Transcript of Lions Head Coach Rod Marinelli Interview from Practice!

Hondo: Goz just said,  “I’m learning but I just want to put the pads on.” You’re surrounding yourself with little Marinelli’s. (Laughter from Hondo

Hondo: Goz just said,  “I’m learning but I just want to put the pads on.” You’re surrounding yourself with little Marinelli’s. (Laughter from Hondo and Marinelli)

Marinelli: Oh no question, they’re physical, but the thing is, we just have to constantly learn what we can get done here. We can stress our system, learn how to practice without pads and the fundamentals and just how to meet. But, he is going to be a very aggressive, very explosive player, it’s fun being around him.

Hondo:  As you know, I recently reported that you have been smiling a lot this year, you got your speed that you are looking for. Is that a fair assessment? I don’t think your expectations are any less but you are more happier with what’s around you.

Marinelli: I really am, but again, once you get the pads on all those things that seperates but our speed, it’s noticeable right now. It’s very noticeable and really we’re not practicing with Ernie right now and see Red and a couple of the other guys Daniel, all three of those guys got great speed too. So it will be fun. But I think when you know what you’re doing and it’s simplified a little bit for you, you can really fly.

Reporter: Roy wasn’t here last week, he said he has a lot of problems, he missed his flight but I know he’s voluntarily been down this road before but you stuck by him, not trading him, he’s an important part of your team, you want to be a leader, what does that mean to you?

Marinelli: Means it’s not mandatory. It’s voluntary.

Reporter: That’s just one of those lines.

Marinelli: That’s ok.

Reporter: Calvin and Tatum are here as well…

Marinelli: I know right where they are at. I know where they are at.

Reporter: They are not rehabbing or something.

Marinelli: No. It’s personal.

Reporter: It’s personal.

Reporter: I think it’s personal.

Marinelli: Well I would think so. It is with me.

Reporter: You don’t have to respond. That’s the reason for asking. He’s just an easy routine leader, which day you book a flight, which day your schedule is. When know when it is. Like I said, you don’t have to respond.

Reporter: I was curious about the drill here, 1 in 5, right below us, it didn’t seem like everybody took reps. Like Shaun Cody got in there a little bit, I didn’t see Ikaika.

Marinelli: Ikaika has a pull.

Reporter: Oh, he has a pull..?

Marinelli: Yes

Reporter: What’s up with Calhoun?

Marinelli: Hamstring

Reporter: Is that what he had before?

Marinelli: No it was a knee. Or earlier, yeah hamstring in our winter conditioning, he pulled a hamstring.

Reporter: Is it serious?

Marinelli: No, it just flared up. The last thing you want to do at the end of the OTA’s is re-pull it. And for the next five weeks so you just got to be smart with it.

Reporter: Redding and Sims checkups were June 1st and they didn’t get cleared.

Marinelli: They’re close, they’re getting all the individual. I just want no shoulder to shoulder contact with those guys right now. They’re getting all the individual, all the medium work, all those things. I just want to make sure they are totally cleared and ready to go. The worst thing to do is you know were going fast and you, (knocks reporter’s mic out of her hand) oh I’m sorry, you go nothing to protect your shoulder. Were working so hard all the time, protect shoulders you know. Then all of a suddenone guy trips and lands on his shoulder and then they’re set back.

Hondo: Here’s a question about who’s here, (Marnelli says good) talk about who is impressing you, what rookie’s are getting your eye? You can’t tell without pads, but maybe speaking about work ethic or technique?

 Marinelli: The rookie is the runner. (Kevin Smith) No pads, so you have to understand. But the one thing I have said before and he showed that in college as a brilliant break tackler. He’s a big man. He’s a very strong man. He really presses a hole fast. He doesn’t dance a lot, makes that cut then boom he’s up into it and he presses again and goes. He’s very accustomed to the system, which is good. And the thing is, you’re hoping that you continue to see that in pads, the guy can break tackles. Lots of times it’s that last guy on the line of scrimmage that has to come down and make that hit. And those can be arm tackles. He’s been good breaking arm tackles.

