TRANSCRIPT: Lions Head Coach Jim Schwartz, WR Calvin Johnson, 9-5-12
media release
Lions Head Coach Jim Schwartz – Conference Call – September 5, 2012
(On if the team is ready for the regular season)
“Well, we’ll find out on Sunday. There’s no tiebreakers for what your record is in the preseason, anything else. The job is to get ready for 16 regular season games. There’s a lot of different agendas in the preseason – how long you’re playing your starters, what kind of looks you’re getting and all those different things. We do a good job of staying in the moment. We worked hard during training camp, now we’re switching to a game week mode and getting ready for the Rams.”
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(On the expectation level of the team this season)
“We all have high expectations. We don’t shy away from that. It’s something that is now part of where we’re going and everything like that. But, I think this team does a really good job of staying focused on what’s important now. We’re not talking about the end of the season, we’re not talking about our goals for this season, or playoffs, or anything else, we’re talking about this day – Wednesday of the Rams – and working on what we have to work on today. I think that’s a good characteristic of this team. It’s a hardworking team and they don’t get ahead of themselves. We can’t worry about our expectations for this year, what we need to worry about is our expectations for today, our expectations for the Rams this week. It sounds cliché, but our team does a good job of staying in that moment.”
(On Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher)
“I have an unbelievable amount of respect for Jeff. Not just as a coach, but as a person. I wouldn’t be where I am in my career without Jeff Fisher. I wasn’t there for his entire time with the franchise, but he has been through about every situation that a coach can go through. From going to a Super Bowl, to having the best record in the league, to having a salary cap purge and having an extremely young team to changing quarterbacks - there’s about every different situation. He has an incredible amount of experience. He doesn’t panic. The team takes a lot of their cues from him. He played in the league. He’s been a great coach for a long period of time. He’s got longevity. I think St. Louis is really, really lucky to have him. It will be an honor to coach against him.”
(On what he learned from working for Jeff Fisher that has helped him as a head coach)
“He just never panics. One year, we started 1-4 and it looked about as bad as it can look. That year, we ended up in the AFC championship game. And the reason we did is because at 1-4, Jeff didn’t panic and change schemes or bench starters or fire coordinators or do anything else that people call for. What he did is, he had a good plan and he stuck with it. The players recognize that confidence that he had in his plan. He’s always been able to persevere and been able to get a team through very tough times. I think that will serve St. Louis very, very well.”
(On if he talked with Jeff Fisher last season)
“Oh, sure. We actually spent a decent amount of time together because his son was on our coaching staff here last year. A very, very good young coach – Brandon Fisher – who I had known since he was a teenager. You could tell he had a lot of the same characteristics as Jeff. He loved football, he was a student of the game and nothing was too big for him. He graduated from the University of Montana and wanted to get his career started. We had a job that fit his skill set and he did an outstanding job. Since Jeff was out, he would come visit Brandon and also see a couple of our games. So he’s familiar with our team, we’re familiar with him and we always appreciate his perspective.”
(On if it was tough to let Brandon Fisher go to the Rams)
“When you have a chance to work with your father, I have a lot of respect for that. If my dad was a coach, I’d certainly want to work with him. Brandon did a great job and was certainly welcome back, but it’s a special opportunity when it comes to being able to work with your father and we recognize that, for sure.”
(On WR Calvin Johnson)
“Calvin is an incredible talent. He’s also an extremely hard worker. He works like he’s a rookie free agent trying to make the team. And maybe a lot of people say that, but he’s incredible to watch. A lot of wide receivers have a lot of different kinds of personalities and there’s a lot of different diva-type personalities. He is extremely humble, he is incredibly hardworking. I said this when we gave him his contract extension: I said, ‘As good a player as he is – everybody recognizes what a good player he is – it’s easy to watch a game and see him make a great catch or run past somebody or make a good block or everything that he does for our team. But what you don’t see is he is a better person and a better teammate than he is a player.’ He’s special to be around, he’s a joy to watch compete every day. I wish he wouldn’t dive for so many balls in practice and things like that. My heart skips a beat every now and then. But that’s part of what he is: he’s a humble, hardworking guy. There’s a reason that we gave him the contract that we did and it’s not all because what a good player he is.”
