LIONS OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR BEN JOHNSON QUOTE SHEET

October 5, 2023

On Lions TE Sam LaPorta’s consistency and the next step for him: “He needs to keep up what he’s doing to be quite honest with you. I mean, we’re putting him into some challenging situations and he’s coming through in a good way, positive way for us, so we’ll continue to work him. We don’t go into a week feeling like we have to cap him in any capacity. He’s able to do everything we’re asking out of that position room, and we feel really good about his progress right now.”

On his plan for working Lions WR Jameson Williams back into the offense: “Yeah, I would say this, not just about Jamo but about all of our guys, whoever we have up on game day, we have a place for. They have a role. Some guys more than others, but every week, everyone – we’re intentional about getting everyone involved in doing things that they’re capable of doing. Whether the play gets called, or whether the coverage dictates the ball going to them, that’s a different story. But here’s what I’ll say about Jamo, if he’s active this week, then he will have plays in for him this week. It’s like that with all of our skill guys.”

On Lions RB David Montgomery’s heavy workload against the Packers despite coming off an injury: “That was probably just the flow of that particular game. Particularly in the fourth quarter, I don’t know the number of carries he got in the fourth quarter, but being up a couple scores, we knew we wanted to run the ball a little bit more and the way he was running it that game, we felt really good about keeping him going. (Lions Head) Coach (Dan) Campbell talks about it all the time, at that position, a guy can get a hot hand and that’s the guy we want to ride. It just so happened, last week (at) Green Bay that he was our guy. Will he get 30 touches every game? That remains to be seen, but thought he did a heck of a job handling that. He’s built – he’s physically built to handle that, which I don’t know how many backs are built that way anymore, but he’s got a good frame for it and he held up really well.”

On how the power Lions RB David Montgomery runs with allows him to produce big runs after contact: “Yeah, there is a physicality factor to it. But for such a big guy, he has some of the best feet I’ve been around. He finds a way to make these jump cuts and get skinny really quickly and accelerate through small holes and he finds some cracks that way. So, he’s got a nice balance between the two. You wouldn’t think it for a 220-plus pound back. And so, here’s where we’ve got to keep pushing because we haven’t – frankly we haven’t hit our stride yet offensively through four games, is he’s doing all this and yet, I don’t know that he’s averaging over four yards a carry yet, so we have to do a little better job upfront on a consistent basis. I see it coming together, I really do. We’re making progress there, but we can help him out because he’s, as (Lions Assistant Head Coach/Running Backs Coach) Coach (Scottie) Montgomery said, ‘He was running like a man possessed.’ And that’s what we want from that position.”

On if there is anything more valuable to an offense than having possessions in the fourth quarter: “No, I think the ability to morph into whatever is needed. We can – I feel good that we can throw the ball when necessary and we can run the ball when necessary. I go back to last year, early in the season we had Minnesota, at Minnesota, and we had an opportunity to close out that game with the lead and that was a failed four-minute drive for us and that’s something I know the offensive line, they still look back and we learned a lot. We learned a lot from that week and so when we get those opportunities in the fourth quarter and we have the ball, we’re doing everything we possibly can not to get our defense back out on the field.”

On why he believes that the offense is effective late in games: “That’s a tough question right now. Four games in, you’d like to know exactly what your identity is. I do think we’re a physical group. We are detailed. We’re still figuring out maybe some nuances of some of our new guys. We’ve had some change-ups on the offensive line already through four games and so, the more we can gel, I think the better off we’re going to be. But – and I’d say we’re a little bit more complicated than we were last year also, so we’re still working through some things, but I think it’s going to come together. I know the quarterback’s really comfortable right now, so that gives me a lot of confidence that this thing is going to pull together for us.”

On reflecting on his job search and interviewing with Carolina this past offseason: “Yeah, let’s end that one right there. I don’t want to talk about that stuff during the season. We talked about it in the offseason, so I don’t mean to be rude there, but let’s – I want to keep the focus on our guys and the Panthers right now.”

On if there is something specific about the Panthers organization that drove him to turn down a job there: “No, no.”