Reporter: Is he ready to push Tatum?

Marinelli: I can’t say that because this is like I was saying, you’re stressing the system and teaching and what it’s going to come down to all of a sudden is in pads. And you know the duration of camp, the learning, the volume of learning. Pick up a blitzer and all the different scans of protection going back from a safety to a sam, there’s a lot into that and then just the detail of how to pass block a guy.

Reporter: That’s a step up from Central Florida, the NFC central.

Marinelli: No question, no question, no doubt, But the one thing when you’re a runner, those instincts will be there, I believe in that. There is all those suttle things to help and what.

Reporter: How is Tatum? How is Tatum as a blocker? He’s ok with that?

Marinelli: Oh yeah. They’re all pretty good. They all have the chance to be a good blocker, they’re all going to do fine. Just got to get the work in.

Hondo: During the 5 on 1 drills, Colletto was screaming, get up to the line, I want more reps now, don’t quit taking your time. He just started calling out cadence, talk about that because that’s Marinelli-ish.

Marinelli: It’s really just that we want a very quick whistle on it. We get about three steps and then we break off so it’s just, it’s just, get off and sets, that’s all it is. That’s all we’re trying to do, that’s all you can really do right now. But it’s the quickness of that line and get out of a stance and get in a good position and the rusher starts to get into position then we blow it off. I want as many reps boy, we want to squeeze as many repitions in a workday as you can.

Reporter: Gosder seems, I mean I know, his strengths rub blocking but it seems like he still needs a lot of work as blocking.

Marinelli: It’s one it’s all of a sudden you can open up to quick cause there’s more speed coming off that edge than you’ve seen. Once those little hips open up, you’ve got problems back inside. It’s just sets and you just got to do this stuff just a million times. Sets and sets and sets and sets and sets.

Reporter: Did you wonder if Matt made up his mind, it’s like baseball, just throw a curveball?

Marinelli: Exactly, I mean you can’t guess. It’s the same with the guy on the other side of the ball. When you start getting, wow I think it’s going to be a pass then smash, he power hits you in the ear. You just have to read your keys, just like they do, you have to work like I’ve talked to you guys about, the issue is us. And so you can’t worry about that other guy, you got to worry about your set, how quick you set, and how a defender gets up to feel with his keys. You can’t worry about what’s coming. You cannot worry about what they do. You worry about what you do. Concern yourself, the issue is us and how we approach the game. Then you’re going to play fast, once you kind of anticipate what’s going on, it slows you down because there’s thinking involved and it hurts your reaction time. You want to build instincts constantly. Let your instincts guide you to the right place at the right time. Your instincts will guide you and that’s what practice is, repetition. Over and over and over doing it. I want to build their instincts.

Reporter: They were kind of debating amongst themselves how many of each position you’ll keep, and I know injuries will play a role…

Marinelli: You mean at the very end?

Reporter: No, I mean D-Linemen, ten, you know, four backs, including the full backs, for five, like have you had more problems with that this year just because you actually have a little bit more numbers.

Marinelli: It seems like we do. I think, well you know how that goes in camp, all of a sudden, you know sometimes you got a guy that’s a heck of a player and you know “hey we’ve got to hang on to him” and sometimes you may go heavy at a position. But in the line position when you have good linemen, you know they’re just so hard to get on both sides, but every time you keep a guy here, you’re affecting your special teams, and that’s where all the numbers go and you have to let it work out. The thing that’s tough with this year is that were going into camp with 80 and if you get a PUP (Physically Unable to Perform) into that thing…

Reporter: …everybody counts as part of the 80.

Marinelli: Yes.

Reporter: I was just going to ask you, are you at all worried that maybe the veterans might have to be taking extra reps, an extra rep or two in camp or are you going to structure things differently because of the limited roster?