(On if Johnson makes plays on the practice field that amaze him)
“There’s not a day that goes by that he doesn’t do something that has everybody… Let me say this, this is professional football and there’s 53 guys in the locker room that are all outstanding athletes and he does something that makes... When you can make professional athletes stop and acknowledge something, you’ve done something special, and he does that almost on a daily basis. He’s incredibly gifted, he’s tall, he’s fast, he’s got great hands, he’s tough, but it’s the intangible things that the fans, the media can’t see on a daily basis that are especially pleasing to see when you watch him every day.”
(On Johnson’s surrounding cast regarding the other WRs and TEs)
“Every time we play somebody, they know what number Calvin wears. We can’t sneak him out there. He’s 6-foot-5 and he wears No. 81. So, just about everybody’s defensive plan starts with trying to take Calvin out. It’s impressive the yards and the touchdowns and the receptions that he gets because that is the No.1 thing that everybody starts with, ‘Let’s try to take No. 81 away.’ When people try to do that, Calvin’s still been able to make plays, but what’s very important is a surrounding cast that can also make plays. People want to try to put extra attention on him, well they’re going to be weaker somewhere else. Our tight ends, our other wide receivers, our running backs, we have a quarterback that can get them the ball and that’s been a very big part of our offensive development. It’s not just the development of (QB) Matt Stafford and Calvin Johnson and the rapport they have, but adding the pieces around both of those players, that help when people try their very best to take one player out of the game plan.”
(On keys to rebuilding a team)
“Well, I can’t speak for the Rams. I know here, from lessons I learned from Jeff Fisher and Bill Belichick, we had a plan. We stuck with the plan and it was very difficult in the first year. We were 2-14 the first year and the next year we started 2-10 and the most difficult thing to do in professional sports is to stick with a plan when you’re not experiencing immediate gratification. But we didn’t just keep changing direction every couple games or every year. We stuck with our plan and we drafted well. We signed players that fit our philosophy and what we were looking for. We kept our mind on short-term things. We didn’t worry about what was going to happen a year from now or two years from now. We were worried about that day and that game. Therefore, we were able to get out of it. I’ve compared it a long time to losing weight. If your goal is to lose weight, there’s a lot of things that you can do to lose weight. You can go on one of these weekend spa things and you can lose a bunch of weight and sweat it all out. And what happens is that weight comes back fast because your goal wasn’t the right goal. Your goal was to lose weight. Your goal was to turn it around. Our goal was to get on the treadmill every day. When you got on the treadmill every day, well guess what, you looked at the scale and you had lost some weight. Well you have to do that when you are trying to turn a program around. If you say our goal is to turn the program around, you’re looking at the end result rather than the process. The process is to stick with your plan, to have a good plan and to go about your work every day. I learned that from Jeff Fisher. I learned that from Bill Belichick. I’ve been very fortunate to have some good teachers in this league. Like I said before, St. Louis is in very good hands with Jeff Fisher.”
(On his big concerns regarding the Rams’ offense and defense)
“Well, (RB) Steven Jackson is still one of the best running backs in the NFL. It starts with him for sure. (QB) Sam Bradford, he had some injury concerns last year, but he’s an exciting young quarterback. They get (WR Danny) Amendola back. They drafted some other wide receivers. They have a lot of offensive firepower. You can look at this team a lot of different ways. You can look at their record last year. You can look at their stats from last year. I like to look at the fact that they beat New Orleans last year, a team that we lost to twice, and if that doesn’t get your attention and see what their players can do, then you’re certainly not being realistic. I really like what (DE Robert) Quinn has done in the preseason. I think he’s got three sacks in limited time in the preseason. (DE Chris) Long had a great year last year. They can rush the passer. (LB James) Laurinaitis has been a really good middle linebacker for them. (CB) Cortland Finnegan, who I know very well, very good corner and they drafted well at corner. They’ve put some pretty good pieces together and they’re going to be a very good team this year.”
