LIONS OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR BEN JOHNSON QUOTE SHEET
December 15, 2022
Opening Statement: “Few things we’ve got to improve on from last week starting with really the coordinator to head coach communication. Just letting him know what the play-call’s going to be ahead of time, I think that would help, but no, that’s awesome. He’s the best.”
On the run game struggling after starting the season strong: “Yeah, we take a ton of pride in it. Our gameplan always starts with the run game, and so, sure, it’s been disappointing. I know the numbers haven’t been there. Early in the season, we were getting some of those 50-yard runs that kind of, I do think skewed the average just a little bit, but overall, we were probably a little bit more efficient last game. And I think (Head) Coach (Dan Campbell) alluded to it, that’s probably the least efficient runs we’ve had as a whole when you look at the percentages, so something we’re conscious of. I think last few weeks, it’s a number of things when you look at the few games, offensive line, it might just be aiming points or angles, targeting is always a big thing. Receivers, at times, just making sure they’re taking care of their force responsibilities and then making sure our running backs are seeing the holes properly. Each play’s got an intent to it, and the more we meet together, and we’re all aligned, I think the vision comes together, so end of the day, we’ve been able to move the ball and score points on offense, so certainly, an area for us to improve though.”
On the pass to Lions T Penei Sewell: “Yeah, I figured you guys – you guys were probably just asking, ‘We’ve seen him do pat and go for five weeks now, what took you so long? What took you so long to throw him the ball?’ No, but it’s a heck of a job by him, coming through and then having the wherewithal to secure it and stay in bounds. It’s a testament. He’s not a rookie, he’s a second-year player, and we’ve got a lot of trust and confidence in him.”
On the execution of the third-down conversion pass to Lions T Penei Sewell: “It was really well-executed by our guys, so proud of them.”
On the balance between making a gameplan around the Jets defense while following the offense’s strong suits: “Yeah, I mean we have plays and we have concepts that we feel like are our backbone, and regardless of the opponent, we want to make sure we have them up, and we make them work, and they’re good and efficient for us, and when push come to shove, we’re able to move the ball with those, but I think we do – every week, we have a nice balance between gameplan plays that are a little bit unique to the style of defense that we’re facing, and then leaning on those concepts that we’re good at, and we can do in our sleep. So this week is no different than any other, it’s just the challenge is – we can talk a little bit more about them. They’re very unique with that four-down, wide-nine and getting off the football in such a way that, if you don’t practice against it on a consistent basis, they can shock you. They can shock you early in a game, just with their get-off, so we’ve got a big task at hand the next couple days trying to replicate that in practice.”
On Jets CB Sauce Gardner being a shut-down corner that can impact a side of a field: “Yeah, I feel like it’s kind of evolved for those skill positions, both corners and receivers where it used to be, it takes them a year or two to – you see the production that you’d like to see out of college from their college tape, but as of late, I feel like both those positions, corners and receivers can make more of an immediate impact. Last year felt that way with (Broncos CB Patrick) Surtain when we were playing in Denver, and I would see Sauce Gardner in that same light. He’s very talented, he’s long, he’s fast, sticky in coverage, and to me, what’s most impressive not just of him, but with all their secondary players is their willingness to tackle. They like to come down and get dirty, so our wideouts have a big challenge ahead of them.”
On if he has seen teams avoiding throws to the side of the field Jets CB Sauce Gardner is on: “Yeah, that’s a good question. I don’t know that they’ve probably used him in that light where it’s, ‘Hey, you just shut down one side, and we’ll devote all our resources to the other side.’ I probably haven’t seen that. Maybe they’re evolving that way, but they certainly have a lot of confidence in him going up and pressing and executing his job without help. Yeah, I don’t think there’s any question about that, so we’ve got to be smart in how we attack them, both sides of the field. But we feel like we’re having a good plan come together right now.”
