LIONS OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR BEN JOHNSON QUOTE SHEET
December 12, 2024
On former Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick being hired by the University of North Carolina to be their next head coach: “They might’ve messed up, man, they might’ve awoken a sleeping giant there down in North Carolina. Proud Tar Heel alum right now. I can’t wait to see what happens there, proud of those guys for getting that done, but no longer a basketball school.”
On if he was contacted by the University of North Carolina to be their next head coach: “No. No, I wasn’t.”
On if he was consulted on former Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick being hired by the University of North Carolina: “I was not, but I am happy for it.”
On how excited he is about former Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick being hired to coach the University of North Carolina and if it is one of the most exciting things that has happened for their football program: “Yeah, and especially when you have Duke alums and N.C. State alums in this building, it certainly makes it that much sweeter because we haven’t had too many wins over those two schools over the last few years. Yeah, (Lions Assistant Head Coach/Running Backs Coach) Scottie (Montgomery), I’m all over Scottie right now, (Lions Assistant General Manager) Ray Agnew (Jr.), I was rubbing it in his face here this morning. We’re already setting the over-under for wins next year, whether or not we’re making the playoffs – college playoffs. But yeah, I mean, it’s an exciting time to be a Tar Heel.”
On what he believes the over-under of wins will be for the University of North Carolina next season: “I said nine-and-a-half. Everyone’s taking the under, I just – I don’t know, just shoot for the stars.”
On if Lions Special Teams Coordinator Dave Fipp has already started to try to connect with former Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick through him: “Yeah, he’s got a little bit of an infatuation with Coach Belichick, and so he’s already been on me about getting back to Chapel Hill, and we’ll see if we can get that done here this spring.”
On if the game against Buffalo could be a shootout similar to the game between the Los Angeles Rams and Kansas City from 2018 and if he would welcome seeing that: “Yeah, I think whenever you go into a game expecting that, it’s usually the polar opposite, is what I’ve come to expect. So, it’ll probably be a defensive showdown on both sides of the ball. It is a darn good unit, I haven’t been able to watch too much film other than what we’ve seen, crossover tape from previous opponents, but yeah, I think with (Bills Offensive Coordinator) Joe Brady, (Bills QB) Josh Allen, they’ve got a lot of playmakers, we know what they can do. It seems like the tale of how we score points has been different than them. We’ve been a little bit more variation over the course of the year, we’ve had some really big games and we’ve had some games where we’ve been a little bit disappointed with what we’ve done, but it’s all averaged out at a high level, whereas they feel like it’s pretty steady, 30 points a game almost. And so, we know we’ve got our work cut out for us, keeping up with them, but it’ll be a good test. It’s a darn good defense, I mean, these guys – (Bills Head) Coach (Sean) McDermott, (Bills Defensive Coordinator) Bobby Babich, they are sound, they’re smart, they’ve had this same scheme, you can tell those guys know what they’re doing, they know what their weaknesses are and they make you play the hard game, which is play efficient football, they limit explosive plays and they play good red zone defense. So, we’ll see how this one turns out.”
On the matchup against Buffalo potentially being a Super Bowl matchup and if he allows himself to look that far ahead and if he does anything differently when facing a matchup like that: “No, I think – yeah, that’s looking too far ahead for us. The head coach said it best early this week, we have earned a spot in the tournament based on what we’ve done thus far. We still need to win the division, we still want to get the number one seed, and everything will play out from there. But that’s all way too far out in the future right now.”
On what changes Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell made in his approach to big games compared to last season: “I honestly – I don’t think I’ve seen any change from him in his leadership style. I do think this, what I’ve seen this year as opposed to prior years is, he has not shied away from the high expectations, and for a guy that really hasn’t been in this position before, I cringe a little bit just looking at it and seeing it all take place, but now, as I’m watching it unfold, I’m like, ‘Man, it was a beautiful thing,’ because our guys, he knows who they are, what they’re made of, and they’ve really risen to the challenge up to this point of the season, and they love having the target on their back, we know we’re getting everybody’s best shot right now, and I think Coach Campbell’s a big reason why we are so prepared each week. We haven’t – over the last few years we’ve had a dud game that kind of gets sprinkled into the season and, fortunately, so far this year we really haven’t had that, or if we have had it, we’ve been able to overcome that dud game and still come out on top at the end. So, I don’t know that I’ve seen anything different from him in his approach, but it was certainly interesting to see how much he’s embraced it and said, ‘Hey, let’s go.’”
