LIONS OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR BEN JOHNSON QUOTE SHEET
December 13, 2023
On how big of an emphasis Denver’s takeaway ability been this week: “That’s not just this week for us, that’s really been the last few weeks for us where that’s been everything. We emphasize it, we drill it. Unfortunately, over the last four weeks we haven’t done a good enough job with our ball security, and we know this team is feast or famine. When they get the takeaways, they capitalize on it and they’re winning ball games because of it. And so, we’re highly aware of it. We’ve got to do a better job protecting the ball this week than we have the last four games. They aren’t just good in their takeaways, I think the other thing that stands out to me the last eight weeks, they’re the number one third down defense in the NFL. So, they’re doing a great job stopping offenses when they get them in into that situation, so we’ve got to be on point here on third down this week. The good news for us, is we’ve been trending up in our third down conversion rate over the course of the season, so it’ll be a good challenge.”
On what Denver does so well to create the opportunities for takeaways: “Yeah, I think in traffic they really emphasize with their guys to punch at the football, strip it out. I know – shoot, I think it was the first play of the game at Buffalo, first play of the game, the running back’s running along the sideline and sure enough, it just boom, they’re going for it and they recover the ball quickly. So, you can tell that they’re harping on it. (Broncos Defensive Coordinator) Vance (Joseph) does a heck of a job with those guys. They’re playing very hard, they’re rallying to the ball, there’s traffic around the ball, there’s population, and so, we have to counter that by not only protecting the football in traffic but having our own population come to the party as well.”
On if they will use boxing gloves at practice this week to emphasize ball security: “Yeah, we might have some boxing gloves there this week.”
On the challenges a play-caller faces with so many different offensive line variations throughout a season: “I would be lying to you if I said I don’t think about those things. I think you have to when you’re calling plays. If you’re a little bit nervous about so-and-so’s matchup on so-and-so going into the week and then maybe somebody’s struggling early in the game, you just want to provide a little bit more help for them, that’s something that we’re always talking about, we’re always thinking about. Shows up in the protection game certainly upfront and then in the run game too, we try to find favorable matchups and angles for our guys to execute their jobs. So, that happens on a weekly basis. It doesn’t matter if we have our starting five in or if we have backups in, but we’re always conscious of those matchups and how we can put them in good spots. And the course of the game kind of dictates that too. We make our adjustments as the game goes and try to help guys out, but when you do that, you don’t want to take away from still attacking the defense or getting the ball into somebody’s hands that might be able to make a big play for you. And so, that’s been a balancing act over the last few weeks.”
On who will play tackle if Lions T Taylor Decker is out this week with an injury: “Yeah, we’ve got (Lions T Dan) Skipper, (Lions OL Colby) Sorsdal’s played some tackle, heck (Lions G Kayode Awosika) Yode’s even played some tackle going way back, so we’ve got some options there. Skipper played a healthy amount of snaps last week as a jumbo tight end, so he’s primed and ready to go if called upon.”
On if he takes poor offensive execution personally and what he does to elevate the execution moving forward: “I really – I boil my job down to two things. One is, getting guys into a favorable position. So, can we get our skill guys in space with the ball to do something with it or help them get open in their route running? And then upfront, we already talked about in protection, can we get favorable matchups or double teams for them to pass protect, or the angles in the run game? And so, that’s the first thing I look at when you evaluate the film. Shoot, last week there’s a couple third-down plays where, ‘Man, there’s not a lot of good answers there for the quarterback.’ And so, that’s where I’ve got to take it. We try to minimize those as a coaching staff each and every week. (Lions Passing Game Coordinator) Tanner (Engstrand) does a heck of a job helping me with the passing game and we take a lot of pride trying to get our primary receiver open every week. That’s a hard thing to do though. And so, we need someone to get open over the course. So, that’s number one. And then, at the end of the day, it’s – when you’re looking at the execution part of it, we have to ask ourselves as coaches, ‘Are we installing it and are we teaching the concept well enough to where maybe it’s not the ideal defense for what we’re trying to get done, but can we still execute and understand the overall intent and the big picture?’ And so, some of those with the teaching of the play, we could be a little bit better over the course of the week. So yeah, of course, we always look inwardly first and foremost when the players aren’t executing at the level that we think that they are capable of.”
