Offensive coordinator John Morton, defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard and special teams coordinator Dave Fipp spoke to the media Thursday ahead of Detroit's division matchup Sunday at Ford Field against the Minnesota Vikings. Here are my 10 biggest takeaways from those media sessions:

1. Detroit's reserves in the secondary had a chance to introduce themselves to the fanbase and the rest of the league in the Lions' Week 7 win over Tampa Bay. Sheppard said it was Detroit's best performance on defense this season, and as a result, players like Amik Robertson, Rock Ya-Sin, Thomas Harper, Erick Hallett, Nick Whiteside and Arthur Maulet have put pressure on the starters ahead of them to maintain the standard. Sheppard won't hesitate to play any of those players who proved the moment isn't too big for them.

2. Morton said he must do a better job finding ways to get wide receiver Jameson Williams the ball moving forward. He told Williams the same thing when they returned from the bye. Williams has 17 receptions for 289 yards and two touchdowns this season. He's caught more than two passes in a game only twice this season. It's seems like a point of emphasis moving forward for Morton.

3. Where would Fipp like to see some improvement from his special teams units? One area he talked about Thursday was their long net punting average when Jack Fox is asked to put a full leg into one when they are backed up. Fipp wants to see a little higher net average on those punts. The Lions rank 15th in net punting average (42.0) this season.

4. Sheppard did a deep dive over the bye and identified a couple areas where he wants to see improvement moving forward. The first is Detroit's red zone defense. Teams are scoring a touchdown 63.6 percent of the time they reach the red zone against Detroit's defense which puts Detroit 23rd in the NFL in that category. He also mentioned being better in third-and-long situations. On third and 11-plus situations, Detroit ranks 28th allowing a conversion 29.2 percent of the time (7-for-24).

5. The Lions haven't been as good as usual on third down this season. Detroit's 37.7 conversion percentage on third down ranks 22nd in the NFL. Morton said he went over every third down play this season over the bye week and every third down play from last season. He said after watching them all, it really boils down to execution on Detroit's part - either a missed assignment here, someone gets beat there, a dropped ball or a bad play call. He thinks it's something correctable on their part if they focus in on the details.

6. Fipp joked he's getting a little antsy to run a fake punt. They have yet to run a fake this season. The Lions have been so successful in that area since head coach Dan Campbell and Fipp arrived in 2021. Opponents have become more cognizant of it when playing the Lions with more players in the box or players looking for the fake. Fipp said they just haven't gotten the right look or situation within the game to run one yet, but they can at any moment.

7. The Vikings are set to start J.J. McCarthy at quarterback Sunday. There isn't a lot of film on McCarthy as he's been out since Week 2 with a high-ankle sprain, but the film the Lions do have on him has garnered Sheppard's respect. Sheppard thinks McCarthy is a dynamic running threat as a quarterback and plays a more physical brand of football than he gets credit for. Sheppard also respects the moxie McCarthy showed putting the Vikings on his back in the fourth quarter of their Week 1 comeback win over Chicago with the team rallying behind him.

8. Morton said the challenge of facing a Brian Flores defense is the havoc they create upfront by breaking down protections. Morton said Sunday is all about getting things identified and making sure the protection is good against a defense that leads the NFL in blitz percentage (42). It will also be key for Detroit to run the football well, something the Lions have done a good job of recently against Minnesota. The Vikings come in ranked 24th against the run allowing 130.4 rushing yards per contest this season.

9. Detroit could get special teams ace Sione Vaki back for Sunday's game. When a player of Vaki's caliber returns to teams, Fipp said it makes everyone else's job around him easier. He expects Vaki to provide a spark if he does return to game action Sunday.

10. Sheppard has been mentioned as a possible candidate for his alma mater LSU's coaching job. Sheppard said he has not been contacted by LSU, and his only focus is on the Minnesota Vikings and trying to limit former LSU star wide receiver turned Vikings All-Pro Justin Jefferson.