On having success on fourth down throughout the course of the season and the fake punt call against the Vikings: “Yeah, (Lions Head) Coach (Dan Campbell) – I had no idea it was even coming. So, it’s a – shoot, it’s testament to (Lions Special Teams Coordinator) Coach (Dave) Fipp though and Coach Campbell. I mean, it’s – they dial it up at the right time and their preparation, their detail, the players being able to execute it, it’s top notch. I think Fipp’s had a number of those over the last year and a half that have come through for us. So, offensively helps us immensely. Not just with field position, what they’re able to do right there, but swinging the momentum back in our favor. I think that was coming right after a three-and-out to start the second half too. So, I think that really got us going on the right foot there for the rest of the game.”
On if he had an idea the fake punt was going to happen against the Vikings: “Honestly, I had no idea. I had no idea. I was going over the iPad, I was looking – I was going – starting to go through the pictures, and then I just heard the crowd cheer. So, just – reacting and back on it.”
On how much he picks Lions Special Teams Coordinator Dave Fipp’s brain in terms of creativity of play-calls: “More in the offseason. When the bullets are flying right now in the season, I don’t have much time to get out of my office to visit and socialize.”
On the production from Lions WR Kalif Raymond the past couple of games on offense and special teams: “Shoot yeah, I think I brought his name up last week too, talking about the Jacksonville game. He had two catches in that game and both of them were huge and probably went largely unnoticed by most people because they weren’t down the field or anything like that. But keeps us on schedule, have a lot of confidence in his hands, obviously he’s got really good speed, which I think right now we’ve got some guys, some perimeter guys that can run. And I think that’s what you’re seeing is helping open up our pass game just a little bit more, not just vertically but the underneath stuff is going to be there because teams are starting to respect – our guy (Lions WR Jameson Williams) Jamo, (Lions WR DJ) Chark, all these guys that can go down the field a little bit.”
On what he thought about the one-play scoring drive against the Vikings: “Speak it into existence, right? We will run the ball well this week. How about that? Let’s get that sucker going.”
On finding some rhythm in the passing game against the Vikings: “Yeah, I – earlier this year I think we took some shots and maybe didn’t connect. So, to see some of those attempts, 10-plus yards connect on, I think that’s awesome for us as an offense. But also, I think it’s – it kind of shows our growth, our chemistry developing. We’ve had a lot of time on task now from training camp all the way to this point. So, I think these guys are starting to reap those rewards to a degree.”
On how they can distribute the ball among the skill players now that they are getting healthy: “Yeah, we try to your point to mix it up as much as we can. Get all of our guys involved, each gameplan, you never know exactly where the ball’s going to go, but try to get guys to do what they do best and if the defense gives it to us, we’ll take it. So, certainly I do think it makes us more dangerous that they can’t key on just one specific skill guy right now.”
On how his relationship and chemistry with Lions QB Jared Goff has grown throughout the course of the season: “Yeah, I think it’s the same thing now. There’s a – our relationship has grown as the season has gone along. We meet every day after the game, we watch the game together, we go back and forth, how I see it, how he sees it. So, we’re very much aligned, we’re as much aligned now as we’ve been all season. So, I think that helps him play and do his job where, ‘OK, you’re calling this here. Here’s where I can be more aggressive, here’s where I just need to find a completion.’ I mean, shoot he’s done a number of times the past few games where I get a little bit too aggressive and the play isn’t there down the field and he’ll just burn it at a receiver’s feet and save the play that way. Not take a sack, not force something, and so he’s doing a really good job with that and it allows me as a play-caller to call, shoot almost anything on the call sheet because I’m not worried about a negative play happening because I trust that he’s going to be able to do something positive with it for the most part. And that’s the biggest thing with him right now, he’s playing confident football, he’s taking care of the football, and he’s doing a nice job working within the pocket. So, we’re seeing some good production.”
LIONS DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR AARON GLENN QUOTE SHEET
December 15, 2022
Opening Statement: “Happy about the way the defense played last week. Thing we’ve got to continue to do as a defense is continue to limit points, and that’s something that we’ve been talking about in our defensive room for the most part, and also stressing the identity that these guys have made for themselves over the past, I would say, eight weeks as far as being tough, being violent and hunting the ball. And those guys continue to do that, so we want to continue to do that. We want to do it at a high level, and we will continue to improve with all the young guys that we have, and that’s what we continue to try and do.”
