. As a child, none of us ever missed any of those games within the division; Vikings, Lions, Chicago and Green Bay. I've grown to know them quite well and certainly have gained a lot of respect over the years."