Defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard spoke to the media for the first time during training camp Thursday on a number of wide-ranging topics.
Here are my five biggest takeaways from that media session:
1. Detroit's secondary has looked really strong to begin camp. Sheppard views the secondary, and particularly the cornerback position, as a strength, not only for the defense but for the entire roster. He said their skill and depth at cornerback is going to be a luxury and allow them to move people around and create favorable matchups they can dictate and not be dictated by the offense.
He was particularly complimentary of second-year cornerback Terrion Arnold, who is expected to take a big leap in production entering Year 2.
"Terrion Arnold took a huge leap in my opinion this offseason," Sheppard said. "He progressed during his rookie year, but he's come in not only this offseason but this training camp looking like a different guy. His body is more developed. But also, from the neck up, the mental aspect of the game. He's seeing it faster. He's feeling the routes faster. That's a guy I've already seen a leap in."
2. Sheppard's defense is going to be aggressive.
"My mentality is to get after you, play in and play out," he said.
We saw a ton of blitzing in Tuesday's third-down day at practice. Sheppard admitted that a defense has to be calculated with its aggression. He said that there has to be a 'why' behind it. His nature is to be aggressive and get after the offense.
That goes for creating negative plays and turnovers as well. We've seen Sheppard's defense be much more aggressive attacking the football early in camp and trying to strip footballs and get hands on footballs.
Sheppard said he wants the players who are not being aggressive attacking the football to stand out on tape rather than the ones who are.
3. One young defender who has caught Sheppard's eye early is sixth-round rookie Ahmed Hassanein.
"I'm excited for him to get the pads on because I don't think his game can be seen until the pads are on," Sheppard said. "The way he plays. The mentality he plays with. The effort he plays with. He's everything we are about here."
Hassanein recorded 33 tackles for loss and 22.0 sacks the last two seasons combined at Boise State. He's getting second-team reps early in camp and has looked pretty good.
4. Aidan Hutchinson is coming off a broken leg that forced him to miss most of last season. Some wonder if Hutchinson will be the same player coming off a major injury. Don't consider Sheppard to be one of those doubters.
"I see a better player than we had last year," he said. "You might go, 'Woah.' But that's the same thing I said when I saw him out there. I'm like. 'Woah.' The way he works and attacks his rehab. The week after the surgery he's in here trying to work out and things like that.
"But I see a better player, quite frankly, and I'm looking for Hutch to have a big season and he's one of the pillars of the defense."
Hutchinson was leading the NFL in sacks and quarterback pressures when he was injured Week 6 last year in Dallas.
5. A first-year coordinator can sometimes feel overwhelmed with the enormity of the job and being in charge of the entire defense and not just one position group. That hasn't been the case for Sheppard.
"I want to give credit to Dan Campbell and Aaron Glenn because it's exactly what I thought it would be," he said of the coordinator role. "And I'm humbly saying that. I don't feel overwhelmed."
Sheppard gave a lot of credit to his coaching staff on defense and how prepared and bought-in they are. Sheppard doesn't have to micromanage so he can focus on his duties as coordinator and know his assistants are handling their room with one collective message from the top down.
"I allow my staff to have ownership in their respective positions and I allow input from everyone top to bottom and if there's a why behind it, it's going in," Sheppard said. "These guys know that and it allows them to work harder. The trust is there.
"There's no looking over your shoulder. I don't have to go in position rooms and wonder what's being said. I know it's one voice and when you have that level of comfortability within your staff, I'm able to do more with my coordinator stuff. So. I just want to give a lot of credit to my staff."
