Pressers and scrums: Gruden visit, deep balls, trick plays, Patrick's sluggish start and a CB signing

(Photo courtesy the Detroit Lions)

Allen Park — Ahead of Monday’s practice, Detroit Lions offensive coordinator John Morton met with the media for the first time this training camp. Then, after practice, former head coach and visitor Jon Gruden, wide receiver Tim Patrick and defensive back Brian Branch talked with reporters. Here are the highlights from those conversations.

Mentor in town

Former NFL coach Jon Gruden, who has been out of the league since resigning his post with the Raiders in 2021, was in attendance for Monday morning's practice. Normally, that wouldn’t move the needle. However, it’s relevant because of his ties to Lions’ first-year offensive coordinator John Morton. Remember, it was Gruden who provided Morton, a former college and NFL receiver, with his coaching start as an offensive assistant with the Raiders in 1998.

“When I got cut as a rookie on the Raiders, I went to Green Bay for about three months, and Jon was the receivers coach there,” Morton explained. “That’s how I got to know him. “…Five years later, when Jon gets hired at the Raiders, I was actually working in personnel. So, he asked me to come over, ‘Hey, do you want to come over on the coaching side?’ So, yeah, me and (passing game coordinator) David Shaw, we shared an office together. That’s kind of how it started, man. I’m really thankful that he wanted me to come over, and I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him.”

Morton’s offensive philosophy, which is intertwined with Detroit’s scheme that he helped construct with former coordinator Ben Johnson ahead of the 2022 season, is rooted in Gruden’s evolved West Coast system.

“He’s the first one who kind of ventured off, still running the West Coast type of principles, but different formations, shifts, and motions and things like that,” Morton explained. “I thought I knew football, but, man, I mean he just put me in a room, ‘Go do this, go do that.’ It was projects, one after another, and all of a sudden you start learning football, so it was really cool.”

Gruden talked briefly with local media after practice and offered some insight into his former pupil’s personality and what fans might expect to see this year, schematically.

“He is a hard-working guy,” Gruden said. “For all the Detroit fans, what you don't see is the work ethic that you're getting. This guy is nuts. People thought I was nuts. This guy is freaking nuts, man. He loves it, he's a creative guy, he's a great competitor, and I can't wait to see the Lions open up the season.

As for the X’s and O’s.

"A lot of compressed formations,” Gruden explained. “I mean, he was here. He was here with Ben Johnson before. He helped put the offense in initially. Jared (Goff) is going to do a lot at the line of scrimmage. You're going to hear ‘RCE’ a lot. I used to have hats made. Recognition leads to communication, and if we can do that, we're going to execute at a high level. I think RCE is the slogan that you're going to hear a lot around here and probably feel like you're seeing a lot.

“You're going to see a lot of pre-snap movement, where you're trying to recognize what's going on, and you're going to see communication,” Gruden continued. “Then you'll (Jahmyr) Gibbs and you'll see (Amon-Ra) St. Brown and (Sam) LaPorta execute at a high level, I have a feeling."

It’s hardly a surprise that Gruden is optimistic about and supportive of a branch of his coaching tree. Still, there might be an ulterior motive: Gruden is on the hunt for a path back into coaching.

"Well, you know, hopefully I'm not done,” he said. “I'm about to make a comeback. I'm working hard to get one more shot. Hopefully, some of these guys that have fallen off my branch, if you say it that way, maybe they can hire me, because I'm looking for a job.”

Gruden resigned in the fourth year of a ten-year contract he signed with the Raiders after the New York Times, during an unrelated investigation, unearthed a batch of emails sent by Gruden that used homophobic and misogynistic language. There was a separate email that used racist terminology when criticizing the former NFLPA president, DeMaurice Smith.

Gruden, a popular broadcaster in between coaching stints, has been out of the public eye much of the past few years but recently started working for Barstool Sports.

Anxiety free

Morton is taking over a record-breaking offense that set the franchise record for points scored last season and has finished top-five in production each of the past three seasons. There’s little question that fans are curious if he’ll be able to keep that momentum going, particularly with some changes to the offensive line.

Morton was asked if he was feeling pressure to uphold the established standard.

