Wednesday’s mandatory minicamp session kicked off with a press conference from Lions head coach Matt Patricia in the Tom Kowalski media center in Allen Park. A relaxed and engaged Patricia handled a couple of questions and then got one he really sunk his teeth into.

Patricia is known to give some lengthy answers. He clearly enjoys talking about the fine-print details of football, and it shows in his extended answer to a follow-up question about the team’s emphasis on practicing specific 3rd-and-long situations in Tuesday’s minicamp session.

“The No. 1 thing we’ll try to teach as we go through the different phases of the game is awareness. What are the different types of plays or areas of the field that are attacked in these situations? So generally it’s a big awareness thing. It’ll always go back to the fundamental skillsets that are needed in that down-and-distance or that particular situation and there’s a scheme-element too that we’ll install, practice and rep and work against each other from an offensive and defensive perspective to evaluate. But really, when we’re looking at it, it’s a lot of technique work that we have to get down. There’s just a difference when the timing of the play is third down, if it’s third-and-short versus third-and-longer. What’s the marriage of rush and coverage right there? How long does the play take? What’s the technique of the players that are in coverage? What’s the technique of the guys that are in the rush? The timing of the offensive play affects that. What’s the rhythm of the quarterback? What’s the rhythm of the route? What are the different plays? There will be a lot of conversation here throughout the league – popular plays in shorter down-and-distances, with third downs being a lot of picks and rubs, then you can get into some different avenues there. There’s just so much coaching that’s involved. The same is true in the longer situations. They all have little different points of emphasis that regardless of the play or the scheme, that need to be understood before you really master the situation.”

This is not a patronizing answer or an intentional filibuster to eat up question time. Patricia is providing an earnest response to a good question. It’s a peek into his thought process and his pride in his own preparation, the detail in which he analyzes the game of football and how it applies to his Lions team.

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