Coordinator recap: Defense fixes 2023 woe, vote of confidence for Bates and UDFA popping in practice

The Lions have done a much better job limiting star receivers in 2024 by embracing a physical, “smothering” style in the secondary. (Getty Images)

Allen Park — Given it’s almost Halloween, let's talk about something scary. Go back and look at how the Lions defended No. 1 receivers down the stretch last season.

Justin Jefferson had games of 141 and 192 yards, scoring in both contests, while Ceedee Lamb racked up 227 and a touchdown in Week 17. Then, in the playoffs, Cooper Kupp checked in with 181 and a touchdown in the Wild Card round, one week before Mike Evans posted 147 and a score.

Detroit’s defense just didn’t have the horses or the schematic tricks to compensate for the shortcomings of its personnel.

Now contrast those struggles against how the secondary is performing at the start of the 2024 season, including recent matchups against Jefferson and Lamb, where both were both held under 100 yards.

Sure, Kupp topped the century mark in the season opener, but barely. Plus, he needed 14 receptions to inefficiently hit the plateau. DK Metcalf and Chris Godwin also topped 100 against Detroit, but no opposing receiver has racked up more than 117 yards in 2024.

That's significant progress and a central statistic worth highlighting when talking about the Lions' defensive improvements this season. According to defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, the improvements starts with playing style.

“Listen, I told our guys this, and I’ve been telling them this for a while actually, the way that they go out and the way they challenge guys, they get in guys’ faces, they put their hand on guys, that’s the way," Glenn said. "That’s the vision of playing smothering defense. And those guys create that picture because I paint that picture for them. They know that’s what I require when it comes to playing defense, in general. I want to smother people as much as possible.

“…So our guys have been doing a really good job of executing the plan, going out there and challenging, and not being afraid to challenge and understanding, listen, if you beat me, I’m going to line up again, get in his face, and we’re going to go at it again.”

Fortune favors the bold

After working on inducing touchbacks by having the ball first hit in the landing zone throughout training camp — an act that brings the ball back to the 20-yard line instead of the 30 — the Lions finally found some success with the risk-reward strategy against Minnesota, executing it effectively twice.

Special teams coordinator Dave Fipp noted the aggressive approach was getting back to his and the team’s core identity.

“I've really believed this my whole life, but it couldn’t be more true in that situation: I think in life you have to play on the attack, you have to know what’s out there and what you want, and you have to go get it,” Fipp said. “There are a lot of people who, OK, I’ll just do this and see what comes my way and that’s really now way to live your life.

“We were kind of playing that way on kickoff,” Fipp said. “We were playing conservative. We know that the play is volatile, we saw that in the Cleveland/Cincinnati game, the opening kickoff, Cincinnati scored a touchdown on it. It’s a volatile play. There’s no way around it, but just kind of hoping that it doesn’t happen to you or whatever is probably not a great approach and we had a little bit of that and that’s really my fault.”

You don't really expect to get a motivational speech on a kickoff question, but here we are.

Everybody loves Raymond

After averaging 560 receiving yards during his first three seasons with the Lions, and being touted as the No. 3 receiver by the coaching staff entering the 2024 campaign, Kalif Raymond was used sparingly in the first four games, recording just four catches for 36 yards.

That didn’t sit right with offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.

“There were some games earlier in the year, didn’t feel like was giving him enough opportunities, and so the last couple of weeks we’ve been able to get the ball in his hands and he’s taken it and ran with it,” Johnson said.

Raymond had four grabs for 73 yards in Detroit’s blowout of Dallas a couple weeks back, and he followed that up with three receptions for 39 yards and a touchdown against Minnesota. He would have more than doubled the yardage total if quarterback Jared Goff hadn't missed him on a deep shot down the left sideline.

“He comes in with a great attitude and he’s willing to do whatever it takes,” Johnson said about Raymond. “If you told him, ‘Hey, you’re going to have ten snaps this week and they’re all run blocking,’ he’s going to attack that with a vigor. He just loves playing football and being out on the field for his teammates.

“When you combine that mentality along with he’s got probably the best press releases on the team because of how small and shifty he is,” Johnson continued. “Guys can’t keep up with his quickness. He’s a threat in man-to-man, and then his run after catch is that of what you would expect from a punt returner. So, very dynamic weapon.”

