Texans-Lions quotes

Head coach Dom Capers

*Opening statement ... *"Well, I'll share with you exactly what I just told our football team. It doesn't make any difference what you do in the National Football League. If you turn the ball over three times on offense, if you can't get off the field on third downs on defense and if you give a kickoff return up for a touchdown, you're not going to win football games. It just doesn't make much difference what else you do. Obviously we have got a lot of work to do and we've got a lot of work to do in all three areas. When you're in the situation that we're in, it's obviously disappointing because we've played two games and there's been a similar formula in both games in terms of the things that didn't give ourselves a chance to win those games. We've got to go back to work. To me, when you're in these situations, first of all, it takes courage because that's what gives you the power to face some difficult situations and your character determines how you respond to it. I believe in the guy's character on this team. I think that they know that we've got an awful lot of work to do. We've got to go back to work and in those areas we have to make significant improvement in or we won't win. It's just that simple."

*On RB Domanick Davis ... *"Well Domanick just has to hold onto the football. He's got to do a better job and he knows that. It doesn't make any difference how many yards that you gain; if you turn the ball over you are not going to win in this league. It's just that simple."

*On whether he was surprised that Davis had two fumbles in consecutive games ... *"I am based off of what he did last year, yes."

*On how the turnovers impacted the momentum of the game ... *"Well they did and when we got the takeaway, we turned the ball back over again. That's been the story really for two weeks. Last week, both of the opponent's touchdowns came early and off of turnovers in our territory. Today, two of our turnovers ended up helping them get 14 points on the board. Then the kickoff return for a touchdown was another seven points. You just can't do those things. It's just that simple."

*On CB Aaron Glenn ... *"He had a nice interception and he had a couple of situations that they won and that's going to be the case at the corner position. Every week you line up against talented players and you hope that you make more than your share of the plays. He made a couple good plays and he had a couple go against him."

QB David Carr

*On his feelings about the game ... *"Disappointment. This was a tale of two halves with this offense. We have to play better, our offense has to play better. If we play good in the first and the second half, not just the second half, and figure things out before the last 30 minutes, our defense and special teams (wouldn't be) under that pressure. You are going to have times when you get stopped, you will have times when after a couple of series you won't get points. When you couple that with turnovers you have catch up."

*On the turnovers ... *"The turnovers are something that happens. You can't sit there and just fix that, it's a part of the game. You can do a lot of things in practice but to be honest in game situations you just cannot do it. You cannot turn the ball over three times. It's hard to fight back from that. It's hard for the defense to play. It's hard for the special teams, it's hard for everybody."

*On this game ... *"You like to win the winnable games. That's the thing. You like to think these were for us. There are fourteen more games, in seven days we play Kansas City and we have to find a way to not turn the ball over."

CB Aaron Glenn

*On Lions WR Roy Williams ... *"He's going to be a good receiver. He already has a lot of skill; you just have to go up and try to make plays on him. He's a big guy who likes to shield with his body. Playing corner is a game of making plays. Today I had three opportunities to make a play, I made one, and he made two. That's how the game is."

DE Gary Walker

*On the officiating ... *"When you don't win, nobody respects you, not even the refs. You have to play them too. You go to them and they can't give you an explanation. If they're only going to put emphasis on things for one team, I don't think thats fair."

*On the team's frustration after the 0-2 start ... *"All that shoulda, woulda, coulda – you know, you got to do it. It's going on three years and you're saying the same things after every game, that gets old after a while."

LB Jason Babin

*On how the game played out ... *"We had our moments where we did what we wanted to do and then on third downs we were falling apart. A special teams touchdown, a deep pass, a long run, anything like that can make a game swing."

On his family and friends who came to the game ... *"That was nice, I could hear my name being yelled. It's nice to know people want to come to Detroit and watch me play."

Lions head coach Steve Mariucci
* **
*On early season success ... *"That locker room was happy to be 2-0. Let's face it, we've still got a lot of work to do. We've got a huge game next week. I'm glad they (Philadelphia) play Monday Night, they have a shorter week. I guess that helps us a little bit. I like where we are right now. Obviously being 2-0 is a good start."

*On the improving offense ... *"I'd like to think we're better with some speed at wide receiver. It was difficult last season, (as) you recall. Now we've got some guys who can stretch the field once in a while and Joey's more confident. It's good to be able to run the football. The run-game and pass-game go hand-in in-hand. We're not going to be a team throwing the ball 40 times a game."

*On the Lions' attitude ... *"What I like is the demeanor of this team. We got behind in Chicago and came back in the fourth quarter to win it. And we played a closer game than we would have wanted to today but the team responded with a score. That's a good quality to have."

*On QB Joey Harrington's play ... *"He managed the game well – (and made) good use of timeouts. He just ran that clock down and made third downs when we needed them. He seemed very aware on the sideline. He didn't get flustered by a couple interceptions. He's got enough arm strength and speed to make plays, and we just need to see more of it on a consistent basis."

*On the rivalry with Texans QB David Carr ... *"They're two young developing third-year QBs, similar situations, both guys are going to play for along time in this league and they're both going to play very well."

QB Joey Harrington

On WR Roy Williams' first touchdown ... "The first one was a post route over the top and they played right into it. It was a time when Roy had been telling me he could beat the guy. It's not like I threaded too small of a needle, he knocked the safety out of the way. He's a big boy."

On the Lions WR corps ... "I was the happiest guy in Detroit when they drafted Roy because they setup the 1-2 punch. And then they brought in Tai (Streets), who's the cagey veteran. Call him what you want, but he's a playmaker."

On losing WR Charles Rogers for the year ... "Losing Charles hurt, but I don't think we going to miss a beat because Roy is stepping up and Tai has shown, starting five years for a playoff team, he's a guy to reckon with as well."

On whether he led Williams too far on the second touchdown ... "No, because I've seen him make that catch before. I could have put it on his body. I put it in a spot where Roy got it or no one got it. Roy got it."

WR Roy Williams

On his performance ... "I think I did okay. There are still a lot of things I need to learn. The first half I made a couple mistakes that I need to get corrected, second half was pretty good."

On his touchdowns ... "(On the first one) Joey put it in a good spot and I jumped up and got it, I didn't know where I was and my football instincts took over. (Second TD) Joey put it in a spot where only I could catch it. I got adjusted to the two feet inbounds rule in the NFL and I made the catch."

On important plays ... "The biggest plays come on defense. We had three takeaways today and that's what you got to have. When you take the ball away, the offense has to go down and put points on the board."

*On the improving offense ... *"I'd like to think we're better with some speed at wide receiver. It was difficult last season, (as) you recall. Now we've got some guys who can stretch the field once in a while and Joey's more confident. It's good to be able to run the football. The run-game and pass-game go hand-in in-hand. We're not going to be a team throwing the ball 40 times a game."

*On the Lions' attitude ... *"What I like is the demeanor of this team. We got behind in Chicago and came back in the fourth quarter to win it. And we played a closer game than we would have wanted to today but the team responded with a score. That's a good quality to have."

*On QB Joey Harrington's play ... *"He managed the game well – (and made) good use of timeouts. He just ran that clock down and made third downs when we needed them. He seemed very aware on the sideline. He didn't get flustered by a couple interceptions. He's got enough arm strength and speed to make plays, and we just need to see more of it on a consistent basis."

*On the rivalry with Texans QB David Carr ... *"They're two young developing third-year QBs, similar situations, both guys are going to play for along time in this league and they're both going to play very well."

QB Joey Harrington