LIONS OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR JOHN MORTON QUOTE SHEET
December 18, 2025
Opening Statement: “Man, looking forward to this game. Pittsburgh used to be my childhood team. I had Pittsburgh everything. but looking forward to this. It’s always a tough game, (Steelers Head Coach) Mike Tomlin and (Steelers Defensive Coordinator Teryl) Austin, those guys do a great job on defense. Always have historically. Do a good job up front, playing really good up front. Secondary, do a good job in coverages, got good blitz packages. Will be a good challenge for us, we’re ready. So, looking forward to it.”
On how Pittsburgh was his team growing up: “Yeah, I had Pittsburgh everything. Terry Bradshaw, Lynn Swann, John Stallworth, Jack Ham. I mean, how could you not? Yeah, they were fun to watch. Hated Dallas, loved Pittsburgh.”
On the success of the Steelers as a franchise: “Well, continuity, right? They’ve had, what, three head coaches? That’s a plus. (Steelers Head Coach Mike) Tomlin, he’s a heck of a coach. They draft really well, just like we have here. They’ve established what they want to do, and it’s just been like that, no matter what coach comes in – well, assistant coaches. You just adapt. It’s pretty much been the same defense forever. So, they draft certain guys to fit that scheme, and then they really play well because they know what they’re doing year after year.”
On how he has seen the pass protection and Lions QB Jared Goff trust in the offensive line evolve: “Yeah, I think so. It starts with the quarterback, the O-line, the film study and everything. I think he’s done a heck of a job. Communication’s a heck of a lot better than it was at the beginning of the year. And it’s just a matter of, it comes down to making sure we’re doing the right techniques, being disciplined with the way we set, the way we pick up, the way we ID, and we’ve done a good job, and we’re getting the ball out. We have to do that, and Jared’s really good at finding where to go with the ball right away. We’re doing a good job scheming-wise based on what their defense does. But it’ll be a challenge this week. They’ve got different types of looks. There’s a lot of keys that we have to look at and see to know what they’re doing. So, that’ll be fun.”
On what the run offense needs to get on track: “Well, we need to come off the ball, for one. And knowing exactly the communication, which has been better. And it’s just been – we’ve had some negative plays where we had some holding calls. Technique, it’s just technique. It’s a lot of technique stuff. The scheme is there, it’s good. We just have to make sure we use the right technique coming off the ball so we don’t get beat. That’s the biggest thing, that’s the biggest thing. And then sometimes you’ve got to narrow down things so you can make sure you get all the right looks, the certain looks. Sometimes that’s good to be simple. But bottom line, it’s just coming off the ball and using the right technique and being disciplined. That’s the biggest thing. So, I mean, we’ve got the backs and we’re going to get going. Looking forward to this challenge because historically it’s been tough to run the ball on Pittsburgh, but we feel good this week going into it.”
On if the offensive inconsistency is surprising to him this late in the season: “Yeah, I mean it was just really one game last week. But listen, we’re going to do whatever it takes to win the game, that’s the bottom line. And if we have to throw it, we throw it. If the run game’s going, we run the ball. It makes it a lot easier on everybody else. So, that’s where we’re at with this right now. It’s not an issue, it’s just about OK, let’s make sure we try – we want to try to establish it and get it going early. And then now we build the confidence. And then the certain plays that (Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs) Gibby has or (Lions RB David Montgomery) D-Mo has, we can get that going. Now, once we can get behind the eight ball and we have negative plays, now that’s tough. That’s tough to overcome. And then when you try to run it on second-and-long, it’s tough looks. You try to get in third and short-and-medium, that’s always what you want to try to do. We’ve addressed it, and we feel really good about it this week.”
On if he has noticed a difference in the way defenses respond to which running back is in the backfield: “No, not really. Don’t see that. Based on what they do, some defenses do that. Like this defense, they’re just going to play what they play. It doesn’t matter who’s in the game. Now, if they’re in a certain passing situation like third down or something like that, that could be different. But first and second down, don’t see that.”
On if he sees Lions WR Jameson Williams and Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown sharing a majority of the receptions going forward: “Well I mean, our tight end’s out. I mean, (Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs) Gibby’s in there, he’s been in there. He’s been in there, so other guys are going to have to step up. If they start doubling, OK well we have some other guys that can step up and play. You’ve got (Lions WR Kalif Raymond) Leaf, and (Lions WR Isaac) TeSlaa’s been coming along, Gibbs. There’s a lot of things that the defense has to look at but keep doing it until they stop it.”
