One day after falling to the Seattle Seahawks, 28-14 at home, Detroit Lions head coach Matt Patricia addressed the media during his weekly Monday press conference.
The loss drops the Lions' record to 3-4 on the year. They're currently in last place in the NFC North, though only a game out of first place.
Here are the key questions to come out of Patricia's Monday press conference:
What was the evaluation of Damon Harrison's debut with the Lions?
Harrison recorded seven solo tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack.
"I think he really tried to do some of the things that we needed him to do out there," Patricia said.
"There are certainly some of the situations that came up he will improve with time and experience in the defense itself, some of the techniques and stuff."
Patricia said it was a good first step for Harrison, and they'll continue to build on it.
What does it mean to Patricia when he says he has to coach better?
Patricia made that comment after the game, a contest in which the Seahawks thoroughly dominated Detroit in all three phases. He doubled down on that phrase again Monday afternoon in the opening remarks to his press conference.
"When you go through a game and you play poorly and don't win, I'm always going to look at myself first," Patricia said.
With things in the game plan that the team thought were going to go one way and it didn't work out, Patricia said he and his coaches have to do a better job teaching it or explaining it.
How would Patricia assess the play of second-year cornerback Teez Tabor?
Tabor, who was starting his second game of the season, allowed four catches on four targets for 97 yards and a touchdown.
"We assess all those guys every single week," Patricia said. "I'm not going to lump him into one big evaluation right now for the entire season, but I think we just have to do a better job on some of our fundamentals in the backend and some of our cover stuff. Some of those plays we have to finish a little bit better."
Tabor had a chance to make a play at the goal line on a David Moore 15-yard touchdown, but couldn't make it. He also gave up a long reception to Moore to set up Seattle's final touchdown.
"There's some definite coaching points in there that I can do a better job making sure we understand," Patricia said.
Tabor showed enough in the spring, training camp and early in the season, according to Patricia, that he still believes Tabor can make plays for this defense and help them win.
Why wasn't left tackle Taylor Decker on the field to end the game?
Patricia confirmed Monday that Decker was dealing with an injury situation at the end of the game, and the team is still evaluating him on Monday. Decker was replaced by rookie Tyrell Crosby for the final couple series.
Why did Detroit have so many problems trying to run the football?
The Lions finished with just 34 rushing yards on 13 carries (2.6 average). Some of that, obviously, was due to the fact that Detroit fell behind by double digits in the first half.
"I think they (Seattle) did a really good job upfront with the penetration they were able to get," Patricia said. "Those guys inside are pretty big and pretty strong, and I think they just did a good job coming off blocks and their linebackers are very aggressive."
Seattle loaded the box and put themselves in good situations to stuff Detroit's rushing attack. Patricia also chalked it up to being out-executed.
What about Detroit's run defense?
On the flip side, Seattle ran early and often, and kept on going for 60 minutes to the tune of 176 yards on 42 attempts (4.2 average).
It's the fourth time this season the Lions have allowed more than 150 rushing yards in a single contest. They've lost all four of those games.
"Some of the newer scheme stuff that we see, sometimes there's some coaching that needs to go on with that and recognition," Patricia said. "Just trying to get it as consistent as possible with all that, and again, make sure the execution is at a high level."
