LIONS OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR BEN JOHNSON QUOTE SHEET
December 21, 2022
Opening Statement: “How about that offensive line, huh? These guys are playing their tails off and as we know this game, particularly this part of the year guys get dinged up – shoot, man we’re fortunate to have a bunch of really tough guys up front. So, it’s really a security blanket for me right now in terms of being able to call this game and not have to worry about them being able to function and do their job. So, just want to give them a shoutout as we get started here today. They’ve done a great job, our tackles are as good as it gets in this business. (Lions C) Frank (Ragnow)’s playing out of his mind at center right now and our guards are playing really solid football as well. So, makes my life a lot easier.”
On how rare it is to have an offensive line group allowing very few sacks all season: “It’s a catch 22 for me as I’m calling it because I mean, they come to the sideline and they ask for more runs. But yet, when they’re protecting that well, let’s throw it a little bit more, good things are happening. But no I joke around with them about that, but no they’ve done a great job. It’s them doing a phenomenal job with their technique and fundamentals in pass protection, but it’s also a testament to our route runners being disciplined, playing fast, being at the right depth and our quarterback’s playing with timing and anticipation. He’s able to get the ball out quickly, so and not to mention we talked about some of the pocket troubles he had earlier this year and he’s worked on that and he’s conscious about it. So, it all ties together, but certainly makes my life easier calling the game because I’m not worried about protecting one side or the other. I’ve been a part of that in the past at other places.”
On how impressive it is to see Lions C Frank Ragnow play the way he is playing right now: “Yeah, it’s – when you watch the tape every week and (Lions Offensive Line) Coach (Hank) Fraley and I we’re both just amazed with what he’s able to do right now and honestly I think when you talk to him he feels like he’s not even hitting his standard or his mark. But it certainly doesn’t go unnoticed, he’s doing a phenomenal job. We put a ton on his plate that people don’t realize from a mental aspect, there’s a lot going on both getting the protection identified, but also in the run game because like I said we are so multiple. And he champions that, he loves coming in each week and getting all this stuff down and it’s – it helps the entire offensive line when he’s in there because there’s that sense of comfort that, ‘Hey, he’s going to get us right,’ I know (Lions QB) Jared (Goff) certainly feels it as well at the quarterback spot.”
On managing Lions C Frank Ragnow’s reps given the injuries he has gone through: “Yeah, I mean – we’re certainly smart in terms of our rep usage for him, but at this point of the season for most of these guys it’s a little bit more mental than it is physical. We still practice hard, probably as hard as anybody I’ve been around to be honest with you. At this time of the year the intensity’s up, so the few reps that we do get are good for him just to make sure he’s ready to go on Sunday. But I think he’s doing a great job in terms of his weekly process of getting his body ready every week and it’s different for every player and he’s doing a nice job with that right now.”
On if puts Panthers CB Jaycee Horn in the same category as Jets CB Sauce Gardner: “Yeah, I think he’s playing really good football for them. Little bit different, I think just when you look at it, they’re a little bit less man coverage than the Jets were last week. Just overall, certain situations will dictate a little bit more of that and different style as well. Sauce was a little bit more press in your face and Horn will play a little bit more off man, but they’re very similar in terms of being sticky, ball hawks. And Horn has done a nice job finding that ball in the air. If you don’t put that ball out in front of the receiver, he tends to find a way to either get his hand on it or come down with the interception. So, we’ve got to be aware of he’s at on the field at all times.”
On what he learned after a game where the offense struggled against a good defense like the Jets: “We knew it was going to be a good unit last week going into the game, and so I think that magnifies any mistakes that you have. Over the past few weeks, we’ve made probably some similar mistakes, and they haven’t bit us quite as hard, and so I think at first point at the red zone, we were 0-for-3 in the red zone, and if we do what we’ve been doing all season there, I think it’s a completely different game. I think the narrative’s a little bit different on how it goes, but first drive, we take it all the way down. I thought the guys executed the opening script really well. And then we got down in the red zone and just how it went didn’t end up, but we did have them backed up when they took over on downs. Second drive, we get down in the red zone, the penalties, the penalties, that’s something that we can’t allow it to be a chronic problem for us going for us. And then the third time, we have some miscommunication with some of our run game, and it kind of us put us third-and-long, so that happened. The red zone, we have to be better, no problem, but then as I talked about last week, some of those bread and butter plays that we kind of rely on, we didn’t execute, and that to me was the most disappointing thing out of the whole game was some of the things in the run game we’ve been doing all year. We had mental errors or targeting issues that really hadn’t happened, and it was more self-inflicted than a product of what New York was doing. We knew they were going to play hard, and where they were going to be, but we simply didn’t, in key moments, execute as well as we are capable of.”