On if the receptions Lions WR Jameson Williams and Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown have had are due to the trust Lions QB Jared Goff has in them: “Oh heck yeah. I mean, Jamo’s blossomed the last, what, six, seven weeks? Yeah, I mean he’s getting more targets. And we’re finding ways to get him open, and Jared sees it. Just like last week. I mean, the play calls that we had, we got the right look, and it was perfect. When you do that, it’s very easy. But this’ll be different this week. They’ve got a lot of different looks, especially on third down. So, we have to be creative in how we get guys open.”
On who he thinks would win a race between Lions WR Jameson Williams and Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs: “Oh, come on man. Back in the day, I’d be in that race. I’m not answering that.”
On if he would wear high top sneakers in a race between Lions WR Jameson Williams and Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs: “Probably. With a mullet. I don’t have hair anymore, though. Probably would have to wear a wig. I saw like the tail end of that, that was kind of cool.”
On if there was a turning point for Lions WR Jameson Williams’ growth this season: “Well, when we lost (Lions TE Sam) LaPorta, things changed a little bit. And then just, when we were watching film, there were certain things he was doing in OTAs and training camp that weren’t going our way in the beginning of the season, now we’re kind of getting those looks. I’m giving him a little bit more every week, that way we can change it up, that way so they’re not just saying, ‘Oh, he’s just doing this and that.’ That’s the same thing with (Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown) Saint. We put Saint outside last week, when have you seen that? And he ran a post, and then Jamo ran a post. It was the same play, different personnel grouping. So, we have to be creative in that way based on who we’re going against. I mean, we’re always trying to find the weakest link in the defense, and that’s what you attack. Whether it’s upfront, whether it’s the linebackers or the secondary, we need to go after this cat. And if they’re playing man-to-man, we need to do that. If they’re playing a certain coverage like last week, it was a Cover 4 look, OK we knew that corner was going to play outside. The personnel grouping, they’re going to play this right here, and they did. So, I think that’s the biggest thing. That’s why he’s getting more opportunities, LaPorta’s out. And listen, even when LaPorta was gone in the beginning there, we’re always trying to get him open. Now, they’re clouding him, too. They didn’t do that last week, which was a shocker. But this defense, they’ll do things like that. So, they try to take away your strengths. They’re a defense, just like us. They’re going to try to take away our strengths. But when you’ve got (Lions RB Jahmyr) Gibbs, Jamo, (Lions WR Isaac) TeSlaa, all these guys, (Lions WR Amon-Ra) St. Brown on the field, (Lions WR Kalif Raymond) Leaf. That’s a lot you’ve got to deal with, which is a good thing. Maybe you get automatic front coverage, or they just don’t care. This front, especially third down up front, they try to get after it. They do play a lot of man-to-man, so we’ve got to protect up front, that’s the biggest thing, so we can get the ball out.”
On how to balance going into the game with good ball protection while also being aware of the Steelers’ success in getting takeaways: “Yeah, I think they’re number three or four, we’re number one in protecting that ball. So, I like our chances right there. We do a great job, you guys have seen the drills, we do a turnover circuit every day, and it carries over to the game. I mean, we put a big emphasis on that. We do our drills, and then (Lions Running Backs Coach) Coach (Tashard) Choice has a film on Saturday, the last game, showing everybody, ‘This is great protection, this is what you’re supposed to do.’ So, we’re very aware of that, and we make it a big-time priority, which you should. Because really, all the best defenses in the League every year, they’re the best in turnovers, creating turnovers. Those are the teams that are in the playoffs all the time. So, we just have to continue that. Continue that. We always talk about it. And when you talk about things and you do things a lot, you get the results. So, it’s going to be a great matchup.”
