Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell has not lost faith in defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn.
That's what we learned after Sunday's 48-45 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, and Campbell doubled down on his support of Glenn at his weekly Monday press conference.
Among the other things we learned include the following: Enough is never enough when it comes to scoring in the NFL; one Lions player is on the way to a career season; and one member of the Seahawks actually did more work Sunday than most people think.
We start with Campbell's support of Glenn:
Changes are coming for the defense, both in personnel and scheme. Campbell made that clear Monday without revealing what he and Glenn intend to do to improve a defense that ranks last in the NFL in yards and points allowed after four games.
Glenn is still the one who will run the defense.
"Aaron Glenn is the right man for the job," Campbell said. "He gives us our best hope, our best option to run this defense."
Campbell and Glenn were on the staff together in New Orleans, and Campbell has a high personal regard for Glenn. However, he stressed that personal feelings do not come into play in making decisions.
In that regard, Campbell cited a move he made last season when he took over play calling from then offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn.
"I've had to do this before," Campbell said. "I'm not afraid to make a hard decision. If I really believe that was the cause of it, I don't believe it is."
Points: No doubt, scoring 45 points was more than enough for the Lions to win – except for a couple of painful reasons. Most obvious is that their defense has not been good enough to play complementary football.
The Lions never had a lead to protect against the Seahawks, and they trailed the entire game after a missed extra point left them trailing, 7-6, after they scored their first touchdown.
Unlike the previous week, when the Lions had leads of 14-0 and 24-14 over the Minnesota Vikings, the Lions were always playing from behind. They faced a 38-23 deficit going into the fourth quarter.
The offense made a valiant run, but never got a chance to get the lead because of the defense's inability to get a stop. Given the way the game continued to play out, the Lions could have scored 100 points and it wouldn't have been enough.
On the run: In his first season with the Lions after four years with the Packers, running back Jamaal Williams set his personal career high last year with 601 yards rushing.
An injury to D’Andre Swift that limited him to two games and put him out against the Seahawks has shifted more of the load to Williams.
He's responded with 276 yards, including 108 vs. the Seahawks and a league-leading six TDs.
Busy work: Seahawks punter Michael Dickson did not punt Sunday, but that doesn't mean he had the day off.
Dickson is the holder for extra points and field goals. He was called to duty for hold for three field goals – two made, one missed – and six extra points.
All in a day's work.
