Coordinator recap: Source of Lions' creativity, development of Goff/Jamo chemistry and Sewell's stealing souls

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Allen Park — Here are the most interesting items to come out of Thursday's media sessions with the Detroit Lions three coordinators.

The unsung heroes of creativity

Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson has been showered with praise this week, both locally and nationally, for another creative play call that saw quarterback Jared Goff fake a stumble after taking the snap to set up a long touchdown strike to open the third quarter against the Chicago Bears. But Johnson downplayed the creativity of that particular call, at least compared to some of the others the Lions have run this season.

“Yeah, I mean, you’re watching tape and you see things happen and, listen, that one, honestly, I think the Penei (Sewell) pass is a little bit more special than that one, personally,” Johnson said. “That one, that’s a play that every team runs, and we just happened to put a little hot sauce on the ball-handling. That was really how we kind of viewed that going into it.

“We saw it on tape, and we saw they had some veteran linebackers, that particular crew, that could sniff things out pretty quickly and diagnose,” Johnson said. “So we wanted to try to get their eyes away from what we were really trying to do, and so that was the magic behind that one.”

Johnson highlighted three young coaches on the team’s staff for being the driving force behind some of the creative play designs the Lions have deployed this season.

“I think we’ve got position coaches that are future coordinators and future head coaches, and I think we’ve got some really good young coaches that are going to be ready to be position coaches sooner rather than later,” Johnson said. “…Seth Ryan, Steve Oliver and J.T. Barrett, they’ve been in charge of our specials for not just this year, but for the last few years, and there’s a reason why we have probably a little higher success rate for those special plays, and they’re a big reason why. They have a ton of creativity. They bring a lot of ideas to the table, so I really wanted to start off here today by giving them a shoutout. They’ve been doing a great job here for the last three years, and they’re certainly deserving of more responsibility, not only here, but maybe elsewhere as well, wherever that opportunity unfolds.”

It’s easy to read into any or all of those three potentially following Johnson if the OC decides to take a head-coaching job this offseason.

Seth Ryan, son of former Jets coach Rex Ryan, has been an assistant receivers coach for the Lions since 2021. Steve Oliver also joined the Lions in 2021, initially as a quality control coach before being named an assistant offensive line coach. Notably, he played under Fraley at the University of San Diego in 2012.

Finally, Barrett came to Detroit a year later than the other two, taking Oliver’s route of working as a quality control coach until he was promoted to assistant quarterbacks coach, the position he played at Ohio State.

Back on the bike

After playing the slot all season, Amik Robertson kicked outside to replace injured starter Carlton Davis III. It proved a successful switch as he allowed just two receptions for 41 yards and was a force in run support as the Lions rolled over the Bears in Chicago.

“Amik did a really good job for us,” defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn said. “Listen, I know it was different because he’s usually playing inside for us, but the thing is, throughout his career, he’s played on the outside. So to him, it was like riding a bike. He went out there, he competed.

"Man, I’ll tell you what, he went after the ball quite a bit," Glenn continued. "I think he had two or three PBUs. The punchouts that he showed in that game were outstanding, and that’s what we try to do as a defense. We talked about that all week, making sure we hunt the football, and he was one of the guys that did a really good job of that.”

With the Raiders last season, Roberson played five times as many snaps as an outside corner as he did at nickel. At 5-foot-8, 183 pounds, he is one of the smallest players on Detroit’s roster, but as he explained after the game, he takes on the mindset of being the biggest man on the field when between the lines.

“He’s had that coming out of college when you talk about the mentality,” Glenn said. “He’s a pit bull, he’s tough, he has a swagger about himself, he believes in himself no matter what the situation is — get beat, don’t get beat, I mean, he believes he can cover anybody out there, and you like that within a corner.”

Bright future revealed

Even though the tape showed everything you could want to know about guard Christian Mahogany’s first start, it felt appropriate to get Johnson’s take on the rookie's performance against Chicago.