On how the difficult the process is week-to-week in deciphering the coverage defenses are imposing: “This defense is more of a three-deep drop zone defense, where last week it wasn’t, it was a little bit different. So, you had these plays accordingly. So, I’ve got my little master list, ‘OK, here’s the coverages, here’s Cover 3. Well what type of Cover 3? OK, here’s the plays that we run.’ Or it’s like, we’re great at these concepts, we do these over and over and over. And you can format it differently, so it all looks the same, but there’s three or four different plays out of the same formation. That’s what you want to do. Just like you have your little catalogue of things you do. Here’s Cover 4 beaters, here’s Cover 2 beaters, here’s man-to-man beaters. Then you run those plays. Or here’s all-purpose. Man, they’ve got a lot a lot of different looks, run these all-purpose plays. So, that’s how you put the gameplan together. It’s the same thing in the run game. Here’s the front, OK, who are we going against? That’s the other thing that factors in in coverage or linebackers or the front. That matchup’s not really good? Well, how do we get a good matchup? That’s what you’ve got to try to figure out. You watch film, I see that.”
LIONS DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR KELVIN SHEPPARD QUOTE SHEET
December 18, 2025
Opening Statement: “But we’ll get started just like every week recapping last game. With last week, obviously the biggest thing for me – the elephant in the room, let’s go ahead and get it out there – whenever your offense scores over 30 points, you have to win those football games. In my opinion as a defensive coach, I’m just going to be brutally honest with you, that bothers me. (Lions Head Coach) Dan (Campbell) knows that and I know he’s going to try to deflect and say, ‘No, we’ve got to score more,’ and all that. No, we have to limit more. If your offense scores 30 points, especially with where we’re at this point in the year, you have to win those football games. So, the first thing I do is sit back and assess the past month, essentially. We hit a rut where we were playing damn good football as a defense, as a collective unit. It wasn’t pretty, there were things here and there. But collectively we were finding ways situationally, third down, takeaways, sudden change, to make those plays. And for some reason, the last month dating back to the Giants game, that hasn’t been the case. And everything really started to point to our pass game and pass defense. And that obviously showed up in L.A. in a bad way against the Rams. And it’s all the explosives, and I know I continue to say that, you beat it home. So, the first thing I did with the unit, I went in and I took myself and held accountability to myself. Can’t be hard-headed and say, ‘We have a system. This is what we’re going to do. You either do it or you’re not playing.’ No, that’s B.S. in my opinion, that’s not coaching. Coaching is identifying what your players do well and regardless of what’s your system, it’s players over scheme. So, we address that first and foremost. And then we got to the accountability piece for the players. A lot of these plays, there are guys at the point of attack, guys we feel like are in position sometimes to make these plays, 50-50 opportunities, going to the fourth down. All three of those fourth downs at the game we had, guys there at the point of attack, bang-bang plays and their guys are finding ways to make more plays than we are. And that’s a cumulative, not one player. That’s as a unit. So, there will be some changes, whether that’s schematically, whether that’s personnel-based and these guys are all-in on it. That’s the thing, there are some guys that need to play better. They said that, not me. And then just me as the coordinator, seeing the big picture of where we’re at right now and what is it going to take week-to-week to win games. Forget the stats, forget, ‘Number one defense, I want to knock out this.’ What is it going to dictate that week to win the football game and what do we need to do as a defense to make sure that happens. So, I’m in a solution-based business, not finger-pointing and that’s where we’re at. That’s the message this week. What are the answers? Because it’s easy to say, ‘You need to play better. Well, how’s he going to play better Coach Shepp? What tools are you giving him as a coach to play better?’ And that’s where all of my focus is driven right now. Last 72 hours have been everything on what are the answers for these players. Not, ‘You need to play better.’ How’s he going to play better? And we’ve done that and the players attack this week that way.”
On why he feels like the defense has confidence that they can finish this stretch out strong: “Because we’ve seen it all here, collectively. As an organization, as a defensive unit, as a team. We’ve been at the lowest of low where everybody wanted all the players out, all the coaches out. And we’ve seen the highest of high where you’re expected to win every football game and play at a high level and then everything in between that. So, we know there’s ebbs and flows, peaks and valleys within the course of a year. You just have to absolutely make sure you’re peaking during this time of the year. This can’t be where you’re in the valleys and you’re hitting the lows of lows. And we’ve done that the past couple weeks. So, the thing that I truly appreciate – and I tell these guys, I’ll go down with them – I appreciate the accountability that they’ve taken as players. And I haven’t had to point a finger because it’s these guys saying, ‘Coach, that’s on me. I need to play better.’ Well, how can I help you? That is coaching. It’s not saying, ‘Oh, this player, you need to do.’ How? You have to give these players answers and then that builds confidence and then that in turn allows these guys to go out and play at a high level, which I have full, full confidence that these players will do.”