On the reason why the defense has been forcing more turnovers after struggling to do so after the first few weeks: “Because I think it’s more the mindset of being intentional about it, of understanding who the targets are, and we do have a target, they intentionally try to go after that target. I’ve said this before, and it’s something that Bill Cowher had told me about creating an identity. You don’t know what that identity’s going to be until later on in the season, and the guys really hung onto that, and they know who they want to be, and I know who they want to be. So the things that we do stress, we want to make sure that that comes out by the way that we play, but it all starts in how you practice, and our guys have been doing a good job of that.”
On if creating takeaways is ingrained in certain players like Lions S Kerby Joseph: “Yeah, that’s just who he is. That’s just who he is, but I would also say, when you’re part of a team, and that’s not you, but everybody else starts to do it, you’ll stick out like a sore thumb. And you might not be a part of that. Either you get with it or you better move out, and guys are really getting with it.”
On when the defense made a turnaround and if the players’ only meeting was the catalyst: “I think guys took things to heart starting that New England game to where we were playing terrible, and that’s not who you want to be as a player. That’s not who you want to be as a coach. That’s not who you want to be as a defense. We have guys with a lot of pride on this defense, so the players’ only meeting, that was just something that the players did, but when you look up and you see that you’re not helping the team, you’ve got to do something about it. And me as a coach, the players, they drew a line saying, they said enough was enough, and you really saw that during that New England game and after that.”
On how New York’s defense is different with Jets QB Mike White compared to Jets QB Zach Wilson: “For the most part, you see the same plays. There are certain things that Wilson does that’s a part of who he is as far as the read-zone plays that most of these running quarterbacks are doing now. The one thing that White does a really good job of is getting the ball out and getting them in the hands of his skill players, allowing those guys to break tackles and make plays. And you see that’s a part of his offense, you see it with San Francisco, you see it with the Jets. The one thing we’ve got to do a really, really good job of is tackling. They do a good job of breaking tackles, so population to the ball is something that we preach all the time. We’ve got to do a really good job of that.”
On how fond he is of the Jets organization after getting his career start as a player and as a scout with them: “Very fond of that organization. I think you guys have heard me say that before because they gave me my start in a number of different ways as a player and as a coach, really as a scout. And there’s still some people there that actually have moved up in the higher career as far as positions. They’re really good friends of mine, so any time I have a chance to go against this team, I want to beat the hell out of them. Even though I have a lot of love for that organization, I really do, but I do. I want to beat the hell out of them.”
On who gave him his start with the Jets: “(Former Jets General Manager) Mike Tannenbaum. Mike Tannenbaum was the guy that gave me the opportunity. And he’s still a good friend of mine to this day.”
On if he knew he wanted to get into coaching from the jump: “I really didn’t to be honest with you. I thought I should be this businessman, suit and tie, and that’s not who I am. Man, I am a warm up, get on the field, scream, yell, curse, and try to get guys to get better. That’s who I am, and that’s OK.”
On how rewarding it is to see Lions DL Isaiah Biggs make impact plays: “Well, I’ll tell you what, that guy’s a guy that we’ve been talking about for a while. He doesn’t probably get all the praise that he should, but for him to be able to make that play on that stage, at that time, in the red zone was outstanding for him, so we know how valuable that player is for us. He’s found a home. We’re happy with him, and I know for a fact that he’s happy being here, so we just want to continue to get better with that player and continue to understand exactly what we’re doing. And there’s just a lot more improvement that can happen with that player, so I’m really excited about that player.”
On players understanding who to target on the other team to force turnovers: “Our players, like who are the guys that we’re going after to make sure we get takeaways, and each week, we try to identify that. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it don’t. Sometimes it can be a surprise player that shows up we get the ball away from, but the fact of the matter is, man, we’re after the ball each and every time that we’re on the field.”
On Lions DL Romeo Okwara’s debut: “Loved seeing him out there. Obviously, he’s going to be a little rusty with his first time coming back, but the more reps he has on the field, the more you see him improve, so I’m glad he’s going to get a chance again this week to get out there. But I know he was a little nervous, but he got through it, and it was good to see.”
