Matt Patricia took a very finely veiled chance at the 9-7 team he inherited when he attempted to safeguard his performance as Detroit Lions coach after Sundays loss to the New Orleans Saints by saying, “Certainly, I think when I pertained to Detroit there was a great deal of work to do.”
Asked to clarify those comments Monday, Patricia, whos gone 10-25-1 with the Lions, insisted he simply was using a phrase common to him.
” I probably state we got a great deal of work to do, I most likely stated every day, right?” Patricia said. “Im pretty sure thats sort of my simply, my basic outlook on work. Theres constantly a lot to do and theres constantly a lot to be done.”
Patricias initial comments came throughout his postgame video conference Sunday, when a press reporter asked why people ought to continue to believe him as head coach.
The Lions are 1-3 this season, have blown double-digit leads in all 3 of their losses and have lost 12 of their previous 13 games dating back to in 2015.
” I indicate, undoubtedly, thats a difficult concern,” Patricia stated. ” Obviously, we simply lost to the Saints. Lets just give them credit for this video game. They played incredibly well and I know weve got a great deal of work to do. I think when I came to Detroit there was a lot of work to do, and thats what were trying to do.”
Those comments drew the ire of former Lions quarterback Dan Orlovsky, who played three seasons for Patricias predecessor, Jim Caldwell, and now works as an analyst at ESPN.
Orlovsky called Patricias comments “a bunch of trash” throughout a radio appearance Monday, and previous NFL receiver Keyshawn Johnson stated they reeked of finger pointing.
” To come in and say you had a lot work to do is entirely incorrect,” Orlovsky said. “Its a lot of garbage. Because that wasnt the case in Detroit. We were an excellent football group. Matthew Stafford was playing as good as he has in his profession. That was because of Coach Caldwell. And we were an organization that was rising, we were building.”
Patricia has referenced the magnitude of the reconstruct in Detroit a number of times throughout his 32 months on the job.
One common story he showed national media to show that point is that the Lions did not have long-term objective posts on their practice field when he got here. Under Caldwell, the Lions utilized movable goal posts on wheels.
Caldwell was fired after the 2017 season with a 36-30 record, excellent for a. 545 winning percentage, and two playoff appearances. When he was fired, general manager Bob Quinn stated he was searching for a coach who might make the Lions perennial Super Bowl contenders.
You had a winning record in three of your four years. For (Patricia) to say there was a lot of work to be done is a bunch of trash.”
Patricia, whose winning portion is.292, decreased Monday to review how big a restoring job he thought he had when he pertained to Detroit.
Patricia stated.” To come in and state you had a lot work to do is completely incorrect,” Orlovsky said. For (Patricia) to state there was a lot of work to be done is a bunch of trash.”
Patricia declined to offer injury updates on 2 players who left Sundays game with injuries, protective tackle Nick Williams (shoulder) and running back Kerryon Johnson. “No updates right now on those, however I think just hopefully its simply some normal gameday things,” Patricia stated.
As for why the work has taken so long, he said, “every year is brand-new in the NFL and for us this year, weve simply got to head out and play better and carry out much better and coach better on the field.”
” I mean, right now its all about this group, its about us, its about moving forward, its about what do we do this week, what do we do next week, when we get to Jacksonville, and simply how do we get better,” Patricia said. ” I always simply feel that theres a great deal of simply work to do and I believe thats type of simply my internal drive every day to try to be the finest coach, best whatever it is that day. Like, lets go to work and lets do a lot and try to be the finest at it that we can each and every single day.”
Briefly
Patricia declined to use injury updates on 2 gamers who left Sundays video game with injuries, protective take on Nick Williams (shoulder) and running back Kerryon Johnson. Cornerback Desmond Trufant likewise left Sundays game after reaggravating the hamstring injury that kept him out 2 games. “No updates today on those, but I believe simply ideally its just some typical gameday things,” Patricia stated.
