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.)

Opening statement: "Obviously a short practice for us, but what this practice is for is get out here and just get the blood flowing a little bit. Get a little bit of that lactic acid out before the day ends and to go over a few mistakes, so we had a lot of corrections to make."

On the injuries from the game vs. Washington: "Yeah, you know, it's going to be a little while, but I'm not certain. I couldn't give you an exact time frame, you know, with any of those guys. Jordan Thompson's injury is pretty significant, so it'll be a little while."

On G Laken Tomlinson's ability to play right guard: "You know, those guys are all interchangeable in there and that's the great thing about that position. I mean, more often than not, the guys play center, play both guard positions, they need that kind of flexibility, particularly the way in which it adjusts according to how many guys we dress for a game. We usually have an inside rotation guy and an outside rotation guy, so there's some flexibility there."

On how he balances that flexibility: "I didn't say we were going to put him over there. You asked me the question. You have to look at it and see, you know, the experience of a guy, where he is, if you think it might disrupt his learning, you know, those kinds of things. So that all has to be weighed and measured."

On DE Phillip Hunt: "Little different, just in terms of body type, you know, but he can get up the field as you can see. He creates just a little bit different sort of an attack to a tackle, a little bit lower to the ground, but a little bit more get-off I think than some, So, you know, you find all kinds of rushers like that in this league. I can name quite a few that are similar. (Elvis) Dumervil is one, just in size and dimensions is the same kind of guy, so still has power, still has girth and has the ability to really turn the corner."

On how Hunt played against Washington: "He did some good things. He played pretty well."

On the release of S Taylor Mays: "Nothing has been official yet. It's something that, you know, obviously within the next 24 hours, it'll make itself a little bit more clear."

On why Mays was released: "You know, it's just kind of one of those things where everybody's got to perform. He gave it his best."

On the value he places in the pass rush success this preseason: "I think there's some encouraging things about it. Obviously, we were able to get some pressure on the quarterback, but it's week by week. You know, I think you make progressions along the way and that was a step in the right direction. We got after the quarterback a little bit better than we did the week before and we'll see how we do this next week coming up."

On where RB Zach Zenner can improve: "He's just kind of getting a sense and feel for the competition he's facing. He's one of those guys that will adjust and adapt pretty well. He understands his assignments, but I think he's just getting a feel for the flow of the game. Every week he seems to improve upon that. You saw he had a little better feel for cutback lanes, when to start and stop, so on and so forth during the course of the game. He caught the ball well out of the backfield, so I think he's making good progress for a young guy."

On DE Ezekiel Ansah and LB Kyle Van Noy's injuries: "You know, they've got a bit of an injury, so we'll see how long it takes them to get back."

On G Larry Warford and DT Caraun Reid's injury status: "My answer that I just gave is probably going to work for them as well. We'll just have to wait and see."

On TE Jordan Thompson's injury: "His is pretty significant, so he's going to be a little while. A lot longer."

On the specifications of Thompson's injury: "Until the doctors confirm. I think he's getting an MRI today, so we'll have a little better of an idea after that. But it doesn't look good."

On why there are not many white running backs in the NFL: "That is a strange question. I think one of the things you find out is that it just depends on the guy. Zenner, you may look at him as an anomaly, but we look at him as simply just a guy who plays the position. We don't care about color. If he can run, if he can make you miss, if he can run you over, if he can pass protect, if he can do all those things, we don't care what color he is."

On QB Dan Orlovsky's performance this preseason: "He's been very efficient. He's had a real good camp, and he's performed very well in both ball games that we've played thus far. He's managing things very well. He's moving the ball with the unit in which he's assigned to and he's putting it in the end zone."

On the flaws in the run defense last night: "Yeah, we've identified the problem. The first couple units that were in there, the first unit, was solid. It was just some of the young guys who weren't quite getting their run fits exactly where they should be, and it wasn't just one thing. Sometimes it might've been a tackle coming in a particular lane not assigned to his gap. It might've been a linebacker coming downhill pressing a little bit more. It might've been a safety coming from the outside in with the proper angle. We missed tackles, too. There's probably, I don't know, maybe 70 or 80 yards left out there because of the fact that we missed tackles. So we have to get better in that area."

On if the penalties against Washington are a concern: "Anytime we have more than three I'm concerned. Anytime we have more than one I'm concerned and we had nine in this particular game. So, that's not a good thing."

On CB Alex Carter and if he is close to returning to practice: "Pretty close. He's pretty close."

On WR Corey Fuller and his confidence throughout camp: "I think he was a pretty confident player last year. Made some big plays for us towards the end of the year. Obviously, there's only so many balls that go around, so it's kind of tough to make a determination on that, but we know he's improved and he's getting better. He's a better route runner than he was a year ago. He does so much for us because he's also a gunner in terms of our special teams unit, covers kicks, the whole bit. In that aspect he's doing much, much better from a special teams standpoint. But then also, obviously he's got to carry a pretty big load for us in terms of our offense, particularly he's a guy that can stretch the field for you."

On risking playing Reid and Warford in the rest of preseason: "Because we kind of look at it - depends on if they need the work, depending on if we have something in the system where we think it's important. I think you can probably look at what's happening with Calvin (Johnson) and make a determination. We kind of take those things and look at them pretty closely. "

On if Reid and Warford need the work: "They always need work. They need work. It's a little different. Down there with those guys, they play together. It's two units and they need more than that. Quarterbacks obviously, need the work. You wouldn't think Matthew (Stafford) would need the work because of his experiences, but he needs the work, timing, so on and so forth. Secondary, you need the work, you're working together. The communication has got to be good and also within the offensive line as well, you have to be able to work together. Anytime when you've got five people that have to be on the same page all the time in order to make it right, they're going to need some work."

On Tomlinson giving up a sack against Washington: "This is the big leagues. I'm not certain there has been a guy in this league, at least that I'm not aware of that hasn't given up a sack or given up something early because of the fact that he's learning a little different type of guy that's he lined up against. So it's a great learning experience to see whether or not they can adjust. He'll face a guy this next week that'll be just as good, just as tough, just as fast, just as strong as he is. In college, sometimes you have those advantages. In this league you have no advantages."