The Detroit Lions will make all three of their coordinators available to the media at points in training camp. First up was special teams coordinator Dave Fipp, who's had a rather eventful first week of training camp.
Here are my five biggest takeaways from his media session on Saturday:
1. Fipp was obviously thrown a curveball this week with the news that kicker Michael Badgley suffered a season-ending hamstring injury warming up for practice Thursday.
"He had really the best offseason he's ever had I think probably in his career, I think it'd be fair to say that," Fipp said of Badgley. "He was in a great spot. I said to you guys in the offseason that he had really worked hard on his leg and making long field goals and adjusting a little bit of his technique.
"So, I'm devastated for him, it's obviously a part of this game, and it's really the worst thing as a coach. I think it's the hardest thing for a coach to deal with."
2. Fipp confirmed the team worked out four free-agent kickers after the Badgley injury. He said there's a couple players in that group he feels 'really good about' if head coach Dan Campbell and GM Brad Holmes decide they need to bring in competition for Jake Bates, who made 5-of-8 field goals during practice Saturday.
3. Speaking of Bates, Fipp said the one thing he's learned from his young kicker in the short time he's been in Detroit, besides him having a really strong leg, is that Bates is pretty even-keeled, which Fipp said is a necessary character trait for kickers. Bates worries about himself and the things he can control, and that's a good mindset for a young kicker.
4. Fipp is excited about the kickoff being back in the NFL but the more he learns about how the play might look in a game setting the more questions he has about it. He said he can't wait to watch the Hall of Fame game between Chicago and Houston next Thursday to see what it looks like in an NFL game for the first time and how those two teams approach the play.
The Lions have joint practices with the New York Giants starting Monday, Aug. 5, and Fipp said he's already been in contact with their special teams coordinator about how they want to approach it in practice and different schemes they want to work on.
"At the end of the day what I told our players is, we'll be ready to adjust on the scheme and all that stuff, but any play in football is going to come down to the same old things. It's going to come down to blocking or evading a blocker, and then it's going to come down to tackling and it's going to come down to making somebody miss," Fipp said.
"So, at the end of the day, we'll spend a lot of time on fundamentals and technique, and we'll also be ready to adjust and adapt to any other thing that we see out there that we think is successful."
View photos from Day 4 of Detroit Lions training camp on Saturday July 27, 2024.
Detroit Lions defensive lineman Aidan Hutchinson (97) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions linebacker Jack Campbell (46) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (14) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (14), Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta (87), Detroit Lions tackle Penei Sewell (58), and Detroit Lions guard Kevin Zeitler (71) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams (9) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions safety Ifeatu Melifonwu (6) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions punter Jack Fox (3) and Detroit Lions kicker Jake Bates (43) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams (9) and Detroit Lions wide receiver Maurice Alexander (1) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions linebacker Alex Anzalone (34) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions kicker Jake Bates (43) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions offensive lineman Giovanni Manu (59) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions defensive lineman Aidan Hutchinson (97) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions safety Kerby Joseph (31) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta (87) and Detroit Lions safety Kerby Joseph (31) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions punter Jack Fox (3) and Detroit Lions long snapper Hogan Hatten (49) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions linebacker Alex Anzalone (34) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions defensive lineman Isaac Ukwu (45) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions running back Sione Vaki (33) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Antoine Green (18) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (14) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions cornerback Emmanuel Moseley (4) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (14) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions center Frank Ragnow (77) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions tackle Penei Sewell (58) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions linebacker Jack Campbell (46) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs (26) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (14) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams (9) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions running back David Montgomery (5) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions cornerback Emmanuel Moseley (4) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions Linebackers Coach Kelvin Sheppard during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta (87) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions defensive lineman Brodric Martin (99) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions tackle Penei Sewell (58) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions defensive lineman Kyle Peko (96) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions center Kingsley Eguakun (65) and Detroit Lions running back Sione Vaki (33) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions cornerback Ennis Rakestraw Jr. (15) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
Detroit Lions linebacker Alex Anzalone (34) during training camp at the Meijer Performance Center in Allen Park, MI on July 27, 2024. (Josh Mandujano/Detroit Lions)
5. What is the biggest thing Fipp is looking for when evaluating 90 different players on the roster in training camp and not knowing what 53 he'll have to work with at the end of August? He said he's learned over the years to focus on evaluating skillsets. What does a player do great? What does he not do as well? If we have them how would we play them and how would we use them?
"The more you can do in this business the better off you're going to be," he said. "If you want to build a good football team, you need a bunch of guys who can do a lot of different things."