On if he revisits a specialty package that does not necessarily go as planned in other weeks: “Yeah, each week’s a little bit different than the next, but we certainly do try to build on what we put on tape. Last week, it was a circumstance – that was a really good run defense. I think at the time they were ranked number one and one of the things we were looking to do was let’s get (Lions G) Jonah (Jackson), let’s get (Lions T) Penei (Sewell) and let’s get (Lions T Taylor Decker) Deck all together and let’s get some of our best run-blockers together and see what we can get done. I think one of those sets we ended up popping the 36-yard run to (Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs) Gibby. So, each week’s its own story, but certainly we may build off of that package.”
On if Lions TE Sam LaPorta has flexibility to make changes within his called route: “It depends on the type of route that it is. That particular instance, (Lions QB) Jared (Goff) was looking to back shoulder him and it didn’t work out for us. They did a nice job in coverage.”
On how much play-calling can influence turnovers: “I don’t know that to be honest with you. I think if you end up being too conservative and sheltered then you’re not really attacking the defense at all levels and results won’t be quite what you like. So, truth be told, that’s not something – listen, (Lions QB) Jared (Goff)’s going to throw interceptions occasionally and I know he’s going to bounce back from them too. He’ll come back and he’ll play his best football, normally coming off those interceptions. So, I’m not worried about that. I’ve been with him now for two and a half years, I know how he responds to that type of adversity. Fourth-and-10, that’s a tough situation, he’s trying to make a play. End of the game, we get a fourth-and-long, same thing, he’s trying to make a play. Those are ones we can live with and truth be told, I’ve been around quarterbacks that will turn down those types of throws because they’re trying to help their stats, but he’s playing the situation, he’s playing ball and he knows that in order to make a play, he’s going to have to put the ball in a little bit of jeopardy. So, I respect that and I think his teammates respect that too.”
On if Lions QB Jared Goff is still playing at a high level: “Absolutely. Yeah, no he is still playing at a high level. You look at the interceptions over the last four weeks and like I said, some of them were the fourth downs early on. We had a couple like (Lions TE Sam) LaPorta runs into the safety, gets thrown off his route, ends up being a pick. So, some of those happen and then a couple of them that he wants back. So, that’s the nature of the business and he’s been really good over the last year and a half taking care of that football. We don’t want him to lose his aggressiveness when it comes to throwing the football. Fourth-and-3’s a good example of that. He finds (Lions WR Donovan Peoples-Jones) DPJ for a huge play on fourth-and-3 last week and that’s about as tight of a window that you could throw it into. So, we don’t ever want him to lose that.”
On if Lions QB Jared Goff’s increased comfortability with throwing into tight windows is a matter of trusting his skillset and receivers: “Yeah, and that’s – as we develop the passing game, it’s the timing, it’s the anticipation, it’s the trust between him and the route runners. And if you want to look at – I’ll open this one up for you guys, if you want to look at, ‘Hey, where have we trended a little bit backwards over the course of the season?’ It’s been our base-pass game. Some of our staples that we have been doing in spring, training camp and all season long, they showed up last week in particular where, ‘God, we’re just not – we’re not doing what we say, how we installed that, how we said we were going to do it, how we’ve been doing it, how we’ve got banked reps on,’ and it’s come back and bit us in the rearend. We’ve been in some second-and-longs and those second-and-longs have become third-and-longs because we haven’t executed well on second-and-longs. So, listen, it’s all fixable. These guys know – they know how we can get better and how we can improve and we’re looking forward to an opportunity to do that.”
On if they need to change something about their offensive staples or if it goes back to the fundamentals and execution: “A little bit of both.”
LIONS DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR AARON GLENN QUOTE SHEET
December 13, 2023
Opening Statement: “Obviously, this is a game that everyone had circled when the schedule came out, knowing that (Broncos Head) Coach (Sean) Payton’s somebody that we all respect, got the job in Denver and we were going to play those guys. So, looking forward to it. It’s going to be a good game. They’re playing very well and we’re looking forward to the game.”
