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.
Chess match
We’re on the third week of Petzing’s revenge tour.
OK, OK, that’s hyperbole. Still, it’s been a unique stretch for Detroit’s OC, who matched up against his brother, offensive assistant Dean Petzing, when the Lions traveled to Carolina to play the Panthers. Then, before the bye, Petzing helped orchestrate a 45-point explosion against the Arizona Cardinals, his most recent employer before Detroit.
This week, Petzing gets former boss Jonathan Gannon, the current Packers defensive coordinator and former Cardinals head coach, who gave Petzing his first opportunity to call plays in the NFL.
The two spent three years together, schematically going head-to-head on the practice field. So what kind of dynamic does that relationship play in this week’s matchup?
“I think there’s a piece of it that helps,” Petzing said. “There’s also that game theory part of it — he knows what I know and I know what he knows. So, there’s that back and forth a little bit. But it’s ultimately about the players. It comes down to the roster and how you utilize those guys. So, I think we’re going to lean on the tape and kind of more on that aspect of things than maybe my history with him.”
Still, even though it’s a new team, with new personnel, Petzing acknowledges there’s a clear identity Gannon instills.
“He’s an unbelievable coach,” Petzing said. “I have a ton of respect for him as a coach, as a person. I think they make everything look the same, they do a lot of different things and they have their foundation. They play really hard. They run to the ball. They’re violent. They’re tough. But, I think that’s kind of their calling card is that we can do a number of different things, from similar looks. So, you can’t get a bead on what we’re doing and why we’re doing it.”
It’s unsurprising that both coaches downplay the head-to-head component of the matchup, but the chess match between the two figures to be one of the more fascinating storylines heading into Sunday’s matchup.
Next (return) man up
Fipp is usually coy about how he plans to deploy personnel, but the special teams coordinator made no effort to hide who will handle punt returns and be paired alongside Jacob Saylors on kickoffs.
"“I don’t know that it’s totally open,” Fipp said about the competition. “I mean, I think DeAndre Carter has got a lot of experience. He’ll probably step in and return punts for us and kickoffs for us in the game.”
The Lions added Carter to the practice squad to start the week, before promoting him to the active roster a little more than an hour after Fipp’s comments.
Fipp noted that the team will continue to evaluate Dominic Lovett and Lucky Jackson for those roles, but it’s Carter’s job to lose.
“None of those guys have the same type of experience that DeAndre has had.”
Carter, 33, does have a ton of experience. His next return, kickoff or punt, will be the 300th of his career after going undrafted out of Sacramento State in 2015.
That includes a brief overlap with Fipp in Philadelphia in 2018.
“I think he had gotten cut by four teams and he had bounced around and he kept on fighting, trying to make it,” Fipp said. “I think we were in Week 4 or something like that. I believe it was when Darren Sproles went down and then he came in. We were playing against Tennessee and he did what he does. He catches the ball, he competes, he gets downhill. He’s quick, very competitive. I mean, his story is the ultimate story of just overcoming all the obstacles and he plays the game that way. He loves playing football. I’ve always respected his game.”
Staying out of it
Petzing claimed he had not seen Sam LaPorta’s comments from Wednesday, when the star tight end expressed frustration with his contract situation on the “Pardon My Take” podcast.
The coordinator doesn’t feel it’s a situation where his involvement is required, and from the sounds of it, he’s grateful that’s the case.
“(I’ll) probably just do my job and move on and don’t acknowledge it, honestly,” Petzing said. “…It’s not part of my job, which is a benefit of my job, to some extent. I think his goal is just play the best football you can and let everything else take care of itself, and I think he’s done a really nice job of doing that.
“I’m sure it’s on his mind. We’re human. But, when you’re on the field or on the practice field, you don’t even notice it.”
That last part is key for Petzing, since he’d feel compelled to say something if LaPorta’s effort or production was suffering. However, the coach emphatically made it clear that’s not been the case.
“He’s been great,” Petzing said. “I mean, he’s been the same person every day since the day I got here, so I really don’t notice it.”
LaPorta has also been excellent on game days, likely fueling his frustration with the stalled talks. He’s on pace for career-bests in receptions and receiving yards, which would reset his own, single-season franchise records for the position.
“When you have a player that can do a lot of things at a high level, it becomes very difficult to defend,” Petzing said. “He’s dynamic in the run game. He can block in pass pro. He can separate against linebackers and safeties. He can be a mismatch in the red zone. He can go make contested catches. He can run away from people with the ball in his hand. And when you have someone that does so many of those things well, what are you taking away? How are you doing it? Who are you doing it with? I think it puts a lot of stress on the other side of the ball.”
Feeling things out
During his weekly radio interview with 97.1-FM on Wednesday, coach Dan Campbell quipped that the team would cap safety Brian Branch to 100 snaps in his return from a lengthy injury layoff.
Sheppard was asked something similar about whether Branch would have a hard cap on playing time and the coordinator noted there isn’t a planned number.
“We haven't given (him) a rep count or anything like that,” Sheppard said. “It's going to be more of a feel thing, as the game goes, and we'll pick and choose what's right and what's not.”
Barring the Lions playing more than 70 snaps, it’s increasingly feeling like Branch will be on the field most of the afternoon.
Taking it in stride
Petzing was hesitant when asked if he was aware of the nickname he’s picked up from fans on social media.
“I don’t know if I want to know that,” Petzing said.
When informed Lions fans have taken to calling him “Megamind,” based on the blue-skinned, alien supervillain, titular character from the Dreamworks animated franchise, Petzing took it in stride.
“I do have a big forehead, so I guess that would be my reaction,” Petzing said.
Given the skepticism the Petzing hiring generated among those same fans, the fact that he’s picked up a nickname correlating with intelligence should probably be viewed as encouraging.
The Lions are currently tied for first in the NFL, averaging 32.8 points per game. That’s only slightly behind pace of the franchise record 33.2 the team averaged during the 2024 season.
Isn't 13 fumbles on 155 punt returns a lot? It seems like it to me. Leaf had 2 on 132. I am more than concerned, but maybe Leaf spoiled me.
This Laporta situation is going to become a mess