Marinelli: I’m going to keep it as I’ve had it but with my antenna’s up. I’ve got to see it because I like to go in pads in the morning for sure, and they responded very well, and helmets in the afternoon, so I’d like to continue that if the rewards are earned. But then I also have to anticipate how many more reps these guys are going to take, that’s eight less bodies, but I don’t anticipate…

Reporter: …one more per group basically?

Marinelli Yeah, which is a lot and all of a sudden a sprained ankle or one sore hamstring and now somebody’s doing double-time which now starts breaking him down, so I’ve got to be smart. I’m aware of it, very conscious of it, and…

Reporter: So are you going to do back to back two-a-days?

Marinelli: We’ll I’m going to keep going, but I’ll be cautious, that is, maybe taking a few reps off here, or a few reps in practice, not the day. No, I’m not doing that.

Reporter: Some teams are…

Marinelli: Yea good luck. Have fun, but I’m going to have my fun. But you know what I’m saying, where I’ll be conscious I think is if your numbers are starting to get down and you have a fifteen minute period, you might turn it to seven minutes, so I’m making sure no one gets too many turns. Now you don’t put as many reps in the period, and now add the reps in the afternoon, and no pads, and then add a walk through, so the things that we didn’t get in that fifteen minute period, and you took seven and a half minutes, then you take the seven and a half minutes and repeat the looks and get it through a walk through. So those are the things I’m constantly thinking of, and where you get the legs knocked off is the kicking game, so you got to start them man.

Reporter: Any chance any of those guys start on pup, for that reason? Or don’t start there for that reason. I know you’d like to be cautious with the Redding or MacDonald or the Campbell…

Marinelli: Well we have to wait and see how it all comes out, but I don’t foresee too many pups, as of right now, you know, so I think we’ll get a chance to be maybe 78 guys ready to roll, I believe.

Reporter: Just maybe not Jones, maybe not Campbell?

Marinelli: Yeah, those are just things that you just, Daniel and Campbell, you just got to see how it all keeps. How it all works out towards the end, they’re both progressing, pretty dog gone well right now. But we’ve just to be smart.

Reporter: Would there be any value to maybe some creative management of the 80 man. Well this is going to sound crazy but it is believe me, but in other words, you might sign a kicker for a week, first week camp, to give Jason a break, then have a fourth quarter back for the next two weeks when the quarterback breaks are getting tried, you understand what I’m saying?

Marinelli: Oh no question.

Reporter: Just tell the kids, well you’re here for two weeks, don’t get your hopes up.

Marinelli: Well the first thing we did was instead of bringing two kickers in, we brought one, and we’ve made him…

Reporter: Double duty?

Marinelli: Double duty, and he’s doing pretty good. He’s a guy whose done some of it so he’s saved us a spot, right there, that’s number one.

Hondo: And he gets a tape like you’ve talked about?

Marinelli: Yes and he actually is really working in here without real pressure and all that stuff. But he’s a good punter and he’s got a great leg as a kicker and a kickoff guy. You know he’s got a little Jim Thorpe to him.

Reporter: Play for the Giants…?

Marinelli: (laughing) But that’s one way we save a spot, but like you said we may have to go with three quarterbacks in there. We’ll have to look at that through camp and just try to build a number for the rest of the team.

Reporter: You have someone like a Randall El or the kid from Baltimore who won the Heisman to play a couple spots for you?

Marinelli: And that’s what…

Reporter: What about Reggie Ball?

Marinelli: Yeah but so can Caleb. He’s a safety and a line backer so we got a guy who can play two spots. John Bradley, he’s got position flexibility, he could come back over on defense to help us. Sometime maybe, even in a preseason game, some of those things, so you kind of look at that whole scenario as we get ready to go.

Reporter: Would you be in favor of three preseason games and 17 in the regular season?

Marinelli: I think that would be great.

Reporter: No, seriously?

Marinelli: No, yeah, it would be in terms of just doing what we got to do, that would be fun.

Hondo: You’re a teacher at heart and a lot of fans know you’re going more to the zone scheme, so if you were simplifying it like teachers do and explain it to a fan what the zone is, how would you describe zone scheme blocking?

