7 Most Important Quotes From Detroit Lions Coordinators: Cowboys Week

As always, the Detroit Lions coordinators met with the media on Thursday. As they prepare for a big NFC game against the Dallas Cowboys, all three coaches offered some interesting insight into the matchup and other ongoing issues with the team this week.

Here are the seven most important quotes you need to know.

Defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn

1. Glenn was really impressed by Detroit's safety duo: Brian Branch and Kirby Joseph:

“Our two safeties are doing really well. I think our coaches are exactly how we want to work with those guys, (Brian Branch) BB's play at different positions, the way Kirby has improved, and (DBs coach) Deshia (Townsend) and (safeties coach) Jim O'Neal are right. Understands how I want those guys to play and makes sure they coach those guys that way.”

It certainly passes the eye test, as Joseph has expanded his game beyond just a reliable rangy deep safety to a defender capable of playing in the box. And after a shaky start, Branch looked the part at safety after moving from the nickel spot this offseason.

2. To avoid penalties in secondary:

“It's a double-edged sword because, with that, I think we were second or third in the league as far as breakaway passes, so it's something we've emphasized and I've wanted here. A long time and I know a lot of times that Maybe back and forth because now, when you're not challenging, you're playing very soft, when you're challenging, you're getting those. So, the thing is, I'm going to ride the fact that our guys are challenging out there and that's what we do I will continue.”

I thought this was a very interesting perspective from Glenn. He obviously wants his defensive backs to be physical and aggressive, and he doesn't want penalties to prevent his cornerbacks from playing that way. So how do you find that middle ground?

“We still work one-on-one in practice, receivers and DBs, D-line and O-line, linebackers, tight ends and running backs. And when you're in that situation, and you're in a sparring match, where are your hands? There are many things that we have to do (work). And a lot of that comes from college guys, because that's what you're able to do when you're in college, so that's one of the things that (Terrion Arnold) TA is doing a really good job of trying to work on those things.”

3. Time to pump the brakes on Trevor Nowaske

“We don't want to cast him as Lawrence Taylor. It was just a game. The thing is, yes, he opens our eyes to some of the things he can do, but we've known Nowask since he's been here. We know what he brings to the table. We hate to lose him the first time, but we're glad to have him back. So, we're going to continue to push for his role and try to help him become the player that we know he can be. But again, we want to make sure we take it slowly and not try to put him in the role I was talking about with Lawrence Taylor.”

Many have identified Nowask as a potential replacement for Derrick Burns in the SAM linebacker role. This week, Dan Campbell even pointed out how it suits Nowask in this defense. But Glenn is notorious for telling the media not to get too high on a player too soon. He made it pretty clear that they don't plan to push Novak into a full-time starter role just yet. He is too young and inexperienced for that.

Special teams coordinator Dave Phipp

4. Mistaking who should return a potentially long FG attempt vs. the Seahawks:

“I actually tried to get (Lions WR Califf Raymond) Leaf, and I couldn't see him on my side. Then at that point, it's like, 'Okay we're not going to push him up five yards with a penalty or anything like that, so let's go out there with that team.' The truth is, yes, we should have found someone better there. I could definitely do better with it. It could be Leaf, it could be Jamo, it could be (Lions RB Jahmir) Gibbs, any one of those guys could be a good option.”

Fipp was asked why Jameson Williams didn't return the Seahawks' long field goal attempt that was returned by Khalil Dorsey at the end of the first half. It was interesting that Fipp fully admitted that he messed up by not getting Williams, Calif Raymond, or Jahmir Gibbs back there. To be clear, Phipp also expressed confidence in Dorsey, but said they had better options that should have been used. He also noted that they had good blocking on that play, but couldn't direct Dorsey in the right direction.

5. On the development of kicker Jake Betts:

“I've already seen an improvement in his charting preseason stuff and then since the season started and the direction the charting is going there's been steady improvement. The biggest challenge with that is you can't kick a guy a million times because it wears the rug out or it will injure him.”

Betts has attempted just five field goals this season, and while he has made all five, it's hard to judge his growth as each attempt has been under 40 yards. However, Fipp offers some optimism with his data from practice. Phipp has often said he believes long-term, what you see in practice is what you're going to see on the field on game day, so hopefully that means continued accuracy from the Lions' new kicker.

Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson

6. Other ways they self-scout considering the team's first departure:

“Every four weeks or so we try to get other parties involved. Analytics, our advance scouts do a lot of things not only in terms of other teams, but also, they can give us the same data on ourselves, and so we've got a lot of people in the building who are constantly working to give us that kind of information. And then we try to do our own thing on a weekly basis, just after four games or so, where we stand. Running, Passing and General Tendency.”

Both Johnson and Glenn point out that the difficulty early in the bye week is that the sample sizes are too small to really dig into trends on their own. However, it was interesting to hear from Johnson how they continue to track these things during the season, even without the benefit of a bye.

7. On the impact of getting Frank Ragno back against the familiar Mike Zimmer defense:

“He knows what problems the particular scheme can bring. It's interesting, the first year for them in this scheme, how much he's going to dive into his Minnesota years, but that's where we have some familiarity with him, especially with Frank because he's been able to see all of this. And so, he knows exactly what we want to do.”

Johnson talked about how Zimmer can anticipate what the opposing offense wants to do on third down and find ways to get the quarterback unblocked. But Ragnow is so good at reading pre-snap and has years of experience against Zimmer when he coached the Vikings that he will be an indispensable asset this week.