On the friendly rivalry between Broncos Head Coach Sean Payton and why he would want to come in and ‘embarrass them’: “I think the one thing that Coach Payton – I think number one, he’s very competitive. Highly, highly competitive. And when you’re built that way, man, you’re always trying to – I don’t want to say embarrass your opponent, but man, you’re always trying to play the game at the highest level. And I don’t know if embarrass is the word to use, I just think he’s going to try to get those guys to play at a high level, just like we do. So, we’re going to go out there and try to get our guys to play at a high level also.”
On what Broncos QB Russell Wilson shows on film now compared to when he was at Seattle: “I think he’s playing confident. I think what the coaching staff has done with him, is build a system that he’s comfortable (in) and allowing him to use his legs still, allowing him to throw the deep ball which he’s always been really, really good at. So, that’s something that we have to be very aware of in the secondary. So, man, you clearly see they built a system that helps him and that’s the reason why he’s playing the way he’s playing.”
On if Broncos QB Russell Wilson presents a threat on the ground: “There’s nothing – he does a really good job with that. And I know he picks his chances when he does want to run and you really see it on third down and in the red zone, which most quarterbacks do anyway. But he has that ability to escape. I mean they have some read-zone plays in there for him which I would utilize his legs too. He’s not just a statue back there. He’s able to make some plays with his legs and you see that happen in the games.”
On what gives him the most encouragement about what the defense is doing well right now: “All the little things that people really don’t talk about. For example – and I talked to our guys about it, like the sudden changes that happen. That’s a real thing in this League and I think we’re one of the better teams in that situation. And we do everything we can to get the ball back to our offense. The second thing is our run defense. Our run defense is still going at a high level. Our ability to not allow touchdowns at a high rate from outside of our red zone. The things I try to make sure I point those things out to our players. The thing we want to do is make sure we look at those things, the things that we’re not good at, man, we continue to try to improve on those things. And the one thing I thought we improved on from last week is our red zone. And that’s one of the issues that we’ve had all year and if we continue to improve the way that we improved last week, I think we’ll be all good.”
On the pass-rush production improvement: “Man, that is something that we always work on. The thing is we have (Lions DL) Aidan (Hutchinson) which you know he’s going to – people are really going to look at him quite a bit to slight the line to him. And I think our guys are taking the challenge. We’ve challenged those guys to go out there and win their one-on-ones and I think they did a pretty good job of that last week and we’re going to continue to look at that.”
On what he saw in practice from Lions S Ifeatu Melifonwu that led him to start against Chicago and what he thought of his performance: “Well, listen, there was something that we always wanted to get Iffy a chance to go out there and play. The thing is, he had the injury with his hand and he’s getting better with that, so we just thought this was the week to give him a chance to go out there and start and see how he did. I think he did a pretty good job. Listen, it’s his first time starting in a while and there were some mistakes in there just like any other player would be, and I think he did a pretty good job. And we’re going to continue to move in that direction and see how he does.”
On Lions CB Kindle Vildor’s performance and if they will continue to work him in with Lions CB Jerry Jacobs: “Well, I would say this about him, he’s played a good amount of football. In Chicago actually he played, I think he started there a couple of years, so he’s a common presence. He’s a guy that’s been around like I said before. He’s very smart and he understands exactly what we’re doing. So, we want to continue to try to utilize that. Listen, Jerry’s not a guy that we’re throwing away and I don’t want anybody to think that. Listen, there’s still skins on the wall with that player also, alright? And he’s done some good things for us, but the thing is, man, we’ve got to do everything we can to play at a high level and we’re going to continue to find the guy that’s going to do that for us.”
On Broncos WR Courtland Sutton: “Listen, I take a look at all the skill players for them. You have Sutton, you have (Broncos WR Jerry) Jeudy, you have (Broncos WR Marvin Mims Jr.) 19 who can just run. Man, I have a lot of respect for this (Broncos RB Javonte Williams) running back, like he’s a tough, physical runner. So, that’s going to test our run game first and foremost, and then when it comes to Sutton, he’s a red zone threat. He’s a guy who can go up and catch the jump ball and we know that that’s one of (Broncos QB) Russell (Wilson)’s best things he does, is throw the deep ball. So, our guys are aware of that, we understand who he is as a player, but we also understand who the other guys are too because Jeudy’s going to do a really good job of getting in and out of his cuts and try to create separation, try to catch some run-and-catch opportunities for him.”