On if he sees a trickle effect of embracing the high expectations spreading to the rest of the staff: “Yeah, there’s no doubt. I’m always – I’ll say, personally, I’m always, early in the week, a little bit on edge about, ‘I need to get through all the tape, I need to see our guys go through practice, I need to see the plays.’ End of the week, I’m usually confident and then he’ll come into that first staff meeting and, no matter how you’re feeling, ‘Hey, we’re going to get after this crew.’ And it kind of alleviates any anxiety you might have early in the week. He can always see how he wants this game to play out with all three phases, he’s already there. So yeah, he uplifts all of us.”
On how Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell has made him a better coach: “Goodness gracious. That’s a hard one to reflect on at the moment because that’s a very deep question. I think, when you look at Dan Campbell, you’re really – you see a guy who’s very comfortable in his own skin. He’s not afraid – I mean, you take last week as an example, he’s not afraid to go away from the norm and deal with the consequences, good or bad, from it. And I know everyone in this League, they always say, ‘Be yourself, be you.’ Especially when you get a head job, and I think he’s embodied that to a tee. He uplifts everybody on that staff, when everybody’s kind of in a little bit of a funk, we’re mid-season, it might be a case of the Mondays early in the week and he know how to bring us up, and when we’re feeling ourselves he also knows how to press the right buttons so that we feel that rock in our shoe as well. So, as far as it has impacted me, that’s a very deep question and one I would like to give more thought to.”
On how the offense’s mindset changes when the team is relying on them to win the game: “Listen, we have set the bar really high, springtime and in training camp and our guys don’t bat an eye. I mean, I just came from a walkthrough where we see a guy in blitz pickup make a mistake and how disappointed he is with himself, we get the repeat, and we get it right and we keep moving. So, our guys are trained at this point right now to set the bar super high. They know what the expectations are going into this thing.”
On what he has seen from Bills LB Matt Milano in his return and what challenges he presents: “He’s one of the many guys on that defense that’s been there for a long time, and he knows it inside and out. Really good coverage player from the running back position out of the backfield, he covers those guys up, great blitzer, he knows exactly where to be, he reads the quarterback’s eyes, and so, smart, instinctive, and they’re certainly a better unit when he’s out there.”
On what the Los Angeles Rams did schematically that worked so well against Buffalo: “Yeah, I think the tale of the tape was how good they were on third down. I think, at one point, they were nine-of-10, and they finished the game well over 50 percent, maybe 11-for-15, something like that. They were extremely good on third down, and I think that’s what helped them extend the drives and end up coming out on top. I mean, this unit is really good at forcing negative runs, zero-yard gains, putting you behind the sticks, making you earn it the hard way, and so they found a way to keep it going there on third down, and it was a combination of the primary receiver getting open, it was beating man coverage, it was (Rams QB Matthew) Stafford extending the play and making some plays in streetball – more mentality. And so, our guys, we just watched all those third downs back-to-back-to-back and our guys understand what the task is at hand.”
On the challenge of getting on the same page with Lions QB Jared Goff when he came to Detroit: “Yeah, well, I mean, first off, I had to understand where he was at, and so that was – it’s just spending a lot of time together, it’s talking through what he understood about their system that he was so comfortable in in L.A., both from a concept standpoint, but also protections as well because that’s really where he’s made the most growth is, being able to identify where the issues are, change the slide, throw hot if necessary. And so, it’s really been more time on task together and now it’s going into year three and we’re very comfortable with why we’re calling plays, what the issues are – and I think the things that get overlooked with him is, when I call a bad play against the wrong defense, he quickly responds and he’s quick to dirt the ball right away and live for another day. He doesn’t want to make a bad play any worse and create a negative. So, I think that’s where – that gets overlooked in this League a little bit. Guys want to create and they want to extend the play, and he’s learned, ‘Hey, we’ve got good, talented players, let’s live to the next down and we’ll overcome it the next play.’”