On the struggles in the run game and how he plans to address it: “Yeah, I mean there’s no doubt, and I think they understand too. Like I said, I hear – they come to the side, ‘Hey, let’s run the ball a little bit more.’ Yeah, I’d love to, I’d love to, but the negative runs really, really hurt. We need to be efficient, and we need to get going, stay on schedule and ahead of the sticks. We were in too many second-and-longs last week, and it made our lives difficult, so yeah no, I think they certainly recognize it’s something that we’ll continue to address as the week goes on too. And that’s kind of been the story of our season is fires pop up, we’re just in a race to try to put them away, and sure enough, another week comes by, and other fires pop up, so it’s our cycle right now.”
On the balance between Lions QB Jared Goff taking care of the ball but also wanting to let players make plays: “Yeah, I think that goes down to our weekly conversations. Each night, he’ll come up, and it’ll just be one-on-one, me and him, and we’ll kind of talk through each play and what the intent is and what we’re looking to do, so in some ways, I can kind of call the game more aggressively, and he understands when the call comes in, ‘OK, I’ve got the greenlight to push this thing down the field if the look presents itself.’ But he’s done a really good job of taking those opportunities when they’re there, but also the ones that we haven’t thrown, he’s gotten quickly to the checkdown and found completions. And it’s allowed us, particularly the Jacksonville and Minnesota games, we’re able to call more aggressive down the field plays, knowing that he’s going to find a completion if it’s not there and keep us going. You keep – you’re bringing up the two things. Just don’t jinx us there. OK, the sacks and the turnovers, let’s keep that going because really, that’s the recipe for success right now for us, so it’s been giving us a chance every week.”
On the chemistry between Lions QB Jared Goff and Lions WR Jameson Williams: “Yeah, it’s a weekly process, and I think it is coming along. We try to push Jamo a little bit more every week in terms of the routes we’re asking him to run, not just for the game, but also for his development and for Jared’s chemistry with him. We’re trying to see what he’s capable of, and what he’s comfortable with at this point coming off that injury. So, I think we’ll continue to see a growing connection between those two. It’s just time on task.”
On why he did not go for a quarterback sneak on the fourth-and-1 play-call that turned into a touchdown: “You didn’t like the fourth-and-1 call? A little bit. Yeah, we’ll quarterback sneak it when we feel like we need to, but it is part of our arsenal, there’s no question. We’ve done it. Can we do it more? Sure. We feel really good about the plan we go in with every week though based on what we’ve been seeing on tape.”
On a comparison between the fourth-and-1 play ran against the Jets for a Lions TE Brock Wright touchdown and the third-down conversion where Lions T Penei Sewell caught a reception for a first down against the Vikings: “I don’t know how – if the defense really saw it in the same light or not, but we’ve done that a few times now where we do that fast motion. Done it a few times on the goal-line, and then here we are, fourth-and-1. I don’t think it’s a foreign concept for most of these guys in this League, but apparently, calling it that time was a little bit out of the ordinary. I don’t know, I thought our guys really did a nice job executing it. But yeah, I think that’s kind of – that’s one of our short yardage, we’ll introduce that every training camp, kind of a staple for us just to get it going.”
On if he knew the fourth-and-1 play-call would be a touchdown: “Yeah, I knew someone was going to be wide open. I wasn’t sure exactly who that would be, and I didn’t know that it was going to be a touchdown. I thought it was going to be an explosive though. I thought it was going to be big, and that’s kind of – every week, we kind of have the gameplan set up where, ‘Shoot man, I really hope we can get these, I don’t know, call it five to 10 plays off the sheet.’ But situation really dictates that, so it kind of depends. Kind of depends on whether we can get to it or not, but that’s every week we feel really good about certain plays, and you can’t just call them out of the blue and hope they work. We would just try to set them up in the right spots.”
On why he thought the fourth-and-1 play would result in an explosive: “Let’s have a beer after the season.”
On if he had no hesitation about the fourth-and-1 play-call in that situation: “The only thing I did was I communicated with the head coach before just to make sure he was good with it, and then we were good to go. No wave this go-around, so we were good.”
LIONS DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR AARON GLENN QUOTE SHEET
December 21, 2022
Opening Statement: “Merry early Christmas to everybody. Regarding this game, this past game, really good game for our defense and the things that we talked about when it comes to crossing barriers. This game was a game that as far as a coach that you really want to frame it when I mean that – what I mean about that is how does this game – how is it going to play out? When you play against a really good defense like the Jets have, you figured the game was going to be a low scoring game, so the one thing that we had to do, one thing that we had to cross, is understanding that, and then understanding, man, we have got to limit points as much as we can and the guys did that. They did a really good job of that and they understood exactly how this game had to be framed to go out there and stop the run the way they did. And our last key to victory was man this game was just – it smelled of a game that’s going to be win – had to be won in the last two minutes and it came out like that. So, that just shows the belief in our guys, they understood how the game was going to be framed, then we went out there and executed like they needed to.”
