LIONS OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR JOHN MORTON QUOTE SHEET
December 1, 2025
On how Dallas’ defense has turned a corner since they added Cowboys DT Quinnen Williams to their roster: “I think you really see what they’re all about since the last four weeks. I mean, they’re 3-1. It’s the front, those guys are getting after it. Those two guys in the middle, and even (Cowboys DE Jadeveon) Clowney, he’s playing at a high level right now. So, that’s going to be the thing that we have to be aware of, and we are. Setting the gameplan up a certain way, just like we always have. But they are really getting after it upfront. That’s the way (Cowboys Defensive Coordinator Matt) Eberflus’ defense has been about. So, they did a good job trading for those guys, and it’s helped. They’re playing complementary football.”
On being down a tight end and what that means for guys looking to step up: “Yeah, just a little bit. I mean it’s kind of cool, next man up, guys are going to get opportunities. I mean, I thought it was great last week. (Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown) Saint goes down, (Lions WR Tom Kennedy) TK comes in. man, he did a hell of a job. It was awesome. It’s good to have him. He’s a veteran guy, came in, stepped in. Quarterback, he didn’t lose a beat. I thought he did a great job. So, that’s kind of cool. Creating different personnel groupings and trying to get guys in certain spots to get guys open. (Lions WR Jameson Williams) Jamo had a great game last week, he stepped up big time. It was great to see that. It’s tough not having the tight ends that we’ve had, but hey. We’ve got plenty of good personnel. I don’t mind mixing up the personnel and getting guys in different spots and giving them a chance. It’s fun.”
On if Lions WR Jackson Meeks is in a position to step up and play tight end: “Tight end, wide receiver, I think he could do both. We’ll see. We’ll see if he has an opportunity to do that.”
On the pass to Lions WR Jameson Williams up the middle in the game against the Packers and if he classifies that as a drop: “Yeah, it hit his hands. It hit his hands. Could it have been a better throw? Sure. Could he have caught the ball? Sure. And he’s caught those. (Lions QB) Jared (Goff)’s made those throws. It hit his hands. (Lions Assistant Head Coach/Wide Receivers) Scottie (Montgomery)’s always said – I coached wideouts – if it hits your hands, you catch the ball. And that was a fourth-down play, he’s probably going to score. It was man-to-man, so. And (Lions WR Tom Kennedy) TK killed the guy on that same play. The things on like fourth down and third down, it’s the same thing that we’ve been talking about. Man, we do this together. When we do things right, we’re damn good. When we’re erroring in technique and details and things like that or it’s just one guy, it’s tough. It’s tough. So, that’s been the thing. That’s what’s been going on, so. The guys will respond. We did pretty good on third down last week, considering we didn’t have a lot of our guys. It’s a tribute to the O-line, the quarterback, and those guys coming in, our coaches getting those guys prepared. I mean, those guys had to go in different spots that they’re not used to. I thought it was pretty impressive. Yeah, it was just a couple of miscues that we had. But it’s like that. The game comes down to four or five plays every game. We can’t afford to do that.”
On the team’s fourth down issues and if there is anything the coaching staff can do to simplify critical fourth down moments: “No. I mean, we had the right plays called. I just told you, we errored some plays. Whether it was a drop, whether it was a throw, whether we didn’t do the right technique, it’s those things. We all have our hand in this. I’m not concerned. I’m not concerned because we’ve got the guys. We’ve got the guys to get it done. So, I’m not concerned with that. Now, if it’s a scheme issue and stuff like that, I am concerned, because that’s on us. That’s on us, and it’s all on us. The whole thing is. And we do this thing together. I’m not concerned with that, it’ll happen. It’s going to happen. I mean, it’s the simplest thing of catching the ball, or making the throw, or running the right route the right way. It’s all those things, it’s all the little things. You’re playing guys in different spots, and you’ve got some young guys. And there are some things that are a certain technique, and they haven’t even seen it. Or a certain coverage that they haven’t seen yet. That’s tough on rookies. That’s tough to come into this League because you’re going to see a lot of different things. So, we’re always in pinpoint with everything. The way we install, when we show the looks, we’ve got to go out and do it. It’s tough. Like last week, you don’t even have a chance to go practice so you don’t get it full speed. But that’s not an excuse, that’s not an excuse. It’s like I said before, these guys are not rookies anymore. We’re trying to put them in the right position to have success, which we are. We’ve just got to get it done, we’ve got to execute. That’s the bottom line, man, you’ve got to execute. Got to execute every play. Every single play, every down. That’s what you do.”