On assessing the improvement of the linebacker group: “How would I assess the improvement of linebackers? Just like everybody else on the defense, improving, which has to happen. Between (Lions LB Malcolm Rodriguez) Rodrigo, between (Lions LB) Alex (Anzalone), man, it was outstanding to see (Lions LB Jarrad Davis) JD go out there and make the plays that he did, and especially on special teams. So once one guy goes down like (Lions LB Derrick) Barnes went down, man, we’ve got a guy on the line to get ready to step up and go make a play. And I expect that for those guys, and they know that. That’s why a lot of times in our meetings, we don’t talk about first group and second group, we just talk about we have guys on this team that’s going to go play. So, if a guy goes down, the next guy comes up, and he go plays.”
On what has been going well for Lions LB Alex Anzalone: “Nothing’s changed with Alex. Everything that we said before, great leader, smart guy, able to get everybody lined up, and that’s not going to change that player at all, and that’s the value of Alex.”
On how you prepare players to be perfect for situations with little margin for error such as the Lions’ potential playoff push: “Well, there’s no such thing as that, so we can cancel that, being perfect. And that’s where guys usually mess up, when they try to be perfect. I just want guys to go out there and understand what their role is, understand what their job is, and do the best they can with that job. And if you do that in practice, and let that transition go to the game, that’s the consistency I’m looking for, so I’m not looking for a guy to be perfect, I’m looking for a guy to go out there and understand what he’s supposed to do, and do it at a high level, and if you do that, I’m all good.”
On what stands out about Jets WRs Garrett Wilson and Elijah Moore: “Wilson’s the real deal. He’s a really good player. The Jets did a good job of identifying that player, and I think on a number of levels, I would say that he’s a good player because he breaks tackles like one of the better receivers I’ve seen this year as far as breaking tackles. He’s tough, he’s taking some hits now, and he’ll get back up. And he will reach out and go after the ball, so 50/50 balls, man, you have to be on your p’s and q’s to be able to defend that player because he’s a hard cover. And we’ve got to do a really good job of making sure we contain him.”
On Lions DL Aidan Hutchinson adapting and fixing his early-season mistakes: “You guys as me that question every week, and I’m going to give you the same – he’s going to continue to improve. He understands what his job is. We’ve done some things to help him as far as being able to make plays, and as the weeks progress, he’s going to continue to improve. I mean it shows the way he’s been playing as far as the run game and in the pass game, so sky’s the limit for that player. I’m expecting that player to have a good game this week, just like I am – like I do every week.”
On Jets RB Zonovan ‘Bam’ Knight getting an opportunity after being signed to the practice squad and elevated: “He’s another player that we’ve got to defend, so whatever position he’s at, we’re going to do everything we can to get the best of him. I will tell you that.”On what he has seen from Jets RB Zonovan ‘Bam’ Knight on tape: “Good player. Good player, good runner. The thing is I’ve been told by other coaches around this League that’s played against that team that he’s a really tough runner, so we understand exactly who he is. He’s no surprise to us, but each week, these guys come out the woodworks somehow, someway because there’s a lot of good player in this League that doesn’t get the chance, but when they do, it kind of shows up, and he’s one of them.”
On his respect for Jets Head Coach Robert Saleh as a defensive coach: “Big fan of his, really big fan. I love the energy. I love the message, the things that he says to his team, and I just love everything that he’s about as a coach. So, happy for the ways things are going with him, just don’t want those things to happen this week against us.”
On his favorite Draft day memory and if he was in New York where the 1994 NFL Draft was held: “Well, I was. I was in New York. God, craziest thing about it, I never talked to the Jets, not one time during the Draft process. I actually thought I was going sixth to Tampa because I was in Tampa, as far as the visit that whole time, and they told me they were going to draft me, but we know how the draft goes. Actually, I think (former Buccaneers QB) Trent Dilfer was still on the board at that point. He’s supposed to go early to Indy I think. I think Indy ended up being (former Colts LB) Trev Alberts. Don’t know why that happened, but no disrespect to Trev now. I know how you guys are. But they picked Trev Alberts, so I get a call from Tampa at the Draft, and they tell me, ‘Listen, we have a franchise quarterback on the board, so we’ve got to draft him.’ And my dad, rest in peace, said, ‘Look, well, you have a franchise corner sitting right there too.’ But anyway, then (Seahawks Head Coach) Pete Carroll was the head coach at that time, and I think they had like the 20-something pick, so he traded up from 20 to 12, and he came and drafted me, so that’s my Draft day memory. And my mom cried the whole time.”
