GREEN BAY – The Packers' coordinators and defensive assistant coaches met with the media over the past couple of days. Here's a sampling of their key comments.
Special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia
On Lions returner Kalif Raymond:
They have a tremendous return game. He's hard to handle. He's got great speed. He's playing fearless right now. He's playing with a lot of confidence and certainly can go the distance.
It's a combination of how they're playing, how they're coached and certainly his ability to make people miss and to finish. Some guys can make people miss and can't finish. Right now, he can do it all. He was a handful last year. I thought we had a good battle against him last year both games, here and there. We're expecting him to play his best and hopefully we can do a good job of containing him.
On Detroit's penchant for fakes:
it's impossible to actually know exactly what they're gonna do. He has a multitude of fakes over his career on tape that we've all looked at. Again, you're preparing to play against whatever could happen every team you play against. Sometimes there are some indicators maybe that you're going to find, but it's hard. So, we play the fake on the way to the punter.
Defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley
On the Lions' offense:
It starts up front, just like in any game. If you can't stop the run, it's going to be a long day. Their offensive line is probably the best that we've seen, and then they have two really good running backs. So, we really have to defend the run. They're explosive, they're powerful and their offensive line is really good. They built it the right way. They've built it from inside out, but it's got to start with the run. Obviously, they have good wide receivers, they have a really good tight end and the quarterback is as efficient right now as any quarterback in the NFL. I think they're coaching really well. I think their whole staff does a great job with their scheme and then what they've done with the quarterback this year in his efficiency, it's been very impressive.
On getting DL Devonte Wyatt back:
I give him a lot of credit for fighting through his injury and playing last week. He probably wasn't 100 percent but he fought through it. He played in the game and when he's 100 percent, I think he's one of the best at his position in this league and we need him to play that way this week. And then he can rest up over the bye week and hopefully feel even better. The energy, the personality, the explosiveness – not just in the run game but in the pass game, as well. He's a dynamic player and I'm very happy that he's back.
On getting pressure on QB Jared Goff:
We've got to be calculated with that. We can't just try to go after him every single play and every single third down. There's going to be times when we pressure him, there's going to be times when we show him pressure and drop out, there's going to be times when we send four unconventionally, there's going to be times when we send five-plus and there's going to be times maybe when we drop eight. Pressure always isn't just about overwhelming them with numbers, it's about making them see different things. It's all of a sudden you think six are coming but three are coming, or four are coming. And maybe we speed him up and we force him into a bad throw. Or maybe we drop a guy underneath where he didn't think the guy was going to drop and now he throws a bad ball. The key for us is to constantly change up the looks and make those guys think, and we're going to have to do it all.
On S Xavier McKinney:
I congratulated him just like we're sitting here in front of the while defense, but I also said, everybody needs to get credit in this room. That's rush, that's the linebackers, that's coverage, and then it's ultimately him making those plays. But when you play good defense together, and you have success and you win games, guys are going to get rewarded, and he deserves to get rewarded. He in my opinion is THE best safety in the NFL. And it's starting to be seen by everybody. And I'm so proud of him and it doesn't surprise me. The growth that he's had, too, I mean, I can already see it, he's become one of the best leaders on our team, he's one of the best practice players on our team, he's got an unbelievable attitude, he's always studying — and he's YOUNG. I don't even think we've seen close to how good this guy's going to be. It's just right now everybody's starting to notice it because he's got huge production. And it's not just the production, it's like I said last week, 'Don't get bored. People aren't throwing the ball in your area.' Well, they do, and look what happens. He gets another one. And there's so much more to come.
Offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich
On all the interceptions Detroit's safeties have:
Anytime you can create pressure on the quarterback, you create obviously throws that may not be the right decisions, or just throws that are quicker than normal. But both those guys, (Kerby) Joseph and (Brian) Branch, have phenomenal ball skills. Those guys make some pretty good plays that most safeties don't make, just as far as catching it in difficult situations. Joseph does a really good job just reading eyes of the quarterback and being in the right place at the right time. Yeah, they're a good 1-2 punch back there.
It's kind of a byproduct of their entire defense. They're a pressure-based defense. They're going to jam man coverage. Everything about them they want to challenge you. So the safeties are kind of the free guys at times … reacting off of all the press corners and can just go and make a play. But you can't let it affect you too much where it paralyzes you, but it's certainly something that you need to be aware of, especially when you get down into the red zone. They've done a good job getting some timely picks down there.
On C Josh Myers playing with a bum wrist:
You've just got to gut it out. It's one of those things, it's been done before, guys have played through broken hands or things like that, sprained whatever. You've just got to get it done. There's really no other explanation than that. Do a better job with your other hand, move your feet better, all those things. He's one of those guys who will just go out there and prove it.