On if there is anything the team can do to get the offense moving quicker earlier in the game: “Yeah, there are things you can do. When you put up first plays of the game, you look at kind of what they do in the beginning of a game. And then you go off what you did in practice, ‘OK what’s good? Alright, (Lions Run Game Coordinator/Offensive Line) Hank (Fraley), this is good. OK the passing game, we like this. What’s the quarterback like? What are certain running backs like in the beginning of a game?’ And usually, you want to try to do things that they’re not thinking a lot. That’s usually what you want to try to do, and that’s what we’ve done. Again, we just errored in execution, all around. I think that’s the biggest thing. We talk about changing things at halftime, stuff like that. That’s the same type of deal. OK, what are they doing? Are they doing anything different? No. What do you guys like? When we get together at halftime, it’s, ‘What do you guys like? What are you guys seeing?’ We all do it together, put it together, ‘Alright let’s go, let’s do this.’ That’s the biggest thing. If you can do things in the beginning based on kind of what they do in the beginning of the game, that’s the way I’ve been taught, that’s the way I approach it with (Lions Head Coach) Dan (Campbell). I give him all the tendencies and things like that, how they’re doing things. And then you go from there. And it might be the quarterback likes this, the running back likes that, the O-line likes this play. So, you put that in because they like it. So, let’s go do it.”
On how Lions WR Jameson Williams’ development can get a boost from seeing more first looks: “I think it’s great, I think he stepped up last week. I mean, the quarterback made some great throws. I think he was hitting 15 completions in a row at one time. He did a great job. That’s what he’s supposed to do. We put him in the right spot, quarterback made the throw. He’s a weapon, just like (Lions RB Jahmyr) Gibbs is. When you’ve got some guys that are weapons, it’s kind of cool. But it was great to see that he did that. He’s had a few games now that he’s stepped up. So, I love it. And as a receiver, as any player, you build confidence like that, let’s go. That’s kind of cool. But some other guys are going to have to step up because we’re limited. We’re limited in a way.”
On last Thursday’s run game and if the Packers’ defense prevented the offense from being able to execute second level blocking: “No, they didn’t do anything that we didn’t practice. It was execution, bottom line. I’ll say it again, execution. That’s what it was.”
On if there is anything that shows up on film for defenses to pick up on the team’s offensive tendencies: “No, that’s just the style. I mean, depending on the situation, too. If it’s second-and-short, third-and-short, they’re going to be coming downhill. We do a really good job with our self-scout. But the bottom line is it’s the execution. Yeah, they can fire all they want, and we have other plays – we’re watching the game. We’re looking at what they’re doing. But if we don’t do the proper technique, the proper block, that isn’t going to work. That’s what it boils down to. You’re watching tape, huh? We are too.”
On the value of Lions T Dan Skipper’s ability to step in for different personnel packages throughout tight end injuries: “It’s awesome. It’s awesome to have him. Because he has to step up a little bit because of the tight end situation right now. I mean, he ran some routes last year. Did you guys see that? I saw it. I saw it on tape, so. I’m working with him a little bit. But yeah, I think it’s very valuable. You have to do those types of things. You’ve got to have different personnel guys. You’re down tight ends, alright, you’ve got to go in. Or maybe we use two backs, you’ve got to figure it out. That’s what we have to do right now. The good thing is, we did those things in training camp, OTAs, just to prepare us for this moment right now. I didn’t know we weren’t going to have two tight ends, but other guys have to step up.”
On if he has tips for Lions T Dan Skipper as a route runner: “Just go play fast. Fake in man and react to zone, that’s what I always say. Let’s get this W, man.”
