BENGALS HEAD COACH MARVIN LEWIS
Opening statement:"Offensively, for our own guys, I'm pleased. Our number one goal is make sure we take care of the football, and I thought our quarterbacks did a great job of that today. One ball that got away it got called down, you know, we did a nice job of taking care of the ball. That's important to us all year. Our defense obviously did a good job when they got down in the red zone, stopping them and getting off the field and holding them to a field goal. A lot of positives today, everybody got to play, so again we got into some other situations again. (AJ) McCarron got an opportunity to operate inside of two minutes again, so those are good things for us as we go in the future."
On the importance of rookie WR Tyler Boyd having solid back-to-back games:"Well, he understands how to play football and does a good job. He's taking advantage of the opportunity he gets."
On OT Jake Fisher's injury:"He has a sprained ankle."
On injuries so far this year:"It's part of playing football. I think every year you have some of those, but we'll be alright. We just have to keep playing. Somebody's got to step up and play and that's part of it."
On what Lions WR Marvin Jones brings to Detroit"I can't—they signed him. He was a good player for us and did a nice job when he was with us."
On what he said to Jones before the game:"I watched Marvin grow up, so I'm proud of him."
On RB Rex Burkhead's game:"He didn't get an opportunity to play last week and we expected him to play last week, and then he comes up a little bit lame the day of the game, so it was good to get him his first action of the preseason. You know, he hasn't had many opportunities to carry the ball and I think he did a great job tonight doing that."
On S Derron Smith's progression:"He had an opportunity last week and didn't make the play on the ball. This week he converted, which was good. That's what he's got to keep doing. These young guys, we're expecting a lot out of them. They just have to keep rising up."
On if he's concerned with K Mike Nugent's play:"No, I'm not."
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BENGALS QB AJ McCARRON
On not sliding in a preseason game:"I wanted to run him over, really. I saw him and I realized I was bigger, from the way it looked, so I felt like I could lower my shoulder and get the first down. I thought I got it, but I guess I was short."
On WR Tyler Boyd being able to contribute immediately:"Yeah, awesome player, does an awesome job of being in the right place, knowing what to do and how to do it and you can't say enough good things about 'T.B.' I mean, he's a workhorse and he listens to everything. If I have anything to say he's always all ears and doesn't question it. He's awesome, can't say enough good things about him."
On the overall performance of the team tonight:"I thought the defense came up with some definitely big stops, big plays with Derron's (Smith) pick-six, Floyd (Raven) on his pick. Defense definitely helped us out a ton. I feel like everybody did their part and overall good team win. But as an offense we always know, like I said, we always have got to get better and you want to try to play to perfection. It's tough because that's the game, but we're going to keep pushing to try and achieve that."
BENGALS RB REX BURKHEAD
On the update of his shoulder:"Yeah, it should be fine. We'll find out more tomorrow, but it doesn't seem to be anything big."
On whether or not that was going to be his last series:"Yeah, I think that was going to be the last series I was in."
On if he hurt his shoulder on the last carry he had:"Yes."
On if he was lobbying to stay in the game after his injury:"I was trying to figure out what it was. It just felt weird, so yeah."
On his near fumble:"You know, I was pretty confident because I felt the guy kind of touch me when I was going down, so I kind of knew, but you never know. You don't want to leave it in the officials' hands and you don't want any excuses, so just hold onto the ball."
On getting the win on the road:"Yeah, it was a good game for us. I think we took major strides from week one of the preseason to this week. Hopefully we can make even more strides next week. We have a great team, talent everywhere. A lot of young guys stepped up tonight and hopefully we keep going in the right direction."
BENGALS T ANDREW WHITWORTH
On multiple offensive linemen being injured:"I almost started triple taping. I've never taped in my entire career, but the way these tackles are going down, I'm going to have to go out in a cast or something next week. But no, it's part of football. The reality is, I was telling one of the young guys that the other day. We've been fortunate that we've been really healthy the last couple of years and that's not usually the norm. I mean, most of the teams in the league fight injuries all year. So, you know, maybe it's a good thing they're happening now though, instead of later."
On how healthy he feels:"Yeah, I was good. I acknowledge I'm one of the old fellas, so I realize that. So any chance I get to get out and feel good, I'm happy about it. So yeah, I felt good and excited to get out with the team and go."
BENGALS RB JEREMY HILL
On if he approached the preseason intending to have a new mindset: "No, it's not a new mindset. I have the same mindset, but I'm just working. I think for me, it's just to continue to go out there and repetition. Just getting better every time I step out on the field and just helping my teammates. Just being a leader on this team. So, out there just working, not having any distractions, just working. That's how it is."
On if he set specific goals for himself this preseason: "No, not really. I really don't try to put numbers or caps or try to put a ceiling to where I could go. I just want to go out there and just play to the best of my ability and just work, and build chemistry with our offensive line and kind of see how those guys are seeing things. Just kind of make everything click. I think for me that's the only goal I really have, just trying to get chemistry and work hard."
