Allen Park — Detroit Lions coordinators Kelvin Sheppard, Drew Petzing and Dave Fipp met with the media on Thursday. Here are the highlights from those conversations.
Explaining schematic shift
One of the biggest schematic changes the Lions have made this season, on either side of the ball, is the defense's far heavier reliance on zone coverage, in particular the use of Cover-3.
A year ago, the team ranked bottom-five in Cover-3 rate. This year, top five.
I asked Sheppard about what went into his offseason evaluation that led to the philosophy shift.
Not surprisingly, the first factor was personnel. Sheppard felt like it’s what would be best for the players he had available in the secondary. But, more than that, Sheppard saw it as the best opportunity to reduce the excessive number of explosive pass plays the team allowed a year earlier.
“The big thing now, it's a consensus around the league if you look at it, most touchdown drives, there is an explosive pass play on the drive,” Sheppard said.
Sheppard offered an anecdote from behind-the-scenes conversations, where quarterback Jared Goff and Jameson Williams both noted the increased rate of zone coverage the Lions offense is seeing this season.
“Jamo was like, 'Why are all these defenses going to these two high (with their safeties? They're scared.'“ Sheppard relayed. “I said, 'Yeah, I'd be scared of y'all, too.'“
Sheppard said teams are increasingly willing to concede short passes, or even big days on the ground for running backs, as opposed to chunk plays in the passing game.
Unfortunately, the Lions are still having some issues getting gouged through the air as they adjust to the schematic shift, often because of busts because not every defender is on the same page with the route-matching rules within the play calls.
Still, Sheppard said the defense did show signs of improvement against the Jets after allowing six explosive plays. The coordinator said the goal is now to trim that number in half.
Sheppard acknowledged the other benefit of playing more zone is turnover generation. Having eyes on the quarterback, instead of turning your back to the passer to chase a receiver in man-to-man, allows defenders more opportunities to capitalize on mistakes.
We’ve already seen that twice this season, with safety Chuck Clark snagging an errant throw and linebacker Derrick Barnes jumping a route.
A Juice worth the squeeze
Too many quality players is a problem any coaching staff welcomes. Normally, with the Lions, that conversation centers around the team’s offensive weapons, where it’s a constant struggle to spread the ball around to all the deserving talent.
However, Detroit appears to have a unique situation brewing on the offensive line. Center Juice Scruggs has been playing at a high level, but appears destined to shift to the bench once starter Cade Mays is medically cleared from the wrist injury he suffered in training camp in the coming weeks.
That potential dilemma is off Petzing’s radar, at the moment.
“Yeah, right now, honestly, not there mentally,” Petzing said. “I think as that comes to fruition, it's one of those things that (we’ll) deal with the problem when it presents itself. It'd be a great problem to have. And our goal is always going to be to figure out how to get our best five (linemen) on the field.”
In a radio interview with 97.1-FM earlier in the week, Lions coach Dan Campbell said the team would consider re-inserting Scruggs into the left guard competition once Mays is healthy.
Petzing praised how seriously Scruggs takes the week of preparation, making sure he’s on top of the calls and communication. The coordinator also praised the lineman’s playing style and effort.
“I think the other piece that we talked about, probably when he first got here, was the violence and the attitude that he plays with. He's a physical player. He plays fast, he plays free. And even when it's not perfect, you know he's going to go a hundred miles an hour and that makes a big difference.”
Impact from growing role
Trevor Nowaske has been one of the team’s best special teams performers for years, but he’s recently earned more playing time on defense. Fipp was asked how that might impact Nowaske’s workload on special teams, if at all.
“The biggest challenge there is you have to have some guys that are really badass,” Fipp said. “I mean, these guys have got to be just mentally strong and tough.”
It’s probably premature to suggest Nowaske will be reeled in too much on kick coverage and blocking groups, but adapting to changing personnel is a huge component of Fipp’s role.
And, frankly, Fipp is encouraged when he loses those snaps because guys are needed more on offense or defense.
“I call it graduating,” Fipp said. “You come in and you’re just trying to make it and you’re trying to find a way to play and stay on a team. …You’re trying to find a way to just contribute and stay on the active roster week to week. And you do that, most of the time, by getting a role on special teams, which he did. And then ultimately, for me, the goal is that they all graduate from that and they take on a bigger role on offense and defense.