Raymond figures to have a slightly larger role this week against the Tennessee Titans with Jameson Williams starting a two-game suspension for violating the league’s performance-enhancing substance policy.

Clear communication

In his opening comments Thursday, Glenn highlighted what he thought was an underappreciated play coming out of the win against the Vikings, a stop on a two-point conversion try following the opponent returning a fumble for a touchdown.

On the snap, the Vikings ran pre-snap motion with the receiver going halfway across the formation before returning to his original positioning. That required Detroit's defensive backs to swap assignments twice before the snap and again after the ball was in play. Glenn was asked if the play effectively demonstrated the secondary’s improved communication.

“Offensive teams are doing this a lot,” Glenn said. “Kansas City did it twice in their Super Bowl wins, as far as these quick motions, and you just have one guy on them. We usually have two guys, so we can have anchor points on both sides, so Kerby (Joseph) was involved in it also.

“Man, but for all three of those guys to have the mentality and the understanding of what we’re trying to create and to be able to pass things off, it does show the growth of those players,” Glenn said. “And here’s the scary part about it, man, they still have a long way to go. They’re working at it every day, so I’m excited about the goal for those guys.”

Contrary to popular belief

The Lions took two knees before Jake Bates’ game-winning field goal, settling for a 44-yard try. Observers watched the strategy unfold uncomfortably, wondering why the Lions weren’t efforting to get closer for the try.

Interestingly, Fipp would typically agree. As he put it, “Closer is always better,” before immediately contradicting himself in this particular instance.

“Obviously, Jake’s got plenty of leg for that, and the truth is, sometimes he’s better from further than he is tighter,” Fipp said. “It’s a little bit straighter kick, there’s a little bit less aiming the closer you get up if you’re on a hash. The closer you get up to the uprights, the more of an angle is on the kick, so it’s a little bit straighter from further back. He’s got a big leg, so it kind of allows him just to swing straight through the ball a little bit.

“…I felt great with him,” Fipp said. “I wasn’t worried about a couple (more) yards. Coach (Dan Campbell) asked me about the hash, right or left. That didn’t matter to me. We felt really good about it.”

All-Pros doing All-Pro things

The Lions know how lucky they are to have All-Pro talents like wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and Penei Sewell, but the two never hesitate to provide reminders of their unique talents.

“I was thinking about that earlier this week is, he might be the most consistent player I’ve ever been around,” Johnson said about St. Brown. “"…That’s why he's been such a reliable, productive player for us.

"That catch he had in the fourth quarter with (Vikings safety) Harrison (Smith) coming right down and trying to punch through the pocket, I mean, that’s a hell of a catch that certainly hasn’t gotten the recognition that it should, because that really won the game for us," Johnson said. "Got us into a good chip shot there for our kicker and not many guys can make that type of play, with a guy draped on your back and going through.”

Speaking of making a play not many guys can, Sewell has peeled off his blocking assignment to pick up a second, oncoming rusher each of the past two games. I asked Johnson how rare that ability is for an offensive lineman.

“Extremely,” the coordinator replied. “He’s what we call a generational player for a reason. …I mean, how old is he now? 23? 24? He keeps growing. Heck, you saw him throw the ball last week in practice, didn’t you? As we were getting warmed up? Oh yeah, you’re not allowed to comment on that, but maybe we’ll find out soon enough.

"But no, there’s really nothing he can’t do."

Rookie turning heads

With five receivers ahead of him on the depth chart, undrafted rookie Isaiah Williams has become something of a forgotten man, yet to log his first NFL snap. But working in the background, the former Illinois standout who led the Big Ten in receiving yards the past two seasons has been impressing his coaches.

“He’s been the guy that pops every week on scout team,” Johnson said. “I know he’s won scout team player of the week several times for coach Glenn and the defensive staff.

“So you see it,” Johnson said. “You see what you saw in the preseason with the speed, the explosion, and now it’s just carrying over. And you’re seeing it day in and day out. So the trust level’s certainly going up. If he’s up this week, then we’re getting more confidence in what he’ll bring to the table as well.”

With Jameson Williams out, Isaiah Williams will likely still struggle to see meaningful playing time. Beyond an increased role for Raymond, Lions coach Dan Campbell has said the team intends to give veteran Allen Robinson more work.

Isaiah Williams led the Lions with 11 catches for 123 yards during the preseason.