On if he'll come up with a new touchdown dance this season: "I don't know what I'm having for breakfast tomorrow, so I don't know, we'll see."
On T Eric Winston stepping up due to recent injuries: "It's great we have (Eric) Winston. I've played a lot with Winston since my rookie year. I'm sure he can step in there and just do what he's accustomed to doing. That's a great thing about playing on a team like this, you got so much depth, so many guys with experience, so Winston will step right up and we won't miss a beat."
BENGALS DT DOMATA PEKO
On the progression of this year's team coming off last year's postseason loss to Pittsburgh:"We have a couple new faces here, so that's always good. We added a couple guys defensively, and we just got one more year of experience. That's going to take us over the hump, man. To be able to have guys that are experienced, some talented veterans and young talented rookies coming in to help push us over that hump."
On the potential the Bengals defense has of being the best in the NFL:"I think so. That's what we try to do, that's what we try to be. That's one of our goals coming into the year. Try to be the number one defense. With the players that we have and the coaches that we have, I believe we can do it."
On getting more snaps this week as opposed to last week:"I think we needed a long drive. Last week we were just so quick, three-and-out, bam. But now we had a longer drive against a great quarterback in (Matthew) Stafford. You know, they had us going for a little bit there, but once we got to the red zone we put our feet in the ground and we held our ground there and held them to three points. They had three points for the majority of the game pretty much, so defensively I think we just have to look at the tape, look at what we can improve on because it's so early in the year. We have plenty to improve on."
LIONS HEAD COACH JIM CALDWELL
On the level of concern for the run game: "At this stage of preseason, you're concerned about everything. It's a work in progress. You've got a lot of different groups playing, different people. We were just sloppy. I'm more concerned with the sloppiness than anything else, penalties, turnovers. You take those out and you've got a chance to at least hang in there and get some things going. But those stalled drives for you end drives, that kind of thing. Wasn't real clean, so we've got some work to do."
On if the defensive line produced enough pressure:"I think any time that you're playing against a guy that can get the ball out against you at a reasonable rate against you and those kind of things, you have to take a look at it and see. I don't think there was a situation where we were holding the ball back there a long time or anything of that nature. Maybe a couple times, but if you don't get them on the ground enough, it could make for a long day. But I think across the board, I don't think we did a lot of things well. I don't think we tackled well, I don't think we ran the ball well, I don't think we stopped the run very well. So, we got work to do."
On having optimism that the run game will pick up: "It just takes work. It's just like anything else, you just got to keep working at it and sometimes you got to be just a little bit more patient. We got work to do, but we'll get it there."
On the chemistry between QB Matthew Stafford and WR Marvin Jones: "I think that he's gotten into a pretty good rhythm with him where he's got a feel for him. They made a couple pretty nice throws along the sideline, Marvin made a couple nice catches. Yeah, I think it's coming, I think that's coming. He's got a feel for some of the other guys as well. He and Anquan (Boldin) are still working through things, and I just think Marvin's been doing a good job, so he's getting better."
On QB Dan Orlovsky's performance: "I don't think anybody played particularly well, to be honest with you. Obviously, he had a miscue there that we certainly would like to have back. Everybody's got to get better."
On Orlovsky throwing two pick-sixes in the preseason: "Well, I'm concerned about everything. Like I mentioned before, there's not anything that I'm satisfied with. We lump all of those in there together, everything needs work."
On if he's disappointed when the home crowd boos a player: "I'm involved in the game, I'm not certain what you're referring to or anything of that nature. When you don't play well, obviously you're going to get some criticism. It's our job to play well, not our job to worry about anything other than that."
On RB Stevan Ridley's position in the running back rotation as a veteran: "We have our reasons as we look at it. With guys, we put them in different spots and rotate guys around and give them different looks. Next week he may be somewhere else, so we just kind of juggle and make sure we get a fair assessment of everyone."
On RB Dwayne Washington's performance: "It's hard for me to tell you, I'll look at the film and get a sense and get an understanding. I know he did some pretty good things. We didn't put him back there in the return game much because we wanted to look at some of the other guys, you saw the rotation that we had going. That's one of the things I think you have to do in preseason, you have to be able to evaluate. A lot of evaluating goes on out there, we'll take a look at some of these young guys and see how they function. You put guys in different spots and different situations and make sure that here, in the next couple weeks or so, that we're able to make a real good decision. At least a sound decision for us. We'll just kind of keep doing that as the weeks go by."
On his concern for the performance the of special teams units this preseason: "I'll lump that in with everything else. There's concern, obviously when you aren't operating as well as you can, you're capable. So, you're going to have to work at it. Couple things that are just things that shouldn't happen, so we've got to make sure we get those corrected."
On if Washington's performance will earn him more preseason playing time: "We have a plan in place. We kind of take a look and reevaluate after every week, then we'll adjust it and readjust it. He's helping himself that's for sure. He's not hurting himself. Any time that you do what he's been able to do, he's certainly trending in the right direction."
