LIONS OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR JOHN MORTON QUOTE SHEET
September 19, 2025
Opening Statement: “Monday Night Football. Man, I just remember the stories as a kid just watching Monday Night Football with my dad. I’m extremely excited for Monday Night Football. Really good opponent, well-coached team, good defense. It’s always a hostile environment in there to play, especially on Monday night. We’re going to be ready, so I’m excited for this game.”
On what he remembers from watching Monday Night Football as a child: “Well, I got to stay up. I just sat there with my dad, and we watched it. Howard Cosell and what was it, Meredith? Dandy Meredith, who’s the other one? I forgot. But just the music, the music, man, gets you going. It still gives me chills. There’s nothing better than it’s the biggest stage in the world. And to go watch these players play, man, it’s exciting.”
On how much going against the Lions defense during training camp prepares the offense for the matchup against the Ravens: “We’ll be ready. I mean, it’s not all man-to-man. They mix it up pretty well. I mean, they’re a well-coached team. (Ravens Head Coach) Coach (John) Harbaugh does a great job. They know exactly what they’re doing. It’s not like the old Ravens as I know it, but they’re just well-disciplined. You can see it, they’re tough, they tackle. They do a good job, they create turnovers. They’ve got some really good players. (Ravens S Kyle) Hamilton’s a really good player, and (Ravens LB Roquan) Smith in the middle. Those two guys are really good. So, I like where we’re at right now.”
On the strain a strong defense up the middle is for an offense: “No strain. We’ve got great players. I’ve said this before, they responded last week. Our guys, when it’s time to make plays, they’ve made the plays. I like the matchup. I think it’s going to be a great game.”
On how the offensive line is preparing for another loud environment in Baltimore: “Well, you practice in the noise. You make it hard, you make it loud. I think that helps. The communication, we’ve got to do it in practice so we feel good about it. And if there’s anything that’s a problem, we just take it out. But that’s the main thing, we’ve been doing that. That’s what you have to do. And these guys, listen, they’ve been on the road. We’ve all been on the road. We’re going to be smart in the things that we do so we don’t have miscommunication, I think that’s important.”
On how big play-action is to the bread and butter of the offense: “It’s big. Whether you run it and it sets up the play action or vice versa. (Lions QB) Jared (Goff)’s one of the best at the play-action, to me, throwing the deep ball. And that’s what we did, we ran plays that they know inside and out, no thinking involved, and you saw what we did last week.”
On if Lions WR Isaac TeSlaa has gained confidence from him and Lions QB Jared Goff to win in a one-on-one situation: “Yeah, I mean I wouldn’t have set that up last week if I didn’t. I’d like to see him use better technique on the release so I can catch it and score as opposed to doing these one-handed catches. You can’t live every day like that, so. But listen, he gets better every day. We give him a little bit more, little bit more, and he does a great job with it.”
On if the chemistry between Lions QB Jared Goff and Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown is all from them or if he helps foster the connection: “Well, I have to make sure I put them in the right spot. To have success, our job as coaches is to put these guys in the right position to have success, and everything was just clicking last week.”
On if he helps in the execution of the big plays like the comeback touchdown route from Lions QB Jared Goff and Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown: “They made that play in training camp almost every day, so. And listen, you’ve got to talk about it. That’s who you’re going against, that certain route. It’s a way of how they play it, how that corner’s playing it.”
On emphasizing plays the team knows inside and out and if that was an emphasis between Week 1 and Week 2: “Totally different defense. Again, like I’ve said before, we’re going to look at the defense and this is what we’re going to do. So, that was a different defense compared to Green Bay. We game plan it, specifically on who we’re playing and what they do.”
On how fun it was to watch the offense from the booth during Week 2: “Pretty fun. I mean, I watched the tape twice. It was impressive, just all phases, man. The line coming off the surge, the guys running routes, (Lions QB) Jared (Goff) throwing the ball. I mean, he’s been over 80 percent the last two weeks. You don’t see that. Yeah, it was fun, but it’s all about the players. It’s not about me. My job is to put them in the right position, man. And everything was clicking.”
