Defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and special teams coordinator Dave Fipp spoke to the media on Thursday ahead of Detroit's matchup against the Minnesota Vikings. Here are my 10 biggest takeaways from those media sessions:
1. Glenn doesn't expect anyone on the current roster to replace Aidan Hutchinson. Not only is that impossible because of the caliber of player Hutchinson is, but it's not fair to those other players either, Glenn said. He has a lot of confidence that players will step up and fill the production void in their own way. Don't expect him to change a lot schematically without Hutchinson, at least initially.
2. "The well is deep." - Johnson on his arsenal of trick plays.
3. The Bears lost their long snapper due to injury in their game last week and needed tight end Cole Kmet to serve as their emergency snapper the rest of the game. The Bears didn't miss a kick with him snapping. It begs the question: Who is Detroit's emergency snapper? Well, it was Hutchinson. Fipp said Alex Anzalone is in the mix moving forward.
4. Who stood out to Glenn from his unit in Dallas? He mentioned both defensive tackle Alim McNeill and cornerback Terrion Arnold. McNeill was a monster against the Cowboys with two sacks and seven total pressures. Arnold defended a pass, recovered a fumble and allowed just three receptions for 46 yards on seven targets without a penalty.
5. The Lions are certainly benefitting from the effect wide receiver Jameson Williams' speed has on opposing defenses. Johnson said defenses don't want to single him up and will go into the game with the strategy to play over the top and not let him beat them. But then the run game gets going and teams have to dedicate an extra player to stopping that. Johnson said when that happens he's got a ton of confidence in Williams right now and when he sees that one-on-one coverage he's going to take that shot because in his opinion there's no defender in this league that can run with Williams.
6. Kicker Jake Bates was perfect last week in Dallas converting all four field goal and all five extra-point attempts. The things Lions fans should be excited about is the fact that Fipp said Thursday there's still a ton of room for growth and improvement with Bates. On the season, Bates is 9-for-9 kicking field goals and 16-for-17 on extra points.
7. Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph have quickly become one of the most productive safety tandems the entire NFL. Glenn said the safeties in his defense must be able to play man coverage, make plays on the ball and be instinctive. Those are important traits because his scheme allows a little bit of freedom for the safety position to make plays. He said Branch is one of the most instinctive players he's been around, and combined with Joseph's range and ball skills, it makes those two a perfect fit for his defense and a perfect complement to each other.
8. The Lions scored on nine straight possessions in Dallas and didn't punt on way to scoring 47 points in a blowout win. Not a bad Sunday at the office for Johnson and the offense but he still finds things to improve on. The one thing he wasn't happy with Sunday were some of the penalties in the red zone that cost them points. He said cleaning those up is a point of emphasis this week.
9. It was interesting to hear Fipp talk about the operation between the snap, hold and kick on field goals and how much long snapper Hogan Hatten has meant to it. Fipp said teams target the snap to ball being placed down at around 1.3 seconds. The longer the kicker can see the ball in place usually the better the results. Fipp said Hatten consistently beats that 1.3 seconds mark with the velocity and accuracy in which he snaps the football.
10. No offense to any other receivers in the NFL, but Glenn has Minnesota's Justin Jefferson No. 1 on his list. Why?
"I think the one thing that sets him apart is his toughness," Glenn said. "This guy here has taken some shots going across the middle and he's not afraid to go across the middle and he's going to reach, grab and do whatever he can to catch the ball, and he takes some shots, he gets right back up.
"He has a swagger about himself, he gets right back to the huddle, he's ready to go play. And I think that inspires his teammates. You're talking about a great player that elevates his teammates, that's one of the reasons why his teammates are elevated because of the way that he plays the game."