(On his front seven on defense)
“We’ve devoted a lot of resources to, not only our defensive line, but also our linebackers. I think that when you talk about our defensive line it goes beyond our front four. We rotate guys. We try to keep guys fresh and there shouldn’t be a drop off in production. (LE) Cliff Avril was our franchise player last year. (RE) Kyle Vanden Bosch has a long body of work in the NFL. We’ve had a great, I mentioned, a great preseason and Quinn has had…We’ve had a very good preseason from one of our defensive ends, a young player in Willie Young, who looks like he’s ready to step up in a role. Our defensive tackles Ndamukong Suh and Corey Williams have both had very good preseasons. And then (DT) Nick Fairley and (DT) Sammie Hill are still developing young players behind them. Like I said, we’ve devoted a lot of resources with free agents and draft picks and things like that. We want to stay fresh up front. We want to rotate guys. We want to be able to affect the game by stopping the run and also rushing the passer and our defensive line is a big part of that.”
Lions WR Calvin Johnson – Conference Call – September 5, 2012
(On the upcoming season)
“Yes, I’m looking forward to it. Looking forward to it especially with this offense coming back, most of the defense coming back, so we’ve got a pretty experienced team that’s been together for a little bit.”
(On his offseason and preseason)
“Offseason – pretty busy. Kept on my training schedule for the most part. That didn’t change too much. The preseason – the same. We got our plays in, we had a lot of learning experiences in the preseason, so I think that the main thing we learned we can’t come out messing around. We’ve got to get off to a good start.”
(On how he can be stopped)
“You have to ask the person that stops me.”
(On his ‘Megatron’ nickname)
“Yes, I like it. It’s grown on me. It’s pretty cool.”
(On if anyone still calls him ‘Calvin’)
“People that know me, yes.”
(On if former Lions WR Roy Williams gave him the ‘Megatron’ nickname)
“You’ve got it.”
(On the Rams’ secondary)
“They’ve got some youngsters back there. They’ve got some talent back there as well. With their young guys, they’re going to come up under a veteran that’s probably - I’m sure - helping them out, giving them some skills of the game. Expect to see a good show from them on Monday (Sunday). I’m sure they are going to come out with a lot of energy, so we can’t afford to start out slow. We have to come out here and get off to a good start and hit them first.”
(On CB Cortland Finnegan)
“I played against him a couple of years ago. On film – quick, kind of instinctive and all the other stuff everybody knows about. I’m not worried about that. He’s got some quickness, though, I’ll give him that.”
(On if Finnegan tried any of the ‘other stuff’ against him)
“No.”
(On if QB Matthew Stafford is one of the best quarterbacks in the league)
“Easily. I’ve been thinking that since I’ve seen him. His first couple of years, he had to stay healthy and then after that, we saw what he can do.”
(On having a supporting cast)
“It’s good because not just the receivers obviously, but with the tight ends, we can stretch the field vertically. With that, we can do a lot of things in between and I think that gives us a huge advantage as far as not being able to pick on exactly what we’re going to do out there.”
(On if the city of Detroit is fired up for the season)
“No doubt about it. No doubt. Everywhere you go…it’s tough to go around a lot now. It gets kind of crazy, but it’s great to see them excited about football again.”
(On what kind of a coach Jim Schwartz is)
“He’s going to get the work out of us. If we’re not putting in the work, he’s going to get it out of us. That’s the thing that we’ve come to understand that if we come out here and put out our best effort, we’re going to, one, be successful on Sunday. But then you feel good about yourself because you see day by day you get better and better, when you come out here and put forward a good effort.”
(On if he’s enjoying all of the attention)
“It’s way more than what we’re used to getting around here. But one thing that I don’t like about it is all the time it requires. I’m more of a chill, down-time (guy). I enjoy my down time. I don’t like to be doing other stuff. But like I said, that was this offseason, so we’ll see. Definitely next offseason won’t be the same. But it’s definitely different.”
