http://www.azcardinals.com/press/pressdetails.php?sid=1412
Quotes from Lions H.C. Steve Mariucci
On how things are going with new team…
It is going great and I have been enjoying it. It has been a lot of fun and very busy, trying to make the new transition with a new job and a new team, but also relocating with my family. As you may know, I grew up in Michigan so I’ve had a chance to be around my family more often that I have (in the past) so I’ve really enjoyed that too. I am looking forward to starting the season and I know everybody associated with the NFL is ready to get going.
On making decision to go to Detroit…
It was very well thought out and discussed at length with my family, the kids and my wife. I came in for an interview to determine if they wanted to have me too and to visit the organization and see the facilities. We gave it a great deal of thought and I thought this was the right time and the right place to start coaching again.
On comparisons between Detroit and his first year with 49ers…
Well, from what I understand the Lions were the oldest team in the league a year ago. We are not quite like that right now. We do some have some seasoned veterans – Ray Brown is 40 years old and I love him and I had him in San Francisco too. We have some veterans that are getting up there, but we have a new bunch of rookies that are going to contribute. I think the difference would be that the previous years records have been different. The expectations are high here but they are because of different reasons. The 49ers had been winning and had a very veteran team with a lot of Pro Bowlers and Super Bowl guys. The similarities, we are running the same offense, but there are quite a bit of differences in the past records I suppose.
On how Charles Rogers is handling the hype…
If you go from junior high football to varsity football, there is a huge jump and when you go from high school to college, there is a huge jump. If you go from any college, whether it is Pac 10, top of the line college football, to the NFL it is another big jump. The speed of the game, and the size of the players and their strength, knowledge, and expertise of is at a completely different level. So it requires some coaching and learning and drilling. What happens I think, early draft picks seem to have more pressure on them to excel quicker because they were simply chosen sooner. There is still going to be a learning curve regardless of who it is and what position. I really like the way Charles Rogers is working. He was set back with a couple of injuries, a hamstring during mini camp and a dislocated finger during training camp. But, I really like him. He’s a good worker, he’s a good learner. He’s a dedicated guy. He doesn’t say much. He just practices hard and trains and does the best he can every day. I think he is going to be quite a pro. It is going to be a while before he learns all of the nuances that is required in this offense, but we’ve moved him around quite a bit to see what type of capabilities he has to learn the offense at different positions and he did very well with that.
On turning around 3-13 club…
There are a lot of things in place starting with the ownership’s commitment. It is just second to none proven by the money they’ve spent, starting with this beautiful practice facility we enjoy every day and the beautiful new stadium, Ford Field, downtown for the fans is a fantastic venue. They treat not only their players and coaches, but their entire staff and fans in a first-class fashion. We don’t lack for fan support. Midwest fans are football crazy and I know that in having grown up here. The fan base is in place. The facilities are in place. The desire and the know how and the plan is in place. We just simply have to develop this team into a contender and how long that takes is yet to be determined. You have to have a little luck with injuries, grow these kids fast, and then you can snowball with some confidence. That is the last piece of the puzzle, to develop this team and our skills and our confidence level and production on game days.
On what different things Joey Harrington brings to the table…
Well, I’ve never coached an Oregon Duck before. He’s a West Coast guy, Pac-10 guy. He’s smart, he’s a worker. He came in six weeks early to quarterback school and watched film and did drills and lifted. He’s a student of the game. He’s developing his leadership skills and certainly his understanding of the offense and professional defenses. He’s becoming more confident and is going through what young quarterbacks go through. He was lucky enough to play and start 12 games as a rookie. That doesn’t happen often in this league so he certainly got his feet wet. It is time to take another step or two in his development and he is certainly willing to do the work.
On who is going to play at running back…
Barry Sanders. You know, we haven’t (decided). We need to go through the work week and determine exactly how we are going to play these guys and who will play in 3-wides or 4-wides and how and if we are going to share the load. I am not going to talk about it but I haven’t decided either. We don’t have a lot of experience as you know. Avon Cobourne is an undrafted rookie who hasn’t participated in all of our training camp and Shawn Bryson is coming back from a knee injury. He played I think 29 snaps in the preseason. Then of course, Olandis Gary is new. He’s not new to this system, he had some of this in Denver, but he’s new to our team. We are going to catch those guys up as quickly as we can this week and hopefully get a good game out of that position.
On noticeable differences in Cards defense…
Well, having faced them several times before, I know they are very good and I like their schemes. They play hard and I’ve always had a great deal of respect for the job Dave does and his staff. It is not easy to win all of their preseason games and they’ve done that and they’ve played well against some good competition. I think they are an improved football team.
On status of Az Hakim and Dre Bly…
It has not yet been determined. We practiced Monday and we’ll start practicing today and we’ll have to see who is healthy enough to go and who can help out and we will try to figure that out by Saturday.
