Notebook: No ‘Free Rides’ in Detroit Lions’ Defense
In this story:
The Detroit Lions have not shied away from informing any member of their roster, privately or publicly, that they must do more in order to earn an opportunity to start or earn more playing time.
Defensive lineman Isaiah Buggs is a prime example of a player the coaching staff felt needed to sit before returning to the lineup. Instead of sulking, Buggs reportedly told the coaching staff he would respond accordingly and would do whatever was needed to force his way back into the lineup.
Since his season debut, the talented defensive lineman has aided the defense to improve in many statistical categories, both in the pass-rush and in run defense.
“I don’t know if you want to call it adversity, but listen, you earn your right. I’ve been saying that since ’21 when I first got here," said Glenn. "That’s not gonna change, that’s just who I am as a coach. There’s no free rides on this defense. It doesn’t matter if you’re first pick, last pick, practice squad, doesn’t matter. Every time you go out there on the grass, you’re earning the right to go out there and play with the other men. That’s my responsibility, to make sure. I have a responsibility to all of the guys, I have a responsibility to the head coach, to the coaching staff, to make sure that we play the guys that are gonna play up to a high level. Buggs is doing that right now, which we knew that he can do. It’s nothing against him not doing what he needs to do, it’s just other guys stepping up.”
Alex Anzalone is playing 'aggressive'
In his third-year in Motown, the veteran linebacker has gained a sense of comfort and confidence to able to fly around and play aggressive defense.
“Yeah, look, he’s versatile. He can play MIKE and WILL and you can say, ‘Well, maybe he’s better suited for the WILL.’ Look, he’s suited for MIKE too. But I think to be able to put him over there and let him go a little bit, he’s taken off, but I would say he’s had two good years here," said Dan Campbell. "And he’s on year three and I think -- I feel like every year, he’s played his best ball and here he is in the third year with us, and I feel like he’s taken it another step, so he's an asset for us. He’s a very instinctive player. He’s an energy guy for us and he’s playing as aggressive as I’ve ever seen him and that’s a credit to (Linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard) Shep, it's a credit to him putting the work in and it’s a credit to the room, really. I mean all those guys. We’ve got a lot of faith in every one of those guys. I’m talking about all six of them from playing on defense, to special teams, I mean there’s -- it’s a great room.”
Playing conditions at Raymond James Stadium
Special teams coordinator Dave Fipp indicated the playing conditions have historically been "fair" when he has coached at the Buccaneers home stadium.
“Yeah, I played there a handful of times. It’s always been a nice place to play, I think. Supposed to be pretty nice out there, I think, this weekend," said Fipp. "Sunday afternoon, 80 degrees, 13 mile per hour winds, gusting 10-20 (mph). It's not like I don’t check it every day. Want to know the weather? Just ask the special teams coach or the kicker or the punter. Those guys all know.
"It’ll be fun to play outdoors. You get totally spoiled playing inside, everything’s just so consistent, which is nice. There’s some advantages to that and there’s some disadvantages. It’ll be fun to play there. I do think that every time I’ve been there, it’s been what I would say just a fairly friendly place to play in terms of conditions and weather," Fipp continued. "The ball tends to travel well both directions, the way I see it. And then when you look at the breakdown on the field goals and whatever, the one end zone versus the other end zone, it’s pretty similar. In totality, it’s the same basically.”
Ben Johnson and the creative play-calling
Detroit's second-year offensive coordinator has been heralded for his unique, creative play-calling.
While he acknowledged all teams end up copying plays and concepts, the staff has put in a significant amount of time to bank calls that potentially could be dialed up in the right situation.
“It’s only good if it works. I know that every time one of these gets dialed up, we spend a lot of time as a staff, the head coach, the offensive staff, on when to pull these things out to give us the best chance of them actually succeeding," said Johnson. "If they don’t, it’s a little bit of egg on your face. I can’t say the snap between the legs was really a third down call for us last week, but within the game it just felt right and so it ended up working out. Truthfully, we didn’t block it particularly well and David Montgomery made a great play. When the players are believing and they’re buying in, usually good things happen."
