Pride of Detroit
Sometimes as a media member, you get a press conference so good that you just want to encourage all of your readers to go watch it. That was the case on Friday, when Detroit Lions running back Tashard Choice stepped in front of the lectern at the Lions’ training facility in Allen Park. Choice was the perfect combination of energetic, funny, and informative.
But if you don’t have the 12 minutes to spare to watch the entire thing, here are the five best quotes from his media session.
Choice on running a mile before practice:
“I hate to do it, so I have to do it every day. It’s just a way to make myself disciplined, understanding their pain. It’s good on the other side of it … If I really run, I can do (a mile) in seven minute. Right now I’m not super, super fast, but I hate running long distances, but I have to make myself do it, because we’re sprinters. We’re fast. We like to go stop and start. Now I have to do that. It’s just to make myself mad before practice, so if they do something (wrong), it’ll piss me off even more.”
On keeping Sione Vaki’s spirits up as he navigates injuries:
“It goes from not player-to-coach, it’s more person-to-person. So I have to make sure, first, to check in on him and see how he is in the day-to-day, because you have good days, you’re going to have bad days. But to see him work, like when I’m on the sidelines seeing him work, I’m (like), ‘Hey Jah(myr) Gibbs, hey D-Mo (David Montgomery. Look at Vaki over there working.’ Because, for us, we know that he wants to be out there, and having an injury you can’t do anything about that, but how you respond is everything.”
On keeping his running backs hungry, even when they’re having success
“When we watch film, they probably hate watching film with me. They know. After D-Mo scored his touchdown, he had bad ball security. The first thing he said was, ‘Coach, don’t get (on) me on my ball security.’ ‘Damn right, I am. That’s part of the game. We’ve gotta protect the football.’ So, for me, I’m okay at being that guy—I have to be that guy. When you have guys who are really, really good football players that want to be great, because they want to be coached to be great. Great players want to be coached at all times, even when they do well. I have to watch myself, because I don’t want to be Negative Nancy, but I have to be. I try to find stuff to critique them and get on their nerves about.”
On David Montgomery’s pass blocking
“Animal. Animal. Ooooh, animal. Animal. I love how they run, but when they put their face on somebody, that’s everything, because protecting the quarterback—I’ve got laws of the jungle. First one is protecting the football. Second one is...