On what he attributes their recent success in stopping the run to: “To me, I think it’s reps and understanding exactly what we’re trying to accomplish and this is something that actually started back towards New England of being able to do that. And man, the more reps the interior guys get at it the more they get a chance to practice it, the more they get a chance to understand it, allows for these things like that to happen. So, I expect this to continue. The one thing that we say in our room for the most part is, man, we want to see how tough guys are not how fast they are. And when I say that, I mean I don’t want to get guys on the perimeter of our defense. I want to keep them right in the teeth of our defense where we’ve got our big guys at and our guys are doing a good job of that.”
On how important it is to stop the run against the Panthers this week: “Well, that’s something that we talk about every week as far as stopping the run. I know that’s a cliché, everybody says that, but it’s true about what we are and who we are. I’ve talked about our identity for the past couple of weeks, so we know what they want to do, they know who we are and what we want to do. And man, this will be a good battle, this will be a good test of will of men out on that field. And our guys will be up for the challenge.”
On if he can compare his experience this season to any other team he has been a part of in terms of turning around their record: “It’s football. I mean, it’s – to everybody else they think it’s this – man, this – like you never know how these seasons are going to go. I’ve been a part of a number of these to where, heck, we started out really, really well and we were bad at the end of the season. I’ve been a part of where we started off bad we ended up getting better. So, I think it’s just more the improvement. Guys understand exactly who we are as a defense, the culture of our team and what we’re trying to accomplish. I think it’s two things that’s really missing in football for the most part, I think you could have this defensive gurus, these offensive gurus, man, but culture and identity means a lot. And if you can bring that to the table and guys understand that, I mean you – it’s going to create a winning environment. I truly believe that. So, it doesn’t matter really, well it does matter, but the thing is you want to just make sure you have those two things in house. And I think that’s one thing that we have done, that’s the reason for our improvement because we understand our culture, we understand our identity. And man, there’s no faking it in any of that with our guys.”
On what he identifies as an area of focus to improve on defensively: “Well, we’ve just got to play the ball. That’s the most important thing and listen when you play man-to-man like we play, you’re going to give up some yards. But at the end of the day, just like you said, the most important thing is not giving up points. We want to be aggressive, we’re going to continue to be aggressive and our guys are going to continue to improve in that area. Just like we have done in the run game, we’re going to do it in the passing game also. So, hopefully after we continue to practice, after we continue to understand exactly where our help’s at, the guys will get better at that. And I know they will because they do everything they can to do that and I trust those guys.”
On his defensive gameplan this week compared to last week: “It’s really similar. It’s really similar to last week. The one thing that we have to be really, really good – the thing that I talk about man is first and second down efficiency. That has got to be on point because what you don’t want with this team, you don’t want to get them in a third-and-short because when they get into a third-and-short, I guess third-and-5 or less, man, it’s really first and second down for them because they will still run the ball in those situations. So, now you can’t really anticipate what they’re going to do. So, as far as framing this game, we have to do everything we can to be really, really stout. Be really, really competitive in the passing game on first and second down, so we can get them in those third-and-longs. So, now we can anticipate and get our pass rushers out there and go to work.”
On what added benefit Lions DL Romeo Okwara brings to the defense: “Same thing I said last week, he’s an extra pass rusher and that showed that. So, and plus it’s just good to have that guy out and I know he’s excited to be out because he’s been out for a long time. And that’s tough for any player to be out for that long and want to get out and play and the things that he did for us in that game. There were some mistakes now, which I expected to be – him just coming back. But for him to get those two sacks was outstanding.”
On how much of an emphasis is put on ball skills this week: “Well, attacking the ball is always a point of emphasis so that’s nothing new for us. It’s just the fact of us doing it and that requires practice time. That requires individual time, before and after practice to get that done and our guys have been doing that. So, the more we can get those – get them in those situations the better they will become.”
On Lions S Ifeatu Melifonwu and Lions S C.J. Moore stepping up this week in place of Lions S DeShon Elliott: “Well, I’ll tell you what those two guys are battling for that spot right now. So, as this whole thing shakes out, we’ll see exactly who will be in that spot. But it will be one of those two guys and again I’ve said this last week, we don’t talk about first team, second team. We have guys that’s going to step up and go play and whoever that next guy is he’s going to step up and he’s going to do a good job for us.”
