Feisty Detroit Lions DC Kelvin Sheppard critical of Week 1 performance, vows improvement against the Bears

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Allen Park — Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard admitted he was “pissed” coming off the field after last Sunday’s season-opening loss to the Green Bay Packers, but had mellowed after reviewing the tape.

Respectfully, I beg to differ.

A middle linebacker through and through, Sheppard has never lost the intensity he demonstrated throughout his playing career.

That intensity helped him win a National Championship in college, get selected in the third round of the draft, and carve out an eight-year NFL career. The relentless hard edge has also served him well during his brief coaching career, fueling his rapid rise through the ranks. At 37 years old, he’s one of the league’s youngest defensive coordinators.

Anyone who has spent more than a few minutes around Sheppard has experienced his fiery demeanor. But even after unearthing a lot of positives following a closer examination of Sunday’s performance, he was on both the offensive and defensive during his weekly media session four days later.

Before taking a question, Sheppard launched into a three-minute opening statement, breaking down last Sunday’s game, his voice possessing a trademark quiver when he gets particularly animated.

“All of this stuff has been addressed with the people it needs to be addressed with, and more importantly, the players are holding each other accountable,” Sheppard said after offering a statistical blow-by-blow. “In the NFL, that’s why each practice. Each rep you get, each opportunity you get on that grass, is so critical and important because you never know which one is going to be the one. You never know.

“We play a good defense on 40 snaps, but seven snaps — we’re not doing that this year,” Sheppard said. “You’re going to pull your weight, I’m going to pull my weight, the staff’s going to pull their weight, and we’re moving on to Chicago. I’m looking for us to play up to the standard that we’re capable of playing.”

With the Bears on deck, a predictable narrative has emerged around the matchup against Detroit's former offensive coordinator Ben Johnson. There’s an added dynamic to the chess match with Sheppard because, as a defensive assistant, he would often spend time in Johnson’s office, picking his brain about what the offense is trying to accomplish against different defensive looks. Those frequent conversations were critical to Sheppard, who learns and teaches the game conceptually, emphasizing the intent of a play call more than the individual responsibilities within it.

Sheppard anticipated the questions about Johnson, effortlessly batting them away and putting the focus back on the roster.

“I’m looking forward to seeing our players respond off of a loss,” Sheppard said. “I could care less who’s calling the plays, who’s over there, what’s the scenario, what the media wants to make this out to be. We are coming off a loss, ladies and gentlemen. I’m looking forward to seeing not only our players, but our coaches, respond coming off of a loss.”

What is easy to appreciate about Sheppard is that he doesn’t sugarcoat things, even with his star players.

When asked what needs to be done to provide Aidan Hutchinson relief from the constant double-teams he faced against Green Bay, Sheppard said that’s going to be the edge rusher’s reality.

“Hutch is the caliber player that he is and everybody in the league knows it,” Sheppard said. “Turn on San Fran tape and tell me who’s one-on-one blocking Nick Bosa. Turn on Green Bay tape when you get an eight-game sample size. Who’s one-on-one blocking Micah Parsons? When you’re the elite of the elite, people are going to plan for you and that’s why he’s the caliber player that he is. We will counter that and Hutch will counter that. He’s an ultra-aware player, he knows how to manipulate things and move himself around.”

What about Terrion Arnold? Sheppard said there are no excuses for the second-year cornerback, including the groin injury he was playing through when he gave up back-to-back plays for 65 yards and a touchdown in the second quarter of the contest.

“If you’re injured, come out of the game,” Sheppard said. “We’re not making any excuses. No, no, no. We’re not making any excuses. Just like if I have a play call that I shouldn’t have called, that’s on me. A player has a job to do, that’s on them. We all earn our paycheck. There won’t be any free rides this year. We all come to the stadium with a job to do, do your job, point-blank, period.”

On the deep ball Arnold surrendered, there was a question about whether safety Kerby Joseph should have offered over-the-top support instead of driving on an underneath route. Sheppard definitively stated Joseph was doing what was asked within the scheme.

As for the touchdown toss a snap later, where Arnold was picked at the line of scrimmage, Sheppard was again critical of the young defender.

“We got the exact same play at San Francisco last year,” Sheppard said. “Turn it on, to (wide receiver Ricky) Pearsall. Learn from your mistakes, (this is) your profession.”

Sheppard also noted the team's linebackers need to be better, particularly their execution when asked to blitz last Sunday.

“We got what, two pressures?” Sheppard said. “Got to be better. Got to be better. You get your number called, you’ve got to be better. Point-blank, period. That’s also been addressed.”

That's the thing. If you think Sheppard’s public comments are aggressive or excessive, rest assured, you’re getting a filtered version compared to what’s being said in the meeting rooms.

In terms of positives, Sheppard highlighted the Lions’ run defense, which allowed 3.1 yards per carry. However, he blasted a 15-yard gain that his unit gave up in the fourth quarter.

“That should have never happened.”

Sheppard also praised the pass defense outside of the two plays Arnold gave up.

“We played 47 snaps defensively and they had 188 passing yards, 78 rushing,” Sheppard said. “If you look at an NFL game and you tell me the Green Bay Packers are going to have 188 passing yards and 78 rushing, did you play a winning brand of football? I would tell you yes.”

Of course, he acknowledged, you can erase those notable negatives from the whole, which ultimately cost the Lions and led to giving up 27 points. They’ll look to be better against the Bears this week in a game that Sheppard has told his roster should feel like practice because of the similar schemes Chicago should run, given Johnson’s three-year run in Detroit and the continued use of his core schematic concepts.

“You turn your tape on and look at it deeply, it’s a lot of the same (stuff our offense runs),” Sheppard said. “ I told the guys, this is training camp. Don’t go chasing ghosts, don’t go worrying about if he brings an ineligible and he’s at receiver.

“…We’re going in with a tight-wound plan where these guys understand we have adjustments, we have certain things we’re going to do, and it’s about us and understanding that stuff,” Sheppard said. “As long as we go out and execute, not say, ‘Well if you take out that play, you take out that play, we would’ve played dominant.’ No, let’s put in all the plays and play a dominant brand of football like I believe we’re capable of doing as a defense.”

If the defense doesn't deliver the way Sheppard expects, you can expect another fiery press conference next week. Frankly, the tone might not be that different even if the Lions pitch a shutout. The man is who he is, and he's not about to apologize for that.