LIONS DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR KELVIN SHEPPARD QUOTE SHEET
December 1, 2025
Opening Statement: “Alright, quick recap from the Packers game. Obviously not the result that we wanted. Not only as a team, but as a defense. Whenever we leave a game and we’re not able to pull out a victory, I initially look into that mirror and say, ‘What could I have done better?’ And I told (Lions Head Coach) Dan (Campbell) giving up 31 points is unacceptable, and that’s any week. And I know each week you go in and out of these games, each week is played differently. It’s going to dictate the way you have to call the game, the way you have to play the game. And that day we needed to hold them under 24 and we obviously didn’t do that for a number of reasons. But probably the most disappointing things that transpired in the game, you go back to some of the critical things that came up. Some of those fourth downs – they were 50 percent on third down but you look at fourth down, they were three-for-three. That’s now becoming a common theme on fourth down – I told the defense – to where we’re at the point of attack to make the play and for some strange reason this year, we’re not making that play. That’s something that we’re going to have to flip the switch on, and I mean right now. And then outside of that, we had a play where we had 10 guys on the field and they got a 13-yard explosive run. They finished the day with 125, 4.2 average. And their longest run of the day was a simple day one of training camp swap, inside-zone where we didn’t really hammer the ball back and fit it correctly. That went for 29. Another 14 on the jet-sweep and then a 13-yarder with 10 people on the field in the gap where the player should’ve been. That’s totally unacceptable and that starts with me. It’s not players, not an assistant coach, that starts with me. And then the most critical is the third-and-7 down in the red zone where we had 12 people on the field. And that’s never been an issue here and it won’t be moving forward. Totally unacceptable in my opinion. That’s a four-point swing and the way Dan’s able to call that game without that touchdown being there is completely different. So, I put a lot of that loss on me as the defensive coordinator and on us as a defensive unit. Those things have been addressed, the players have taken full accountability. It’s the reason I enjoy coaching this room so much, and we’re moving on to Dallas.”
On if the defense is affecting the quarterback enough to play the style of defense they want to in the backend: “I don’t think we’ve affected the quarterback to play any style these last couple of weeks. I don’t care what kind of style we want to play. And the guys understand that and again, that starts with me. I’m not going to just point the finger, ‘You’ve got to win the one-on-one.’ Yeah, no (expletive). Yeah, you’ve got to win your one-on-ones in this League. But I also got to find ways to try to maximize what we do have to our disposal and put these guys in optimal position to be able to win, give them tools to win. I told the room, it’s our job to eliminate any gray, any hesitation in play and it’s their job to go out and execute. And that’s coach-to-player, player-to-player on the field. So, no, obviously we haven’t affected the quarterback at the rate that we were earlier in the year. There are things that we’re going to switch up a little bit by personnel, by schematically. But at the end of the day, you’re starting to get into November, December, players make plays. Just like when I stood up here and we were limiting people to 10 points, 16 points, all this and people were talking about us like we’re the ’85 Bears. I never said anything about it being some type of guru schematics. It’s the players that are going out and executing and making that happen. And it’s no different when we don’t play so good. The players have to take accountability to that, I’ve got to start with me and say, ‘What could I have done differently?’ And if guys are at the point of attack, if you have a one-on-one, you have to win those in this realm where we’re at in this part of the season.”
On how he ensures that the team is converting quarterback pressures into sacks: “Like I said, just finishing. It’s a lot of too close, almost happening still in November going into now December where that absolutely won’t be tolerated. Being close isn’t good enough. You have to make that play – and that’s coverage and rush, they marry each other. There’s no dominant defensive secondary in this League without a good pass rush, there’s no good pass rush without some type of coverage happening on the backend. So the guys understand that and we have to find a way to mesh and gel those at the highest level this week against one of the top – if not the top – offense in the NFL right now.”
On if there is something that has to be fixed with the cornerback rotation to avoid penalties for the number of personnel on the field: “No, that’s elementary, to be honest with you. And it’s totally inexcusable to have 10, to have 12, to have 13. I don’t care – 11-on-11 football. I mean I started playing it when I was five years old and it was simple as this. When I was six years old, I knew if I ran on the field, somebody should be running off. It doesn’t come down to, ‘Oh, the packages.’ No. If I run on, somebody should run off. Let’s use common sense and make sure that doesn’t happen again.”
On what Lions EDGE Aidan Hutchinson has to do more of to get home for sacks like Browns DE Myles Garrett and Packers DL Micah Parsons despite the attention he is drawing from opposing teams: “Yeah, I’m not sure what other people are doing in their facility – or you start to play this comparison game. We can go down that line with media members. That guy in New York’s writing a better report than guys here. Like no. No, we’re not going to play that game. What I know is I have a high-level player, one of the best, if not the best, edge rushers in this League. He knows just like we know, people are going to plan for him. That’s why he is one of the best and he has to combat that. But it isn’t a one-man show. Other people have to win. And when I mean – I’m not just talking about (Lions EDGE Aidan Hutchinson) Hutch, I’m not just talking about (Lions DL Alim McNeill) Mac. I thought Mac was a very impactful rusher in the middle all Thanksgiving day. But it just can’t be those two guys. When your name is called, if you draw a one-on-one, you have to win in this League if you want to be around. And it’s just simple as that.”