On if he really watched the film from Week 2 twice: “I did, I watched it twice because I was like, ‘Man, is this real?’ No, it was fun watching these guys, and that’s what I said. All the goals that we set before the game that we said we wanted to do, it happened. And that’s the cool thing.”
On if he normally watches film from games twice: “No, I don’t watch it twice. I haven’t been around that. I mean, it’s been a while. I’ve been around some great offenses with (former Saints QB) Drew Brees and stuff, but I haven’t seen that in a while, so it was cool.”
On what he has learned about Lions QB Jared Goff from a coaching perspective: “Well, he’s very smart. I talked to you guys about RCE (recognize, communicate and execute), and that’s what we’ve done, that happens every day. Every single day. And he works all day, all night. We text back and forth. Ideas, this, what are you thinking, he comes up to my office, there’s straight communication. And that’s what you want in your quarterback when you’re the play-caller. He’s been phenomenal. He just makes my job a lot easier, because I want what he wants, you know what I mean? And if there’s something that I want, he wants to make sure that he knows what he needs to do. But he’s just been awesome, his preparation.”
On how important it is to win the time of possession against Baltimore: “It’s giving me a tough deal. We have to be efficient on first and second down. We’ll take our chances when they’re there. But yeah, that’s going to be – we’ve got to score touchdowns. When we get down in there, we’ve got to score touchdowns. It might be long drives, it might be quick, depending on what they’re doing. Like I said, just depends on what they’re doing, what we’re going to do. I want to convert on third downs, so we have more downs and then get in the red zone and score like we did last week. I mean, we had a couple more opportunities last week to have a chance. So, we’ve got to make sure we capitalize on those when we do have an opportunity.”
On the challenges he sees from Baltimore’s pass rush and his thoughts on Ravens OLB Mike Green: “They get after it. They do a really good job scheme wise, especially on third down. That’s where they want to get you on third down is seven and 10 where they can do a lot things. Mike Green, he’s solid. He’s a good player. I don’t like talking about players that much, but he’s a solid player. I mean, (Ravens Head Coach) Coach (John) Harbaugh, those guys, they’ve got players that are smart, just like us. And that’s what you see on defense, that’s what you see.”
On how much he feels like he understands the team’s offensive line and how much he is still figuring out their strong points: “Somewhere in four, five, six games where you start feeling, ‘OK, this is kind of what we’re good at.’ This and that. There’s still a lot of stuff we did in training camp that I want to get going again. But you start to feel it. We’re going to do – we want to do what they’re good at so they play fast. That’s the biggest thing. I keep saying, and I know I sound like a broken record, but that’s the smartest thing to do. And then there’s going to be one or two things here and there that we want to be able to try and see if it works.”
On if the win in Week 2 laid a foundation to get the offensive line moving fast: “Yeah, I think for the most part. There were a few new things that we did. But yeah.”
On where he saw the most growth in Lions OL Tate Ratledge from Week 1 to Week 2: “I just think the communication. I mean, there’s still some things that we have to clean up technique wise, but he was more consistent, I mean, all across the board. I think that was the biggest thing. Because run game wise, we were doing things that there wasn’t a lot of communication and everything was set. It started in practice where we’d take a period where it was just all runs. And I think that’s important. The more you do it, the better these guys are going to understand it.”
On how much more comfortable he expects the young guys on the offensive line to be handling the crowd noise in Baltimore: “I’m going to feel real comfortable. Like I said, we’re going to practice it in the noise. We’ll be smart where we use things and where it’s the loudest towards the red zone and things like that. But I think I feel pretty good.”