On what the fine line to walk is between schematic and personnel changes to the defensive system: “Absolutely, it’s definitely not an overhaul. I mean there’s not enough time within a game week to overhaul a system and start to teach new things. That’s what Phase I, Phase II, Phase III – all that stuff in the offseason, training camp, that four- or five-week period is for. So, we have principles and core things that we’ve done in the past, some things we’re going to kind of intersplice, kind of some technique changes, some things like that. But it’s not just going to be a wholesale change and we’re going to show up Sunday and look like a completely different outfit. That’s not the case. We’re still going to be a tough, mean, nasty group, biting the football, finishing on the ball. It’s just some things schematically where I feel like it’s time to help these guys a little more than what I’ve done thus far as a coordinator.”
On what his message is to the defense when someone is getting the ball out fast like Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers: “Yeah, Rodgers isn’t letting his body hit the ground. That just is what it is and I mean I don’t blame him. I mean you know – what is he, year 17, 18, something. He’s not hitting the ground, so just focus on how can I affect the game knowing that. And these guys are very aware of that. Aaron Rodgers definitely is familiar with our personnel and people and he knows the guys that can affect him in that way. And I would imagine he has a plan. So, it’s not getting caught up in, ‘We need to hit Rodgers.’ Collectively again, as a unit – going into this game, understanding the task at hand. How do we collectively get this mission accomplished? And these guys are doing that thus far in the two days that we’ve been prepping.”
On how he goes about helping the outside cornerbacks and not putting them in as many one-on-one situations as they have: “Yeah, and then it’s a fine line because the way those guys are wired – the guys we have out there – they want that. That’s the thing about it. But again, you can’t be hard-headed. When the thing’s not turning your way out there, you can’t be hard-headed and you have to understand coach is asking this type of technique change because of this on tape. And you’re able to show the player – that’s the thing. (Lions Passing Game Coordinator/Defensive Backs) Deshea (Townsend), (Lions Defensive Assistant/Safeties Coach Jim O’Neil) JO, they do a phenomenal job in the development of these guys. They never complain about who’s playing, ‘Just tell me who I’m coaching this week and we’re going to get them ready to play.’ That’s why I enjoy this thing that we’re in. We’re all in this together. There’s never a, ‘You’ve got to do this.’ No, we have to do this collectively and that’s the task at hand. And obviously, I’m not going to sit here and tell (Steelers QB) Aaron Rogers the defense I’m playing against him on Sunday, but there will be some changes.”
On if he has seen Lions DL Alim McNeill try to process and see things too much and if that is holding him back from making the impact he wants to make in games: “Again, that’s why I appreciate the unit that I am very fortunate and blessed to coach because you don’t have to go in the room and state the obvious. These guys state it. I had guys at halftime telling me, ‘I’m sorry. I’ve got to be better.’ And I said, ‘F that. No, you don’t. I have to be better for you all.’ And these guys know that, they feel that. But Alim is a guy that we feel like – now Alim has not been playing bad. But the caliber of player that Alim is and the standard he’s set for himself is to impact football games. And he feels like – he told me, ‘Coach, I haven’t been doing that. I haven’t been giving you what I should.’ And I told him, ‘Listen, just make sure you’re staying within the framework of the scheme,’ because what you could start to do when you start to hear all this outside noise, you start to kind of feel pressure on yourself, ‘I’ve got to make a play.’ And then you’re going so far off the reservation, you’re doing more harm than good. Just kind of find that fine balance. Understand you do need to play better and you do need to impact the game better. Now, how are we going to do that? Afforded with one of the best D-line coaches in the League, I can promise you he’s giving them the answers to that test. So, listen, I have all the faith in the world in Alim. He’s done good things for us, but it is time for him to kind of kick in as far as being that impactful three-technique that we all know he can be.”