“I don’t feel pressure,” he said. “The good thing is, I was here a few years ago, so that helps a lot. A lot of these players knew who I am, and we’re all still getting to know each other. This is my 27th year. You should always feel pressure, but I don’t feel anxious or anything like that. I feel very confident. We’ll see how this goes. We’re still in the process of all learning each other. Every day, I’m learning about this guy, (Lions QB) Jared (Goff), me and him, we’re very close, we’re talking. I want exactly what he wants. I want to make sure, when the season does start, we’re not really thinking about a lot of stuff. So lets fix all the little problems right now.”

As noted, the offensive line is the biggest concern. Morton likes where the group is headed, specifically rookie Tate Ratledge, who was recently shifted from center to his college position, right guard.

“I love how smart he is,” Morton said. “He’s just going to continue to grow. I thought he did an exceptional job when he was at center, I mean, that’s a lot mentally. Different snap counts and audibles. It was a lot. I thought he did a pretty good job. I’m real happy where he’s at.”

As for the change to the veteran Graham Glasgow handling the snaps, it was done with Goff in mind.

“The quarterback has got to feel right right there,” Morton said.

Vet still acclimating

One veteran who has been performing below expectations during the first week of training camp has been wide receiver Tim Patrick. His timing has been off on a couple of routes, he’s put some passes on the ground he’d normally catch, and he’s absorbed some big hits that were probably more physical than anticipated.

On the whole, he’s a little frustrated with himself. Still, he’s chalking the struggles up to an adjustment period he hadn’t fully anticipated after not going through a training camp with the Lions previously.

“It’s just not something I was accustomed to in my years of playing, so it’s just something I gotta pick up on,” Patrick said. “It’s taken me a minute. No excuses. Like I said, it’s my first camp with the team. Obviously, I was here last year, but camp is where you really find who you have, (when) you bond with your teammates. You go to war with them every day, because camp is hard. This is my first time going through a camp like this.

“Yeah, starting off a little slow, but I promise you by the time the season comes, I’m gonna be firing on all cylinders.”

Patrick said the most frustrating part is feeling like he’s not seeing results from the work he’s put in this offseason.

“I feel great,” Patrick said. “That’s why I’m just frustrated that it’s not showing right now, because in OTA’s it did. Training camp is a little different. I just gotta pick this shit up.”

Looking deep

Chicks dig the long ball and so does John Morton. The OC said he’s been focused on taking plenty of shots downfield during camp because he wants to get a comprehensive evaluation on the roster’s most capable deep threats.

“I’m isolating guys,” Morton said. “I want to give them the chance, so I’m taking more shots. Plus, I want to see who can do it and then make the corrections, whether it’s a technique error, something like that. I’m all about that, because we have the guys that can do it. So, if you got them, utilize them.”

Goff ranked 22nd in the league in throws 20 or more yards beyond the line of scrimmage last season, so there’s definitely untapped potential there.

“He’s definitely going deep,” Branch said. “For one, get y’all popcorn ready for Jamo (Jameson Williams), man. It’s going to be fun to watch him this year. I feel like that’s exactly what he needed.”

Saddle up

There’s been a lot of chatter about two-back sets with David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs this offseason. Morton explained, in the simpliest terms, why he’s excited about utilizing more of the “pony package looks.”

"Go ask a defensive coordinator when you’ve got your five best players on the field,” Morton said. “So we can throw it, we can run it, we can do whatever we want. I’m all about making the defense uneasy. Then, maybe, I might get an automatic defensive front coverage, or a blitz, or something like that. I’m always looking to put our best players on the field at all times.

“I come from the school, multiple packages of personnel groupings. In and out of the huddle, trying to keep the defense uneasy,” Morton continued. “That’s the school I come from.”

Trick plays still in play

A couple more nuggets from Morton. First, he intends to call plays from the booth, not the field, on game days.

“I’m going to be upstairs, so I can see it all the way from all the chaos,” he said.

Secondly, he’s committed to upholding Detroit’s reputation for running trick plays, which is something fans grew accustomed to when Johnson was calling the shots.

“I’m going to do what (coach) Dan (Campbell) — whatever he wants,” Morton said. “We’re going to have everything. We’re going to have everything, so, we’re going to continue to do those things, because it has worked. We’re going to run things, whatever was working, we’re going to continue to do that.”

New addition

The Lions added another local standout to the roster on Monday, signing cornerback Nick Whiteside. The Auburn Hills Avondale and Saginaw Valley State product signed with Washington as an undrafted rookie in 2023.

More recently, the six-foot, 200-pounder was with the St. Louis Battlehawks of the UFL.