Defensive line coach Jason Rebrovich

On Detroit’s offensive line:

I’m a great one. I’ve seen them before. I have been here for three years now. Their two tackles have been pretty consistent and obviously their centre. They are a big challenge for us, they really are. We have our hands full. There is no doubt. It’s one of the best offensive lines in the National Football League.

On the return of DL Devonte Wyatt:

To bring him back is huge. Just an explosive athlete. The band is the band. The guy can bend, he can move, he can make moves. He comes down from the blocks. He’s quick in the run game, on backside slides, and his presence is felt in the pass rush. You saw the Coop play go and get that fumble down there on the 3- and 4-yard line, and Devonte Wyatt’s speed and athleticism gives him an opportunity to get on that ball. What a game changing play from that young man.

About DL Rashan Gary’s game:

Rashan is going through a transition, as we all are. But when you ask for a double team or a chip or a shot that we use with tight ends, it’s a respect thing. We hope many people understand this. That’s not an excuse, that’s reality. But also, in reality, we have to make sure that we’re going to go and win those opportunities, and we’re still trying to do that.

Linebackers/running game coordinator Anthony Campanile

On LB Edgerrin Cooper breaking the deep ball in Jacksonville:

It’s just a super-athletic piece. He’s obviously a great athlete, but he did a really good job with the details, and I think if you look at that game, there’s a lot of details in the end, so the execution of doing what he did throughout the game, certainly impressive, but the ending, is something that to me is a tremendous compliment to his effort and tenacity to finish the piece the way he did. I thought it was a bloody play. It really was. Hard game to play for sure. Athletically, it takes a special athlete to do that, but he definitely had the right mindset, going in there and finishing it, trying to get the ball out.

About coaching young players:

It is just a partitioning 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 players can process it and play faster.” That’s coaching. And if you’re not doing that, then you’re not doing a good job of coaching. So for all of us, I think in our meetings, in our individual periods, whether it’s our experiences or whatever, it comes down to how you organize information so that you can put it in certain buckets, and it’s the same. either way, which we’ve already done, and that gives you more volume and, frankly, multiplicity of what you’re doing, and makes it simple for guys.

Derrick Ansley, defensive pass coordinator

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 freshman. Obviously (he was) mature enough to handle it, playing over 500 snaps last year. He’s done a really good job this transition year to Year 2. He just had some early injuries that set him back, but his mentality, his style of play, how he plays on the red line, his brand that he brings. defense, is something we certainly welcome.

On Detroit wide receivers, including Amon-Ra St. Brown:

Yes, it is a big challenge. They have a lot of different receivers that do a lot of different jobs. There are a lot of details about the package. St. Brown is a very good slot, he’s physical in the run game, he can run after the catch, he’s smart. You can tell he and Jared are definitely in sync. I’m on the page a lot at the same time. He is so competitive. You can feel it on the tape. He has a strong build, lower to the ground, so you really have to tackle him and get on his body.

On CB Keisean Nixon plays both inside and outside:

You’ve seen some of the traits when you watch tape (in the offseason). Being a really good returner, you see the sudden change, (change of direction), making people miss and you can see the movement in the corner. He just needed the opportunity to show it. He did a really good job of learning the nickel and the corner, and when he got that opp, he was consistent there.

Defensive backs coach Ryan Downard

On S Xavier McKinney, Defensive Player of the Month winner:

We didn’t talk about it in the position room. Matt said something to the team about it, and I went straight to X when he came out, just like I always do, and told him to ignore that noise. Because I don’t want them looking at this stuff right now. Of course he will. Let’s be real. He sees, he hears, this is a great honor. Wonderful. But that’s not the goal we’ve set for ourselves, it’s not the goal for himself that he’s set himself, and that sounds like a little coach talking, but I really believe that. They don’t validate who he is and he still has a lot to achieve. He probably thinks I’m being a bit of a jerk, but that’s the approach he needs to have. He won’t be affected by it, but he probably looks a little crazy at me when I tell him those things. But I went right up to him when I got out of the team meeting and said, uh-uh.

On McKinney studying film of future QB/opponent:

He studies the tape. He asks very good questions. He wants to know, first of all, what the plan is and how to make it sound and how he can take advantage of certain tracks. He goes through his tape like that, and then he’ll bring questions to me, and I always know there’s a reason he’s asking that question because he saw something on tape. So when it becomes a collaboration like that, with the players, I think that’s when you gain mutual respect for each other and work towards the same goal. Actually, (after the Jacksonville game) we talked via text, he was on another bus, about the next week and just because of my experience of being here and playing (the Lions) multiple times, and I gave these players only to him. some feedback, and he was urging me, I’ll say this, encouraging me to get him that tape as soon as possible. That’s how he normally is.