| December 9, 2021 Opening Statement: “There are a number of things that I’m proud of this defense about after last week’s game because when you look at this team, Minnesota, they ranked really, really high in a lot of offensive categories as far as points per game, sacks, red zone, pass yards. Then, you look at exactly how we operated in that first half. Third down, we held them to 1-for-6. I think overall in the red zone, they were like the fifth-ranked red zone team in the League. Take away the two-point conversions, we were 3-for-6. If you add the two-point conversions, we held them to 3-for-9. If you look at sacks, they were the best team as far as getting the quarterback sacked and we had three of them. Obviously, there were some things in the second half that disappointed me as far as the way that we operated, some things that we’ve identified, we’ve talked to our players about. I would say the number one thing is when you have a team down by that many points at that time, especially a good team, you have got to understand that they are going to come out with no-huddle and we can’t get to a point that we’re just dead-dogged tired. That kind of showed up for us. They recognized that, they know that and if you’re going to be the type of team that expects to have a team down by that many points, you’ve got to have that type of mentality to put them out and put them away. It was a good experience for our young guys to be able to see that. So, there were a lot of things again that I was proud of. The two-point conversions, that was huge for our guys to go out there and fight and be able to win in those situations. We’ve just got to continue to get better. You just see it every week this team is getting better. Overall, too because that was a really good complementary game. I’m talking about offense, defense, and special teams.” On if the defense getting fatigued against the Vikings is a result of playing younger players: “Well, the funny thing about that is we’ve played a number of plays in the last couple games and you would think that we would be in high-level condition, but we weren’t. I think that has a lot to do with what you said was youth. Just understanding the situation and understanding how do – how your body needs to react in those situations. With a lot of young guys that we have, even though it wasn’t hurry-up, they treated it like it was hurry-up. So, everything about them is going fast when it didn’t have to be. So, I’m really glad that it happened because I told our guys, ‘Listen, we need to get used to doing that because I expect us to be in those type of games.’ And, I think they understand exactly what they have to do the next time something like that happens.” On CB Jerry Jacobs’ progression since coming to Detroit as an undrafted free agent: “You’ve got to give credit to our scouting department of bringing a guy like that in. That was a guy that we looked at together as a player that we wanted. I mean, you never know. I mean, we all know, I don’t care if it’s a first-round pick to a seventh-round pick to a free agent, you never what you’re going to get until you get the guy in. We knew that we had something. We didn’t know he was going to be who he is right now, but again, there is a long way for that player to go. So, you’ve got to be excited to have a player like that, that’s playing as well as he is. He’s still young and he has a lot more to learn. We’re excited about that player.” On CB Jerry Jacobs’ physical build that allows him to make tackles: “Absolutely, when you have a guy that’s 200 pounds and that’s built, he has this build that – I mean, he is just sturdy and the way that he tackles allows him to be on the field for a number of plays. That’s a player that you know is going to be around for a number of years, especially that type of body-type. So, we’re happy about the player.” On the type of tackler CB Jerry Jacobs is: “He’s a pretty ferocious tackler when you watch him. I mean, he has a couple of different type of tackles that he likes to use. He can shoot you low or he can stay up high. The thing is, he has the arm strength and the hand strength to be able to wrap and grab and bring you down. There are a number of different things about that player, a number of traits that he has, that he continues to show us each week, which is good.” On how CB Jerry Jacobs is able to preserve energy after making a hard tackle: “Because of his size, he’s able to do those type of tackles and be able to get up and get ready to play the next play. You take some guys, smaller guys that try to create those type of tackles, they’re not getting up. They’ll be out for maybe a play or not and have to get back in.” On the challenge of game-planning against the Broncos’ offense: “I’ll tell you what, when you look at the skill players of this offense, I want to say it is probably better than last week’s, which is crazy because they do have two backs that can really cause problems. And then, you look at the stats of those two guys breaking more tackles than any back tandem in the League, that tells you one thing of how we’ve got to make sure we operate. Then you look at the big receivers that are creating plays down the field and then having (Jerry Jeudy) number 10 who came back. He’s a guy that can move the chains for them. He was a really big-time receiver at Alabama and came to this League. And, he’s taking over the slot for the most part. And, I told our guys already, ‘This is a challenge for us. This could be a better offense than we had last week, so we’ve got to make sure we’re up for it.’” LIONS OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR ANTHONY LYNN QUOTE SHEET December 9, 2021 On the final drive of the Vikings game that led to a walk-off touchdown: “It’s a situation we always work, that two-minute before the half, two-minute in the game. I just thought the guys executed, 14 plays at the end of that game with that drive. I thought the way they executed was outstanding.” On the offense’s discipline in committing fewer penalties against the Vikings: “We felt like if we don’t stop ourselves, we feel like people will have a hard time stopping us. There were no aggressive penalties, no pre-snap penalties, a couple of delay of games on the offense side of the ball, but one of those was intentional. I thought they did a heck of a job with the discipline and poise with the penalties.” On what happened on the play that caused QB Jared Goff to take an intentional delay of game penalty: “They gave us a look for a play that we had, and he wanted to take that delay. It might have been a good one.” On what can happen on offense that leads to a delay of game penalty: “Some of it is just communication, play-call, maybe you miss a word, you miss something and you get the play again, and the clock is ticking. So, you do have some of that, especially in those hurry-up situations.” On if the offense can continue to have more success in the downfield passing game: “Absolutely, I mean these guys work hard. We’ve been trying to improve that all year. I think it’s coming, especially when you get guys outside like a Josh (Reynolds), a guy with some length and size. And, like I’ve said all along, (Jared Goff) JG can make all of the throws. We’ve just got to keep pressing the ball down the field and we’ll get our share.” On what he saw from the Broncos game film that jumps out: “I think they have two of the better safeties in the game. They can absolutely wreck a run game if your receivers don’t block the force defenders on the edge. That’s going to be a challenge for us right there. Overall, they’ve got Bradley Chubb, he’s an elite rusher. And, (Malik) Reed is playing outstanding on the other side. They’ve always had a good defense. I was in that division with those guys. I know them pretty well. If we don’t stop ourselves, I like our chances, I can tell you that.” On the origin of the play design for TE Brock Wright’s touchdown reception: “Brock, first of all, he’s faster than what people give him credit for. He’s a big man, but he can run. And, just having him up and doing a good job in the run game with that same shift makes a big difference. We see things off of that and we design plays off of that and that’s what you saw with that play right there. Brock got behind the secondary pretty quick and we got the ball up to him just in time.” On if he designs plays based on what he has seen on opposing teams’ film: “Absolutely.” On which situations QB Jared Goff is more willing to take shots downfield in: “I think the more he gets, the more he practices with guys and the more he gets, I’ve said it, he’s a trust guy. If he trusts you, he will give you an opportunity. I think he’s starting to have more confidence in the people around him and I think you’re going to see more shots down the field because of that, and it’s intentional. We want to push the ball down the field. It’s been taught in the classrooms of pushing the ball down the field. (Lions Head Coach) Dan (Campbell), (Tight Ends Coach) Ben Johnson is working with the passing game more and the timing of it, getting the ball out of your hands and not worrying about turning the ball over. Just let it fly. All of those discussions we’ve had.” On if there are some reservations to take more shots downfield because of potential turnovers: “I’m sure because we have made some. I’m sure it’s there, but we still have to force it down the field when we need to.” On how long it would take for QB Jared Goff to have trust in the wide receiver group: “It’s been 12 games now, so it’s time.” |
