The Detroit Lions were going through their corrections on Monday from Sunday's 20-7 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, and head coach Matt Patricia took some time away from that to speak to the media, as he does every Monday.
Here are the key questions to come out of that media session:
What is the biggest reason why the Lions sit at 3-9-1 heading into Week 15?
There's never usually just one reason to point to when a team's in a funk like the Lions find themselves in, losers of their last six and nine of their last 10.
For Patricia, a lack of consistency is the No. 1 reason in his book.
"I think one of the biggest things we've talked about all year on a micro level, and also a macro level, is just some inconsistencies," Patricia said. "I think that's true all the way across the board.
"I think there are things that we try to fix each week, and those problems that we've identified, and we put a lot of attention to those things. We go out, and we do pretty well at those issues, and then maybe three weeks later we'll lose sight of it and they'll come back up. I think that's the biggest part of it right now for us is I think we're all looking at saying, 'Hey, we can't lose sight of this. We can't lose sight of these things that we fixed and they have to carry over week-by-week.'
"Some of that has to do with just making sure that from a routine standpoint we're staying consistent and then we build on that routine as we go through the season from that accord."
Is that a coaching issue? A player comprehension issue? A lack of focus? It's part of what this team is trying to figure out right now.
What would a win mean for the team's psyche?
It has to be draining on all involved that it's been 43 calendar days since the Lions last felt what it was like to win a game.
Tampa Bay comes to Ford Field Sunday winners of their last three and four of their last five, but they could be with out quarterback Jameis Winston (thumb) and All-Pro wide receiver Mike Evans (hamstring).
"I think that's the goal for us," Patricia said of his club needing to get a win. "It feels good to win, so that's what we want to try and do. We want to go out there and feel good about it and certainly that's our motivation."
More than anything, Patricia said he just wants to see his team play well in all three phases. He wants to see them work together and see the consistency they've been searching for in a complete game.
How do the Lions bounce back from a difficult offensive performance Sunday?
Detroit had less than 100 yards of offense through three quarters before the Vikings' defense let their foot off the gas a bit holding a 20-0 lead.
After a nice debut on Thanksgiving against the Bears, rookie quarterback David Blough struggled in Minnesota. He threw two interceptions and was sacked five times. The Lions' offense went three and out six times in the contest.
Patricia was quick to give Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer and the Minnesota defense its due credit, but he also said there were some things that showed up on tape they can do a much better job with starting Sunday against the Bucs.
Mainly, Patricia pointed to some of the communication issues with some of Minnesota's overloaded pressures that caused free rushers.
Staying on schedule with manageable second and third downs is also key with a third-string rookie quarterback at the helm.
Is Patricia still trusting the process they have in place to build and coach this team?
"I think for me, I would say it's just I have to get here, I have to figure out what we have and build from there," he said.
"We're trying to do everything we can to get good players in here to help us win to grow a good team, to build a foundation, and then obviously hopefully play a lot better on Sundays than we're playing right now. That hasn't changed. None of that's changed."
Patricia has pointed to numerous situations in past weeks across the league where coaches struggled and didn't see results right away in the win column, and then things get turned around. Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco is probably the most recent good example. He won 10 games combined his first two seasons, and has the 49ers atop the NFC in year three.
That will obviously be the objective for all involved if a third season is in the cards.
"We'll worry about next year, next year, but right now I want to get through today, and want to get the game corrected," Patricia said. "We have a team coming in here that we don't know very well, and we have a lot of work to do to get ready for them."
Are there any updates on the number of injuries the Lions suffered in Minnesota?
Wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr., right tackle Rick Wagner, safety Tracy Walker, defensive tackle A'Shawn Robinson, running back Bo Scarbrough and linebacker Jarrad Davis were all banged up to varying degrees Sunday.
"We actually have a couple injuries here from the game, so we're kind of sorting through some of those and some imaging and stuff like that here," Patricia said. "So, I'm going to wait until I get all the correct information, and we'll be able to talk about it then. But a couple guys as we check through the day here, a little bit banged up."