On what he can do to help force more turnovers other than emphasizing them in meetings: “First things first, when we do get the ops and the ball is out, we’ve got to come up with it. We had a chance for a huge, huge play down in the red zone when (Lions CB) D.J. Reed did a phenomenal job right there in the tight red and he got the ball out on a little double-slant concept they had going. And D.J. Reed got the ball out. We’ve got to find a way to get that ball. And I don’t care about it taking a bad bounce back turn. When those balls are out, they have to be ours at this point in the year. And just continue to do what they’ve done. What I don’t want is players trying to reach and go out of their realm of their responsibility to make a play. The plays will come to you. All year that’s how it’s been happening. There hasn’t been anybody doing anything heroic. The plays come to you and when you have those opportunities, you have to make them. It’s simple as that.”
On how Lions S Kerby Joseph is doing mentally given he deleted his social media accounts: “Kerby’s doing great, he’s ready to get back. He was as upbeat as I’ve ever seen him last week leading into the week, knowing that he’s scratching and clawing. Hopefully it’s a chance we get him back pretty soon here. But Kerby’s good.”
On how Cowboys WR George Pickens and Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb are different players, how they complement each other and what the ask is for defending them this week: “Yeah, these guys are two of the top in the League, the top of the top echelon. And what do they do different? I mean they both run the whole route tree. The only thing I will say that’s really different is the physical nature in which George Pickens presents himself on the field. A huge, huge catch radius, very physical at the point of attack, wills himself open. Whereas CeeDee, he’ll sink them hips, he’ll come in and out of them, he’ll put you in a blender if you’re not right with your leverage, if you don’t understand what you’re doing. So, they do a really good job keeping them apart as well. And what I mean by that is on opposite sides, which means you have to cover the whole field. You rarely see them together and that’s good. (Cowboys Head Coach Brian Schottenheimer) Schotty’s doing an outstanding job. They have some of the top personnel in the League. And I told the defense, we’re exactly where we want to be. Like that might sound crazy, but in my opinion we’re exactly where we want to be. You could say backs against the wall, what I see is a great opportunity with everything. When we started this year, we had goals and aspirations. All those goals and aspirations still lie ahead of us but now it’s just more sense of urgency – which it always should’ve been. But sometimes we all – it’s human nature, you need a little nudge. You need a little reminder of where you’ve been instead of where you’re at or where you think you’re owed, if you’re owed something. You just need a little reminder. And I just hope it’s a wake-up call to us all. There’s an urgency and there’s a margin for error that’s no longer tolerable and it’s simple as that.”
On what some of the challenges are with stopping Cowboys Head Coach Brian Schottenheimer’s offense: “Oh, I mean now – well it’s a little different than before because Schotty’s been on staff there for a while. He was there with (former Cowboys Head Coach) Mike (McCarthy) and all that, so he understands it’s a lot of the same five but the personnel is different. They’ve done a great job building that offensive line, that’s the initial difference I see when I turn on their tape this year. It’s a physical group that’s getting movement at the point of attack. And then they did a good job going out and finding a back that I’ve always had a lot of respect for in this League in (Cowboys RB) Javonte (Williams). Since he was drafted out of North Carolina at Denver and we played him as a young pup, I always knew that was a special kid. Barring injury, he’s a top back in this League. And they did a good job finding him and he understands the scheme, his running style. He has 734 yards after contact. There’s a lot of plays on tape where guys miss him. We don’t have the margin for error to miss those plays. So, understanding it’s a run-pass, they keep you off balance 50-50. They know teams are going to play with a shell, so that’s why they attack you the way they do in the run game. They do a very good job. It’s a balanced attack and I’m looking forward to this challenge.”
On his thoughts about his alma mater LSU hiring Head Coach Lane Kiffin: “Oh, it’s outstanding. I think that Lane – not to get off track, obviously all my sole focus is on the Dallas Cowboys. But I absolutely want to congratulate the new head coach of my alma mater, Lane Kiffin. I think he’s going to bring back a championship mentality and a championship atmosphere like it belongs down there in Baton Rouge.”
On why the team embraces where the Lions are right now in the NFC standings and is not panicking: “Because I’ve been trained and conditioned. The same reason I don’t panic when I lose three starters on the backend because I see an opportunity ahead of us. I see an opportunity where we’re back in that realm of being doubted. I see an opportunity to where everybody is not looking at us as the class of the NFL. So, that’s why I say it’s right where we want to be because it’s right where I like to live. Right here just in the back, in the back, just laying in the weeds and waiting to bite somebody’s (expletive). So, I’m looking forward to this week and I know our players feel the same way.”
