Offensive coordinator John Morton, defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard and special teams coordinator Dave Fipp spoke to the media one last time this season on Thursday ahead of Detroit's matchup with the Chicago Bears Sunday at Soldier Field.
1. There's still one more game on the schedule Sunday in Chicago, so Sheppard won't do a deep evaluation of himself, his defensive coaching staff and his players on defense until next week, but he did say Thursday one of the most disappointing aspects of the defensive performance this season for him was the amount of explosive plays they've allowed. Sheppard called it unacceptable moving forward. The 56 pass plays of 20-plus yards allowed this season ranks 28th. The 52 runs of 10-plus yards allowed ranks 23rd. It's something Sheppard said will be a point of emphasis to fix this offseason.
2. Asked about his future beyond this season, Morton said he would like the opportunity to call plays again but he's a team player and likes it here in Detroit and will do whatever head coach Dan Campbell needs him to do moving forward.
3. When Fipp came to Detroit from Philadelphia five years ago to be Campbell's special teams coordinator, he didn't have an experienced returner he could trust on the roster. Fipp said Thursday he remembers the front office coming to him about a free agent wide receiver from the Tennessee Titans named Kalif Raymond to take a look at. Fipp went back and said he'd love to get Raymond in Detroit. Five years later, Raymond is the all-time franchise leader in punt return yards, breaking Mel Gray's record last week in Minnesota.
4. Sheppard admitted the loss of All-Pro safety Kerby Joseph for all but five games this season played a factor in the amount of explosives allowed by Detroit's defense. Sheppard called Joseph the defense's 'Angel in the Outfield" in terms of his ability to man the deep part of the field and get his hands on footballs, make plays and be a sure tackler as the last line of defense. When Joseph is on the field, Detroit's takeaways go up and opponent explosive plays go down. Detroit has had seven different players start at safety this season.
5. Morton seems excited about the player rookie wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa can become moving forward. TeSlaa has six touchdowns on the season and has proven to be a reliable target for quarterback Jared Goff, especially in the red zone. TeSlaa is proving he can wear a lot of hats in this offense and play a number of different spots. Morton thinks Detroit's receiving trio of Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams and TeSlaa can be special next season alongside running back Jahmyr Gibbs and tight end Sam LaPorta.
6. One player who has really stood out to Fipp on teams this year is second-year running back Sione Vaki. Both a safety and running back in college, Fipp said Vaki's skillset to play teams in space at a high level in the NFL is unique. Vaki has a chance to be an elite special teams player.
7. D'Andre Swift got a reputation in Detroit as a shifty, outside-type runner. Sheppard said the thing he's admired from afar watching Swift this season is the power and toughness he's shown and the way he's running behind his pads. Swift (1,047) and rookie Kyle Monangai (769) have formed a nice duo running the ball in Chicago combining for 1,816 rushing yards and 14 rushing touchdowns. Sheppard referred to Swift and Monangai as a 'two-headed monster' they must have a good plan for Sunday.
8. The Lions like the matchup this week against the Bears' defense in terms of being able to get their run game going. Morton mentioned Chicago allowing on average 5.0 yards per attempt. He thinks Gibbs and David Montgomery can get rolling this week and this offense can finish strong on the ground.
9. Asked about linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez, who returned in November from a torn ACL suffered last season, Fipp said while Rodriguez's return has been a bonus on teams, his expectation is for Rodriguez to really get back to playing the kind of football he was before the injury next season. Fipp said it's been his experience that players coming off major knee injuries really get back to their old self Year 2 post-injury.
10. The biggest thing Sheppard said he's learned in his first year as defensive coordinator is how adaptable the job requires coordinators to be sometimes in-game. Simply put, the best game plan can be neutralized by this league's offensive minds and veteran quarterbacks. Being able to be adaptable in-game and have the answers as to why things must change is something he's learned the most his first year on the job.