Marinelli: You got two guys going through a zone right here, you got two blockers coming through a zone, and if that guys in your zone, you put your hat on him and take him. And nothing shows to the next guy in the zone, he’s got that zone here, and he comes to the next level and drives. If this guy on the outside penetrates inside, this guy picks him up through the zone and now this guy goes to the next level, so you just, whatever shows, there (display with hands) move them in, move them in with that one. So you just work your zones, but it looks simple, it looks like oh yeah, it’s just hard to do.

Reporter: Is the idea to…

Marinelli: To get you off the ball, defensively

Reporter: Yeah cause they get up and now you can really, if your man is blocking a guy than that means I’ve got him, and I’ve got to block him and then when stuns inside. I got to come down and I got to take him. So you’re more controlled with your steps, can you see that? You have to be a little bit more balanced as your coming out, where in zone you can just take off for that outside number cause you know you got help inside, and he goes inside, WHAM, you go right to the backer.

Reporter: You got to make, I mean it really relies on a lot of quick decisions both by the lineman and by the backer?

Marinelli: And hopefully the backfields got the instincts, but those linemen, if the more you do it, and do it, and do it, and do it, and repping, now your instincts will go BAM, so you shouldn’t think, you should just…your instincts are driven to get into the right place at the right time. Just going and now you should see a really fine takeoff upfront, it’s like a defense-like takeoff, that’s what I love, both sides of the ball coming off the rock. And so that’s the value in it and now you get guys that are lean, upfront, and boy they got great feet and can come to the next level. We’re a lean team right now, I mean we’re a very lean team.

Hondo: I heard your comment about, “Oh why is that guy mad at me? Why is he losing weight?”

Marinelli: Oh I’m just, I’m ah…

Hondo: I know, but I mean is that what you really mean when you got guys losing weight, they’re in good shape…?

Marinelli: Oh I want them to learn. I want them thin, lean, fast, you know explosive guys that can run all day.

Hondo: Like me and Nick?

Marinelli: Oh yeah (laughing)

Reporter: On that note, if you could talk about Mr. Leaness upfront, could you explain that to me?

Reporter: I mean is the line better suited then for what you’re hoping to do?

Marinelli: Our o-line, yeah I think it’s going to fit us pretty well. You know we did some of it last year too so it’s good caring. Dean knows how to teach this stuff now, he goes way back, he’s got a great grasp of it and I think you know guys like Raiola are quick man. They’re fast and you got zones and our tackles got the speed.

Reporter: It’s not like these guys were huge guys before, you turned them into…

Marinelli: Right, and they got great movement and I think it takes you know a great attitude, you really want to come off and compete.

Reporter: Are you going to bring Lomas in to training camp to work with Cherilus?

Marinelli: I just talked to him a little bit yesterday and he said he’s going to try to get over next week. He said he wanted to come by so I’m going to sit down and get a chance to visit with him. And he’s just a special guy now and I’ve known him for a year.

Reporter: Did he have an impact on your team the one year there at a Super Bowl?

Marinelli: Here’s the thing he did, that was really, I’m always going to remember this. I just got really close with him because I’d always go to those old veteran tackles and ask them about sets and knees and you know I’d just learn from Gruber and Lomas and we had Randall McDaniel in. I’d pick their brains, I just got close to them but here’s the thing…it was the fifteenth or sixteenth year in the league, he was a backup player, he was the best scout team player I’ve ever seen, ever in my career. I’ve never seen a guy run a scout team like that in my life.

Reporter: Intensity, or know what he’s doing, or…?

Marinelli: All of it, he would study film or him working with Simeon was unbelievable. He would go out and scout that guy on film and give him exactly the look. He’d come out of practice sweating, soaked, working, and he worked, and he was upbeat and he helped us win a championship that year.

In accordance to new NFL rules, this won’t be posted as a video (it is longer than 45 seconds and it would only be allowed for 24 hours), which would be better for the fans of course. Don’t blame the Lions however; it is an edict from His Royal Highness The SupremeDictator Roger GODell!