Defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and special teams coordinator Dave Fipp spoke to the media Thursday. Here are my 10 biggest takeaways from those media sessions:
1. Johnson really loved the way his offense responded against Jacksonville after a poor performance in Houston the week prior. He said last week was the best performance collectively by the offense dating back a few years.
2. Detroit's secondary will have their hands full this week with a good Colts receiving corps. Glenn said Alec Pierce is one of the best 50-50 ball receivers in the game, Michael Pittman Jr. is terrific getting open underneath, and Josh Downs is a 'chain mover' who is terrific getting in and out of cuts. He said his young secondary is looking forward to the challenge this week.
3. Alex Anzalone was the emergency long snapper behind Hogan Hatten. With Anzalone out six to eight weeks with a broken forearm, who is it now? Fipp said reserve tight end Shane Zylstra is the new emergency long snapper.
4. The Colts' defense has a lot of similarities to the Houston defense that gave Detroit a lot of issues two weeks ago, per Johnson. He said the Colts have the best pair of defensive tackles they'll have played so far and schematically they are very similar to Houston.
5. Glenn said the point of emphasis for his defense this week is for his defenders to have really good eye discipline. He said every play the Colts run has a run-pass option. With quarterback Anthony Richardson having the ability to take off and run (two rushing touchdowns last week in a win over Jets) they have to be really disciplined with their eyes. Staying in rush lanes this week will be important.
6. Detroit's special teams have been flagged five times all season. That's tied for second fewest in the NFL. Fipp said it's a stat he takes a lot of pride in. To be an aggressive and productive special teams group that's also disciplined and isn't penalized much is a nice asset to have.
7. Johnson said Jameson Williams' touchdown last week came on a passing concept that usually doesn't work against Cover 2. When Jacksonville dropped into Cover 2, Johnson wasn't happy about the play call but Williams is so good and has become so much better at the details that he got a touchdown on a play where it wasn't expected from Johnson.
8. Expect to see more of veteran edge rusher Za'Darius Smith this week after making his Lions debut last week against Jacksonville. Glenn said Smith's ready for more reps and will be deployed up and down Detroit's defensive front against the Colts.
9. Fipp said the one thing that stands out about the Colts' special teams unit is the speed they have. Fipp said Colts wide receiver Ashton Dulin is the best wideout who plays special teams in the league. He was also really high on running back Tyler Goodson. Fipp said the Colts have one of the best special teams units in the NFL.
10. It should be a great matchup this week between wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and Colts nickel cornerback Kenny Moore II, who Johnson said has really impressed him on tape this week. Johnson said he remembers Moore from when they had joint practices with the Colts two years ago.
