Daily Lions update and transcript of Lions HC Rod Marinelli

TODAY'S NEWS

The Lions completed their ninth day of two-a-day practice sessions today at the team's practice facility with morning and afternoon workouts. The morning session was a full-squad practice in full pads and in the afternoon, the team held a special teams practice in shells (helmets and shoulder pads).
Detroit's first round draft pick, WR Calvin Johnson, agreed to terms with the Lions and signed his contract in time for the morning practice. He received an ovation from the fans in attendance shortly after taking the field.
WR Devale Ellis, RB Kevin Jones and DT Shaun Rogers remain on the PUP list and did not practice today.Â
The Detroit Lions will hold an open practice at Ford Field on Saturday, August 4, 2007. Doors will open at 4:30 p.m. The Lions practice is free to the public - no ticket is necessary for entry. Fans can enter Ford Field at Gate A or Gate G. Practice will begin at 5 p.m. and will last until approximately 6:30 p.m. Immediately following practice, Ford Field will broadcast former Lions TE Charlie Sanders' 2007 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on the video boards. Parking will be available in the Ford Field Parking Deck on St. Antoine St. for $6.00 until 6 p.m. or until the deck is full. Autographs will not be available at the public practice.
The team will also open two more days of training camp practice sessions to the general public: Monday, August 6 and Tuesday, August 7 at the team's Headquarters and Training Facility in Allen Park. Practices at the training facility in Allen Park will be limited to the first 500 fans per session. Fans can check Detroitlions.com for more information.
Tickets are still available for the Detroit Lions 2007 preseason home opener against the Cincinnati Bengals Thursday, August 9. The preseason home opener must be sold out by the NFL-mandated deadline of 72 hours before kickoff in order to lift the local television (Metro Detroit, Lansing, Saginaw/Flint and Toledo markets) blackout.If a sellout is not reached by the deadline, the game will not air live in the blackout areas. Fans who purchase 2007 preseason individual game tickets can then purchase an equal number of regular season individual game tickets prior to the public on-sale date of Friday, August 31, 2007. To take advantage of this exclusive offer fans must call TicketMaster by phone at 248.645.6666.Â Fans can buy preseason game tickets through other outlets (in person at the Ford Field Ticket Office and TicketMaster outlets; online at Detroitlions.com and Ticketmaster.com); however, the regular season individual game offer is only available by placing TicketMaster phone orders.

Rod Marinelli
Opening Statement: "We had a good morning practice, we did. We were in pads early, made it very physical, and then the last period we took the pads off and tried to make it situational football, all mental at that last point. We introduced our goal line, 3rd-and-1, short yardage and then we finished up with the two-minute drill to try to keep them off balance a little bit and stay on the mind stuff, all the mental things that we've got to be able to do. I was pleased with that performance there. It's nice to have Calvin (Johnson) back in camp, it's great. We put Drew (Stanton) on injured reserve this morning. Now just go straight ahead."

On putting WR Calvin Johnson in with the first team: "He is really a quick study and really stays on his stuff now. We put him in the fire a little bit and let him run down. It's just two-minute drill and some of our other receivers' legs are gone. We've been down; some of our numbers have gotten down. We had a couple guys injured and we've just got to be careful and (Calvin) has nice fresh legs."

On WR Shaun McDonald: "Yeah, he is fine. Some of these guys we've just got to rest; we've got to be smart with some of their legs. Between the receivers and the defensive line they run all day, all they do is run. So we've just got to be smart with their legs."

On if they are going to add another quarterback: "We are always looking. The guys that we've got right here we are just going to keep working with."

On what putting QB Drew Stanton on injured reserve means for QB J.T. O'Sullivan: "We've just got to get both those guys (O'Sullivan and QB Dan Orlovsky) in games in the preseason and see where we're at. The thing I've felt good about from day one is with Mike (Martz) who has a great feel for that. Just a strength of his, and he really can develop quarterbacks so we are just going to go and put the energy into it and the work and it should be a great year for Drew (Stanton) also. He's got a chance to be around and learn and get healthy and it's going to work out fine."

On if Stanton will be ready physically but will not have put in the work to play: "It's going to take, we just don't know how long until he is really healthy. You've got to be smart. All of a sudden, what happens is you start keeping guys on your roster too early and you are going to get guys hurt because there aren't enough bodies out here. Then you get into the preseason games, especially those last couple, oh boy. You don't have enough numbers and you've got to put a second team on a starter back in a game, you are concerned about that. That's on my mind all the time."

On if he talked to Stanton this morning: "I talked to him briefly. I've got to spend a little more time with him today. He seems fine; he just didn't know what it all meant. We are going to sit down and explain everything to him, what it means. He's just got to do a good job. Everything happens so fast, you don't know exactly, like Calvin (Johnson) was signed. It jumped on us quick. Now the key is just communicating."

On what Stanton's injury really means: "It means that he is on injured reserve for this year. We will work with him, rehab him, keep him in the game mentally and then go forward with the other three (QBs)."

On how good WR Roy Williams and WR Calvin Johnson can be and what he expects from them: "It's just a great question. The thing is that they are very big, talented special players. When we get to some of the three- and four-wide receiver (sets), I think it's really got a chance to open up our running game right now. So they impact just by their presence sometimes on the field. We do, we have a chance to be very good. I've been excited about it all offseason. The attitude on those guys, you see how much running they do all day and the details of the running. I just feel good. We've felt good from day one. We've got some special players."

On if this will help the red zone offense: "Remember the Dallas (Cowboys) game at the end when Roy (Williams) made a couple of great plays in the end zone. Big men like that, well now you've got two guys. You create some great matchups for it."

On the fans response today: "Like I've said before, the people in this community love football. They just love football - you can sense that. There were people here at 5:30 in the morning and some camped over night. It is tremendous to have these people come in and be part of our practice. I take a lot of that time (to sign autographs) because I respect how much they like our game. I respect the people in this community and it doesn't take that much time to say thank you."

On WR Calvin Johnson's conditioning: "He is in shape. You still have (to worry) a little because of the cuts and the pads, but no, he is a conditioned athlete. He is smart, and we are fortunate to have him."

On the ideal weight for Johnson: "I couldn't tell you right now. I don't want to give you a weight. He's been lean and strong ever since we've seen him. He is strong and lean right now. He has been running on his own. He takes care of business - he just takes care of business. When you draft in that first round, to me, it's so important that it's not just the talent; it is the person. It's Ernie Sims and it's Calvin; it's Daniel Bullocks and guys like that who you can count on 100%. They are with you working, committed, and want to be really special and team guys. That's what we are looking for."

On if Johnson's holdout distracted him: "I tried not to (be distracted). I just kept in the morning and got ready for practice. It's part of the league; it's part of it. We can't control it so I'm not going to think about it."

On if Johnson said anything to him: "A nice big smile, welcome and move on."

On if he is curious to see what this team looks like in the first preseason game: "I'm excited. I want to make sure the execution (is better); that's what I'm seeing if we've have gotten better at - the details and the execution. I think I'm really going to like our tempo, the pace and the tempo."

On if the first preseason game is the real test: "My goal in this camp was obviously the skill development and the fundamentals; but execution: being on the little details and that's the thing we've been harping. That's why I took the pads off in that last period. We've got to concentrate. We can't make errors on the goal line, we can't make errors on 3rd-and-1 and we can't make errors on two-minute drill. Those are the areas we've got to get wired in on. Now we need to have good meetings tonight and have a good special teams practice this afternoon, (It) should be fun; hope you are here and we'll go from there."