Defensive coordinator Paul Pasqualoni and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell spoke to the media Tuesday as the Lions began preparations for Sunday's matchup with the Broncos in Denver.
Here are 10 takeaways from those media sessions:
1. Lions ownership made public Tuesday their decision to retain general manager Bob Quinn and head coach Matt Patricia for the 2020 season, but did so with some expectation Patricia would make some changes to his coaching staff. There's obviously speculation surrounding Pasqualoni's future with the Lions, who rank 31st in overall defense. Asked about his job status Tuesday, Pasqualoni said he's worried about Denver's offense and they have his "undivided attention" at the moment.
2. Bevell opened his conference call thanking quarterback Matthew Stafford for all the time he put in this offseason. It was a busy offseason for Stafford and his family as they dealt with his wife Kelly's brain tumor diagnosis and subsequent surgery, but he still put in the work to learn Bevell's new offense and become so fluent in it that he could help teach it to the other players. The Lions placed Stafford on season-ending IR Tuesday.
3. Pasqualoni said he has a ton of family support, so whatever happens in the future, he will lean on them and be fine.
4. Bevell really seemed to lament the back injury Stafford suffered late Week 9 in Oakland, an injury that ultimately ended Stafford's season. Bevell said Stafford was "really in a good spot" orchestrating this offense at the time of injury. Stafford's final statistics lend credibility to that statement.
5. The Lions are going to have to lean on rookie linebacker Jahlani Tavai moving forward with Jarrad Davis on IR. Pasqualoni sees continued growth in Tavai, and thinks the game is slowing down for him.
6. Bevell said the team will continue to move forward with David Blough at quarterback Week 16 in Denver.
7. Tavai has been good making the calls and better at learning the adjustments and alignments. Pasqualoni seems pleased with his progress up to this point. Tavai has 54 tackles, five tackles for loss, two sacks, an interception and one forced fumble on the year.
8. Asked if backup quarterback Kyle Sloter needs to play a series, quarter or half in these next two games for the Lions to properly evaluate him heading into next year, Bevell didn't seem committed to that idea at this point. We'll see where that conversation leads in the next couple weeks. It sounds like Sloter is still playing catchup in terms of learning the offense.
9. Jalen Reeves-Maybin is another linebacker the Lions might want to take a look at these final two weeks with Christian Jones nursing a shoulder injury. Reeves-Maybin had six tackles playing in 67 percent of the defensive snaps Sunday in place of Jones.
10. There weren't many questions for either coordinator on the Broncos, with good reason given the all the news of the day. Denver ranks 30th in points scored (17.1), 27th in total offense (299.4), 30th in passing yards (196.4) and 18th running ball (103.0). Defensively, they rank 10th in points allowed (20.3), 13th in total defense (337.4), 10th in passing defense (223.9), and 20th in rushing defense (113.6).