“Yeah, he did a great job,” Johnson said. “He did. We know he’s got an excellent first step, he beats the opponent off the ball, and then what showed up is what you saw at Boston College, which is the cleaning of the pocket and playing with a little nasty to him, which we certainly embrace.

“(Offensive line coach) Hank Fraley likes to think it reminds him of himself,” Johnson continued. “I don’t know about that necessarily, but Christian, I think, showed a glimpse of what a bright future he has.”

I followed up by asking about Mahogany’s contributions in the screen game, where the execution seemed advanced contrasted against the level of experience.

“That’s a great point that you make because that’s been something that’s taken us a little while,” Johnson said. “I feel like, almost over the last — second half of the season here, we’ve really caught onto our screen landmarks and trusting those with the backs, the receivers, the O-line, and to see a guy that missed training camp show up and in his first start be as in tune and detailed as the rest of the group, I thought that was extremely encouraging.”

Revisiting record-long attempt

At the end of the first half against Chicago, the Lions lined up Jake Bates to kick a 60-yard field goal, but long snapper Hogan Hatten was flagged for a false start, pushing the try for a new franchise record back 5 additional yards.

Special teams coordinator Dave Fipp said it was a good call by the officials and explained the breakdown for his group.

“We got into our stance so early and Jake hadn’t even approached the ball yet or started his walk off,” Fipp said. “So we were down there forever. Then Hogan was standing up higher than normal, and then as he went to get down and really get set, which it looked like we were already set, but he lowered his hips to sink down to get ready to snap the ball and they moved. So then it was on us.”

Bates’ 65-yard effort ended up sailing wide right and was a little short. Still, Fipp liked what he saw with the mechanics of the attempt.

“I thought Bates hit a great ball (after the false start) and gave us a chance,” Fipp said. “…He did get a hold of that thing, which was impressive in those conditions. He might have had a touch of a wind behind him, but with cold weather and all that, it probably really wasn’t much.”

After the game, Bates shared he kicks every attempt, regardless of distance, with the same power. I asked Fipp if this was a common approach and something he coached.

“If you can hit one kick, you have a chance to get very good at that one kick,” Fipp said. “…If you’re hitting that same kick every single time, then you have a good chance at getting better and better at that. The more things that you do — one guy said it to me a long time ago, ‘If you were a juggler and I had you juggle three balls, you would probably be better at juggling three than juggling eight.’ So, if you’re a kicker and you can hit one kick, I guarantee you’re better off hitting one kick than you’re going to be hitting three different kicks.”

More to come

In his season debut, defensive back Ifeatu Melifonwu played more than 50 defensive snaps. Glenn said the workload expanded as he got an in-game feel for what the defender could handle.

“Just talking to him throughout the game, he was saying, ‘Coach, I’m ready to go, I’m good,’” Glenn explained. “When he tells me that, I’m going to continue to push as far as I can.”

Despite lining up Melifonwu at multiple spots in the contest — from the box to the slot to deep — Glenn said there are plans to expand the safety’s usage.

“Iffy’s a guy that we can utilize in a number of packages,” Glenn said. “He can play the dime for us, he can play safety, he can play nickel, and we utilized him as a safety only in this game. There are other ways we want to utilize that player, but for him to come back and be able to use his blitz ability, his ability to cover, was really good for us. I’m looking forward to utilizing that player going forward.”

Reaper of souls

Penei Sewell made his NFL debut against the San Francisco 49ers in the 2021 season opener. He played a staggering 92 offensive snaps in that contest, highlighting everything to come as the future of Detroit’s offensive line.

Nearly four years later, Sewell is an All-Pro who earned a massive contract extension this offseason. Johnson was asked how far the ultra-talented 24-year-old lineman has come since that first appearance in a Lions uniform.

“I think that first year, what I immediately flash back to was less the San Fran game, it was more the Rams game,” Johnson said. “He had a couple times where he went one-on-one with Aaron Donald and he did not back down. In fact, they were toeing the line right through the edge of the whistle, going back and forth.

