Rod Marinelli is in his third season as head coach of the Detroit Lions.
On Wednesday, Detroit Lions head coach Rod Marinelli spoke to members of the Houston media via conference call.
Detroit Lions head coach Rod Marinelli
(on the WR Roy Williams trade) "Well, we thought it was really a win-win for both parties, with (WR) Roy (Williams) and for us. To pick up a first, a third, and a six, turned to fifth, we thought it was a great deal. And it's a great deal for Roy, being obviously from Texas. So, it was a win-win and it was the one area we felt we had some depth at receiver. I think we helped ourselves in the future, and I don't think we hurt ourselves too bad. Roy's a great football player, obviously."
(on losing QB Jon Kitna for the season) "Well, (QB) Dan (Orlovsky) has a chance. He's a good, young player. He had a solid outing. He didn't turn it over, but we've got to clean some things up with him. He's kind of a gym rat. He really likes football, and he's around it and he's been preparing now for quite a while, for four years to get this opportunity."
{QUOTE}(on what it is like to go to Detroit and try to do the same thing he did with the Buccaneers) "The word is consistent. I understand that. You've just got to be consistent and stay the course and nothing affects you. You just keep moving forward and keep practicing football and doing things right."
(on how you turn around the negativity that persists outside for a team like the Lions that has struggled for a while) "I think the key, these pity parties that everybody wants for you, I think one of the key things is keeping it out of this building. It starts with me being consistent and positive, upbeat and showing great belief in this team and then you've just got to keep drafting and keep them in pads and keep working on fundamentals. Everything I've ever been around a turn-over program is that: stay the course and be consistent."
(on how much he learned from Tony Dungy) "A lot. He's a great football coach. What we did there is the same thing that we're trying to do here and they have done in Chicago and down in Kansas and Mike Tomlin in Pittsburgh. It's just you stay the course. We have certain values and certain beliefs that I won't change how we do business, how we prepare and how we teach. You just find guys that fit that mold and just go straight ahead."
(on QB Dan Orlovsky) "He's (QB Dan Orlovsky) really a bright guy, very, very intelligent. He's kind of like a gym rat, always around here. He's an upbeat guy. He's a big man, a big guy. He's got a pretty quick arm, decent mobility, but he's got a pretty good gun to him. He studies a lot. I think he's got a nice toughness to him, and we've got the other young kid with (QB) Drew Stanton."
(on how tough it is to change quarterbacks in midseason) "Well, it's hard anytime a starter goes down, but this part of this league is all about being resilient. To me, it's the people that can stay resilient, put things behind them immediately and then move on to the next task because nobody in this league feels sorry for anybody. So, you just move on."
(on if he expects QB Dan Orlovsky to be 100 percent better this next week) "I think when you do something the first time and then you watch it, I think you make great strides the second time you're out. That's usually the norm. So, the way he (QB Dan Orlovsky) works out things and prepares, I'm expecting him to make a good step."
(on how much will he miss WR Roy Williams this year) "(WR) Roy's (Williams) a great player. Nobody gives up a first and a third but for a guy like that. That's why I think it's a win-win for both sides. Roy's a dynamite football player. All of you will see that when he's down in Dallas. It hurts you, no doubt about it, but if there was one area that we had some depth and strength, I thought it was the receiving core."
(on if WR Roy Williams was a leader for the younger guys like WR Calvin Johnson) "One thing (WR) Roy (Williams) does is he comes out and works every day. I think guys would have a chance to see his work ethic and his passion. So, that rubbed off on these other young guys."
(on some of the background on the trade) "Our GM (Martin Mayhey) did most of it, but we weren't shopping. They had called us. I don't know if I'm getting it all right, I hate to tell you something that I'm not perfectly clear on, but then they just started talking and made a last minute deal. It kind of went on from Monday night, sometime Monday afternoon all the way to the deadline."
(on WR Roy Williams not being a guy that the Lions were looking to move) "No, (General Manager) Martin (Mayhey) had talked to them and he was willing to listen to anybody who had anything to offer and it was a great deal for both sides."
(on what he's seen from QB Matt Schaub) "I remember him (QB Matt Schaub) from when he was down in Atlanta for a little bit too. I think he is really a heck of a quarterback. He's smart. He gets the ball out on time I think. He steps up in the pocket as well. I think some of those guys, those good tough veteran guys, know how to bide their own time. He does a great job of that. He looks like he's the real deal there for them."
(on how he convinces his team that they can win) "You just stay consistent as a coach. The worst thing you would want to do is go up and down. If something good happens you relate it, if something bad happens you go on a taint. I think players need to come into an environment where it's consistent; it's the same. There's a belief of what you're doing and how you're doing things and you stay firm to that. Then I think a team believes and then it's about practicing football and just keep coming out and doing the same thing. Try to string as many good practices together as you can. One thing, we're a very good practicing team. We just have to take it all to the game."
(on if the losses have taken a toll on him) "No."
(on if anything changes with trying to get WR Calvin Johnson involved without WR Roy Williams there) "Well, both of those guys have obviously been big targets for us. But, no, he's our go-to guy, no doubt about that. But I think we have some other good receivers with (WR Mike) Furrey and Mac (WR Shaun McDonald). But he's been a heck of a big-time threat down the field for us. So, we have to keep going to him, we have to run the ball a little bit and hopefully that will work out for us."
(on his overall impression of the Texans and them being better than a 1-4 football team) "Oh, no question. I'm telling you, that's a good football team. Number 80 (WR Andre Johnson) is, man he's lights out. And I really like that young left tackle, (Duane) Brown, 76. Boy is he athletic and I know he fits that system. He comes off the ball really well. It's so well coached. (Assistant head coach/offense) Alex Gibbs is the best in the world on his own scheme and those things. They know what they are doing; they don't turn people loose. They got a heck of a good, tough quarterback. And then you look over on defense with 90 (DE Mario Williams) and 91 (DT Amobi Okoye) and 99 (DT Travis Johnson) in there. 98 (DE Anthony Weaver) and 59 (LB DeMeco Ryans). Those are really good young football players playing really hard. They have, to me, a great looking future ahead of them and they're playing extremely well. They line up and play well and hard every week."
(on how much CB Dunta Robinson could help a defense) "No question. Your best players get back into the lineup and I think it just solidifies everything you do. Especially as a coordinator, when you make your calls and you've got some veterans in there, I think it's a big plus."
(on what he's seen of RB Steve Slaton that's made him effective) "You know, one, you defend that offense, that zone scheme. You can see it's repped and repped and repped over and over and over and over. They know exactly what they're doing, and I think that's a comfort zone for a back because he knows right now where his reads are and where his cuts are. But what he does to me, he hits it downfield, boy. There's not a lot of dancing in the hole. He makes a step, a plant, and he gets going north and south. He runs hard and that's a good young back."
