Lions coach Jim Caldwell rarely responds to much of anything.
But if you really want to see nothing, ask him when he might discuss his team’s chances to make the playoffs.
“Never,” Caldwell replied, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “Next question.”
Of course, the Lions are just 3-3, but they’ve beaten the Eagles and Rams in succession and are playing at a high rate lately. And With Washington (4-2) coming to town this week, they have a chance to stake themselves as legitimate wild card contenders. Beyond the division leaders, only this week’s opponent, the Eagles (3-2) and Packers (4-2) are about .500 in the NFC.
Caldwell said “it’s nonsense to be talking about” playoff possibilities at this stage of the season. in the season and that his team is all-in with its one-game-at-a-time approach.
“These guys have been around,” Caldwell said. “They understand how hard it is, how tough it is. We don’t start making projections. We haven’t done anything. We’re still trying to survive, we’re fighting and scratching for every — we’re trying to make it through practice half the time, let alone talk about looking that far down the road. We’ve got to find a way to keep getting better. Against these teams we’re facing — we’re facing a team that’s got a four-game winning streak, that’s playing awfully well right now, and we’re talking about something else other than that. We don’t do that. That’s kind of what you guys do. We never do it.”
And while it wasn’t exactly a Jim Mora rant, Caldwell’s steady approach seems to be working for the Lions, after their closed last year with a 6-2 finish.