The Detroit Lions coordinators had their typical Thursday press conferences ahead of the team’s big Week 11 game against the Philadelphia Eagles. While the big conversation for offensive coordinator John Morton was about his response to having play calls taken away from him—which is covered in a separate article here—there were plenty of other takeaways from Thursday’s media sessions.
Here are the seven biggest stories:
Offensive coordinator John Morton
Note: There’s a separate article on Morton’s reaction to having play-calling duties taken away. Below are other things he talked about.
Vic Fangio, same as he ever was
Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has an NFL defensive coordinator history that spans literally three decades. His first coordinator job with the Carolina Panthers was in 1995. And while we think of the NFL and its strategies as a living being—constantly evolving and growing—Morton says when it comes to Fangio, he’s barely changed anything.
“He’s been the same, I’m just telling you,” Morton said. “You can be the same. And that’s the way Vic has been. I mean, there’s been plenty of guys—Vic has this tree of these certain coordinators, they all do the same thing.”
The key to Fangio’s defenses? A terrorizing defensive front. That’s certainly no different this year, with the Eagles sports stars like Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis, and now Jaelan Phillips along their line.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do handling these guys up front, that’s the biggest thing,” Morton said. “Their rush, their front. Man, they really get after it. It was the same thing when I was in San Francisco; we had a great front seven. That’s what he really relies on. They don’t do a lot of stuff; they really rely on that front.”
Loving the chess match
As one of the masterminds behind Detroit’s passing game, Morton spoke about how defenses are responding to two of their biggest weapons: Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams. Both have dealt with bracket coverages, double teams, or over-the-top shells to take away big plays in big moments. While that could be frustrating for some offensive coordinators, Morton enjoys the challenge it presents.
“How do I get him open a certain way? And I love that. I love the game planning aspect of that, I live for this week,” Morton said. “I live for it, because it’s a little chess match that you play to get guys open, and then you show them this is why we’re doing this, ‘OK, you’re going to get doubled. Well, let’s do this, so you can’t.’ There are certain ways to do it. Like I said, I’ve done it for a long time. When I’m looking at how to get guys open, I’m thinking of all the plays and guys I’ve been around, how we’ve done it, the coaches I’ve been around. I just love that whole aspect of just the grind during the week and figuring out things.”
Defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard
Deep pass coverage needs to be better
Last week against the Washington Commanders, the Lions allowed Marcus Mariota to complete 3-of-6 passes that traveled at least 20 yards downfield. Those plays went for a collective 108 yards (most in Week 10)—more than half of Mariota’s total passing yards on the day (213).
Sheppard identified that as a big part of the defense that needs to improve, and that starts with altering their mindset.
“When the ball’s in the air, traveling over 30 yards, it has to be our ball. And that’s the mentality I want our DBs to take on, and I know they will because I know who coaches that room,” Sheppard said.
He credited the Lions’ secondary for consistently being in the right place to make a play, but that’s no longer enough. He challenged those players to now take the next step.
“I told the whole room,” Sheppard said. “‘Being in position, that’s good in training camp. That’s good, maybe Week 1, Week 2, Week 3. But where we’re at right now in this season, being in position isn’t good enough. You’re paid to be in position. Now, you’ve got to go make those plays in critical moments in games like we’re getting ourselves into.’”
Terrion Arnold answered the challenge
Last week, Sheppard praised Arnold’s coverage against the Vikings, but publicly challenged him to improve in the run game after what he called an “unacceptable” performance. Though he only played a half of football against the Commanders this week before leaving the game with a concussion, Arnold stepped up to the plate and delivered a strong overall performance. Sheppard was impressed with the response.
“The thing I love most about him, seriously, is that I challenge that player and I challenged him publicly and a lot of guys can’t take that,” Sheppard said.. “And I know he’s one that can because of the relationship we have. He knows I’m not being demeaning towards him. I’m being very demanding, though, because I see something in him. I see what he can be, and I fully expect him to not only reach that but usurp it, and I think he will.
“But he responded. You look down, he had a play in the tight red (zone)—probably my most proudest play. His coverage speaks for itself, but I told you the part of the game I was looking for. And you look down in the tight red, they ran a sweep to him, he had a blocker on him. He beats the blocker and goes under to make the play. That was probably my most proud play in that game with Terrion.”
Hassanein loves Sheppard; Sheppard loves(?) Hassanein
With the return of Ahmed Hassanein to the building this week after Detroit cut him with an injury settlement before the season, Sheppard talked about the energy the rookie has brought to the facility. He had a funny description of one interaction with the Lions’ defensive end.
“I don’t know if he’s ever had a bad day. I’m serious. It’s unbelievable. His energy’s contagious,” Sheppard said. “People saw him at the combine yelling before the drill like, ‘Is this fake?’ Is he seriously being serious when he says, ‘Coach, I absolutely love you. No, I’m serious.’ I’m like, ‘…love you too?’”
Special teams coordinator Dave Fipp
More low kicks, but faith in Jake Bates is still strong
Jake Bates missed a critical field goal against the Vikings in Week 9 due to kicking the ball too low. Unfortunately, Fipp revealed that it happened again twice against the Commanders. One resulted in a blocked extra point, the other was still a make. Despite the repeated error, Fipp’s faith hasn’t wavered in Bates.
“A situation like this, it gives you an opportunity to grow and get better, and I think he’ll do that, probably in multiple ways,” Fipp said. “Maybe a little bit of technique stuff, also mindset stuff. I think 15 years down the road, he’ll probably look back and say, ‘It was good for me, it made me better.’
“So, he’s got to attack that the right way, and he’s got to respond obviously and get better. I’ve got to help him out, certainly my job too. I do know this: he is a great player. I won’t waver one bit with him. It’s hard to find good kickers in this League, and he’s certainly one of those.”
Kick coverage overall is still good
Against the Commanders, the Lions gave up another long kick return, allowing Washington to take the ball all the way down to their own 48-yard line. And while Fipp repeatedly said that play wasn’t up to their own standard, he was also quick to point out that Washington’s starting field position in the game—including the long return—was still below average.
“It drives me crazy when you see the ball get past the 40-yard line when you’re covering a kickoff, but I would say also because of that—and I’m certainly not making any excuse, it’s definitely not my standard, I would tell you that for sure. I like the ball inside the 30, but their drive start at the end of the game was at the 28-yard line. To me, that’s the most important thing, probably at the end of that play. Well, there were only three other teams that had a better drive start around the league after that play last week. And then if you look at on the season, I think the fourth best team on drive start, their drive start is the 28-yard line.
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