How will the Detroit Lions fill Alex Anzalone’s role? Dan Campbell offered some thoughts on the future of the linebacking corps.
On Sunday, the Detroit Lions won the game, but they lost another critical piece to their defense. Alex Anzalone suffered a broken forearm and is expected to miss between six and eight weeks. That could line him up for a return in the postseason, but in the immediate, the Lions have a No. 1 seed to chase.
The Lions boasted one of the deeper linebacking rooms to start the season, but they’re now missing three key pieces: Anzalone, Jalen Reeves-Maybin (who will be on IR for at least two more games), and Derrick Barnes (likely out for the year).
How will the Lions survive? Who will take Anzalone’s place? And who among the depth will have to step up? Lions coach Dan Campbell talked to the media on Monday and offered some thoughts on all of these questions.
Is Jack Campbell ready for a play-calling leadership role?
Anzalone has been referred to as the heart and soul of the defense. Not only does his passion for the game bleed through, but he’s been under defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn for nearly a decade. He knows exactly what Glenn is looking for on every play and has mastered this defense. He also has the “green dot,” meaning it’s his responsibility to receive the play call and communicate it to the rest of the defense.
Many of those duties are now going to second-year linebacker Jack Campbell. But Dan Campbell did not sound worried about his ability to carry that weight.
“First of all, he’s a guy who understands the game,” he said of Campbell. “He is a smart football player, he studies it, he works at it, he was that way when he walked in though. He’s an instinctive player that really understands ball.”
And while it’ll be hard to match Anzalone’s mastery of the defense, Dan Campbell pointed to the spring, when Anzalone was absent from early OTAs and the young linebacker got to have a taste of commanding the defense.
“He’s been right in (Anzalone’s) hip pocket and he watches that and he learns and he listens,” Campbell said. “I mean we were doing these in the spring, Alex wasn’t even here yet. Alex came in a couple of weeks later and we were doing these situational scenarios where we were letting (Jared) Goff call it and Jack call it on defense. So, this isn’t the first time that he’s kind of had to take a little bit of a role like that and he’s going to be fine as far as that. He’ll step right into that, and he’ll embrace it, and I think you’ll see him thrive.”
How important is Malcolm Rodriguez now?
Rodriguez just returned from injury this past game, and the timing couldn’t have been better. Campbell talked about how his return provides some major relief to their suddenly thin linebacker room.
“He gives us a lot of flexibility. He can play the WILL, he can play the SAM out in space, he’s been playing kind of that big nickel, and so having him back it does, it relieves a lot of pressure there,” Campbell said. “And I thought, there again, I thought he played really well yesterday. He’s got a nose for the football, he’s aggressive and he just, he has production back there so it’s big getting him back.”
Who will be the third linebacker?
Campbell made it clear that Anzalone’s injury is going to mean the maximum amount of playing time for both Campbell and Malcolm Rodriguez.
“I know this, Jack and Rodrigo are going to play a lot for us,” Campbell said. “And then it’s a matter of is it by committee if you’re using three linebackers? Are we using a DB? It’s just hard to say right now.”
As for that third spot, Campbell noted that their plan is likely to change based on matchup. It could be a third linebacker, it could be a defensive back, they could go with five-man fronts for a 5-2 look. However, there was one player he pointed out, unprompted.
“By the way, it’s another reason why Ben Niemann’s here too,” Campbell said. “Like thank God for that guy because he can play every one of the spots and smart guy, he’s played a lot of football, and we have no problem plugging and playing him anywhere either.”
He’s likely the leading candidate to get a major bump in playing time, but don’t count out Trevor Nowaske, who has filled in for Barnes’ SAM linebacker role and already played 167 defensive snaps this season.
What about the new guy?
On Monday, the Lions signed David Long to their practice squad. The transaction happened after Campbell’s press conference, so we don’t have a clear idea of what their plan is for him. However, Long is a veteran player with 75 games and 49 starts of experience.
Knowing the Lions’ style, he’s not likely to make an impact right away, but once he acclimates to his teammates and the defense, it’s not out of the question that he could become part of the rotation. His skill set is similar to Rodriguez’s in that he’s on the smaller end (5-foot-11, 227 pounds), but he’s instinctive and aggressive in the run game and has natural chops in coverage. He also has 486 snaps of special teams experience, so that makes him a valuable player on game days, should he climb the depth chart.
