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Lions' Patricia gives 887-word defense of practice in snow

Leon Halip / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Detroit Lions head coach Matt Patricia began his Friday news conference with a prepared 887-word defense of his decision to hold Thursday's practice outdoors in the snow.

The Lions typically practice indoors. Their next four games will be indoors, including Sunday's tilt with the Carolina Panthers inside a sheltered Ford Field.

It's not particularly common for teams to practice in the snow but it's not unheard of either. Bill Belichick, Patricia's coaching mentor, frequently makes the New England Patriots practice in snow and other sub-optimal weather conditions.

Patricia, who wore shorts at the snowy practice, has endured a bumpy first season at the helm in Detroit. There were murmurs early in the season that Lions veterans were resisting "The Patriot Way" Patricia was determined to implement. He's also had a few testy moments with the media.

The Lions' bench boss seemed eager to move past the issue, ending his monologue by refocusing the press conference on the upcoming game against the Panthers.

"I'd like to move on and show a little more respect to Carolina, the Panthers, coach Ron Rivera, his outstanding team he's bringing up here to play against us, and the challenges we have, in fact, in trying to stop them and prepare for them," said Patricia. "We're going to be practicing inside today, just so everybody is clear. All right? Make sure everybody is good with all the head coaches in the room on that. Everybody good there?

"Again, there's some wind out there, some dust, probably a good idea we practice inside and make sure we have some good time. It's all based on what's best for the team at that moment. We good? Great. Got any questions about Carolina?"

Read all 887 words Patricia used to explain the practice, according to MLive's Kyle Meinke.

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