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Detroit Lions head coach Jim Caldwell met with the media on Wednesday morning at the NFL owners meetings, and he touched on several notable topics. Below is a recap of what he had to say.
On the Lions' defensive scheme:
Caldwell on how the Lions defense will look in 2015: "It's not going to look any different than it did last year."
— Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) March 25, 2015
Caldwell says Detroit will be multiple defensively
— Kyle Meinke (@kmeinke) March 25, 2015
On his new defensive tackles:
Caldwell on DTs Haloti Ngata and Tyrunn Walker: Those two guys are going to give us an unusual combination.
— Josh Katzenstein (@jkatzenstein) March 25, 2015
Caldwell said Ngata will really impact edge rushers like Ziggy Andah with his ability to push the pocket.
— Tim Twentyman (@ttwentyman) March 25, 2015
On the departures of Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley:
Caldwell on losing Ndamukong Suh: In all business, there are no guarantees.
— Josh Katzenstein (@jkatzenstein) March 25, 2015
Caldwell on not bringing Nick Fairley back: "We just thought it was one of those situations where it didn't work. ... Nothing personal."
— Josh Katzenstein (@jkatzenstein) March 25, 2015
On which position Riley Reiff will play in 2015:
Caldwell said Riley Reiff can play left and right tackle and wouldn't commit to one spot. "Really depends where he's best suited."
— Tim Twentyman (@ttwentyman) March 25, 2015
Caldwell on if he sees a future for Reiff at guard: "Not today, I don't." That should answer that. Expect him at OT this fall.
— Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) March 25, 2015
On LaAdrian Waddle's status:
Caldwell said "it's going to be a little while" before Waddle is ready. Coming off ACL surgery
— Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) March 25, 2015
On the offensive line as a whole:
Caldwell said pass blocking wasn't good enough across the board last year and that area needs to improve.
— Tim Twentyman (@ttwentyman) March 25, 2015
On Matthew Stafford and the Lions' other quarterbacks:
Caldwell on what Stafford must do to help offense be more efficient: "I think he’s just got to keep improving."
— Josh Katzenstein (@jkatzenstein) March 25, 2015
Caldwell said the key ingredient for a QB improving is work ethic, toughness and intelligence, and Stafford has "abundance" of those things.
— Josh Katzenstein (@jkatzenstein) March 25, 2015
Caldwell praises Stafford for the strides he made last year, ends by saying, "And I think marriage is going to help him."
— Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) March 25, 2015
Caldwell said he feels good about QB room with Orlovsky and Moore in there again.
— Josh Katzenstein (@jkatzenstein) March 25, 2015
On Eric Ebron's offseason:
Caldwell said @Ebron85 has been working hard & having an impressive offseason and he's excited to see him when he gets back in a few weeks.
— Tim Twentyman (@ttwentyman) March 25, 2015
Caldwell gushing about Eric Ebron's offseason so far. Said he's working hard, particularly on route running.
— Kyle Meinke (@kmeinke) March 25, 2015
Caldwell: "It’s not like all of a sudden he’s going to be Charlie Sanders but I think he’s going to be much better than he was."
— Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) March 25, 2015
On Brandon Pettigrew:
Caldwell says TE Brandon Pettigrew is one of those guys you can build a foundation around.
— Josh Katzenstein (@jkatzenstein) March 25, 2015
On potentially signing Ray Rice:
Caldwell on if Ray Rice could be a Lion: "I don’t foresee that, to be plain and simple."
— Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) March 25, 2015
On Jim Washburn:
Caldwell says Jim Washburn won't be with team for "a while" while recovering from a couple surgeries
— Kyle Meinke (@kmeinke) March 25, 2015
Caldwell said defensive line coach Jim Washburn should be back around OTAs from offseason surgery.
— Tim Twentyman (@ttwentyman) March 25, 2015
On Stephen Tulloch and Tahir Whitehead:
Caldwell said he anticipates Stephen Tulloch being #Lions starting MLB: "He's highly experienced and highly productive and a great leader."
— Josh Katzenstein (@jkatzenstein) March 25, 2015
Caldwell expects Stephen Tulloch to reclaim starting job in middle. Said Tahir Whitehead could could either back him up or slide back to SAM
— Kyle Meinke (@kmeinke) March 25, 2015
On Theo Riddick's role in the offense:
Caldwell won't commit to larger role for RB Theo Riddick, but thinks Riddick will force coaches to get him ball more.
— Josh Katzenstein (@jkatzenstein) March 25, 2015
On Ryan Broyles' future:
Caldwell's looking forward to seeing how Broyles comes back after his first full season in 2014 without suffering a significant injury.
— Tim Twentyman (@ttwentyman) March 25, 2015
On Golden Tate and his potential role on special teams:
Jim Caldwell: Can't help but love the kind of attitude Golden Tate has. Highly competitive, highly effective.
— Josh Katzenstein (@jkatzenstein) March 25, 2015
Caldwell on Golden Tate returning punts: "I would suspect at some point in time he’s going to play a role for us in that area."
— Josh Katzenstein (@jkatzenstein) March 25, 2015
On the Lions' offense in 2015:
Caldwell said his offense won't throw the ball any more than it did last year, but it could be distributed a little different.
— Tim Twentyman (@ttwentyman) March 25, 2015
On the 2015 NFL Draft:
Caldwell said this is a good draft for lineman, corners and running backs.
— Tim Twentyman (@ttwentyman) March 25, 2015
And finally, on Jim Harbaugh returning to Michigan:
Caldwell asked if he's worried Jim Harbaugh's stealing his thunder as a coach: "Absolutely not. I don't have any thunder."
— Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) March 25, 2015
Caldwell on Jim Harbaugh being at Michigan: "I think he’s great for everybody in the state."
— Josh Katzenstein (@jkatzenstein) March 25, 2015