On the confidence he has in other players being able to fill Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown’s position if he is unable to play against the Panthers because of his injury: “Yeah, I feel good about all of our guys up this week. We’ll see as the week goes who exactly is available, but we have plans and contingency plans based on how the week goes for us, but we know it happens every year. And last year we played nine, 10 O-linemen. Last year we played nine, 10 receivers, just so happens we’re four games in and we’re already having this circle going on, so we were prepared for it. We talked about it all of training camp. The guys that made our practice squad, we talked about at the end of training camp that they were going to play significant minutes for us at some point this season, whether that’s this week, who knows? But at some point this year, they will and they prepare like that every week.”

On his assessment of Lions WR Antoine Green’s progression: “He keeps flashing. It’s encouraging to watch him because he was – talking with (Lions Cornerbacks Coach) Dré Bly a little bit about him at Carolina, it took him some time to truly develop his craft and his route tree there. And he came on his senior year and had a big year for him. And so seeing that now, I just see a guy that’s – he is detailed, he’s hungry, he’s working every single day. At times it seems like there’s a lot of processing going on and it slows down and that’s what we’re working every single day to get out of him because when he plays fast, he is fast. It shows up and he can be a really effective player that way. So, as much as we can slow the game down mentally for him, his natural talents will come out.”

On how much adjustment is needed for Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs to produce more runs against defenses that are attacking him: “Yeah, I go back, it was the Atlanta game. Just like you said, shoot it was one of the first or second plays of the game and they do what we call ‘butch technique’ and it’s something that New England has done for years from the backfield or even tight ends to slow them down and disrupt them. It wasn’t something we had seen from Atlanta prior to this year, or really New Orleans where that defensive coordinator happened to come from, so yeah, it surprised us a little bit and so, we are more prepared for that going forward knowing that that’s a way that teams – didn’t know it was going to happen quite that early that teams were going to try to isolate him and then really last week too, Green Bay is about a quarter in and saw that they were calling the game completely different when 26 was in the game. And so, that’s a sign of respect for him that guys are looking at him and they know where he is on every single play, hell the reverse went for a major gain partly because the ball was in his hands to start the play. So, it’s a challenge for us as a coaching staff to, even though they have a plan to slow him down and stop him, we’re still creating opportunities for him and that’s a good challenge for us.”

On how they can counteract defenses trying to stop Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs’s route path: “Awareness helps, but certainly, as a coaching staff, we can help him.”

On how they can address the offense’s slow starts going into the second half of games: “No, there’s plenty of data. It’s a big deal because it was a problem last year. So, it’s one that we haven’t been able to fix yet. We’re certainly aware of it as a coaching staff. The players are aware of it and so, it’s something that we’re looking to improve. There’s a number of ways we’re tackling that right now.”

On how they can fix the offense’s slow starts going into the second half of games: “I said this last year when we had a turnover problem early in the season, just the awareness of the problem is the first step to correcting the problem and so, we cleaned up our turnovers the second half of the year and that was part of just drawing their attention to how important that is. Same thing I think as a starting point for this is, ‘Hey guys, this isn’t good enough. This is not what we’re capable of.’ So, as long as they are understanding what we’re trying to get done, I think we’ll see improvement and then there are some things that as a coaching staff we can do a little better as well.”

On when they started implementing fast motion plays into the playbook: “Shoot, we did that Chicago – at Chicago two years ago with (Lions WR) Kalif (Raymond) down in the red zone. So, we’ve been doing these fast motions for several years. I mean heck, I just showed the guys last week a clip from Miami 2013 of (former Browns WR) Brian Hartline going in fast motion, so I mean these things have been going around. They’re just becoming a more regular occurrence, I think, on first and second down and probably shoot, it feels like all the teams in the NFL are doing it to some extent right now.”

On if he thinks there is an increased volume of fast motion plays around the League: “Yeah, I think so.”
 

