Defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and special teams coordinator Dave Fipp spoke to the media Monday ahead of Detroit's primetime matchup with Green Bay Thursday night. Here are my 10 biggest takeaways from those media sessions:
1. I thought Glenn said something really interesting when asked about all the injuries to his side of the football and if having so many new players trying to fit in will change the schemes or calls. Glenn said his defense isn't about the playbook but the play style. The players they bring in understand that and as long as they have the right mindset and style of play, Glenn doesn't need to adjust anything.
2. Johnson was pretty happy overall with how the offense performed against Chicago but did lament some of the missed opportunities in the red zone and particularly some of his play calls in the red zone. I suspect Detroit will be much better inside the 20s Thursday night against the Packers.
3. Fipp said he loves it when players want to go back and return punts and kicks. He said the two players on the roster who ask him about it the most are wide receiver Jameson Williams and rookie cornerback Terrion Arnold.
4. The one thing Glenn noticed studying the tape of Green Bay's most recent offensive performances has been the shift to running back Josh Jacobs. He believes that has made things easier on quarterback Jordan Love and the passing game and made their offense tougher to play against overall from a defensive perspective.
5. Every week the offensive linemen and o-line coach Hank Fraley send Johnson their favorite run plays for the week. Last week at the top of that list was the trick play to Penei Sewell and it was starred. Johnson told head coach Dan Campbell it was probably time to run it. Johnson joked that he had a feeling Sewell would just run the ball himself and not throw it and that's exactly what ended up happening.
6. Campbell really values special teams and Fipp loves that about being here in Detroit. Fipp made an interesting point when he talked about the importance of the return game on Monday. The Lions have 749 return yards on the season. That's 749 yards the offense didn't have to gain to reach the end zone. Only Jahmyr Gibbs, David Montgomery and Amon-Ra St. Brown have more scrimmage yards than the Lions have return yards. When you think about it that way, the importance takes on a greater significance.
7. With all the juggling around the Lions have had to do at linebacker with injuries to Derrick Barnes, Alex Anzalone and now Malcolm Rodriguez, Jack Campbell's consistency can't be understated.
"Man, he's a rock," Glenn said. "And I've said this several times, but the MIKE linebacker, if you had a picture of a MIKE linebacker, he would be probably standing in front because of how he operates. He has been a rock for us and I'm glad that we have him."
8. There's definitely a lot more tape out there of Johnson's offense than there is first-year Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley's defense. Johnson has a lot of respect for Hafley and the different flavors he throws at opposing offenses every week. Johnson said Green Bay threw something at them Week 9 they hadn't seen on tape and had to adjust to. It will be important this week to adjust on the fly to whatever wrinkle Hafley comes up with.
9. When a team adds as many players as the Lions have because of injuries the last few weeks, it's coaches like Fipp and assistant special teams coach Jett Modkins who end up grinding the tape because it's their units that are affected the most. Fipp said that's just a new reality in the NFL as teams go through a lot of players over the course of 18 weeks.
10. Johnson expects a much better effort and more push and penetration from the Packers' D-line in perfect conditions at Ford Field Thursday. That first game was played in rainy conditions and Johnson said it's always harder for the defensive line to get off the football in those conditions.