Quotes from Lions H.C. Steve Mariucci
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On how things are going with new team…
It is going great and I have been enjoying it. It has been a lot of fun and very busy, trying to make the new transition with a new job and a new team, but also relocating with my family. As you may know, I grew up in Michigan so I’ve had a chance to be around my family more often that I have (in the past) so I’ve really enjoyed that too. I am looking forward to starting the season and I know everybody associated with the NFL is ready to get going.
On making decision to go to Detroit…
It was very well thought out and discussed at length with my family, the kids and my wife. I came in for an interview to determine if they wanted to have me too and to visit the organization and see the facilities. We gave it a great deal of thought and I thought this was the right time and the right place to start coaching again.
On comparisons between Detroit and his first year with 49ers…
Well, from what I understand the Lions were the oldest team in the league a year ago. We are not quite like that right now. We do some have some seasoned veterans – Ray Brown is 40 years old and I love him and I had him in San Francisco too. We have some veterans that are getting up there, but we have a new bunch of rookies that are going to contribute. I think the difference would be that the previous years records have been different. The expectations are high here but they are because of different reasons. The 49ers had been winning and had a very veteran team with a lot of Pro Bowlers and Super Bowl guys. The similarities, we are running the same offense, but there are quite a bit of differences in the past records I suppose.
On how Charles Rogers is handling the hype…
If you go from junior high football to varsity football, there is a huge jump and when you go from high school to college, there is a huge jump. If you go from any college, whether it is Pac 10, top of the line college football, to the NFL it is another big jump. The speed of the game, and the size of the players and their strength, knowledge, and expertise of is at a completely different level. So it requires some coaching and learning and drilling. What happens I think, early draft picks seem to have more pressure on them to excel quicker because they were simply chosen sooner. There is still going to be a learning curve regardless of who it is and what position. I really like the way Charles Rogers is working. He was set back with a couple of injuries, a hamstring during mini camp and a dislocated finger during training camp. But, I really like him. He’s a good worker, he’s a good learner. He’s a dedicated guy. He doesn’t say much. He just practices hard and trains and does the best he can every day. I think he is going to be quite a pro. It is going to be a while before he learns all of the nuances that is required in this offense, but we’ve moved him around quite a bit to see what type of capabilities he has to learn the offense at different positions and he did very well with that.
On turning around 3-13 club…
There are a lot of things in place starting with the ownership’s commitment. It is just second to none proven by the money they’ve spent, starting with this beautiful practice facility we enjoy every day and the beautiful new stadium, Ford Field, downtown for the fans is a fantastic venue. They treat not only their players and coaches, but their entire staff and fans in a first-class fashion. We don’t lack for fan support. Midwest fans are football crazy and I know that in having grown up here. The fan base is in place. The facilities are in place. The desire and the know how and the plan is in place. We just simply have to develop this team into a contender and how long that takes is yet to be determined. You have to have a little luck with injuries, grow these kids fast, and then you can snowball with some confidence. That is the last piece of the puzzle, to develop this team and our skills and our confidence level and production on game days.
On what different things Joey Harrington brings to the table…
Well, I’ve never coached an Oregon Duck before. He’s a West Coast guy, Pac-10 guy. He’s smart, he’s a worker. He came in six weeks early to quarterback school and watched film and did drills and lifted. He’s a student of the game. He’s developing his leadership skills and certainly his understanding of the offense and professional defenses. He’s becoming more confident and is going through what young quarterbacks go through. He was lucky enough to play and start 12 games as a rookie. That doesn’t happen often in this league so he certainly got his feet wet. It is time to take another step or two in his development and he is certainly willing to do the work.
On who is going to play at running back…
Barry Sanders. You know, we haven’t (decided). We need to go through the work week and determine exactly how we are going to play these guys and who will play in 3-wides or 4-wides and how and if we are going to share the load. I am not going to talk about it but I haven’t decided either. We don’t have a lot of experience as you know. Avon Cobourne is an undrafted rookie who hasn’t participated in all of our training camp and Shawn Bryson is coming back from a knee injury. He played I think 29 snaps in the preseason. Then of course, Olandis Gary is new. He’s not new to this system, he had some of this in Denver, but he’s new to our team. We are going to catch those guys up as quickly as we can this week and hopefully get a good game out of that position.
On noticeable differences in Cards defense…
Well, having faced them several times before, I know they are very good and I like their schemes. They play hard and I’ve always had a great deal of respect for the job Dave does and his staff. It is not easy to win all of their preseason games and they’ve done that and they’ve played well against some good competition. I think they are an improved football team.
On status of Az Hakim and Dre Bly…
It has not yet been determined. We practiced Monday and we’ll start practicing today and we’ll have to see who is healthy enough to go and who can help out and we will try to figure that out by Saturday.