On how long it took to build trust with Lions QB Jared Goff to know that he would be able to process plays quickly like the play against Green Bay where Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown was in the backfield: “Well, I think it’s – the fact that he’s going into year nine right now, he’s seeing the field better than he ever has. The game has legitimately slowed down and we see this every single day with (Lions QB) Hendon Hooker, not to put the spotlight on him, but as a young player, there’s a lot going on with the different tempos that we use, with the shifts and motions that we use, with the cadences that we use, and you can kind of see him, over the course of the year so far this year, he’s gotten better and better and better and then you put Jared out there and just how much slower and calmer the game is for him at this point. He’s been nine years into it now at this point, so he can identify quickly if a defender’s been out-leveraged and we can get an easy one to the drag route that Amon-Ra was running or if he needs to progress to two to three to four. He’s just gotten faster and faster over the last three years that we’ve had him.”
On if cringing at Super Bowl talk this early in the season is an example of how he is growing as a leader and if he sees different motivation styles from different coaches: “Yeah, I mean, there have been – I’ve been around a number of really good coaches, I really have, and I think (Lions Head) Coach (Dan) Campbell is probably the best leader I’ve been around, certainly from the head coaching spot. He does a phenomenal job, and so there’s a million things that I’ve learned from him in our time together, there’s a million things that I’ve learned from (Lions Assistant Head Coach/Running Backs Coach) Scottie Montgomery each and every day, there’s a million things I’ve learned from (Lions Offensive Line Coach) Hank (Fraley), from (Lions Tight Ends Coach) Steve Heiden, from (Lions Quarterbacks Coach) Mark Brunell, from (Lions Wide Receivers Coach Antwaan) Randle El, from (Lions Defensive Coordinator Aaron Glenn) Coach Glenn, I mean it’s – it really goes across the board, it’s not just Coach Campbell. But we’re always learning, we’re always growing, yeah, we do want to be ourselves and the best version of ourselves, but you always grab something from the guys around you, and it makes you better.”
On how he approaches having Lions QB Jared Goff as a collaborator on the offensive gameplan: “Well, we make time every single week, early in the week, every night before he leaves the building, we sit down, we’ll either watch practice together, we’ll watch cut ups together, and he’ll kind of spitball, ‘I’m thinking this, that or the other. These are the things I’ve done that I really like.’ And we’ll find a way to incorporate those. The things that he’s most comfortable with usually work on game days, so we want to give him a lot of liberty early in the week, ‘Hey, I think we can get a post if we do this or that.’ And we’ll try to find a way to make that an alert for him if we can call it against the right coverage. So, it’s just, call it an hour every day over the course of the week. We’ve got a good process right now from Monday to Sunday that we just keeping the reset button every week. We can’t get tired of it. But he’s doing a great job of that.”
LIONS DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR AARON GLENN QUOTE SHEET
December 12, 2024
Opening Statement: “Critical, critical win this past week for a number of occasions. First, it secured us a spot into the tournament, which is outstanding, so now we know for a fact that we have to do everything we can to secure our division and, I’m telling you, we’re trying to secure the number one seed, and our guys know that, and we know that as coaches, also. Defensively, I thought our guys fought, especially for the new guys that we had that came in, and those guys played quality reps for us, and it was important to see exactly how they played, and my thought process was, man, did these guys play like Lions? And they did, every one of them. So, again, I give a lot of credit to our personnel department of understanding exactly what types of guys we want on this defense, how they play, and those guys gave us everything they had, and the good thing about it is, now they get another week into our system, understanding exactly how we want to do things schematically – just enhancing their level of understanding schematically. So, looking forward to this game this week, really good opponent from all different levels, from the quarterback, to the skill levels, to the O-linemen, this is a huge challenge for us. Just like every week, we look forward to these challenges, another good quality opponent.”
On multiple coaches bringing Lions LB Kwon Alexander back to their teams and why coaches want to be around him: “Listen, I told the staff immediately that you’re going to love the practice habits of this player from walkthrough to true practice habits because of how intentional he is about his work. He’s very, very vocal and he understands, as a linebacker, that you actually lead the team from that aspect, and he does a good job of that. He’s a violent player, he plays fast, his instincts to me are just on another level of understanding the game, and when you have a player like that, you’ve been around him, man, you want to get as many of those players back as you can. So, for us to get a chance to have that player back, it was important for us to bring him back. I think he enjoys playing for us also.”