On his dad defending him on Draft day: “My dad said that just aloud. That’s just who my dad was, so I kind of got that from him too, so sometimes I’ll say things out loud I shouldn’t say either but it’s all good. It’s all good.”
LIONS SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR DAVE FIPP QUOTE SHEET
December 15, 2022
On how many fake punt plays he has in his playbook: “Yeah, I wouldn’t – there’s no number, but yeah obviously it was a great play and those guys did a great job executing it.”
On what goes into making fake punt calls and if it is something the players see or if it is something he sees: “Yeah, it’s really a combination of a lot of things, probably all of what you said is really the combination. Obviously, it starts with the (Lions) Head Coach (Dan Campbell), I will say, god man, he’s a beast. I mean, he’s great to work for as a coach because he empowers you and enables you. He keeps you honest, he makes you better, he’s incredibly smart, really in all three phases, as smart as anybody I’ve been around. And I think I told you a year ago when we were talking about fakes, he sits in my office and he goes over everything and every detail of it. And so, anyways, obviously I feel fortunate to be able to work for him. And I think some people say, ‘Well it’s just such a risky call,’ and stuff like that which obviously there’s an element of risk to it, everything we do out there. I could relate to – probably best like this – when I was in high school I had this great high school coach, his name is Ray Hernandez, he’s probably the reason why I’m here today doing this. It just takes one guy to believe in somebody and he believed in me and that I could be a good football player. And so, I would say thanks to all like the high school coaches, teachers, educators. The impact one person can have on anybody is great, but to go along with the story this guy was very unassuming and he was into horse racing. And so, he liked to bet on horses which was totally foreign for me and I’m like, ‘Dude aren’t you just throwing your money away doing that?’ And – but he used to study the racing for him and he knew the jockey and when that jockey’s on this horse and this horse is trained by this guy and when it runs on the money track it’s one thing. But it’s a dry track it’s another, if it’s turf, if it’s dirt, and he knew horse betting totally different than I did. And so, I think it’s a little bit like that to us, like when we would look at any given play and he was a savant at doing all that. But when we look at a play it’s different, it’s like well what is their stance? What’s their alignment? Are there two guys over there or three? And what is the look of the two guys and the three guys? And there’s just so much to it that I think for us the risk is perceived differently on the inside maybe than it is on the outside on some of those things. It obviously takes a lot of guys to make those calls, but I do think it’s a little bit different when you know all the ins and outs of everything there. So, there’s some of that too into play. And then the last thing I would say, I said this a year ago, but man the players, it comes down to the players. I mean to draw the play on paper anytime I’ve drawn these plays on paper. It’s simple to draw it on paper, but the way that the players make it come to life is obviously inspirational and they did a great job of execution on the play, same thing we talked about a year ago. I mean, there’s just a lot of parts to it, I don’t really want to talk about all the minute details. But there’s a lot to it, those guys did an outstanding job executing it. And I think a lot of our belief comes into knowing who’s doing it and who’s executing the play and we’ve got a lot of confidence in those guys. So, it ended up working out, obviously in our favor.”
On the excitement of getting Lions S C.J. Moore back on the roster when they did: “Yeah, I would say the excitement of getting him back was incredible, so it’s funny because we released him or he was – we released him early, he was on the streets, obviously was injured. He had come back in our building and he had worked out, it was right before the bye week and my wife and I went out to breakfast during the bye week and sure enough, C.J.’s there. I’m like, ‘Man, this is great. We’re going to pay for his breakfast, he’s going to stay here and whatever it takes.’ And then like the next day he went to Houston. I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, hey man, eat and run.’ But anyway to get him back was incredible. I mean, he’s a difference maker as a player. He’s got unique skillset, he loves playing special teams, he plays them at a high level and not to mention just a great person. So, I love being around him and obviously did a great job on that play.” |