(On how loud he thinks Ford Field will be on Sunday)
“I’m hoping that we can get it almost…I’m hoping we get it somewhat like it was Monday night. I don’t know if it will be. But I expect a very supportive crowd.”
media release
Lions Head Coach Jim Schwartz – Conference Call – September 5, 2012
(On if the team is ready for the regular season)
“Well, we’ll find out on Sunday. There’s no tiebreakers for what your record is in the preseason, anything else. The job is to get ready for 16 regular season games. There’s a lot of different agendas in the preseason – how long you’re playing your starters, what kind of looks you’re getting and all those different things. We do a good job of staying in the moment. We worked hard during training camp, now we’re switching to a game week mode and getting ready for the Rams.”
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(On the expectation level of the team this season)
“We all have high expectations. We don’t shy away from that. It’s something that is now part of where we’re going and everything like that. But, I think this team does a really good job of staying focused on what’s important now. We’re not talking about the end of the season, we’re not talking about our goals for this season, or playoffs, or anything else, we’re talking about this day – Wednesday of the Rams – and working on what we have to work on today. I think that’s a good characteristic of this team. It’s a hardworking team and they don’t get ahead of themselves. We can’t worry about our expectations for this year, what we need to worry about is our expectations for today, our expectations for the Rams this week. It sounds cliché, but our team does a good job of staying in that moment.”
(On Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher)
“I have an unbelievable amount of respect for Jeff. Not just as a coach, but as a person. I wouldn’t be where I am in my career without Jeff Fisher. I wasn’t there for his entire time with the franchise, but he has been through about every situation that a coach can go through. From going to a Super Bowl, to having the best record in the league, to having a salary cap purge and having an extremely young team to changing quarterbacks - there’s about every different situation. He has an incredible amount of experience. He doesn’t panic. The team takes a lot of their cues from him. He played in the league. He’s been a great coach for a long period of time. He’s got longevity. I think St. Louis is really, really lucky to have him. It will be an honor to coach against him.”
(On what he learned from working for Jeff Fisher that has helped him as a head coach)
“He just never panics. One year, we started 1-4 and it looked about as bad as it can look. That year, we ended up in the AFC championship game. And the reason we did is because at 1-4, Jeff didn’t panic and change schemes or bench starters or fire coordinators or do anything else that people call for. What he did is, he had a good plan and he stuck with it. The players recognize that confidence that he had in his plan. He’s always been able to persevere and been able to get a team through very tough times. I think that will serve St. Louis very, very well.”
(On if he talked with Jeff Fisher last season)
“Oh, sure. We actually spent a decent amount of time together because his son was on our coaching staff here last year. A very, very good young coach – Brandon Fisher – who I had known since he was a teenager. You could tell he had a lot of the same characteristics as Jeff. He loved football, he was a student of the game and nothing was too big for him. He graduated from the University of Montana and wanted to get his career started. We had a job that fit his skill set and he did an outstanding job. Since Jeff was out, he would come visit Brandon and also see a couple of our games. So he’s familiar with our team, we’re familiar with him and we always appreciate his perspective.”
(On if it was tough to let Brandon Fisher go to the Rams)
“When you have a chance to work with your father, I have a lot of respect for that. If my dad was a coach, I’d certainly want to work with him. Brandon did a great job and was certainly welcome back, but it’s a special opportunity when it comes to being able to work with your father and we recognize that, for sure.”
(On WR Calvin Johnson)
“Calvin is an incredible talent. He’s also an extremely hard worker. He works like he’s a rookie free agent trying to make the team. And maybe a lot of people say that, but he’s incredible to watch. A lot of wide receivers have a lot of different kinds of personalities and there’s a lot of different diva-type personalities. He is extremely humble, he is incredibly hardworking. I said this when we gave him his contract extension: I said, ‘As good a player as he is – everybody recognizes what a good player he is – it’s easy to watch a game and see him make a great catch or run past somebody or make a good block or everything that he does for our team. But what you don’t see is he is a better person and a better teammate than he is a player.’ He’s special to be around, he’s a joy to watch compete every day. I wish he wouldn’t dive for so many balls in practice and things like that. My heart skips a beat every now and then. But that’s part of what he is: he’s a humble, hardworking guy. There’s a reason that we gave him the contract that we did and it’s not all because what a good player he is.”