LIONS SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR DAVE FIPP QUOTE SHEET
December 1, 2025
On what jumps out to him about Dallas’ special teams unit: “(Cowboys WR KaVontae Turpin) Number nine is obviously a great player. We know firsthand, we’ve seen him a bunch of times. He makes everyone around him much better, which is what the great ones do. But I would also say they’ve got a bunch of guys who play really hard, do a good job with what they’re expecting and asking them to do, blocking, tackling. So, we definitely – it’s a challenge for us going into this game, we’ve got to play well, obviously help our team win.”
On Cowboys WR KaVontae Turpin’s expanded role on offense and if his role has changed on special teams: “No, he’s doing the same stuff. Those types of guys, they can light it up any play. It just takes one of them. When I was in Philly, we had (former NFL WR) Desean Jackson, he was playing a lot on offense, he would still go back there, and he could still change the game in one play. So, you have to take care of them, every one of those. You’ve got to expect his very, very best, which I’m sure he’ll give us.”
On what it is about Lions K Jake Bates’ kick that causes the ball to go right to left: “I think when the ball moves a little bit – the more the ball moves, probably the higher up you’re hitting on the ball. The lower you’re hitting on the ball, the more it’s just spinning, rotating. But the higher up you hit, the more it moves a little bit left and right. I think the higher up you hit on the ball, the lower the trajectory, too, at times. So, it just kind of depends. But ball contact, foot contact on the ball is going to change how it goes or travels. I would tell you that a lot of kickers, their ball will move very similarly to that. Little right, little left, especially when they’re hitting a hard ball from way back deep. Meaning they’re putting a lot on the kick, not the hardness of the ball, but how hard they’re kicking the ball or putting into the ball from their leg, the more it may move like that a little bit which obviously, on a long kick, you have to do. So, I would say it was not totally normal but not totally abnormal, either.”
On the common denominator behind the team’s better return game the past couple weeks: “I think we had a punt return and a decent kick return. All those plays come down to, well, a few things. I think I alluded to going in – or the last time we talked, I guess it was two weeks ago. Some of it’s controlled by the other team and their punter and how he punts the ball to you. Like those guys in the last game punted the ball a little bit further down the field, so obviously it set up more of an opportunity to return it. So, I think it’s obviously blocking and creating space in the return game for players, and then it’s obviously the returner hitting the ball downhill. We’re doing a good job making some guys miss and all that. I thought (Lions WR Tom Kennedy) TK did a great job, he attacked the coverage, he played downhill, he was fast, he was quick, he played with a purpose, he was trying to make it happen. A lot of times you see that when a guy gets an opportunity, which is a great part of this game, is there’s a guy waiting in the wings and when he gets his shot, man, he’s trying to capitalize and make the very most of it. And I thought he did a good job of that, both on kickoffs and on punts. But anytime one player plays well, that means there must be a bunch of guys around him who have done a good job, too. So, all the guys blocking for the play, obviously helped out a lot.”
On what kind of asset Lions WR Tom Kennedy can be on the special teams unit: “Yeah, I think you’ve seen him, I mean, this League’s crazy like that. I mean here’s Tom Kennedy, the guy’s been up on our roster, he’s been down, he’s bounced around, he’s sat in the wings for a long time. He’s gotten his shot on offense and special teams multiple times. I think he – for the most part, he has gone in there and done a good job. There’s a lot of guys like that and it’s crazy, they’re just kind of hanging around. I mean, anybody can take him. He’s been on our practice squad, somebody can come in and claim, put him on their active roster if they wanted. But ultimately, every time he gets a chance to go in the game, he’s been productive for us, really probably in both phases which is great to see. It’s a credit to him. I mean, the guy just keeps grinding away. And this League’s full of guys like that who have great stories, they just keep believing in themselves, they keep competing, keep playing, and all those guys can really hope for is an opportunity. You get an opportunity, you go make plays, that’s all you can do, which he’s done. And then you just have to hope somebody wants you bad enough to put you on their active roster and make you their full-time guy or whatnot. There’s a lot to that, obviously. But anyways, I’m happy for him, he’s done a great job, he’s done a great job for us this whole time he’s been here, in a lot of ways. The way he practices and helps other guys prepare, talking to other players, young players and helping them out, letting them learn. So, great young man. Did well for us, and obviously we need him to continue to do that.”
