Defensive coordinator Cory Undlin, offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell and special teams coordinator Brayden Coombs spoke to the media Tuesday ahead of Detroit's Week 2 contest in Green Bay against the Packers.
Here are 10 takeaways from those media sessions:
1. Undlin did not use injuries as an excuse for his defense allowing 17 fourth-quarter points in the Bears' come-from-behind victory Sunday. He said Darryl Roberts and Tony McRae competed and battled after Justin Coleman and Desmond Trufant went down with hamstring injuries. Undlin said his defense just couldn't find a way to make one more play after playing three really good quarters of football.
2. Bevell liked what he saw from Adrian Peterson after the veteran back racked up 93 rushing yards in his Lions debut. Bevell said he was strong, explosive and showed terrific speed, patience and vision. Peterson certainly had the hot hand among Detroit's three top backs (Kerryon Johnson & D’Andre Swift) against the Bears. Bevell said they'll continue to rotate all three backs into the game.
3. Jack Fox averaged 49.3 yards per punt, which was also his net average in a terrific first game as Detroit's punter. Coombs said Fox was nervous before the game, but settled down after a great first punt. Doing it in practice is much different than live in a game, and Fox had a good debut vs. the Bears after winning the job in a closely contested camp battle.
4. When asked about rookie cornerback Jeff Okudah and his potential return this week after missing the season opener with a hamstring injury, Undlin was pretty noncommittal. He didn't rule a return out though, calling it a "big week" for the first-round pick.
5. It was certainly different not having fans at Ford Field. Bevell said one consequence of all that crowd noise being taken out of the building is more communication can be heard both on the field between the two units and even coming from the sideline to the players. Bevell said it was a good learning experience. He knows how important it will be to change calls and hand signals each week because all that stuff is much easier to hear on both sides of the ball in an empty stadium.
6. How do you go about trying to stop quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the Packers?
It certainly won't be easy, especially after the Week 1 Rodgers had, throwing four touchdown passes in a win against the Vikings. Undlin said they have to get pressure on Rodgers, but to do that they have to cover well early in routes, or Rodgers will just get the ball out of his hands quick before the rush can get there.
7. Jamal Agnew nearly had a kickoff return touchdown last week, but he was tripped up by a shoe-string tackle. Coombs said it can be hard sometimes for a return man who's had success in the league to trust a different scheme right away, but they saw some early seams in the return game. His units close to breaking a big one.
8. Rookie wide receiver Quintez Cephus had a big task of trying to fill in for Kenny Golladay, who missed last week's game with a hamstring injury. Cephus did some good things, but he's also got some things he needs to work on. Bevell said he was proud of the way the rookie played (three catches for 43 yards). Cephus was in the right place at the right time most of the game.
9. Undlin seemed to lament the fact that his guys let two potential interceptions bounce off their hands and they weren't able to jump on Mitchell Trubisky's fumble late in the third period. Undlin said turnovers are the most critical statistic in the game. The Bears got one and his defense didn't. He said they have to be better on that front starting this week.
10. Bevell talked about two plays in particular that he said were bad for his offense. The first was on the third to last Lions possession when quarterback Matthew Stafford took a sack on a second-down play from the Bears' 33-yard line back to 42-yard line. It made the field-goal attempt by Matt Prater two plays later longer, and Prater missed the 55-yarder with a chance to really put the Bears in a tough spot on the score board and time clock. The other play was the Stafford interception on the penultimate possession.
