DETROIT LIONS DAILY UPDATE AND TRANSCRIPT OF ROD MARINELLI

NEWS The Lions completed their 14th day of training camp today. The team practiced in the morning on the outdoor fields in helmets and shorts at their

NEWS

• The Lions completed their 14th day of training camp today. The team practiced in the morning on the outdoor fields in helmets and shorts at their headquarters and training facility in Allen Park. 
• WR Devale Ellis, RB Kevin Jones and DT Shaun Rogers remain on the PUP list and did not practice today. 
• Tickets are still available for the Detroit Lions 2007 preseason home opener against the Cincinnati Bengals Thursday, August 9. The television broadcast will begin at 9 p.m. (tape delay) in blackout areas, including WKBD-TV CW 50 in Metro Detroit. Fans that 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. 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.

LIONS HEAD COACH ROD MARINELLI
On being excited about the first preseason game vs. Cincinnati: “Just the amount of work we have to get done. That is as much fun as anything. We had a really good walkthrough and long meetings yesterday, long day yesterday, really a good hitting practice and then pulled off a little bit. Now it’s just the massive amount of details we are pushing at them right now. We’ll give them a little time off, have a long meeting tonight, in the morning have a nice brisk walkthrough and then we will get ready to play and keep hammering the details.”

On if there is anybody he is more excited to watch than WR Calvin Johnson: “Our team. I want to see us play like a team. Hit adversity, hit a bump and blow it off – let’s go, next play. Run, run and move on. Learn, move on. Play fast as a team; hit as a team; do things right as a team; eliminate penalties as a team. That’s what I’m excited about; that’s what I’m really looking forward to and that’s all we’ve been pounding. We will wait and see.”

On how long the starters will play vs. Cincinnati: “Probably 10 or 12 (snaps) each, in that vicinity. Then we will get the second (string players) and third (string players) in, we are deep right now and we are really pretty healthy actually right now. I think we’ll have a chance to get everybody in pretty good.”

On which backup QB will play first: “J.T. (O’Sullivan).”

On the significance of that choice: “Just get him in and try to keep looking at him, where he’s at; giving us a better look at him right now. Then we will finish up and Dan (Orlovsky) will get his look.”

On if the starter will sit if their first drive is a long one: “We are looking more at plays, trying to get a feel. We just have to get a feel how it’s going and be smart with them. It’s kind of a feel thing; 10 to 12 (snaps), and we’ll go.”

On if certain starters like CB Stanley Wilson or S Daniel Bullocks will play longer than other starters: “Not so much Daniel (Bullocks), but I think we’ve got Keith Smith going a little bit longer, he’s had a really good camp. I’m very impressed with what he’s done. He just needs some playing time right now. Some of these guys just need to play a little bit longer, but there will be some guys that play. The first group may go (off the field) but you may see two or three guys in that group that stay in a little bit more just to keep looking at them.”

On if there is anybody he is going to hold out: “(Brian) Calhoun is out. (Teddy) Lehman is out. We are going to give (Eddie Drummond) a couple of returns. We are going to look at different people, as many guys as we can. I don’t have the list; there are a couple more guys that are not playing because of injury. We’re not holding anybody out that’s healthy. Everybody that can go will. (Brian) Calhoun has been practicing, but he’s really not taking any of the live inside runs yet. The trainers felt (we should wait) one more week.”

On how much he wants to see out of WR Calvin Johnson: “We are going to push him a good half. We want to get him going there and see how he is doing. We just have to get him into the game shape part of it. He’s missed some of that camp that’s just the running. Now you start getting in that slump where your body starts fatiguing a little bit more. We’ve got to push him through it and the key is just under pace, under tempo, and doing what this offense asks you to do under full speed.”

On the Cincinnati offense his defense will be going up against: “That’s what you want. We’ve got a great opportunity with Cincinnati, Cleveland, the Colts – those are high explosive offenses. We’ve got to go in and do what we do. That’s all I’ve talked about: just do what we do. I don’t care who we are playing, do what we do. Play our gaps, control it, power rush, hard cover 2, zone, those different things. How we fit the run, how we hit, that’s everything I want to get accomplished.”

On the importance of winning in the preseason to change the team’s attitude from last year: “It always is important, but you’ve got to remember if it is coming down to the fourth quarter it’s their (third string players) and our (third string players) playing. You want to win everything. If you play marbles I want to take all your marbles and your bag and everything you have. Your shoes and your socks and go home. I want everything you’ve got. I want everything you have when I compete with you. You are looking for that. I’m hoping we are instilling that in our (third string players). I want them, and that’s why we spend so much time at the end of practice going over (late game) situations; the Hail Marys, all of those little things. We’ve been pounding our third group with two minute (drills) because they are going to be in the game on a two minute drill at the end. That’s what we want to get better at. I want to do that, but what I don’t want to do is put a player back in that has played and try to win the game that way. We’ve got a rotation; we’re going to let it play out. I guess the best way to say this is: snap by snap great execution of Lions football. That’s what I’m really looking forward to. Then we’ll see the score.”

On when QB Dan Orlovsky will come in the game: “He should be in the beginning of the fourth (quarter) or middle of the third (quarter).”

On how he did in the family poker game during Thanksgiving: “I try for it all. They called me cheater, whatever it is, but I’m going for it all.”