LIONS DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR KELVIN SHEPPARD QUOTE SHEET
September 19, 2025
Opening Statement: “Good afternoon. Obviously, just like last week, most weeks I’ll start by recapping last week’s game so we can just kind of dive right into the next week’s opponent. So, just peeking back to the Chicago game, I just wanted to first and foremost credit our players and coaches. Obviously that’s been a common theme around here, the resilience bouncing back after a loss. But this is a new team, we added a lot of new pieces, so it was good to see the 2025 not only defense, but team come back. The urgency, the intensity. Like me and (Lions Head Coach) Dan (Campbell) talked, we knew Thursday, Friday practice how we were going to play Sunday because of the way we operated throughout the entire week. And that’s a collective effort, so I do want to shout the guys out, but more importantly the players there from that standpoint. A lot of things we talked about correcting Week 1 to Week 2 showed up. There were still things there as far as starting the game. The first drive of the game, that’s a big thing for me. Getting on and off the field, creating that early in-game momentum, we failed to do that again. And then some of the third downs, we should’ve been way more efficient on third down than we were in that game. Three plays you pointed at. The first big touchdown – I think it was third-and-8, third-and-9 – just drop coverage, it can’t happen. You do that – it was the only guy open on the play and it’s because it was due to drop coverage. You go later in the game, third-and-15, unnecessary penalty which then led to another third down, third-and-8, third-and-9. We get an interception on the play, another unnecessary penalty. So that’s three third downs right there, instead of being 7-for-13, you’re 4-for-13 on the day. That’s a huge difference and it alters not only the score, the momentum, things in the game where if our offense can’t put up 50 points, those are plays we’re going to want to have in the game moving forward. So just being able to learn not only through loss but also through victory, I believe, and continue to progress as the weeks go. I want to shout out our defensive line last week, I know that was a big thing. We didn’t – Tim (Twentyman) gave that gross stat. He started to press off last week with, I think, we only got close to the quarterback Week 1 twice he said. I hope you guys were pleased with the uptick there in the pressure. No, but all jokes aside, just credit the players. Really attentive to the details, making it hard on the quarterback pre- and post-snap breeze, things like that. That takes time, it takes detail and it takes a level of training that these guys put in because they knew what they could be. And we still have a lot of growth. Giving up 21 points is still not the standard for defense around here, so we want to make sure we learn in defeat and learn in victory.”
On what Ravens QB Lamar Jackson not do well: “Just like you guys asked me last week what does (Bears Head Coach) Ben (Johnson) do well, I say everything, what does Lamar do well? Everything. What does he not do well? Nothing. I mean he could beat you all different ways. Run game, pass game, pass game he could do it in the pocket, out of the pocket. So I mean, it’s why he is who he is, a multi-year MVP in this League and have the utmost respect for this player. He’s a dynamic player in this League and he’s hard to prepare for. I’ve gotten lack of sleep this week due to him, so I’ll make sure I’ll let him know that after this game.”
On if he would ‘tip his cap’ to Ravens QB Lamar Jackson if he throws for 300 yards and four touchdowns and move on and trying to find a way to make him one-dimensional: “No, I wouldn’t be tipping my cap 300 yards and four touchdowns. I don’t think any of us would be tipping our cap to that stat, but no, I know what you mean. Like trying to make them one-dimensional, so to say. And it’s hard to do. The fact they’ve added (Ravens RB Derrick) D. Henry, it only doubled down on it. It’s hard to make this team one-dimensional. You’ve just got to go in with a plan that we’ve created as a staff that we feel gives our players an opportunity to go out and have success against this unit. I mean, they’re dynamic. You’ve got (Ravens WR) Zay Flowers, you’ve got (Ravens TE Isaiah) Likely, you’ve got (Ravens TE Mark) Andrews, you’ve got (Ravens RB Derrick) Henry, you’ve got (Ravens QB) Lamar (Jackson). I mean that’s before you talk about one of the strengths of the team is their front, the bigs. I mean this team is why (they are) who they are. Every year you’re talking about the Ravens in the championship contention. Every year, year in and year out. And over the last couple of years, you’ve talked about us in the same context. So, this is two teams, we know where this game stands. Now it’s early in the year, this isn’t a deciding factor of who’s going to the Super Bowl or anything, but it is a litmus test for us and let us know where do you really stand against the big boys in the League.”