On how Buffalo’s offense has changed with the addition of Bills WR Amari Cooper and the challenge of facing Bills WR Khalil Shakir: “I can’t say the offense has changed. What I can say is they added another weapon, which always makes it hard, and a quality weapon, at that. And when you talk about Shakir, I mean, he’s a damn good slot receiver, he gets in and out of his cuts real well. Listen, he’s faster than what people give him credit for, and you saw it in the Rams game, when he ran away from everybody, and I think it was on just a short, five-yard pass – him being able to do that. So, listen, our DBs have got their hands full, we know that. I mean, Amari’s been a Pro Bowler, high-paid receiver in this League for a long time, and for him to be able to get with this offense, with this quarterback, with this O-line and the other skill players they’ve got, it allows him to be in more one-on-one situations, so the thing we’ve got to do a really good job of is making sure we stay on the top shoulder of him because he still has that fade ball that he can go out there and be able to catch.”
On Bills QB Josh Allen limiting his turnovers and how much more important taking advantage of takeaway opportunities is when facing a quarterback that is not turning the ball over: “To me, that’s every quarterback, any time you get a chance to make a play on a mistake, from that aspect. But, what you’re saying about Josh is true, I mean, he’s done a really good job, and I give a lot of credit to (Bills Offensive Coordinator) Joe Brady and that staff also of – and I can’t tell you what they told him, but what I do know is, man, all the interceptions, all the fumbles that he used to have, man, those things have really gone away. I think he understands that himself, and I give him credit, because he’s grown in that aspect, and he knows where to go with the ball. Man, I think they have an offense to where, man, they are distributing the ball to a number of different people, and I know they’re going to get some people back this week who are a huge part of their offense, so that’s going to be something we have to be ready for, also. But, man, this quarterback, he’s an MVP-caliber guy, there’s no doubt about that, and we know that. But we’re going to go out there and do everything we can to stop what he’s trying to do. It’s going to be a tough challenge and we know it.”
On if Bills QB Josh Allen is the best quarterback the team has faced: “Well, I won’t disrespect any of the quarterbacks that we’ve seen, but I will say this, he’s a damn good one, and we all know that. Listen, Super Bowl – we’re going out there to win a game and our guys know that, and they’re going to do a damn good job of doing that, and again, we’re looking forward to it.”
On how the defense has to play differently against an elite quarterback like Bills QB Josh Allen: “To any elite quarterback in this League, man, we know that they’re the guys that – they have a chance to change the game and there are certain aspects of the game that he really has a chance to change, and I will say that in critical situations, third downs, red zone you see it, two-minute situations. He burned us when we played him a couple of years ago on Thanksgiving in a two-minute situation, so he has that talent to be able to do that, and most of those elite quarterbacks do. So, we just have to be better than him, that’s what it comes down to. In any situation there is in this game, we have to better than him.”
On what he saw from Lions CB Terrion Arnold against Green Bay and how he has grown in the past few weeks and what he expects from him going forward: “Listen, he’s always been sticky in coverage, it’s the growth of him from how he started to where he is now. And I know that everybody was on him about these PIs, which still kills me, but listen, that player is going to be a damn good player for us. Ice water in his veins, understands how we play, wants to challenge people in man coverage and really understands a lot better how to play zone coverage. So, as he continues to progress in this League, he’s just going to get better and better and better. And listen, we’re putting a lot of pressure on this player by the way that we play, but there’s no other way that he would want it. So, I’m glad we’ve got him for the simple fact that he’s going to be one of the top corners in this League as his years progress.”
On what he thinks of Lions Linebackers Coach Kelvin Sheppard saying that Lions LB Jack Campbell is playing like one of the best linebackers in the NFL and how he thinks he compares: “Well, I haven’t seen every linebacker play, but he’s doing a good job for us and that’s all I care about. So, any time he’s on the field for us in whatever capacity – and the thing is, we use Jack in a lot of different situations, a lot of different formations. He could be on the line, he could be behind the ball, he can be in coverage, so we utilize that player a lot. But I know that, he’s a damn good player for us and I keep saying this, he’s a true MIKE linebacker. For him to stand in front of a group of men, the way they respect him is unreal, and you see it, and I’m sure the players talk about that too. He’s a man’s man, he understands what we’re trying to do, and he continues to try to get better.”
On where he believes Lions LB Jack Campbell has gotten better this season: “His ability to communicate across the board in every that we do. And that’s the number one thing as a MIKE linebacker, make sure that we’re in the right situation, no matter what the situation is, just like a quarterback. He’s the quarterback of our defense right now.”
On how he thinks Lions LB Jack Campbell earned the respect of the team so quickly: “Practice. Practice is what it all comes down to and his communication and being right, and he does that quite often.”