“So you saw the demeanor, you saw the attitude, you saw the intensity, everything that you thought you were getting with him coming out of Oregon,” Johnson said. “And from the rookie year until now, all he’s done is polish up his game, in terms of technique, in terms of the fundamentals, and honestly, I think it’s the leadership portion that stands out more to me than any. He really is a tone-setter for on offense, we know what we’re going to get each and every week. He’s going to drive guys off the ball. He’s looking to take souls out there.”

Teddy the irritant

Bringing back veteran quarterback Teddy Bridgewater for the playoff push will have an impact across the roster, including the preparation of the defense, according to Glenn.

“I was with Teddy in New Orleans and Teddy is one of the most vocal noise-talkers that you will ever have as a quarterback and I’m excited about that,” Glenn said. “I really am because it really brings value to your defense, as far as pissing your defensive guys off, especially when he’s out there throwing the ball around. It was the same thing in New Orleans; he brought that mentality here.

“Everybody loves him,” Glenn said. “He’s one of the best leaders I’ve ever seen, and it’s something to where you’re not starting, but guys look at you as a leader of our team. You don’t get many guys like that because it’s usually your play is really what some people look at, as far as leadership. But man, just the way that he carries himself, just the way that he can talk to everybody on the team, from O-line, D-line, linebackers, DBs, running backs, it doesn’t matter, he has a relationship with everybody on this team, and that’s a special person. So I’m excited to have that player back. Yes, he’s going to help us in all phases of the game, and I’m just looking forward to going against him in practice.”

Still chugging

Despite a revolving door in their backfield this season, the 49ers have continued to run the ball effectively, averaging a healthy 4.7 yards per carry.

It doesn’t seem to matter who is lining up behind quarterback Brock Purdy, whether it’s a superstar like Christian McCaffrey or a fourth-round draft pick such as Isaac Guerendo, they’ve been tough to slow down on the ground. I asked Glenn about the secret sauce to the upcoming opponent’s rushing attack.

“I think it first starts off with the mentality of how they go about doing things,” Glenn said. “Listen, we know they’re going to run it, they know they’re going to run it, and their mentality is, ‘Listen, you’re going to have to stop it.’ So, it’s a tough, tough system, which requires tough men, which you have to be on your assignment to be able to stop it. And we know that.

“If you look at the game from last year, I thought our guys did a really good job early, and then some of their guys started to will themselves into making some plays,” Glenn said. “That’s what we really have to do this game. Our top guys have to out-will their top guys, and I’m looking forward to seeing our guys do that.”

At the half of last year’s NFC Championship, San Francisco had mustered just 29 yards on 13 carries. They finished with 33 carries for 155 yards and three touchdowns in the come-from-behind win.

Chemistry finally clicking

In the past two games, Goff has dropped a rainbow into Jameson Williams’ bucket with a deep throw.

The speedy receiver dropped the first — which would have been negated by a penalty, regardless — while the one against the Bears resulted in an 82-yard touchdown, the longest completion of Goff’s career.

The chemistry on those bombs has seemingly turned a corner after some early struggles to get on the same page with the duo. I asked Johnson how long he thought it took for things to click.

“Two-and-a-half years,” Johnson said. “I mean, shoot, we struggled there that first year, when (Williams) got healthy, to truly get on the same page. As coaches, we saw the potential, and with Jared, he’s a timing, he’s a rhythm quarterback. He needs reps, just like the great ones do. I mean, he’s no different. So it was just a matter of time, and we knew it was going to click, and when it does click, man, what’s better than a two-play drive?

“That’s the potential that Jameson has to this offense and it’s a beautiful thing to see a post versus single-high (safety) like that,” Johnson continued. “I know this -- it does our offense wonders going into the end of the season here and into the postseason to put that type of stuff on tape.”

Williams is rapidly closing in on a 1,000-yard season, despite missing two games due to a suspension and being held to negative yardage in a third. It raises questions about what the young receiver’s ceiling could be.

"Shoot, I don’t know if you can put a number on the limit, but I know he’s surrounded by some really good players, and so when you get a bunch of talented guys together, they can do some really special things,” Johnson said.

That tracks. The Lions have already reset the franchise record for most points in a season.