“I know if I was a coach, coaching offense or defense, I’d be watching these guys on special teams and all the ones that are good, I would be saying, ‘Hey man, we’ve got to find a way to play this guy more,” Fipp said. “That’s the same thing I do. I watch the defensive players and I’m like, ‘Man, I think this guy’s playing pretty good on that side of the ball. He doesn’t have a full-time role over there. We need to find a way to play him.’ You’re trying to put your best players out there.”
With guys like Nowaske and running back Sione Vaki — who has also forged a bigger role this season — Fipp said they’re great examples regarding how special teams offer prime opportunities for players to develop.
“You can get better and better at your other craft while you’re doing that,” Fipp said. “That kind of buys you time in the league to improve at running back or improve at linebacker. If you come into this league and you can’t help in any way, there’s no time to develop a player like that. You’re wasting a roster spot that’s too valuable.”
Sibling rivalry
Petzing’s brother, Dean, is on staff with the Carolina Panthers as a quality control coach. This is his third season with the team after stints at Notre Dame and LSU.
Like Drew, Dean has a college degree in mathematics and economics. The Lions coordinator was asked how far their football rivalry goes back.
“In my life I've gone against him a lot, video games, etc,” Drew Petzing said. “This will be three years in a row that I've played him. We're 1-1. I think it's probably more stressful on my parents than it is on us. We just want to win.
“I think he probably wants us to lose by 50, and I want him to lose by 50,” Petzing continued. “I don't think that's ever going to change. Our parents are going to be stressed out and probably just want a really high-scoring game, on both accounts, and a tie game if that could ever happen. But it's fun. I talk to him. I wouldn't say it's any different. I really don't treat it any differently. Obviously, I love him and he's very close to me, but on Sunday I hope he has a really bad game.”
Kickin’ in the rain
The current forecast in Charlotte calls for wind and rain. That doesn’t bother Fipp. For one thing, his guys practice kicking in less-favorable conditions, including the classic strategy of dunking the ball in water for the snap, hold, kick sequence. They’ve also practiced in the rain during camp and did again on Thursday.
In addition to that, Fipp said kicker Jake Bates’ style is favorable to successfully functioning in inclement conditions.
“He drives the ball as a kicker, I would call it,” Fipp said. “I mean, he has a very powerful leg, big leg. He drives it. He does have slightly lower trajectory maybe than some guys. And I’m not talking about some of the very low kicks in the past, but overall, his trajectory is probably a tick lower than some.
“There’re other guys that get a lot more lift on the ball and don’t have as much distance,” Fipp said. “Any time you drive the ball a little bit, it’s much more conducive to kicking in wind and weather and all that kind of stuff. So that really helps him.”
Tough finding more time for Moore
Second-round pick Derrick Moore has appeared in all three games for the Lions, logging 44 defensive snaps. He has a pair of pressures, but no official stats.
Sheppard said the team isn’t going to force getting Moore additional reps.
"We're just trying to find more ways to get him going,” Sheppard said. “Obviously, his rep count isn't high right now and things like that, but who are you pulling off the field? And those are honest conversations I've had with him. There has to be merit to why we're playing you more. We're not just playing you more because you're a draft pick. We don't do that here. We never have. There has to be validation and merit, there has to be evidence, there has to be reasons why we're giving you more reps.”
Sheppard said those reps should eventually come, but couldn’t offer a timetable.
Currently, the edge rotation is dominated by starters Aidan Hutchinson and DJ Wonnum.
Hutchinson has played 87.3% of the defensive snaps, while Wonnum sits a tick below 61%. Next up is Tyler Lacy, who provides something schematically different at 300 pounds. He’s at 30.4%, compared to Moore’s 19.1%.
Wonnum missed Wednesday’s practice with a back injury, but returned to practice on Thursday.
I recall some saying that Scruggs was just a throw in when the trade was made with Houston. It appears he is getting the better end of the stick as Monty seems to be stuck in the Texas mud. Saylors is forcing the issue when he can make a few longer returns causing kickoffs to result in the Lion's starting at the 35 yard line.
The Lions seem to have some up and coming guys usually off the radar. If the back end can pick it up a bit, things on the D won't look so dire. Hopefully Branch can make a difference when he gets back. Good show Justin.
Thanks for the article JR and you answered one of the questions I had about Moore. Just gonna take time to hear his name mentioned.