On the most important thing the defense must do to make Bills QB Josh Allen uncomfortable and record sacks: “Well, the first thing that we have to do, we have to stay in coverage, and our DBs know that, and he can extend plays. And we have to – that’s one of our defense’s – we have to make sure we don’t allow him to make these off-schedule plays like he’s made throughout his career, and when we do have him, man, we have to wrap and it has to be population to the ball to make sure that we get him tied up and get him to the ground. Listen, it is hard to tackle this guy, I mean, we all know that, but I think our guys look forward to that.”
On how thankful he is to have Lions Linebackers Coach Kelvin Sheppard and Lions Run Game Coordinator/Defensive Line Coach Terrell Williams on his coaching staff when bringing players up to speed quickly: “Listen, I talked about that with all of our assistant coaches. Really, I talked about (Lions Defensive Assistant/Outside Linebackers Coach David) Corrao, I talked about (Lions Assistant Defensive Line Coach Cameron Davis) Cam, I talked about (Lions Assistant Linebackers Coach Shaun Dion Hamilton) Ham, what those guys mean to me as staff – being on the staff. And having Shep there with me, he’s been there from the beginning, and he knows exactly how I think – exactly. And that’s a guy that I’ve been actually mentoring to be in the DC role at some point. I think he’s damn near close, if not there, to be ready to do that. He’s a damn good coach, he’s fiery, everything that you need as a linebacker coach, he’s that, and there are certain coaches on the staff that I think have to be bulldogs, and he’s one of the those coaches at that position, along with D-line, O-line and running back, you have to be a freaking bulldog, and he does a good job of that. And T-Man, he’s, if not the best, he’s one of the best D-line coaches in this League and the players respect him, his ability to teach, his ability to connect and relate is out of this world, and I’m glad I have him.”
On why he wants bulldogs as coaches: “Because you want bulldogs as players. They take on the coach’s identity.”
On how to deal with a situation where there are seconds left in the game going against Bills QB Josh Allen who can make it feel like an eternity: “Well, the first thing is how many timeouts do they have that you have to think about because of the amount of plays you can run in that situation and yardage you can get with the amount of timeouts. And that’s one area I think that I’ve grown tremendously, and I think every coach tries to. I mean, now they have these guys that are actually handling that, and that’s one thing I want to be able to learn on my own and just every second with timeouts, I’ve grown tremendously in that aspect. So, it is an eternity, especially if you have timeouts. No timeouts, depending on where you are on the field, man, you can take advantage of when they throw the ball inbounds and then being able to do things defensively to help yourself as far as making the time go away and what type of calls you want to be in. So, I actually enjoy those times, we do them a lot in practice, (Lions Head Coach) Dan (Campbell) does a hell of a job of putting us in those situations and allowing me to have to think fast and make calls we have to make, and I teach our players the same thing, so they exactly what I’m going to call. So, they’re doing a good job in those situations.”
LIONS SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR DAVE FIPP QUOTE SHEET
December 12, 2024
On how much he revels in the challenge of Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell saying that they need a big play on special teams this week: “Yeah, for me honestly, we’re trying to help our team win a game every single week. So, I see it differently than him, not that it’s not a challenge to us when we’re not trying to go out there and help our team, but I feel like we’re trying to help our team every single week that we play the game and I feel like we’ve done a very good job in a lot of areas in a lot of games. Obviously, we hope to go out there and make an impact, but I do know this and playing a game, the most important thing that you can do is go out there and execute it. When you execute it, you have 11 guys on the field that are doing their job and doing it with everything they’ve got, then you have a chance to make a play, and plays end up coming to you. Really in games like this, in my experience, the best teams go out there and they have 11 guys execute at such a high level every play that when the opportunity presents itself, someone makes the play and those end up being the difference in the game. So, for us, the goal is to go out there and play great, have 11 guys execute, do their job with everything they’ve got, and hopefully at some point the opportunity will present itself and if that comes on special teams, then great. I know our guys will end up being ready and making a play. I think it’s hard to go chase a play is my point. That’s really when you end up getting in trouble and you try to make things happen. I think this game’s all about execution, the teams that execute the best end up winning.”
