Getty Glover Quin embraces Jim Caldwell in 2017.
Former Detroit Lions safety Glover Quin was a mainstay with the team, and as such, he’s got plenty of good thoughts on what makes a successful member of the team.
Quin, on his podcast The DB Room, welcomed cornerback Jeff Okudah into the mix and touched on a number of topics. One of the best questions he asked was what veteran players Okuah liked watching and modeled his game after. Okudah cited Stephon Gilmore thanks to the type of smart game he plays.
Quin explained to Okudah what he has to do in order to get himself to that point and it involved plenty of hard work and paying attention to the veterans on the team.
“I would say this to you man, from one old guy to a young guy. The way to get to that level for one, is to always pick the brains of the veteran guys. Talk to them all the time, always ask questions. For two, study. The game slows down when you know what you’re doing. It moves extremely fast when you don’t. Because every team is doing motion, they’re coming out in these funky formations. Not only that, you’re covering the best athletes in the world against the best quarterbacks in the world so the game is moving fast.”
As Quin said, Okudah simply has to put in the time in order to get himself to the next level on the field as he prepares to enter the NFL.
“From one old guy to a young guy, To get to that point, study, study, study. And I’m in your corner bro. I’m happy for you man. The fans are going to love you man. They are awesome bro,” he said.
Okudah comes to Detroit highly regarded as the best cornerback of the NFL Draft, and now, he will determine what course he is able to chart as a player. With Quin in his ear and giving him advice, it’s safe to say Okudah is in good shape moving forward to make an impact.
Glover Quin’s Thoughts About Matt Patricia
Quin, who played with Patricia in 2018 before he retired, recently joined the Surf & Turf Podcast from Barstool Sports and explained what it was like to meet Patricia for the first time and play for the coach.
As he said, Patricia is a good person, but he has an edge about him in the building which can make it difficult to deal with him.
“He’s a very nice guy. He’ll talk to you. He makes it easy to talk to. Seems like he cares a lot about people, so he definitely had that quantity. But then all of a sudden you get on the practice field, the meeting room, a switch goes off and he’s a completely different guy,” Quin said in the clip.
According to Quin, Patricia wanted to put his stamp on the team very early upon coming to the Lions, and came in with an attitude immediately.
“I think one of the biggest things is humility. (Jim) Caldwell came in and basically changed the culture humbly. I feel like Patricia came in, and he came from New England, and they have whatever,” Quin said. “I think instead of him coming in and humbly gaining the respect of the players, I think he came in and kind of had a negative attitude about Detroit. Like, kind of probably what most of the world thinks about that.”
Quin admitted that he had seen plenty of change in Detroit going from Jim Schwartz to Jim Caldwell to Patricia as a head coach, and he felt the team was in a bit better shape than Patricia may have given them credit for upon coming to Detroit.
“I kind of felt like from 2013-2017, the culture in Detroit had changed. The culture was different. We went to two playoff games, we were right at 9-7, I think we had a year we went 10-6. We were right there playing against Green Bay at the end for division titles, so wasn’t like we were a dumpster fire of a team,” he said. “We had a good quarterback, good offensive pieces, a good defense. I kind of felt like Patricia came in and thought everything here is trash and I just have to do a total re-haul of everything.”
Patricia, for his part, has maintained that it takes time to change a culture completely and get a program going, and it’s true tons of the players speaking out were more comfortable with Caldwell’s style of leadership and change is to be expected. Still, Quin’s comments are interesting. Obviously, the team is gambling on Patricia’s style eventually paying off and leading the franchise over the top, even if it still hasn’t.
Perhaps Quin will have some tips on how Okudah can connect with his new coach best.
Glover Quin’s Stats
Quin speaking up on these matters is interesting, because he was a well-respected member of the team and the community while playing with the Lions. Quin decided after 2018 he didn’t have anything else and want to continue, but prior to that decision, he was a decorated player with the team that put up some great statistics.
Quin would finish with 740 total tackles, 24 interceptions, 84 passes defended and 2 touchdowns. More than that, he remains a guy who is one of the more revered former Lions given all he did for the community.
A respected player giving a rookie advice is a nice touch.
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