On what the mood of the team is right now: “What’s the mood? Guys want to win, I would say that. They don’t like losing, so that’d be fair to say. I think ultimately, to me, it’s really kind of a welcome back to reality. I mean, you live in this world where you win 15 games in a year or something, that doesn’t happen very often back-to-back to back-to-back. So, reality says that you’re really never as good as you think you are, you’re never as bad as you think you are, you’re somewhere in between. Most teams have to fight to get 10, 11, 12 wins in a season. Anyways, that’s where we’re at. I think for us in the building, I would say for me personally as a coach, anytime you’re going through times where you’re not playing as well as you want or you’re not winning as many games as you want, I think all too often everyone, ‘Well, how can we do this?’ Well, you do that by executing this, or just take it back down to simple things, man. What you’re asking them to do, how you’re asking them to do it, how they’re doing it, technique, fundamentals, execution. Ultimately, the game comes down to technique, fundamentals, execution, detail, discipline, all those things. And if you’re worried about the win, or playing great on whatever side of the ball, or lighting it up in the return game, or, ‘Well how are you going to do that?’ You’ve got to go back to how. And I think that’s like your process-oriented goals, things that are going to make a difference with the outcome is what you’ve got to focus on. And it’s usually a lot simpler than you think. So anyways, for us, all of us, myself included, I go back to that, the basics. Just worrying about the things that you can control, whether that be me individually, the player individually, what those guys can control, what they can handle, what they can fix. Just worry about that. And if everybody does a great job with that, we’ll get the results that we want.”
On what allows the team to be able to bounce back from losses: “I would say that a big part of that is our head coach. I mean, these guys have a lot of respect for him. I would also say a lot of that’s the players, they have a lot of respect for each other. And sometimes when you don’t have that in these buildings, guys are more interested in what they’re doing or their numbers or their success or their contracts, or whatever that is. When you get individuals worried about themselves, then it gets very difficult. We don’t have that at all, we have great players that are committed to the team and the guy next to them. They play for the guy next to him. We have a head coach that’s a great leader, and those guys respect him a great deal. So, they’re going to make sure that they give him also everything they’ve got, which in return makes our job as assistants much easier because those guys give us everything they’ve got, whether it’s practice or a game. If we just give them the right stuff and do a good job coaching, then those guys will perform well and play well. So, we’ve got to do that for them. All of us, myself included there. But yeah, I would say that’s probably the biggest part of it. In those other buildings, players, guys are doing their own thing, they’re worried about themselves, individuals. Makes it very difficult, and that happens a lot in these buildings. And then obviously if they don’t respect the leadership in the building, whether that’s the head coach or the GM or the owner, ownership, which I think they clearly do here, then it makes everyone’s job a lot easier. And when things don’t go well, they don’t just fall apart. Those are my opinions, anyway.”
On how rare Lions P Jack Fox’s ability to punt inside the 20 consistently with no touchbacks is: “I think that’s been a real positive. Touchbacks have always been something that bothers me because you’re just talking about handing field position away. I mean, we talk in this room a lot about – you know that I like value of a yard. Whether that’s (Lions WR) Kalif (Raymond) returning the ball for one yard even though there’s a guy in his face, to me it makes the difference in the game and it creates an opportunity for the guys around you. So, anytime you’re giving away yardage, whether it be penalties, especially penalties in the return game, to me it’s just devasting. You’re just handing the other team yards and plays and field position. Ultimately this game really becomes about field position. I think the inside the 20 thing does have to do with field position. I know I’ve talked about this, but field position’s really controlled by all three phases. A lot of people say it’s created by special teams, and I don’t agree with that. On the kickoff it certainly is, it’s the start of the drive. It’s going to start wherever we give the ball to the offense or defense after that play. But the punt play is totally different. If we’re punting from way back deep, obviously it’s going to be hard to pin them in 20. So, that means if the ball starts deep on our side of the field, our offense is going to have to move. Well, why did it get back there? Maybe their team punted the ball deep in order for them to punt it deep on us and they’re going to have to move it on our defense. So, it’s really controlled by all three phases. So, anytime I think a unit’s playing well in that area, obviously a bunch of it’s due to the offense, defense too and playing the field position game. But he certainly has done a great job putting the ball down in there, and it’s been positive. Because that, when I got here, I don’t think was one of his strengths, I don’t think he would say that either. So, I think he’s definitely improved in that area. This game’s hard, man. It’s always something you’ve got to work on and get better at, but yeah.”