On what Lions DL Pat O’Connor has done on special teams: “Yeah, so the one thing I will say is – and I say this to people inside the building too – but sometimes people look at play count and they say, ‘Man, this guy played a lot of plays.’ And it’s like, yeah, he did, but by the way, 12 kickoffs and kickoff returns were touchbacks and so they didn’t move a whole lot on those 12. So, then you’re down to six field goal blocks which is what he did for us in that game. And I’m not minimizing his role because man, I love him, and to your point, I know he was gassed because he would come right off the field into the huddle for a kickoff return and he’d be like, ‘OK I’m ready to go.’ It’s like, ‘Gosh dang, look at this guy.’ So, you can’t help but appreciate it and I know that there’s a mental tax too when you have a job description so a kick cover, kick return, even if the play didn’t play out, there’s a mental tax there and a tax during the week and practice and I definitely recognize that. So anyways, he’s a badass, everyone loves the guy, he plays his tail off, I’m glad he got to play a bunch of defense in that game and all the coaches were raving about how he played on that side of the ball too. He’s definitely helped us because we have covered some kicks and he’s been a major factor in doing that on our kickoff cover and hopefully we’ll see. Kickoff return thing too, he’s done a great job for us there, hopefully that will come up in this game. Last game these guys covered a handful of kicks against the Rams, so we’re hoping to get some of those opportunities too.”
On if he has any good Bills WR Mack Hollins stories after working with him in Philadelphia: “No, I don’t have a ton, I know this, obviously I knew him well coming out. I think he was definitely our top special teams guy on the board, he was a wideout out of North Carolina – my guy’s at North Carolina – and he was a great player. I know that every special teams coach probably had him as their top guy coming out, so he’s a great player. He obviously played for us in Philly, he’s a great dude, I’m really happy for him and the career that he’s had. He’s played for a handful of teams now. Last time we played against him I believe he was in Atlanta, and he really gave us problems on the outside as a gunner for us. Their right gunner, which I’m assuming he’s going to play against us this week. So, I know our guys are excited for the challenge because he’s got speed and size, and he plays a competitive brand of football and he’ll be a factor for us. We have to make sure we take care of him.”
On the Bills executing kickoffs that are meant to be returned: “Yeah, you hope to get it. It’s kind of for us in the last game, a lot of teams are kicking right on the edge and it’s kind of like, ‘Well why didn’t you return that?’ Obviously for us, like I always tell you guys, the team’s the most important thing. I’d love to swing the bat every chance we’ve got, but ultimately, we are trying to win the game and so hopefully we’ll get some returnable balls. The ball in play, I know our guys like to return them, they like to compete on the play, but ultimately as the return team, you don’t really dictate that. It depends on the ball that they give you. So, hopefully we’ll get the opportunity this week. This team we’re playing against has done a few different things. They played Kansas City and Indianapolis, and they didn’t have any returnable kicks, then they come back indoors or semi indoors in L.A., and they had three of them returned. So, hopefully we’ll get them.”
On if they have a specific message in the huddle on field goal protection for potential game-winning field goals: “Yeah, we treat that kind of similar to the, ‘They’re trying to go make a play’ thing. I hope we’re playing our best every single play that we’re out there and that includes field goal protection. So, I hope we wouldn’t treat one play differently than another because they’re all important. But I do think that you bring up a legitimate point and I think people don’t realize – like I said to the guys this morning actually, that one-point-three seconds might be the hardest one-point-three seconds in the game of football when you’re talking about a game-winning kick, on the line, the strain, I mean the job is mentally pretty simple in field goal protection, but physically, it’s one-point-three seconds of everything you’ve got to try to strain and keep that opponent from getting there. I think what can happen inside buildings is you get spoiled, and your guys go out there and they do a great job, and you feel like, ‘Oh yeah well that’ll never happen to us.’ Well, you don’t realize it happens, it’s happened to a lot of teams around the League. So really for me, I don’t take that for granted, the effort and what those guys do in protection, the operation, the snap, the hold, the kick, the timing. It’s all important. It’s like I told our players, everything, the alignment, where their jab foot is, where their hinge foot is, the depth of that foot, everything adds up and it shows up in those moments and if you get it right then you end up being successful. So, those guys have done a great job in protection all year long and sometimes you don’t realize it until – you don’t know what you had until you lose it sometimes. So, I feel like those guys have done a great job, really appreciate and respect the job that they’ve done.”