On if he feels the game is starting to slow down for Lions LB Jack Campbell: “Listen, I’ve thought the game earlier started to slow down for him, it’s just the fact that he’s a rookie and he’s going to make mistakes. Like I don’t know what this is that everybody thinks that he’s going to go out there and be Jack Lambert, coming into this League. But it’s not, it does not work that way. So, he made his fair share of mistakes. He’s always been a high-level player for us and the more he plays, the more that he’s going to get better. So, that player just needs reps, and I said this before and I’m going to say it again, we look forward to that player continuing to get better and continuing to play for us.”
On how Lions DL Aidan Hutchinson has dealt with his production not being as reflective in the stats this year: “Listen, I’ve said this to you guys before, when you’re a second pick in the Draft, when you come in and have the success he’s had, the thing that comes with that is expectations and criticism. So, he doesn’t care. You know what people say this – that’s your guys’ job is to make him go here, make him go there, but he’s not, he’s going to always be there. And I always talk to him about that, as a former player, that’s just – it’s part of the job. But man, listen, that player’s made a lot of plays for us and listen, everyone’s on him for the fact that he made those plays. Listen, it was a mistake. He owned up to it and man, we’re moving on and I want him to understand that and operate like that because those mistakes that he made, there’s a ton of other plays that he made for us, and I try to have him to focus on those things and not those mistakes.”
On what guardrails are in place for the defense to make their own rush calls within the play-call: “Well, the thing is we have – there are opportunities for our players to make calls within the call because we believe in our players and they’re smart players. The one thing that happened in that game is man, they were slighting to (Lions DL Aidan Hutchinson) Hutch. Man, Hutch was out there to try to make a play on that play, it was third-and-11, and man, he was trying to get to the quarterback which that’s what he likes to do, all D-linemen like to do. Man, he made the mistake of calling a TEX game and once he called a TEX game, the center slid to him, and it was hard for (Lions DL) Levi (Onwuzurike) to actually contain the football and the quarterback got out. So, listen, like I said, he said it was a mistake, it’s all good, we’re moving on. And I’ll tell you what, he’s going to make more plays than mistakes than he’s ever going to make in this League.”
On if Lions DL Aidan Hutchinson’s stunt call on third-and-11 was to make up for his offsides penalty: “No, not at all. Not at all. I don’t think he’s out there trying to go rouge right there. I mean it was part of the call, that he can make a call within that call. And he made the call, and it was the wrong call, and it was over.”
On if Lions DB Brian Branch’s lower snap count in the Chicago game was a part of the gameplan: “The thing that I wanted to do with that player is let him focus in on one job. I mean I look at the same way when I had (Lions DB C.J. Gardner-Johnson) Chauncey when I was in New Orleans. Listen, he was playing some safety, playing some nickel, I mean there was a lot within that because of what we asked those guys at that position to do. So, I wanted to make sure that I dial it back for him, let him focus on nickel, let him play nickel, and I thought it was a really good game for him. As far as the stats because he didn’t get a chance to be high productive like he’s been, but I thought he did a really good job in just playing nickel. And also, I wanted to make sure (Lions S Ifeatu Melifonwu) Iffy got as many reps as he could at the safety spot.”
On if he decided to dial back Lions DB Brian Branch’s snap count because there was too much on his plate: “No, I don’t want to say that. That was just a decision that I wanted to make so he could concentrate on the nickel spot and really get that down because he’s a damn good player at that spot and I want to make sure he plays as much as possible and be the best at it.”
On if it is a fair for people to compare the production Lions Offensive Coordinator Ben Johnson is getting out of Lions TE Sam LaPorta to the production he is getting out of Lions LB Jack Campbell: “Didn’t you guys say that Jack had his best two weeks. Right? So, I think we’re getting everything out of him.”