Defensive line coach Jason Rebrovich
On Detroit's offensive line:
They're a great one. We've seen them before. I've been here three years now. Their two tackles have been pretty much consistent, and obviously their center. They're a great challenge for us, they really are. We've got our hands full. There's no doubt. It's one of the best offensive lines in the National Football League.
On DL Devonte Wyatt's return:
Getting him back is huge. Just an explosive athlete. The tape's the tape. The guy can bend, he can wiggle, he can make moves. He gets off blocks. He's quick in the run game, on backside slips, and his presence is felt in the pass rush. You saw that play Coop goes and gets that fumble down there on the 3-, 4-yard line, and Devonte Wyatt's speed and athletic ability gets him an opportunity to get on that ball. What a game-changing play by that young man.
On DL Rashan Gary's play:
Rashan is going through a transition, just like we're all going through. But when you demand a double-team or a chip or a thump that we use with tight ends, that's a respect thing. Hopefully a lot of people are understanding that. That's not an excuse, that's reality. But we also, in reality, have to make sure that we're going and still winning those opportunities, and we're still striving to do that.
Linebackers/running game coordinator Anthony Campanile
On LB Edgerrin Cooper breaking up the deep ball in Jacksonville:
It's just a super-athletic play. He's obviously a great athlete but he's really, really done a good job of the details, and I think if you look at that play, there's a lot of detail in the finish, so the execution of doing what he did throughout the play, certainly impressive, but the finish, that's something that to me is a tremendous compliment to his effort and tenacity to finish the play the way he did. I just thought it was a hell of a play. Really was. Hard play to make, for sure. Athletically, it takes a special athlete to do that, but he definitely had the right mentality going in there and finishing it, trying to get the ball out.
On coaching young players:
It's just compartmentalizing information. When I was younger, I was around a great coach who is no longer a coach, Rod Rust. He said you have to have a definition of coaching, and his definition of coaching was "organizing information so that players can process it and play faster." That's what coaching is. And if you're not doing that then you're not doing a good job coaching. So, for all of us, I think in our meetings, in our individual periods, whether that's our walk-throughs or whatever, it comes down to how do you organize the information so you can put it in certain buckets, and it's the same as or like this that we've already done, and that gives you more volume and, honestly, multiplicity to what you do, and it keeps it simple for the guys.
Defensive passing game coordinator Derrick Ansley
On CB Carrington Valentine in Year 2:
I thought (Ryan Downard) and those guys did a really good job developing him last year as a first-year player. He obviously (was) mature enough to handle that, playing over 500 snaps last year. He's done a really good job this year of transitioning to Year 2. He's just had some untimely injuries that have set him back, but his mindset, his style of play, how he plays on the red line, his brand that he brings to the defense, is something we definitely welcome.
On Detroit's wide receivers, including Amon-Ra St. Brown:
Yeah, it's a big challenge. They've got a lot of different receivers that do a lot of different jobs. There are a lot of package specifics. St. Brown is a really good slot, he's physical in the run game, he can run after the catch, he's smart. You can tell him and Jared are definitely in sync. They're on the page a lot at the same time. He's just so competitive. You can feel him on the tape. He has a strong, lower build to the ground, so you have to really tackle him and get on his body.
On CB Keisean Nixon playing both inside and outside:
You saw some of the traits, when you watch the tape (in the offseason). Him being a really good returner, you see the sudden change, the (change of direction), making people miss, and you can see the movement in the corner. He just needed the opportunity to show that. He did a really good job of learning the nickel and the corner, and when he got that opp, he's been consistent out there.
Defensive backs coach Ryan Downard
On S Xavier McKinney winning Defensive Player of the Month:
Didn't talk about it in the position room. Matt said something to the team about it, and I went right to X when he walked out, just like I always do, and I told him to ignore that noise. Because I don't want him looking at that stuff right now. Naturally he's going to. Let's be real. He sees it, he hears it, that's a great honor. Awesome. But that's not the goal we set out, that's not the goal for himself that he set out, and that sounds like a little coach speak, but I really believe that. They don't validate who he is, and he's got much more to accomplish. He probably thinks I'm a little bit of a (jerk), but that's the approach he's got to have. He won't be affected by that, but he probably looks at me a little crazy when I say those things to him. But I went right to him when we walked out of the team meeting, and I told him, uh-uh.
On McKinney studying the film of the upcoming QB/opponent:
He studies the tape. He asks really good questions. He wants to know, first and foremost, what's the plan and how to be sound, and how can he take advantage of certain plays. He works his way through the tape in that way, and then he'll bring questions to me, and I always know there's a reason why he's asking that question because he saw something on tape. So when it becomes collaborative like that, with players, I think that's when you really get mutual respect for each other and you're working toward the same goal. In fact, (after the Jacksonville game) we talked by text message, he was on a different bus, about the next week and just with my experience being here and playing (the Lions) multiple times, and these players, I just gave him some feedback, and he was urging me, I'll say that, encouraging me to get him that tape as soon as possible. That's how he normally is.