On why there are more blocked field goals this season than previous seasons: “Yeah, it is a good question. So, I think one thing that’s kind of happening around the League, it started out this season early in the year. A year ago, you’re not allowed to hit the long snapper in the head or neck area, which define that, no one really knows what that is. Area is a big area or a small one. So anyway, over the last couple of years, no one would rush the A gap, they would stay away from it because 15-yard personal foul, automatic first down, and then what happened is the League sends out tapes throughout the course of the year and they give kind of interpretations on plays and whatnot. There was a play early in the season, it was Dallas and New Orleans, and I believe it was New Orleans was rushing the field goal of Dallas, and there was a lot of contact on the snapper on the play and the League kind of clarified the play and said that the level of contact that was there was not egregious enough to warrant a flag. Well so then all of a sudden, it was like, ‘OK, here we go, we can heat up the A gaps, they’re not going to throw a flag.’ And so, then they really didn’t and now it’s like – then comes the Chicago Bears, Green Bay one and I think there’s two different sides to that. Some people say a flag should’ve been thrown, some people say no flag should’ve been thrown. But ultimately, they’re not throwing the flags on those plays so you’re seeing more contact. So, a lot of these blocks have happened in the A gap where there hasn’t been as much of a rush in the last few years. I also kind of relate it a little bit to – I always say to the players, you can’t tell me what the rulebook says. The rulebook says you can’t hold, but you can hold. You just can’t hold if the guy’s outside the framework of your body, if there’s restriction at the point of attack, if he’s trying to get away from you, if you take him down to the ground they’re going to throw a flag. But you can hold him as long as your hands are inside, and your feet are in front of him. So, what the rulebook says doesn’t matter, it’s really what they officiate and so it’s the same with all these plays. So, it’s like, yeah, you can’t have direct contact to the snapper in the head or neck area, but if it’s his hip it’s OK, if it’s his thigh board it’s fine, if it’s his shoulders, is that what’s warranting the flag? Well right now, nothing is warranting the flag, or nothing has. So, ultimately you’re seeing people heat up the A gaps, so you have to coach to what’s being played out there or what’s being allowed to be played but it’s a fine line because if you’re the team who lets it rip in the A gap and then on the game-winner gets the flag called on you, obviously it could cost you the game. On the flip side I also think what’s going on is it’s kind of like those Hail Mary plays. You don’t see many flags on those things, right? I feel like that last second field goal is starting to turn into that where it’s like, ‘Hey, we’re going to let them play unless it’s like totally egregious.’ So, you just always are adapting, as a coach in this League, you’re always adapting to kind of how they’re calling the game and how they want the game to play out. And I’m definitely not critiquing or criticizing, this is just the reality of our shoes as coaches. You’re trying to adapt to how they officiate or call the game or how the League wants it.”
On newly hired North Carolina Head Coach Bill Belichick: “Yeah, I’m pumped for him. I mean you guys all know, I don’t know Belichick, but I love him. As my kids say, that’s my man crush. I don’t even know what that is, it doesn’t sound good. But no, I still hope to sit down and talk football with him one day. So, (Lions Offensive Coordinator) Ben Johnson and I are going back to North Carolina in the offseason and we’re going to hangout with him. Ben’s got to get me in.”
On what he has grown to appreciate about Lions WR Jameson Williams: “I think I love all the players to be honest with you, I really do. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for players. That’s why you coach, is to be around them and try to help them out. I just know that Jamo is a guy who was playing at Alabama, and he gave himself up for the good of the team by playing on special teams when he probably doesn’t have to. I know that’s a lot of (former Alabama Head Coach) Nick Saban’s doing too and that’s kind of what they do there. But the guy’s a competitor and he loves playing. He’s not unlike all of us or at least like myself. He’s had his ups and downs and he’s probably taken his wrong turns, and I think that you’re rooting for guys to end up finding their way, grow up, use this game as an avenue to get to some place that they probably never would have been. I know certainly for myself, I tell people all the time I can’t believe I’m here. It’s just a blessing. This game’s been the biggest blessing in my life. So, you enjoy seeing players have a chance to use this game as an avenue to get more out of themselves than maybe they would’ve gotten without it and maybe it helps them grow up. So, for me, it’s really just been the process of watching him mature and grow and learn, learn from his mistakes. But this game’s really provided him an opportunity to do that and yeah, I love the way he plays the game, I love what the game means to him, he’s shown that by how he operates at practice, how fast he practices, how fast he plays in a game, the fact that he wants to go back there and return punts. So, I would say that’s kind of my relationship with him.”