On what he thinks the driving force is behind the surge of explosive pass plays allowed by the defense in the last four games: “A lot of technique. You see a lot of it’s generated off double moves, leverage, eye discipline, things like that. And then once again, schematically, what can I do to eliminate that? A lot of times if you get double moved and there’s nobody over the top, it’s a touchdown. So, just understanding and telling these hard-headed guys that want to play man that, ‘Guys, it’s a time and place for it. But the tape says.’ That’s what I go off of, facts, which is tape in our business. The tape says it’s time to kind of alter a little bit. And that just doesn’t mean we’re going to turn into safeties over the top outfit. There are going to be certain techniques that change within the single-high stuff that can help these guys, and we think we’re all going to benefit from it.”
On how the freedom and discretion that he has afforded the linebackers has made his job easier: “Yeah, that’s actually funny you said that because we’re going to get a little bit deeper into some of that as we progress here starting this week. Because what I’ve identified is, that’s what offenses are doing to us lately – they’re just breaking the huddle, I believe with a run-pass option, depending on the shell of our defense. I just went back and just watched it. Why is this happening? Where are they identifying? What are they seeing from us when I’m single-high versus when I’m two-high and then what are the types of plays we’ve seen? And then a lot of it starts to get kind of clumped into those explosive plays that we just mentioned here. So, just overall, giving those guys flexibility. Ultimate trust and confidence. I think those guys throughout this storm that we’ve kind of been in – especially (Lions LB) Jack Campbell – has been a mainstay and continues to steady, play at a high level. There’s been a lot of guys on the front seven, so we’re going to put the hard hat on those guys, like you kind of mentioned and tinkered into. And they know there’s certain ways we’ve got to play now, and the hard hat goes on some of our top and best performers right now within the course with where we are.”
On why the efficiency of the run defense took a step back against the Rams: “So, when we say step back, is that total yardage we’re saying? Because I believe when you looked at it, they rushed the ball 29 times, 155 yards if I’m not mistaken. You look there, they popped one – I believe it was 19 yards – where we pressured and had a misfit on the interior of it. When they cut back, the center folded, which created a misfit extra gap and they hit us for 19 there. And then towards the end of the game around a four-minute situation, the ball hit on the edge where (Lions CB) Rock (Ya-Sin) has pinned the hip 100 times but took a bad angle. That generated 24 yards. And then down in the red zone where my man (Rams RB Blake) Corum scored, I believe that was probably 11 or 12 yards there. So again, you can’t play this game of taking plays away but nobody – and I can stand on the table behind this – nobody has just lined up and ran the ball down our throats or made us like the run game. They popped the explosive run here and there, that’d generate that big number. But that 24, 19-yarder, take that out alone, they’re standing at 4.0 a carry which around this League in the NFL, that’ll sit you right around the top 10 and right where you want to be. So, it’s just as far as understanding how we have to play now as far as the fit’s going to change a little bit. If you’re not down safety, gapped out, seven, eight man-spacing, you have to be able to occupy that extra gap with the defender being able to hat in hands. D-line in, linebackers and get off blocks and finish on the football. But I’m not going to sit here and act like and kind of let anybody state that anybody’s just lined up and made us like their run game because that’s never happened.”
On the Rams game being the worst run defense efficiency game in the Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell era: “Yeah, no. I thought outside of three, four plays in the game, I liked where we stood as far as fitting the run.”
On if Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers still resembles the same player that people are used to seeing in the NFC North for all the years he played with Green Bay and how he has changed if not: “Probably the biggest difference is he used to get out on the perimeter with his legs and he wouldn’t mind taking a hit or two here and there. Somebody mentioned it earlier, he’s not taking those hits anymore. A little bit more stagnant as far as stationary in the pocket. Now, does still – now I don’t want him to think I’m saying he can’t get out or can’t run or anything like that and he comes out and turns into (former NFL QB) Michael Vick Sunday. But listen, this player has high IQ. Again, we’re dealing with another Hall of Fame quarterback. I’ve probably said that about four or five times this year – neither here nor there. But a guy that understands the system. More importantly, he understands our stuff and what we do our personnel, who does what well. He’s going to assess the formation. He’s always going to try to make sure he’s in the perfect play. And just making sure as the coordinator I put our guys in the best possible position to go out and play at a high level – fast, physical and execution.”