On how important it will be for the cornerbacks to be active in tackling against the Ravens: “One of my mentors, (Jets Head Coach) Aaron Glenn always told me early on in this profession in my first year here the identity of your defense, the toughness of your defense lies in how your DBs – specifically your corners – show up in the run game. And when he told me that four, five years ago, I was like, ‘Oh really? The linebackers better stop the run.’ But, now you start to look at schematically what offenses are doing. They’re putting the ball on the perimeter and they’re doing it on purpose, cracking support and making your corners tackle. And we’ve been afforded here – I mean you see (Lions CB) D.J. Reed coming up last week, he looks like a linebacker and it just sets the tone. If those guys can go in there and put their hat in there, why can’t the linebacker, why can’t the safety, why can’t the defensive linemen? So, we know that, we preach it and these guys practice it. So absolutely, it’s very important how your corners show up in the run game.”
On why it is so important philosophically to get a stop on the first drive of the game: “For me it sets the tone for the day. Now, it doesn’t dictate the outcome of the day because you could have a first three-and-out and not get off the field the rest of the game. That’s not good too. But, to me it sets the tone. And me as a defensive guy, I want to be out there first and set the tone for the day. So when we’re called to do that, we need to go do that and let the offense know they feed off us, we feed off them, you saw it last week. It was a three-headed monster we had. It wasn’t offense, wasn’t defense, wasn’t special teams. It was all three guys marching in lockstep and complementing each other. Sometimes we needed special teams, sometimes the offense needed us, sometimes we needed the offense. And when you have that clicking, that’s when you’re really rolling.”
On if the challenge this early in the season is figuring out what his players do well on third down: “No, it’s doing your job. I know what these guys do well and they know what they do well. It’s all about execution, it has nothing to do with anything else. We need to execute within the framework of the scheme, which we did do for the most part of the game. And again, learning through defeat and victory. We came out victorious, but there was a lot of plays in there that shouldn’t have been there. And these guys know that and what’d they do? They put their head down and we’re back to work this week. You wouldn’t have known a difference in Week 1 to Week 2, to Week 2 to Week 3 as far as the players’ intensity and their level of detail because they want more. They want more for themselves. They’ve set a certain standard in that room and I see it, it’s not just lip service. So then we’ve just got to make sure we handle the execution part for those 60 minutes come game day.”
On what Lions EDGE Al-Quadin Muhammad does up front to give the team a unique advantage alongside Lions EDGE Aidan Hutchinson: “Yeah, I told you guys Week 1 he was slated to get more. He played 47 snaps, last game we played 70, so he was right there in the target range where we saw him in having a role. And he’s done what I’ve seen him do since day one of training camp. He’s come in here with nothing promised to him, he didn’t even know if he was making the team. That’s an eight, nine-year vet playing in the preseason all out. Just go turn on the preseason games and tell me what you see from number 96. It’s the same thing we’re seeing now. So, as we move forward, on and on, it has nothing to do with who’s available, who’s not available. If you’re available for the game and you show us you’ve earned the right to be out there and get a role, we’re going to find that role for you. And the better you do, the more that role will uptick for you. But he’s been phenomenal, it has nothing to do with ability, look at the effort he plays with. That is the identity of the Detroit Lions defense. Forget the stats, forget any of that stuff, just talk to me about Muhammad’s effort and that is the standard for the Lions defense.”