LIONS DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR AARON GLENN QUOTE SHEET

October 5, 2023

Opening Statement: “Defensively speaking, excited and happy (with) where we’re at as a defense this first quarter of the season. Obviously, there are things that we’ve got to clean up and things that we want to improve on, and we will do that. But looking forward to this next quarter. Looking forward to this game and always looking forward to coaching the players.”

On the catalyst behind their success in stopping the run this season: “Players and players playing well. Players understanding exactly what we’re doing. And players have pride and for the most part, I give all the credit to those guys. Every time they go out to practice, that’s their motivation and we’re in the improvement mentality and mindset for our guys and that’s every time we step on the field, so obviously they’ve improved and they’re going to continue to improve because that’s their mindset.”

On how important the linebackers are in stopping the run: “It’s no difference. We’re in the business of improving. That’s what those guys have been doing.”

On the continuity Lions LB Alex Anzalone and Lions DL Alim McNeill bring to a young defense that helps the group through rough patches: “I think you’re going to hit that no matter what. Offense, defense, special teams, you’re always going to have a rough patch. I don’t know what people think this is. This is not a game. This is grown men out there playing and every now and then, you’re going to have rough patches and we had some. I mean hell, we had one against Seattle. But we have men that understand and again, they have pride and want to be good. That makes all the difference in the world and with the staff that we have, how we’re just beating into these guys, man this is an improvement-type business and those guys really, really understand that, probably more than any other time right now because you see it in practice. All the fundamentals, all the techniques that we talk about, those guys go out there and they really try to give us that as much as possible and to me, that’s the number one thing. The players, they deserve all the credit in the world for how they’ve been playing.”

On moving Lions DL Aidan Hutchinson around and playing in different spots more frequently this season: “We really haven’t. He’s been doing the same things, so it’s just the fact that guys around him and even him, have been executing at a high level and that’s what you have to do in this League. I come from a place where the saying was, and we even say it here, ‘It’s not what you play, it’s how you play.’ And where I was at, I mean we didn’t have a lot of calls. The guys just executed at a high level and the coaches made sure they put the players in positions to be successful and really, that’s our philosophy here for the most part. So, Hutch is going to continue doing what he does and he’s going to play at a high level because that’s just who he is, along with the rest of the players.”

On how moving Lions DL Aidan Hutchinson around allows him to be more successful: “Yeah, that’s just what we do.”

On Lions DL Aidan Hutchinson’s mental and physical endurance through his heavy workload and how they will manage his workload going forward: “Listen, I was with a guy, (Saints DE Cameron) Cam Jordan that played actually more than that and he’s a freak of nature when it comes to conditioning, when it comes to understanding. Just mentally, just on another level and Hutch is no different than that player. And listen, those players don’t come around too often. But in the first two years, he’s been that type of guy. Obviously, you want to manage him, but sometimes the player is like, ‘Listen, Coach, I can go.’ And that’s just who he is and man, you do everything you can to try to alleviate that, but man when they show you who they are, you allow them to go out there and play.”

On the discipline of the defensive line: “What have you thought about it? We’re in an improvement business, so every time we hit the field, game or practice, we’re trying to improve. So listen, I wish this was a business where everybody’s going to be perfect and you can do everything right, but it just doesn’t happen that way. But you coach your (expletive) off and you play your (expletive) off to do things the right way and our guys are doing that.”

On how happy he is with the level of discipline the defensive line has right now: “Am I happy? Absolutely. I mean guys are playing hard. We’re doing some pretty good things, so – and there’s room for improvement. I’m happy the way those guys are playing.”

On his assessment of Lions DL Aidan Hutchinson so far this season: “He’s played well. He’s played well. But listen, he knows it, I know it, his coach that’s in his room knows it, that he can improve on some things. I would say this, this player wants to be the best and there’s not a day that he doesn’t go on that practice field and try to do that. So, everything that he wants as a player, me as a coach is going to try to give it to him because that’s my job. And he can accept that, and he wants that and you don’t have a lot of players that you get like that, and we just happen to have one in him and there’s others that we have that’s right along that mentality that you really, really like.”