On if he remembers the game winner that Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers threw against him when he was playing at Miami: “I think it was on (former NFL LB) Philip Wheeler actually. I think he threw – I think it was a completion on Phil. No, I’m telling you. I think – if I know off the top of my head – I think he hit Phil in the end zone towards the end of the game on a back pylon or something like that.”
LIONS SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR DAVE FIPP QUOTE SHEET
December 18, 2025
On the Steelers’ special teams unit: “Yeah, these guys are good, man. They do a nice job, their coach has been there forever, longtime coach in the League, obviously a lot of experience. Been here at one point, long time ago. But he does a great job, they put a big emphasis on it, head coach involved with it, you can tell. Their kickoff return, they put their two top running backs out there, (Steelers RB Kenneth Gainwell) 14 and (Steelers RB Jaylen Warren) 30, so their two kind of starters are back there deep returning for them. It’s obviously a good formula. I would say overall, this team is very big, physical. It’s kind of the brand of football they play. They’ve played the same style of defense for a long time. A lot of that’s two-gap, which means hands on blocks, leveraging blockers or block destruction, however you want to say it or see it. So, they do a great job with that. You can tell that they – as a team, they execute or teach or work on that all the time. Their kick coverage is one of the tops in the League. Like I said, their kick return, they’ve got two good returners back there. Their punt returner has got some speed, quickness, (Steelers WR Calvin Austin III) number 19. And then on punt they do a nice job, too. They’ve got some good gunners that play hard on the outside, so it’ll definitely be a big challenge for us here.”
On what went wrong on the punt return where they put two punt returners back there in last week’s game: “Yeah, we had two returners back there. I mean ultimately, really, what was it? We had (Lions WR Kalif Raymond) Leaf do a good job for us, who we love, and (Lions WR Tom Kennedy) TK coming in the game before and did a great job for us. So, coach asked what do we want to do on punt return? I said well, we want Leaf back there, but we can put them both back there. So, that was really that. So, we had two out there. If they punt the ball to the right, you field it with him, if they punt the ball to the left, you field it with him. I think Leaf – they had a hard time communicating because of the noise, is what I was told. But the ball was also clearly on the left side of the field, Leaf should’ve just let TK catch is, but he wanted it too, I guess.”
On the purpose of having two punt returners and how it can be used as an advantage: “Yeah, probably in a number of different ways. Number one, if they’re playing a team who, like this team, the Steelers, they punt the ball right sometimes. And the punter kind of offsets it to look like he’s punting the ball to the right, and he punts the ball to the right sometimes. And then kind of out of that same alignment, they punt the ball to the left sometimes and so now you’re stretching the returner a little bit, having to cover the field right and left. So, that would be one reason. You’ve got two guys back there, he can play the ball on the right, and he can play the ball on the left, and that guy doesn’t have to chase it around. He’s not running sideways catching it and catch it starting downhill, that’d be one. Obviously, there’s a million other things you could do, you could run a throwback, you could hand it off, you could fake a reverse, you could run a reverse. You could have one guy block, and the other guy catch it. So, a lot of different stuff. But yeah, it does thin you out up inside at the line of scrimmage, you’ve got less guys there and all that.”
On Lions K Jake Bates missing a field goal last week and how to evaluate a kicker’s full body of work: “Yeah, for me it’s pretty easy. Number one, just look at the big picture. I mean, do you have a good player or not? I mean to me, clearly, we have a very, very good player. If you put him on the streets, there would be a bunch of teams claiming him right away. And the truth is, we’d have a really hard time finding a guy even near the same player as him. So, that would be one. The next thing, I think I’ve kind of said all along, you’re going to have some ups and downs. All these guys do year to year, even older players have ups and downs. And a lot of that is the sample size is small. Anytime you have a handful of kicks blocked, it’s obviously – you don’t even have a chance to make the thing. So, your numbers are going to go down. I really am not worried about him at all. I think he’s a great player, he’s going to be an incredible player in this League, he’s a tremendous talent. Like I said, we’d be dying to find a guy like him if we didn’t have him. And that doesn’t mean he’s not going to have some ups and downs, he’s going to have that throughout the course of his career. I think, is he growing? Is he getting better? I think in hindsight for him, he’ll probably look back at this year, and it’ll be one of the best years he’s ever had just in terms of growth. He’s probably learned a lot throughout the course of the year, what he has to do, anything you might have to do differently. A lot of times when you’re having just a lot of success and you really aren’t getting a lot better, you’re just kind of doing the same thing over and over and it’s working out, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re playing at that level either. So, I think obviously we want to make every kick that we can, or every kick we go out there for. But I do think – I have a lot of confidence in him, I totally believe in him, I know he’s a great player. I will not waver, not one bit. Anyway, he’s got to continue to grow and develop, and we’ve got to do a better job, like I said a week ago, I’ve got to do a better job with the protection, too. That’ll help him out.”
