Offensive coordinator John Morton spoke to the media for the first time during training camp Monday on a number of different topics.
Here are my five biggest takeaways from that media session:
1. The Lions have had one of the best offenses in football the last two seasons and that could naturally create some pressure for a new coordinator like Morton to step in and keep up the status quo. But Morton said he doesn't feel any pressure and is really confident this offense will continue to be one of the league's best.
Why?
He was on staff as an offensive assistant in 2022 and knows the quarterback, a lot of the personnel on that side of the ball and the expectations from the head coach. It's also Morton's 27th year in the NFL. He's been a coordinator once before (for the Jets) and has as good of an offensive mind as anyone in the game.
"One thing that's impressed me is all those weapons," Morton said. "We have a smart, tough football team. That's the way this thing is built. I'm real happy with where we are at right now."
The talent is certainly there on the offensive side of the football and Morton said it's more excitement than it is nerves, finding ways to isolate that talent and get the football to them in space.
2. We've seen running backs Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery on the field together some in camp. Could we see that in the regular season too?
"We can throw it, we can run it, we can do whatever we want," Morton said of that combination on the field together. "I'm all about making the defense uneasy. Maybe I might automatically get a defensive front coverage or blitz. I'm always looking to put our best players on the field at all times.
"I come from the school of multiple packages of personnel groupings, in and out of the huddle, and trying to keep the defense uneasy. That's the school I come from. It's going to be a cool thing."
3. Detroit's only had a couple padded practices so far in camp and that's really when the evaluation of the players upfront takes place.
Morton's liked the progress that they are making upfront and thinks rookie interior offensive lineman Tate Ratledge has done a good job acclimating to the NFL early in camp.
The Lions have played Ratledge at center and right guard. Morton said he's handled both really well and they'll see where the best spot for him ends up being at the end of training camp and four preseason games.
Overall, he's liked the progression of the offensive line to start camp.
4. Morton is allowing fourth-year wide receiver Jameson Williams to run more routes and be a more integrated weapon within his offense. Williams has looked terrific through the first week of camp making plays all over the field.
"You see the skillset," Morton said. "He's very explosive. He's gotten better every year. I want to take that skillset and now isolate him. I think he's been phenomenal. He's going to help us win some big games."
Williams recorded his first 1,000-yard receiving season last year and could be in store for a monster year in Morton's scheme.
5. Morton plans to be up in the coaching box, 'away from the chaos' of the sideline during games. He likes seeing the entire picture in front of him from above.
Morton didn't go on vacation in the time off between OTAs and training camp because he was looking at what the offense did in the spring during OTAs and was breaking down Kelvin Sheppard's defense and how he could attack it come training camp. That gives people a little insight into Morton's work ethic and mentality. He wanted his players on offense to see what it's going to be like game planning during the season and pick up some nuggets to help his players in camp.
"I just love the whole aspect of just sitting in my laboratory by myself and trying to dissect a defense," he said. "I think that's fun."
Morton's offense uses a lot of formations and motions to isolate players in space. It's also aggressive pushing the ball down the field.