On the communication among the young safeties this week and how that will change without Lions S DeShon Elliott: “Well, we prepare all week and I expect those guys to do a good job when they get in the game. They’ve been here for the whole season, so nothing’s changed about what we’re doing. Communication will be the same.”
On what it was like to walk away with a win against his former team last week: “I told you I wanted to beat the hell out of them. It felt good, I beat them just like any other team. When we win it feels good, it’s just the fact that I was there for nine years of my career – well, go back to coaching probably 13 years of my career. So, anytime we win it feels good. It’s just so happened I was there for a long time.”
LIONS SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR DAVE FIPP QUOTE SHEET
December 21, 2022
On what went wrong during the 54-yard field goal miss against the Jets: “Yeah man, we would have liked to hit the ball a little bit better. I think he got it a little bit on his toe, didn’t come off his foot quite as well as we wanted to.”
On Lions WR Kalif Raymond winning NFC Special Teams Player of the Week and what he means to the team: “Yeah, I think as a coach or the longer I coach, the more gratitude you get from watching players succeed and do something maybe they’ve always wanted to do. And for him to score a touchdown, I had known that he had not scored one in his career. I had thought that he was capable of doing it and sort of be able to be a part of him getting that first touchdown on a punt return in his career is very gratifying I would say for me. It’s really part of why I do it. Anytime you’re around players who you think are difference makers or great players, you really want to help them achieve and accomplish some goals or some things out there that you know they want to do. And so to be a part of that was great. It was obviously an incredible job by him. He’s a great dude, he’s a great worker, he loves the game of football. It’s really important to him. Obviously, his story’s incredible. He played at Holy Cross College, which was my first job was coaching football at Holy Cross College. And so I know what the place is like. It’s an academic institution. They want to see themselves like an Ivy League school, and the kids that go to school there don’t go to school there for football. And I would say that during my time there, I don’t know that there was too many of them that truly believed that they were going to go play in the National Football League. So, for him to hold onto that dream and then be whatever, cut and picked up, and cut again by five, six different teams in this League, and then to go on and play like he’s played is really a testament to who he is. So, he’s really well deserving, and I was definitely happy for him. I would say that there was a lot of people involved with the play, just like always. And truth be told, I would say the offense moved the ball all the way down the field. I always say that – or I’ve said to you guys a handful of times that field position is really all three phases, and the offense moved the ball all the way down the field. They didn’t punch it in, but they put him on the two-yard line, and then the defense went out there and they moved them backwards from the two to the half-yard line, which is an incredible job by those guys. And I would say (Lions Defensive Coordinator Aaron Glenn) AG has done a great job with that group. I can tell why him and (Lions Head Coach) Dan (Campbell) are so close. I mean he embodies the word grit. There’s no doubt he was an incredible player. I mean he’s relentless as can be. He’s firm in his beliefs, and he coaches one way and he’s not going to compromise. And I think those guys on defense rallied around him and done a great job, but they did a great job. They held him back there, they put him on the half-yard line, and then we were able to go take the field, and (Lions LB James) Houston was rushing the punt on the inside, and he put a lot of pressure on him, and the punter hit a low ball, which really helped us get started, and then another great story no one knows about that play, but during the week, we had a lot of respect for (Jets DB Justin Hardee) number 34, their gunner. They had moved him around right and left, and they put him where they thought the ball was going to be more often than not, and we knew it was going to be a tough matchup for us, and so we talked about that in the meeting room, and then after the meeting, (Lions CB) Jerry Jacobs came up to me and said, ‘Hey coach, I want number 34.’ Well, we didn’t have Jerry on that unit going into the game because he was starting at corner, and he was going to play more on the outside there for us, and he came up to me and said, ‘Hey man, I want to be in there.’ And I think that’s also a testament to the returner and Leaf, and those guys believe in him, and they want to make plays for him. And so, Jerry went in there. He held up number 34 long enough for the thing to get started. The guy hit a low ball. Houston put pressure on it, so it’s all the little things that go unnoticed. And then we got a great block from (Lions S) C.J. (Moore). He came back down the field, had a great block. We had (Lions LB Anthony) Pittman, had a nice block, and he took care of a guy, and then we had (Lions RB) Justin Jackson come down and he didn’t make a block, but sometimes the plays that you don’t make are as big if not bigger than the plays you do make, and some of those guys were blocked. That guy in the back, he didn’t, and then (Lions LB Josh) Woods had blocked a guy in the backside and then coming across the frontside, lo and behold is Houston again. And another great block, and that got it in the endzone, so it was a great play, a great play to be a part of, but it was an effort of a lot of people.” | |
