Caldwell Holds Fast To 'No Excuses' Mantra Despite Absence Of Johnson
By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak
CBS DETROIT - It would be easy to pin the struggles of the Detroit Lions offense on the absence of star wide receiver Calvin Johnson, who may miss his second straight game Sunday because of an ankle injury.
Though trying to replace the production of Johnson, whom Lions head coach Jim Caldwell called one of the best ever to play the position, certainly qualifies as a challenge, Caldwell said he believes in never making excuses.
"I grew up in a household where I never heard my father complain one day about anything," Caldwell told Karsch and Anderson of 97.1 The Ticket. "And here's a man that worked two jobs, did not have an easy life when he was young, he started working when he was 9 years old, had to bring in money for the family, had what most would consider a pretty difficult upbringing early on, but I never heard him lament at one point in time ... All he looked for was ways to get it done because that's all that counted.
"In this league, I think it's a healthy way to approach it because really, when it boils down to it, nobody cares what your injury status is or what hardships you're dealing with," Caldwell added. "It doesn't matter. You've got to get the job done."
The Lions got the job done last week against the Minnesota Vikings, winning convincingly despite the absence of Johnson and running back Reggie Bush. Bush will be back Sunday, but Caldwell did not offer any insight on when Johnson will return, noting that his status is up to him and the doctors.
"I leave it strictly up to our medical professionals," Caldwell said. "That's in their province, in their neck of the woods, that's in their profession. They analyze, they look at it, they get with us on a daily basis, they talk about what's the best avenue of treatment and allowing him to play, things of that nature. That's all discussed and looked at thoroughly, and I leave that in their territory to deal with, and then also Calvin, because often times you'll find some guys, like he has, he has an incredible, high pain tolerance. I think our medical staff does a tremendous job. They'll let us know when he can go back out and play. It could be this week, it could be next week, it could be the week after that. I'm not real certain.
"We just have to keep plugging along," Caldwell added. "Our job is to win and win regardless of the circumstances of the situation and make no excuses."
In the meantime, the Detroit passing game has been forced to rely on its other wide receivers, including number two wide receiver Golden Tate, whom the Lions acquired in free agency this offseason, and second-year wide receiver Corey Fuller, who spent last season on the team's practice squad.
"Corey Fuller I think is a guy that you guys haven't been able to see much of him in terms of what he's capable of, but I really do think at some point in time you're going to see this kid really start to excel because he's got speed, he's got length, he's an extremely hard worker," Caldwell said. "All he does is he just watches everything that Calvin does and he follows him around - his workout routine, the way he prepares, and Calvin's impeccable in those areas, and this kid is benefiting I think from that type of - first of all he's open to do it, and he's benefiting from actually watching one of the greatest to have ever played the position.
"It's forced Golden into a little different role where he's got to be our bell cow, and a guy that we rely upon," Caldwell continued. "He's come through and had some big games, and his targets have increased, and I think that that's helpful."
Ideally, the Lions will eventually have Johnson healthy and more fully developed wide receivers to complement him.
"You hope it works," Stafford said Wednesday. "You hope it helps a lot. We were getting a bunch of guys that maybe wouldn't have gotten as many opportunities, we're getting them chances to go play in meaningful minutes, starting the game for us. It's been good. Hopefully we'll have guys continue to get healthy, get back as soon as they can, and we'll go from there."
The Lions offense has not been the only unit to leave points on the table this season; Detroit's three place kickers are a combined 5 of 15 on field goal attempts. The newest kicker, former Denver Bronco Matt Prater, missed two of three tries Sunday.
Caldwell, asked about the team's field goal struggles in the radio interview Thursday, did not seem to appreciate the mention of what has been a trouble spot in light of the team's success in a number of other areas Sunday.
"We had a couple of errant kicks, but we have a guy that I believe, without question, is going to do what he's always done, and he's been excellent," Caldwell said. "It was a little bit of a windy situation as well, a little tough, but he's a professional, and I think you'll see that in due time you guys will not have anything to talk about in that area other than the fact that he's doing well, but right now you have to find something negative to harp on.
"He will be exactly what he think he is," Caldwell added. "He's without question and true pro, and he'll be fine."