On how trust between the players aids in the success of stopping the run: “That’s a really good assessment because that’s another thing that’s happening with us as a defense is the trust factor. And when you have guys and when you tell guys just execute and do their job, you have to trust the man next to you is doing their job and you really see that within the players. And listen, there’s going to be ebbs and flows on how this thing goes and you just can’t get away from that, but we understand that, we really do. But every time you go out and you just think about improving, that usually takes you through the hard times of offense, defense, special teams, just understanding that and our guys try to do that.”

On what he has seen from Panthers QB Bryce Young this season: “He processes really, really well. Listen man, it’s hard for a rookie quarterback in this League, especially off the jump coming in and starting. But you see the talent, you see him process, you see him make full field reads. And I’ll tell you what, he’s an impressive young man. It’s the reason why he did the things he did in college, and you can see him being a topflight quarterback as the years go by. So, he’s doing some really good things.”

On if he has always had confidence that the defense would be able to play at the high level they are playing at right now: “Yes, to answer your question, I’ve always had confidence. Man, this League is tough and I’ve seen a lot of really, really good coaches not have success early and they’re fired or whatnot, and then they end up going somewhere where they have the time to get exactly how they want to be and get the staff they want to get in, get the players they want to get in and you see success happens. And that’s just what happens in this League and as a coach, you know that and that’s just what it is. So, you have to have confidence in what you do and you have to have confidence in the players doing exactly what you want them to do and right now, you see that with our guys and not just me, you see the staff having confidence, you see them having confidence in us as coaches and having confidence within each other to go out there and execute at a high level.”

On if he heard the outside noise of people wanting him fired and using his experience as a former player to block out the noise: “Man, I’ve been in the toughest media market in the world and a lot of times that’s just white noise to me. It’s really funny, but man, we keep going. Just as a player, I’ve played one of the hardest positions there is in this League and once you get beat, you’re the worst thing there is. Once you give up yards, or whatever, as a coach, you’re the worst thing there is and it’s just part of it. Listen, we’re in a business of criticism and that’s not going to change, and I know that and that’s just part of it.”

On if he finds satisfaction in quieting the critics: “No, for what? Man, I’m a coach, that’s all I think about is coaching.”

On the value of the support he gets from Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell: “Well, I always say that’s – I would answer the same way I just answered that question of just a man that knows and that’s been around and he doesn’t waver when things get rocky, because that’s how this League is. You take a look at, I look at – my mentor, (Broncos Head) Coach (Sean) Payton, you see what he’s going through. I could tell you right now what he’s doing, he’s standing right here and he’s continuing to coach. That’s the way we’ve been brought up in this League is man, just trusting what you’re doing and continue to coach and that’s what he’s done. That’s what I’m going to do and that’s how we were brought up in this League.”

On how important Panthers WR Adam Thielen is to a young quarterback: “I’ll tell you what, that’s a guy that I’m impressed with. I actually know him personally just from being in Pro Bowls and he’s been there and just in seeing exactly how he operates. Very smart, dependable, trustworthy, you really see that with the quarterback and Thielen and even though you can say the skills have diminished, the mentality and the smarts have continued to rise and that’s why he’s having the success that he’s having, so he’s a guy that we have to pay attention to because he’s a really good player.”

On how different the Panthers’ run game is from last season: “Listen, when it comes to the run game, I think across this League, you get a lot of the same things. Some guys might turbo-motion, some guys might regular-motion, but you can what we call bounce open, belly open, crunch and everybody runs the same thing. It’s just the players that are operating, how do they do it? How do they block it? Do you have players that do it at an elite level? So, we just have to make sure that we continue to do the things that we’re doing and doing it at a high level. And just like the question before – well the assessment before, man, make sure that we’re trusting each other and again, that’s what we’ve been doing a good job of.”

 

LIONS SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR DAVE FIPP QUOTE SHEET

October 5, 2023

On Lions CB Chase Lucas’s impact since stepping in from the practice squad: “Yeah, he did a nice job in the last game and the truth is, he’s done a great job really since he’s been here of being who he is, and who he is, is kind of what you’re asking about I think. But he’s just a very – he’s ultra-competitive. He wants to make a play with everything he’s got. So, every play you put him out there, he’s going to fight and scratch and claw and try to end up with the football at the end of it and it’s kind of what he did against Green Bay, I mean he forced the two penalties and then he had a couple tackles too, so he did a nice job.”