On when TE Eric Ebron will return: "He's getting better."
LIONS QB MATTHEW STAFFORD
On his chemistry with WR Marvin Jones:"Yeah, I thought Marvin did a nice job. Golden (Tate) did a nice job, Anquan (Boldin) had a catch early, it was good. Still things to correct obviously throughout the game, and also even when we were in there. So, got to find ways to play better, just go back to work, you know? I mean, it's early but we play real football in whatever it is, two and a half weeks, something like that, so got to get it going."
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On how much better the pocket protection looked in this game:"It was good. You know, I think that's a really good rush. They've got some Pro Bowlers, some talented players up front. Not to say we were perfect, myself included, but I thought our guys battled and did a decent job up front."
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On if there is a concern about not being able to run the ball consistently: "You know, I think it's too early. We've got to put the work, you know, keep putting the work in. That's what it boils down to. Just showing up to practice with the attitude to make sure we can run the football, make sure we can throw it, do whatever we want on offense. Just got to continue to have that and keep working."
On what gives him confidence that the run game will improve:"Just the people we have in the room. You know, we've got talented offensive linemen, we have talented tight ends, running backs. We've got the guys to do it, just got to hone in on little things and make sure our technique is great. And then, rushing the football is obviously great at the end of games. Got to get some leads and not be playing from behind."
LIONS WR MARVIN JONES
On what has validated his decision to join the Lions:"It was something that was very intriguing to me. Obviously, they showed a lot of interest and that was good."
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On what experiences so far in Detroit have validated his decision:"I mean, I love it here. Obviously, the family is settled in. It's a great place and I'm having fun so far."
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On if there was anything special about playing his former team:"It was just fun to see them. Like you said, it is preseason, probably had it been the regular season it would have probably meant more just with the extensive playing time, but it was good to see them and good to play against them. We've been banging it out since I came in in 2012, so it was good to see those guys."
On the chemistry with QB Matthew Stafford: "It's good, you know, us as wide receivers we've had a lot of repetition with the quarterbacks, so it's been good. You know, obviously it's still a process and there's still a lot more in there, a long way to go, but it's going in the right direction. Between the receivers and quarterbacks, that's what we do. We go out there and we see everything through the same eyes, in the film room and stuff like that, and you know it translates."
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On if he senses the magnitude of potential on offense for this season:"Definitely. Like I said from the beginning, the potential is out of this world for this offense and the players that we have. We have so many players that can do different things, do the same things and just add that element that we need to drive down the field, to make those big plays and be successful. So yeah, I definitely still see that and we just have to capitalize on all of our opportunities in all phases and stuff like that and we'll be good."
LIONS LB KYLE VAN NOY
On how the first-team defense performed tonight:"We have some work to do. We're not happy with our performance today, and we have a lot of work to do next week. I think we're going to come out and prepare as hard as we can as a group and get together and focus in and fix what we need to fix and play hard."
On tightening up the run defense:"Yeah, I mean, it's a little bit of everything. It's reps, it's practices, it's knowing what you're doing and executing it. When live bullets are flying, you know, you've got to know your job and you've got to do it to the best of your ability. Tonight, we didn't do that, and we're going to correct those things and we're going to come out as a group next week and we're going to play hard."
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On if he is his own toughest critic when it comes to evaluating his performance:"Oh, for sure. I mean, I wouldn't be here, where I'm at, if that was the case. I mean, I'm always going to be hard on myself and I always want to play better. I want to play better as a group and I'm all about the team, and I want to win."
LIONS RB THEO RIDDICK
On his spin move to pick up a first down in the first half:"Just got jammed up in the middle and I tried to find an escape route on the outside with the best key, so I just tried to turn it into a positive play."
On how well the first-team offense moved the ball in the first series:"I thought we moved the ball well. It was just penalties that kind of hurt us, so we just have to be more detail-oriented."
On what changes need to be made to the running game:"Just detail. If we know all of our assignments and just tighten some things up, we'll be fine."
On if he has confidence running in between the tackles:"Yeah, I believe so, and that's why they're trying to give me the opportunity to do so."
On the run game as a whole:"I mean, you saw some glimpse today. I think our line did overall well. Again, we just have to hone in on a few things and we'll be OK."
LIONS RB DWAYNE WASHINGTON
On his touchdown run in the fourth quarter:"I just gave it all I got. It was the end of the game, but I kind of saw that the defense was fatigued, so we kind of took over our run game from there and it was a touchdown."
On the importance of making the most of his opportunities:"It's very important. I have my role, which is running back, so for me it's trust issues into carrying the ball and getting positive yards. I just have to run the ball and just give it all I got."
On making his case to make the 53-man roster:"I'm not too worried about that. Like I said, I'm just taking it one day at a time and just doing what I can do to help the team."
On his comfort level with the offense and his role through two preseason games:"Yeah, I would just say it's more of me being in my comfort zone, which will just have me slow the game down and then just carry everything on from there."
On if he feels like the game is slowing down a little bit:"Yeah, pretty much."