LIONS SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR DAVE FIPP QUOTE SHEET
December 13, 2023
On if Lions K Riley Patterson’s missed extra point against the Bears was because of a bad snap: “Yeah, I think on the missed PAT, obviously the snap wasn’t perfect. It was a little bit far outside of us, a little bit low. I think, overall, (Lions LS Jake) McQuaide has done a nice job of getting back here. Obviously, he had not been playing for a little while, not making excuses. But I’m not really concerned about it, if you’re going there, not at all. I think he’ll just continue to get better and better and back in rhythm, in a groove. And then I did think (Lions P Jack) Fox did a great job of getting the ball back up for us. He’s done a great job all year. And I’ve talked a lot about him because when I first got here three years ago, I did not think he was great at holding and thought it was an area he could really improve in. And ultimately, he got the ball down and I think, like I said I don’t know a year ago, or two years ago, in my opinion, if you’re the snapper, you’ve got to think, ‘Hey, I’ve got to be better than that.’ Obviously, your goal, or your standard is perfection and I know that McQuaide feels that way and then if you’re Fox, you’ve got to say, ‘Hey, no matter how that ball gets back there, it’s my job to get that thing down and the laces right.’ And I think he did a good job with that. And then if you’re the kicker, for Riley in that situation, to me, you’re saying, ‘Hey, they got the ball down and it wasn’t a perfect snap, but they got the ball down, I’ve got to make the kick.’ So, if you’re him, I think you’ve got to feel like, ‘Hey, I’ve got to make that kick in that situation.’ And then if you’re me, you say, ‘Hey, well, we’ve got to be better than that collectively, as a unit, or a group,’ and then that comes back to me, ultimately there. So, I think if everyone takes responsibility, it’s just like anything, we’ll be in good shape. If we don’t and we’re all looking for an excuse, we’ll find it wherever we want to.”
On the missed extra points Lions K Riley Patterson has had this season: “Yeah, he’s got two missed PATs on the year. I think he’s sitting at like 94 percent. I would love to tell you it was 100. I think 94 is kind of around average. I’m not saying that’s good and I’m not saying that’s what we’re shooting for, but ultimately, there is some reality out there that you’d love these guys to all be perfect, but they’re not – all of them aren’t. But yeah, at the end of the day, obviously we’re striving for better than that for sure.”
On what he thought about Lions P Jack Fox’s tackle in the game against the Bears: “Yeah, I definitely don’t want to see that. Although, I do think that he did a great job filling up in there. I mean – and I feel like, probably for him, he probably feels a little bit a part of the play. We didn’t cover as well as we wanted to. There were a number of things that happened. But – and they did a nice job. But there were a number of things that happened, but it was also probably not the best ball for him. He was trying to push the ball out there a little wider to the right, it kind of got down the middle of the field and I think when something like that happens, it was probably a little bit of him saying, ‘Man, I know I didn’t hit my best ball. Let me go make something happen and help fix the problem.’ But I did think it was a nice job of him filling up in there.”
On how he responds as a coach when the team’s performance may be below their standard: “Yeah, no, I wouldn’t disagree with that. We had some good plays, we had some bad plays in the course of the game. I think it’s a little bit, really, to be honest, to me, it’s a – that’s like reality, that’s the real world, that’s life, man. And this game – that’s the thing that’s so great about the game of football, in my opinion, is it’s so much like life. Everybody wants to wake up and have a great day every day, but the reality is, there’s going to be ups and downs throughout the course of the day and I think you’ve got to find ways to overcome that, both mentally and then physically. And in terms of, for us, how do we improve – I think what you do is you look at yourself and you find how can I be better. And if everybody looks at themselves and says, ‘How can I be better?’ And holds themselves accountable to it, then I think you’ve got a chance to make your day better, or make the play better, or whatever it is. So, ultimately, it was a good test for us. I mean, I’m not discouraged at all. I think we’ve got a great group who, overall, plays hard. They’re trying to do the right things all the time. I can coach better, they can play better, sometimes. Obviously, we don’t like to be inconsistent. But I think, overall, these guys have gone out and given a good effort and those guys made a play.”
On his recollection of Broncos Head Coach Sean Payton’s onside kick call in the Super Bowl and how they will prepare for uncharacteristic play-calling this week: “Yeah, so this week’s definitely one of those, be prepared for everything. Not that you’re not trying to do that every week, but I think knowing your opponent is part of it. And this is a group that’s, obviously, very aggressive. Not only did he hit the onside kick in the Super Bowl, but he hit the onside kick to open up their season here, this year. So that’s obviously been a part of them and him and then they’ve got a – and (Broncos Assistant Head Coach Mike) Westhoff’s over there as they’re kind of, I don’t know, special teams coordinator, or whatever they call him. But the bottom line is he’s been an aggressive play-caller, or coach, for a long time and done a lot of different things throughout the years. So we’ve certainly got to be ready for everything. At the same time, we’ve got to play on the attack and we’ve got to go out there and play to win. I don’t think you can play on your heels, but you definitely have to put yourself in a good position for all the different possibilities that could come up. In terms of my recollection of that play, I just remember thinking, ‘God, it was a gutsy call and those guys nailed it and got it and it was incredible.’ Obviously, swung that game a little bit, so.”