On his level of confidence in Lions K Riley Patterson: “Yeah, he’s been solid. We’re obviously happy with the way he’s played. I think the whole operation also around him has done a real nice job. The snaps have been really good, the holds have been outstanding, and he’s done a good job. The protection – I didn’t think the protection was great early on, but thought it’s improved. It hasn’t been a problem, but I thought it’s improved. So, I think the whole operation’s done a good job. Certainly, he’s done a very good job.”

On how much he looks around the League for tendencies and ideas such as New England using a rushing blocker from the sideline to block a field goal against Miami: “Yeah, it’s a good question. I mean, I think any time something like that happens, it refreshes that in your mind of like, ‘Gosh, darn. Is there anything else that we kind of neglected or forgot about?’ Those guys did a great job the way they executed that play. I feel like everyone said it had never been done before which is not true. I had seen it a long time ago, but it was one of those plays you haven’t seen for a long time. And the last time I had seen it, and I can’t remember who it was, but the last time I had seen it you felt like, ‘Oh, it was one of those gimmicks that just didn’t kind of work that well,’ and then they took it to another level, and it obviously worked real well. But yeah, it is something that obviously you could tell they were practicing. The other operation was very rhythmic which is a good thing when you’re talking about field goals but can also hurt you, and it was kind of used against them. So, it was really well done by New England. But yeah, it does bring up the point of like, ‘What’s out there on us?’ and you’re kind of always thinking that way. And early in the week, you always go back and look at your last game out and for us, we even look at that, our last game out, during the week, kind of when we install each phase. But it definitely puts a highlight on the fact that you better make sure you checked everything.”

On if he ever got a fishing trip with Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick: “I’ve never gotten my fishing trip with Belichick. I’m hoping that one day – I still believe. I think I’m going to win the lottery too, but. One-point-four (million), every day I drive in, I see that sign, I’m like, ‘Wow!’ I told the guys in the meeting room this morning and they’re like, ‘1.4 (million)?’ I think I sold some tickets.”

On what he would do if he won the lottery: “Well, we had that conversation too. I would say I would be calling for more fakes. I would tell the head coach first, you can double-check everything I say. Take it with a grain of salt.”

On if he had any part in the delayed penalty called in last week’s game against Packers LB Quay Walker on the Lions’ field goal attempt that resulted in a first down: “You know it’s funny, I saw the guy go over the top. I didn’t know exactly where he came from. It’s a legal play if you come from within a yard of the line of scrimmage and you don’t touch anybody and whatnot. But, anyways, I was not sure of where he came from, and I was really past that play personally and on to the next one which for us was a kickoff. So, we were down there huddling up and then obviously they ended up getting the call right. And I’m not really sure exactly how that went down, but I do think, and I don’t know if this is the case on that play, the League uses replay and the Hawk-Eye system and all that upstairs a little bit more than ever before. And at the end of the day for me, I mean that’s really how it should be, just get it right. If there was a penalty or a foul that occurred out there, make sure you get it right. And I think it probably helps that you’re on national television, everyone’s watching, and they want to make sure they get it right, and there’s only one game on at the time. So, I don’t know if that had anything to do with it, but if it did, I really commend them for getting the call right at the end of the day.”