(On if Johnson makes plays on the practice field that amaze him)
“There’s not a day that goes by that he doesn’t do something that has everybody… Let me say this, this is professional football and there’s 53 guys in the locker room that are all outstanding athletes and he does something that makes... When you can make professional athletes stop and acknowledge something, you’ve done something special, and he does that almost on a daily basis. He’s incredibly gifted, he’s tall, he’s fast, he’s got great hands, he’s tough, but it’s the intangible things that the fans, the media can’t see on a daily basis that are especially pleasing to see when you watch him every day.”
(On Johnson’s surrounding cast regarding the other WRs and TEs)
“Every time we play somebody, they know what number Calvin wears. We can’t sneak him out there. He’s 6-foot-5 and he wears No. 81. So, just about everybody’s defensive plan starts with trying to take Calvin out. It’s impressive the yards and the touchdowns and the receptions that he gets because that is the No.1 thing that everybody starts with, ‘Let’s try to take No. 81 away.’ When people try to do that, Calvin’s still been able to make plays, but what’s very important is a surrounding cast that can also make plays. People want to try to put extra attention on him, well they’re going to be weaker somewhere else. Our tight ends, our other wide receivers, our running backs, we have a quarterback that can get them the ball and that’s been a very big part of our offensive development. It’s not just the development of (QB) Matt Stafford and Calvin Johnson and the rapport they have, but adding the pieces around both of those players, that help when people try their very best to take one player out of the game plan.”
(On keys to rebuilding a team)
“Well, I can’t speak for the Rams. I know here, from lessons I learned from Jeff Fisher and Bill Belichick, we had a plan. We stuck with the plan and it was very difficult in the first year. We were 2-14 the first year and the next year we started 2-10 and the most difficult thing to do in professional sports is to stick with a plan when you’re not experiencing immediate gratification. But we didn’t just keep changing direction every couple games or every year. We stuck with our plan and we drafted well. We signed players that fit our philosophy and what we were looking for. We kept our mind on short-term things. We didn’t worry about what was going to happen a year from now or two years from now. We were worried about that day and that game. Therefore, we were able to get out of it. I’ve compared it a long time to losing weight. If your goal is to lose weight, there’s a lot of things that you can do to lose weight. You can go on one of these weekend spa things and you can lose a bunch of weight and sweat it all out. And what happens is that weight comes back fast because your goal wasn’t the right goal. Your goal was to lose weight. Your goal was to turn it around. Our goal was to get on the treadmill every day. When you got on the treadmill every day, well guess what, you looked at the scale and you had lost some weight. Well you have to do that when you are trying to turn a program around. If you say our goal is to turn the program around, you’re looking at the end result rather than the process. The process is to stick with your plan, to have a good plan and to go about your work every day. I learned that from Jeff Fisher. I learned that from Bill Belichick. I’ve been very fortunate to have some good teachers in this league. Like I said before, St. Louis is in very good hands with Jeff Fisher.”
(On his big concerns regarding the Rams’ offense and defense)
“Well, (RB) Steven Jackson is still one of the best running backs in the NFL. It starts with him for sure. (QB) Sam Bradford, he had some injury concerns last year, but he’s an exciting young quarterback. They get (WR Danny) Amendola back. They drafted some other wide receivers. They have a lot of offensive firepower. You can look at this team a lot of different ways. You can look at their record last year. You can look at their stats from last year. I like to look at the fact that they beat New Orleans last year, a team that we lost to twice, and if that doesn’t get your attention and see what their players can do, then you’re certainly not being realistic. I really like what (DE Robert) Quinn has done in the preseason. I think he’s got three sacks in limited time in the preseason. (DE Chris) Long had a great year last year. They can rush the passer. (LB James) Laurinaitis has been a really good middle linebacker for them. (CB) Cortland Finnegan, who I know very well, very good corner and they drafted well at corner. They’ve put some pretty good pieces together and they’re going to be a very good team this year.”
