Detroit Lions Notes And Quotes 5-5-11
--Coach Jim Schwartz admitted he was surprised when he saw the outfit defensive tackle Nick Fairley was wearing at the draft in New York City.
With thick glasses and a bow tie, some described the defensive tackle as "looking like a nerd out of central casting."
Schwartz said he never saw Fairley's outfit until after the team had drafted him with 13th pick in the first round.
Joked Schwartz the following day, "First, if we had seen what he was wearing ... with those glasses, we might have passed on him at 13. I got more texts yesterday after we picked him that said, 'Why did you pick that big guy that looks like Urkel?'"
Getting serious, Schwartz noted that those making fun of Fairley wouldn't do it face-to-face.
"None of those people are here," Schwartz said, "and I think if they were here, none of them would say the same thing, and I know no quarterbacks said that last year."
--How does coach Jim Schwartz plan on finding enough snaps for Suh, Williams and now Fairley? "We play around 130 defensive tackle snaps a game," he said. "You rotate three guys at 45 snaps a person and you are going to be really fresh. We can keep rolling in waves and waves.
"I thought Suh played too much last year. Not that he wore down, but it was too many snaps. You are taking on 700 pounds of man every time you take on a double team."
--General manager Martin Mayhew said before the draft that based on the opinion of the team's medical staff, they were not overly concerned about the condition of Clemson defensive end Da'Quan Bowers' surgically-repaired knee. Well, most teams were. Bowers, once considered a top 15 pick, slipped all the way to 51, taken finally by Tampa. "What I said was, our doctors were not concerned about his ability to play football in the future and I think that's a fact," Mayhew said.
--WR Bryant Johnson, who had 18 catches all of last season, might be wondering about his job security after the Lions drafted Young. Said Mayhew: "Young will have an opportunity to step in and be our third (receiver). We haven't had great production from that spot the last couple of years and we think Titus is the kind of player who can solve that problem." Johnson still has one year ($3 million) left on his contract. "Any time we draft a player at somebody's position, it doesn't mean anything for that player," Mayhew said. "They should be doing what they do all the time - which is giving 100 percent effort and trying to win a position."
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