On how important physicality is to what he wants to do this week: “Physicality is important every week as a defensive player, as a defensive coach. That’s what we preach. It’s the only advantage you now still have as a defensive player. This whole League’s tilted to offense and that’s all good and we understand that, but the one thing they can’t tilt is the way we attack the football and the level of physicality that we try to impose on our opponent. And that’s non-negotiable, that’s the way we play, that’s the way we practice and that’s the way these defensive guys want it, so that’s every week. I get it, listen, it’s Baltimore, all that. That’s every week, I wanted to see physicality Week 1, I wanted to see physicality against Chicago Bears, I’m going to want to see it every week no matter who the opponent is.”
On what he thought of Lions DL Tyleik Williams’s performance through the first two weeks and where he sees him ascending: “I see him growing every day, I see him growing every week. Leaving that mindset of, ‘I have to make the play to have an impact on the game.’ Coming from being a college player and a dominant college player, to understanding his role and how we see him making plays, I think that’s the biggest progress. And I appreciate the player because that’s hard. You come in, these preconceived notions that you’ve got to be the difference maker. Well, this is what a three-technique, a nose tackle, this is the way you become a difference maker for us and it showed up. Turn on his double teams, turn on the third-and-1 and the fourth-and-1, that’s all you’ve got to do. If you want to know the impact, why (Lions Executive Vice President and General Manager) Brad (Holmes) and the front office went out and targeted this player, turn on that third-and-1 and fourth-and-1 stop. Those are quarterback sneaks, the percentile is in the 90-something percentile in this League and that play got stopped largely due to that player. Now there was other people involved, two critical third downs where – that’s like being in man-to-man coverage – he gets a PBU, those are huge plays that altered the outcome of the game and he’s showing up. And the more and more he goes, I think he’s going to start to show up more and more on the stat sheet because he’s doing it within the framework of the scheme.”
On what he has learned about Lions DB Brian Branch: “I learned that there’s so much growth left with that player. A lot of coaches will see a player like that and be so excited that you forget to coach him. I see that there’s so much left within that player. And when I say a joy to coach, he wants to be coached hard because that’s the right way to coach, is hard. And he wants that, he comes from that, he grew up in that and it’s why you see him ascending. Every year it’s like he gets better, that’s not by accident. The time he’s putting in off the field, the level of detail, the questions he’s starting to ask that he would’ve never asked his rookie year. Last year he started to peak – the time he’s putting in with (Lions Defensive Assistant/Safeties) Coach Jim O’Neil – who’s doing a phenomenal job with those guys, not just saying, ‘I got two All-Pros.’ There’s still meat on the bone left with that player. But make no mistake about it, he is if not our best, one of the top pillars to this defense and I want that to be said. And we go as far as our pillars take us and he’s one of those and he’s a pivotal piece for me each week, week in and week out.”
On how much the intensity and energy he talks about originates with him: “It starts with (Lions Head Coach) Dan Campbell, our head coach. And I follow him and it’s a trickle-down effect to my staff and therefore to the players. Everything here starts with Dan.”
LIONS SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR DAVE FIPP QUOTE SHEET
September 19, 2025
On how much he appreciates a coach like Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh who places emphasis on special teams: “Yeah, I mean number one, I’d say I have a lot of respect for him, so when I got to Philly, he wasn’t the guy who was there before me but he was before that guy and had done an incredible job, obviously. And so, I heard a lot about him. That’s all you heard about when you were coaching special teams in Philly was Harbaugh. So anyway, the truth is he’s done an incredible job as a football coach, and I would say as a special teams coach, and as a head coach. The thing I admire the most from my shoes right now is, he’s won with the Baltimore Ravens, number one, for a long time and for a lot of years in a row, been highly successful. The part that I really appreciate is that he’s done it in a lot of different ways. He’s done it with a drop back quarterback, he’s done it with a mobile quarterback, he’s had to adjust and evolve and adapt his systems throughout the course of his career there. He’s done it with a different defenses and different approaches on defense. I think when you’re a special teams coach, to be honest with you, you learn a lot about that because, ‘Here’s the players this year, here are the players you’ve got that year.’ And so, you’re not like, ‘Well, this is my system on offense, this is my system on defense. This is what I do on special teams.’ You have to evolve to the players that you have. I think he’s done that as good as any coach in the National Football League. Obviously, when you come from coaching special teams, you understand the roster, the top of it and the bottom of it. You understand all three phases, you understand complementary football. I think they just do a number of things very, very well. So I have a lot of respect for him, he’s always been great to me. I think he does a great job and his teams play well. His special teams groups are always hard to play against. We got our challenges this week against those guys. They’re always long, they’re physical, they’re very sound, they stay in their gaps, they stay in their areas, they can rush the punt, they put pressure on you there. Their kickers put pressure on their returners, they get the ball on the ground in both phases now, even on their kickoff. So, it’ll be a great opportunity for us. I know as football team, I feel like game one we really weren’t where we wanted to be. Game two, I felt like we made a lot of improvement. And now I think we get a chance to go against a very good group who’s well-coached and will challenge us even more, so it should be fun.”