On if successfully executing a defensive player jumping over the line to block a field goal is off his plate: “Yeah, no, not totally off your plate, but it would take a certain look and you definitely need the field goal team to be playing very low, and then you also need a certain player. I can imagine back, long, long time ago, about 2008/2009/2010, we used a guy, Manny Lawson, who’s a big, long outside linebacker and he could jump over the top. And the hardest part about the play is it’s kind of like what happen to (Packers LB) Quay Walker, he got over the top, but in order to re-elevate in time and to get back up, you’ve got to get over the top and re-elevate to get the kick, and it takes time to do that. And actually, coming from depth, sometimes it takes longer because you’re running, then jumping and then re-elevating, than it does from the line of scrimmage. But, obviously getting over the top from the line of scrimmage is harder. So, back in like 2008/2009/2010, when I was in San Fran, Manny Lawson did it for us and blocked a couple kicks and then when I was in Philly, we had a kid, Bryan Braman who’s just very explosive, could do box jumps 40-something inches from a stand-still. I think there’s a picture of him online jumping over a car that was coming at him or something like that, but just a freak. And he went over the top, we didn’t block it though, he didn’t re-elevate in time either. Seattle’s done it a few times throughout the years. I think (Seahawks LB) Bobby Wagner might have done that. But anyways, it’s a challenging play, you need the right look.”

On if the new fair catch kickoff rule frustrates him: “Yeah, it’s – well, I did look at some of the numbers on that last week, I guess it was or the other day. Yeah, is it frustrating? There’s definitely fewer at this point in the year. I do know this, that as it gets colder outside and there’s wind and there’s weather and all that stuff, the number of returns will start to increase as the season goes along, it always does. So, even if teams are trying to kick it out. I think the other thing that’s happened though, obviously there hasn’t been a ton of fair catches, but there’s people just being smarter about when they’re returning the ball, when they’re not. And truth be told, our game last week’s probably a decent example of that. I mean they’re returning the ball five yards deep out of their own endzone, they’re not getting back to the 20, they’re getting penalties on top of it, ends up being negative field position for them. But I do think what’s happening is returners or teams are being smarter about when they’re returning kicks, where a year or two ago, you would see the ball come out minus two, minus three in the endzone, the ball would be coming out and they would return those kicks and now they’re not returning those kicks, so there’s not a huge increase in fair catches I don’t think, but there definitely is a big increase of when returners are taking the ball out of their own endzone and when they’re not. So, I think that’s the biggest thing. But like I said, I do think that as the season goes on, you’re going to see some teams – more teams have to cover kicks which is also the whole flip side of that. You guys kind of never really asked me but I was always ready to tell you is, ‘Well, why do you hit returnable balls?’ Well, I do know this, at some point you better be ready to cover those kicks and if you’re learning late in the year when everyone else is better at it, it can be a bigger challenge for you, and I think that’s happened historically. Maybe the Denver Broncos played in the Super Bowl when it was in New York against Seattle, and they hadn’t covered a lot of kicks that year because they play in Denver and there’s a lot of touchbacks and whatnot. And then all of a sudden, you get in a big game, it’s late in the year, you’re in the playoffs and you’ve got to cover a kick because the wind or weather won’t allow you to kick a touchback and now the opening kick, I think of the second half of that game, was a touchdown return against them. And the game was already a struggle to begin with, but that didn’t help matters. So, I think it pays to be able to cover kicks and at some point, it will pay more than others.”

On if the example of the Denver Broncos struggling to cover kicks late in the year was an observation he had in the moment or one he heard about: “I mean it’s just an observation I guess for doing it for a long time that you know that these things come up. I mean it’s certainly on my mind. I don’t know if it’s on everybody’s mind, but I’ve just got to worry about one guy and one team.”

On if he saw value in covering five kicks in last week’s game at Green Bay: “Yeah, I would say we got to cover, not had to, but perspective. Yeah, we got to cover five kicks which we liked, our guys like covering kicks and I think it’s good for those guys. We’ve got a bunch of good players on those units. They want to go out there and cover. I think that there’s a lot to it just psychologically also, not to mention the field position. Ultimately, you’re trying to win the game and field position’s a big part of that. But I also think just psychologically where you just keep kicking off and you’re forcing them to return it and they’re struggling and not getting where they want and they’re frustrated at the drive start, the offense takes the field, you can see their body language, they’re frustrated out there. I think that there’s a lot to that. And it’d be easy to say take the ball at the 25, but you could also say, ‘Well, don’t play third down. Just play first, second and fourth.’ You know what I mean? You can take plays out wherever you want to.”

 

Lions host the 0-4 Carolina Panthers Sunday at Ford Field

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