(On his front seven on defense)
“We’ve devoted a lot of resources to, not only our defensive line, but also our linebackers. I think that when you talk about our defensive line it goes beyond our front four. We rotate guys. We try to keep guys fresh and there shouldn’t be a drop off in production. (LE) Cliff Avril was our franchise player last year. (RE) Kyle Vanden Bosch has a long body of work in the NFL. We’ve had a great, I mentioned, a great preseason and Quinn has had…We’ve had a very good preseason from one of our defensive ends, a young player in Willie Young, who looks like he’s ready to step up in a role. Our defensive tackles Ndamukong Suh and Corey Williams have both had very good preseasons. And then (DT) Nick Fairley and (DT) Sammie Hill are still developing young players behind them. Like I said, we’ve devoted a lot of resources with free agents and draft picks and things like that. We want to stay fresh up front. We want to rotate guys. We want to be able to affect the game by stopping the run and also rushing the passer and our defensive line is a big part of that.”
Lions WR Calvin Johnson – Conference Call – September 5, 2012
(On the upcoming season)
“Yes, I’m looking forward to it. Looking forward to it especially with this offense coming back, most of the defense coming back, so we’ve got a pretty experienced team that’s been together for a little bit.”
(On his offseason and preseason)
“Offseason – pretty busy. Kept on my training schedule for the most part. That didn’t change too much. The preseason – the same. We got our plays in, we had a lot of learning experiences in the preseason, so I think that the main thing we learned we can’t come out messing around. We’ve got to get off to a good start.”
(On how he can be stopped)
“You have to ask the person that stops me.”
(On his ‘Megatron’ nickname)
“Yes, I like it. It’s grown on me. It’s pretty cool.”
(On if anyone still calls him ‘Calvin’)
“People that know me, yes.”
(On if former Lions WR Roy Williams gave him the ‘Megatron’ nickname)
“You’ve got it.”
(On the Rams’ secondary)
“They’ve got some youngsters back there. They’ve got some talent back there as well. With their young guys, they’re going to come up under a veteran that’s probably - I’m sure - helping them out, giving them some skills of the game. Expect to see a good show from them on Monday (Sunday). I’m sure they are going to come out with a lot of energy, so we can’t afford to start out slow. We have to come out here and get off to a good start and hit them first.”
(On CB Cortland Finnegan)
“I played against him a couple of years ago. On film – quick, kind of instinctive and all the other stuff everybody knows about. I’m not worried about that. He’s got some quickness, though, I’ll give him that.”
(On if Finnegan tried any of the ‘other stuff’ against him)
“No.”
(On if QB Matthew Stafford is one of the best quarterbacks in the league)
“Easily. I’ve been thinking that since I’ve seen him. His first couple of years, he had to stay healthy and then after that, we saw what he can do.”
(On having a supporting cast)
“It’s good because not just the receivers obviously, but with the tight ends, we can stretch the field vertically. With that, we can do a lot of things in between and I think that gives us a huge advantage as far as not being able to pick on exactly what we’re going to do out there.”
(On if the city of Detroit is fired up for the season)
“No doubt about it. No doubt. Everywhere you go…it’s tough to go around a lot now. It gets kind of crazy, but it’s great to see them excited about football again.”
(On what kind of a coach Jim Schwartz is)
“He’s going to get the work out of us. If we’re not putting in the work, he’s going to get it out of us. That’s the thing that we’ve come to understand that if we come out here and put out our best effort, we’re going to, one, be successful on Sunday. But then you feel good about yourself because you see day by day you get better and better, when you come out here and put forward a good effort.”
(On if he’s enjoying all of the attention)
“It’s way more than what we’re used to getting around here. But one thing that I don’t like about it is all the time it requires. I’m more of a chill, down-time (guy). I enjoy my down time. I don’t like to be doing other stuff. But like I said, that was this offseason, so we’ll see. Definitely next offseason won’t be the same. But it’s definitely different.”
(On how loud he thinks Ford Field will be on Sunday)
“I’m hoping that we can get it almost…I’m hoping we get it somewhat like it was Monday night. I don’t know if it will be. But I expect a very supportive crowd.”
