Offensive coordinator John Morton, defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard and special teams coordinator Dave Fipp spoke to the media Thursday ahead of Detroit's matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday night at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Here are my 10 biggest takeaways from those media sessions:
1. The Lions have put a lot on veteran cornerback Amik Robertson's plate the last two years asking him to play inside, outside and be their No. 1 cornerback at times following the best receivers in the game. Robertson always finds a way to respond to the challenge. It's for that reason Sheppard described Robertson as his pit bull on defense and one of his favorite players. Sheppard has so much respect for Robertson.
2. Morton said Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo kept him up very late Tuesday night coming up with a plan of attack for the Chiefs' defense Sunday night. The Chiefs are creative defensively, per Morton, and the fact that they have veteran players who've been in their scheme for multiple seasons makes a huge difference. Morton said it's one of those weeks where they won't have a ton of new stuff put in so they can be on point with the details and play fast.
3. One of the big things Fipp outlined for kicker Jake Bates heading into his second season was improving his kickoff ball placement. Kudos to Bates for taking on that challenge and really improving that part of his game. The Lions are in the top five in lowest touchback percentage and also in the top half of the league in average starting position for opponents following a kickoff. That speaks to the combination of the kick and coverage. Bates has been good perfecting the lob wedge kick between the 5-yard line and the goal line.
4. When asked about MIKE linebacker Jack Campbell and his play early this season, Sheppard said Campbell meets with him every week so he can understand the why behind Sheppard's calls. Campbell wants to get to a point where he can call the game himself exactly like Sheppard would to the down, distance and situation if the green dot ever goes out. Sheppard said Campbell also wants to know the why so he can hold everyone on defense accountable, including himself. Sheppard said it's next level stuff from Detroit's third-year linebacker.
5. Why do the Lions continue to run against eight-man boxes when other teams will abandon it for the pass? We saw it early last week against the Bengals. Morton said they can run against eight-man boxes better than other teams because they have willing and able run blockers at the receiver position. He said that makes all the difference.
6. The penalty on Cincinnati at the end of the game after the safety by linebacker Derrick Barnes was explained by Fipp. The Bengals declared an onside kick on the free kick and because they did that, the ball cannot travel more than 25 yards down the field. Cincinnati's kick traveled more than 25 yards and therefore it was a penalty half the distance to the goal line, which is why Detroit got the ball at the 10-yard line. It's a play that doesn't come up a lot.
7. After giving up a touchdown on the first drive of the first four games of the season, Sheppard made a point to note his unit's faster start last week in Cincinnati. A couple defensive penalties on Aidan Hutchinson (offside) and Kerby Joseph (unnecessary roughness) allowed the Bengals to cross the 50-yard line, but the drive stalled at the Lions' 43-yard line on an incomplete pass on 3rd & 15.
8. Rookie right guard Tate Ratledge really seems to be settling into his role. Morton said he's cleaned up some of the communication issues that plagued him early on and in doing so, has allowed the game to slow down. Morton said Ratledge has a 'bright future.'
9. Kalif Raymond is currently third on Detroit's all-time list for punt return yards with 1,358. He's quickly approaching Mel Gray's record of 1,427. It took Gray 84 games to reach that total while Raymond is just 59 yards behind in 18 fewer games (66). It won't be long until Raymond holds that record. Fipp said it's well deserved.
10. Sheppard joked about the 'Murderers' Row' of offenses he's been tasked with planning against to begin the season. This week playing Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes might be his toughest challenge to date. Sheppard said the hardest part about scheming against the Chiefs is that Reid doesn't having any of the tendencies that show up on film with other offensive coaches that defensive coaches look for. Mahomes is the best in the business at off schedule plays, per Sheppard. He also talked about the speed Kansas City has at the skill positions and how that has shown up on film and is something they must be aware of Sunday night.