On Lions K Jake Bates missing long distance kicks from left during training camp and if it is a minor mechanical issue that needs to be adjusted: “No, I mean sometimes it’s more concerning if a guy misses left and right. And at least he’s kind of got the same thing, he’s doing the same thing over and over. So, I wouldn’t say that’s a concerning issue, obviously we want to make all of our kicks. We know 55-yarders aren’t the same as 45. That being said, we expect to go out there and make the kick, so does he. He really has not missed a whole lot from under 48 yards throughout training camp and to this day, so anyway. We’ve got to get better at that, we’ve got to make the big kicks. Fortunately, it didn’t cost our team. But the thing that was disappointing for me, more so than just him missing the kick, was kind of the situation of the game and how it happened. I think that came following our fourth down stop on defense, and you really hope to capitalize points. Anytime a team’s going to go for it on fourth down like that back on that side of the field, then you get the ball back on offense, and truth is we didn’t move it well on offense either, but to come out of that whole series without scoring points to me was disappointing. We’ve got to be able to make those.”
On Lions WR Kalif Raymond: “There’s a number of things about Kalif I would say. Number one is he’s just super competitive. I think number two, and it probably has to do with kind of his story and makeup and where he comes from, and that’s why I love all these guys’ stories. He went to Holy Cross College. That was my first job coaching was actually at Holy Cross College. And I can tell you first-hand, that’s not the place you’re going if you think you’re a big-time football player. It’s a very academic school. They’ve had some, historically, some good football programs. But, if you’re being recruited by the big schools, you don’t end up there. So, anyways, he ends up there and I think he obviously gets a shot in the League, he gets cut, he gets another shot, he gets cut, and he’s bouncing around some teams early on. And I think when you go through that process as a player, you either do one of two things. You either keep fighting or you kind of give up, and this guy, he’s a fighter. He didn’t quit, he keeps competing and he’s got a chip on his shoulder and he finds a way to prove a lot of people wrong and he’s done a great job of that. Tennessee cut him, or really let him walk, and then we picked him up, our scouting department did a great job with him and picked him and he’s been exceptional for us. And then not to mention the fact that he’s just an incredible person. I mean, if you just sit down and talked with him. Very unique person and great person. His mom goes to all the games, she follows him. So, he’s a great story.”
On Lions RB Jacob Saylors: “Yeah, Saylors, he’s been great for us. He came in here mid-training camp. We had some injuries at the running back position, this guys pops out of the ground and it’s like, ‘Wait a minute, who’s he?’ Kind of starts making some plays and flashing. And I know he played in the other Leagues and whatnot, bounced around also. Anyway, he’s been great for us. He’s done a great job. He’s quick, he’s fast, he’s got some strength, he’s played well in coverage. He made the tackle, or really two tackles, on kickoff a week ago for us. He had some good coverage in punt, he kind of missed a tackle but he was pressing the ball down the field. So, he’s been great. We’re excited about him, I’m really excited about watching him develop.”