On Lions K Jake Bates’ process when he misses a kick to fix the error: “Yeah, I think routine is a good thing for a kicker. Having a routine and going out there and just executing the same routine. Sometimes that gets knocked off a little bit by some negative plays and that’s on your mind, and now you don’t focus or go through your routine the same way, which is why it helps to have one so that you kind of just reset and do the same thing over and over. You can kind of worry about that last play for just a short period of time, then you’ve got to let it go, flush it and move on. But yeah, I don’t worry at all. I mean, he missed a kick in the opener there, obviously we want to make it, it was a very makeable distance. He came back and had a great kick later in the game, I think it was 48 yards, so a tougher one, and did a great job. I mean really at that position, it’s probably more important how you respond to that stuff.”
On if his faith in Lions K Jake Bates is based on how he bounces back: “Yeah, I would say a lot of my faith is based on the fact that I’ve seen him kick a million kicks and we’ve charted a lot of them, so we have hundreds of kicks charted now on him. And he’s hit field goals at a higher percentage than any kicker that I’ve ever had overall. So really, it starts and kind of stops right there for me. This guy, he’s a really good player, and it’s not necessarily going to show up all the time. And it’s got to show up in games, but same thing I said with (Eagles K) Jake Elliott back in the day is like, what these guys do in practice will slowly translate into the game. It might not be exactly the same, but it’ll be closer to that then it will be something else.”
On Lions K Jake Bates kicking at a higher percentage in practice than anyone he has ever coached: “Yeah, not even close.”
On Lions K Jake Bates’ kicking percentage in practice: “Off the top of my head, I don’t know. But there are different ways to look at that, like what is it underneath 50 yards, what is it over 50? What’s it from 51 to 53? Like I said, I’m not skirting the subject. I don’t know it off the top of my head, but it’s up there. I mean, I think his kicks right now are like high 90 percent overall for us in practice and games.”
On how to factor in the pressure of the game in practice to execute successful kicks: “Yeah, the game’s a little bit different. But I would say not much, usually what they do in practice ends up showing up in the game. Like big picture wise, no question. Now small sample size, obviously it’s up and down a little bit, but yeah.”
On if the team’s coverage game is turning a corner: “Yeah, I feel like we’ve covered pretty well. Now we’ve got our hands full this weekend going into this game. But yeah, I think statistically, I think overall on the season, the numbers are still good. I don’t know what it is exactly, but we’re top 10 on kickoff, we’re top 10 on kickoff return, we’re top 10 I think on punt net, especially if you break it down by field zones. And net and drive start, kind of looking at both those things. And I think our lowest number is actually punt return. So yeah, I feel good about it. I think the guys have been playing well over the last handful of weeks. I think the last eight weeks, maybe, we haven’t had a penalty. Early on, we had a bunch of penalties. Some of them were like whatever, five yards for kicking the ball out of bounds. We kicked two kickoffs out of bounds and that actually was a good play but threw a penalty. So, the numbers are high, but the yardage isn’t very high. I think we’re top five in penalty yards or something like that, so yeah.”
On Lions P Jack Fox having a touchback last week: “Yeah, he had the touchback, I know man, 20 yards right there, just giving it to them. But no, at least it was a 62-yard punt and a 42-yard net, so that helped. But yeah, we would’ve loved to pin them down there. I mean, field position is so big in this game. It’s really like the Rams, I mean, they gave us the ball on the 35 on the kickoff by kicking all those touchbacks. I mean, your offense doesn’t have to go very far. So, field position is significant. And offenses are getting used to starting out there, so anytime you can really pin them back deep, I think it’s really beneficial. This game, field position will probably be huge with the Steelers. They kind of tend to play a brand of football that’s a little bit more field position oriented and all that.”