On the challenges Broncos WR Marvin Mims Jr. will present to special teams on Saturday: “Yeah, I think Mims, I mean shoot, we’ve gone against some good returners. Last week, I thought (Bears WR) Velus (Jones Jr.) and (Bears WR Trent) Taylor, 15, those guys both did a nice job for those guys. Mims, obviously, handles both for them. He’s talented, man. He’s got a lot of speed, he can run, he likes to run around the – just the whole coverage group. But he’ll hit it up inside too. That guy’s a complete player. Obviously, he’s having a good year. We’ve just got to do a good job of taking care of him in both phases, really. Keep him bottled up and do a good job of taking away what he does best, but – and that’ll come from the whole group whether it’s talking punt and it’ll be hangtime placement of the punt, it’ll be the coverage group being in the right spots, right side doing their job on the right side, the left side, the left side. A lot of his returns have ended up winding back to the backside. He had a touchdown return against Miami early in the year, so that helps his average go way up, obviously. But anyway, the guy’s a very talented player.”
On if there is a maximum distance they are comfortable with Lions K Riley Patterson kicking from: “Yeah, I would say there is. Now, what is that number? Now, obviously I wouldn’t say that. But I do think that it is really a number of things that factor into it and you hit on it. I mean, I think in the last game, the ball was on the 35-yardline, so it’d be a 53-yard attempt from there outdoors, with some wind and it wasn’t bad, but there’s definitely a factor. It was cold, the ball didn’t travel as well. I don’t think either team was going to attempt a field goal from that position on the field. And just a normal situation, maybe at the end of the game where you need it. Something like that, it would be different. But I would say in general, with the long field goal, I think what you’re seeing around the League and certainly for us, there’s a multitude of things that come into play. You’re talking about down, distance. You’re talking about likelihood of making a field goal. I think the NFL average, I think, is like 68 percent from 50-plus yards, so over 30 percent of the time, you’re not making it. And not only are you not making it, but you’re giving them eight yards of field position because the ball goes to the spot of the kick, not the line of scrimmage, if you miss. So now that factors into it and then it’s like fourth-and-what? Fourth-and-3? Fourth-and-4? Fourth-and-12? Maybe that’s different. Score of the game, time on the clock, an opportunity to go for it and put six, seven, or eight points on the board, versus three. So, I think there’s a lot more that’s going into that decision than ever. I think you’re seeing a lot of teams go for it more than ever. It’s taken some field goal attempts away. And certainly, some of those longer attempts. And then, obviously, your kicker factors into that too. Is this guy a great long-range kicker? Or that’s not his strength, or whatnot and that thing, so that factors into it.”
On if Lions K Riley Patterson’s confidence is negatively impacted when they don’t have him kick long field goals: “I honestly don’t know the answer to that. You’d have to ask him. I can’t really speak on his confidence. But I think he understands that we’re doing what we think’s best to try to win the football game. I don’t think he questions that.”
On how his daughter felt about the Georgia versus Alabama game and Alabama getting a spot in the College Football Playoffs this season: “Oh yeah, man, you know what was great about that is – that’s a good question because it was incredible. I mean, it was one of the weirdest moments. I guess I’m getting older, believe it or not, but I mean, I don’t feel like it. But, no, so, when we were playing New Orleans and they were playing that game and we had gotten down to New Orleans and she actually drove to New Orleans to watch us play the Saints. So, she drove in for the game, stayed with us in the hotel, and all that stuff, it was incredible. So, her and I got to watch most of that game together, which is kind of fun. And then, I mean it was just surreal seeing her there with me. I’m thinking, ‘Gosh, man, this makes me a little bit older than I think I am.’ But yeah, it was incredible having her there. I appreciated her coming and she’s excited. I don’t think she’s going to Pasadena. She’s not going to the game. But she’ll be watching us.” | |