On what he likes about the contributions of Lions DL Pat O’Connor on special teams: “Pat’s another one of those guys, man. He’s a man’s man, he’s a big man. What happened to him is, he was playing in Tampa Bay for a long time, and Tampa Bay had some challenges personnel wise on special teams, and he became one of their top players for them. He was kind of an out of position player playing on special teams as a defensive lineman. They had a need, so they ended up using him. He played really all four phases for those guys. Which wouldn’t be standard on a normal kind of team or operation or normal season, but because of the personnel they had, he became one of their better guys, so he played a lot. If he was here for us four years ago or three years ago, he probably wouldn’t have played much just because we didn’t have a need for that. So, he put a lot of film together playing on all four special teams and then for me, I had the advantage of watching all that and saying, ‘Hey wait a minute, this guy can help us in some areas.’ And now certainly with this new kickoff, kickoff return, it’s become – there’s an element to it. You’re fighting for like 12, 13 yards of field position. You’re lined up at the 40 and you’re hoping to tackle them inside the whatever that is, call it 28. That’s 12 yards down the field, so it’s not about speed and space, it’s just about pushing guys and getting vertical and knocking guys back, being able to defend two gaps. They’ve got extra blockers, and he does a great job of that. So, he’s been great for us. And to go with that, his attitude, energy, he’s excited all the time, every day. He’s excited about playing those plays, playing on defense. The more he can do, he played on field goal for last week, so. He’s been great.”
On if he believes the team is close to being more explosive on kick returns: “I think with this play, there’s two things. You know you do want the explosive plays, you also don’t want the real negative plays, too. And there’s two ways to take it. It’s like the Chicago Bears, the last return of the game, they’re trying to run sideways and get around the whole coverage unit and they get cut down to the 17. And for five of those, there’s one good return worth those five, well maybe not so much. That’s where sometimes, I’ve had this conversation before about statistics, sometimes it doesn’t mean a whole lot for different reasons. You could play different styles boom or bust, like, ‘Hey, we’ll take it on the 17.’ And that one that gets out and we get to their 30 or whatever is worth it, makes up for that in the numbers. But really does it when your offense starts on the 17 five times? So anyway, not to make a long story short, but I would say part of what I value is being consistently good in really all phases. And I think that takes time to show out. And I think the other thing with this play is like, you can say it on every play in this game, but you’re inches away or feet away from all of a sudden that ball’s shooting through and turning into a big play. And I think I said last year, that’s the one thing about this kick cover, kick return game that we’re playing now. It’s like everybody’s right on the edge, man. The cover group can look good, but man, they’re inches away from giving up a big play. And so, it’s very volatile, I think is the best word to use. So, that should hopefully turn into our favor at some point. And to go along with that, yeah, I can certainly coach better, put in better schemes and get better, and we can execute that stuff better too. And that will be our goal is to continue to improve.”
On if the team’s return game has been as explosive as other teams across the League: “Yeah, I think so. And I think as the season goes on, it’ll continue to do that. I think as we get into the winter weather, I think you remember late last year, and then all of a sudden teams are pinned into a corner, they have to kick in a certain direction and the wind’s not letting them kick it as deep or as accurate placement. And then I think on the flipside, kick cover teams have improved too, like moving the ball around, getting the ball on the ground, these guys do a very good job of it. They’ve come up short on the landings twice and kicked it out of bounds once, but they’ve also tackled teams deep down the field in doing that, too. So, there’s a give and a take in everything you do. But I think kickers are getting better at kicking the ball off and manipulating the returner’s feet, so to speak, so he can’t get started as quick and get downhill as fast. It’s a race for that field position. But yeah, I think the explosive returns are still there and I think they’ll be there, and I think there will be some big returns in big games in big moments. And again, I think one of the important things will be just consistent coverage and consistent return game throughout the course of the year.”
