A look at the most important quotes from Detroit Lions coordinators heading into their Divisional Round playoff game against the Washington Commanders.
The Detroit Lions coordinators were in the spotlight on Wednesday as the team prepares for their Saturday night showdown with the Washington Commanders in the Divisional Round of the playoffs. With both Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn also in the midst of NFL coaching searches, we pulled their quotes about that situation for a different article specifically focused on their interview opportunities .
Here are the top seven quotes specifically about this week’s game against the Commanders.
Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson
On how much David Montgomery will play vs. Commanders:
“It’s to be determined. Gibbs has certainly had a hot hand as of late and I expect David to come in and pick up where he left off. If the last two days are any indication, he’s of the right mindset right now, so we’ll see what it looks like today on the field and tomorrow as well, and we’ll finalize our plan after that.”
I’ve seen some debate recently about whether Jahmyr Gibbs has earned a higher percentage of touches after a couple of explosive games without Montgomery in the lineup. Johnson acknowledges that here, suggesting it’s possible. However, it sounds like it may also depend on Montgomery’s health. The Lions running back said earlier in the week he should be ready without limitations.
On comfort level being in playoffs for second straight here:
“I don’t think anybody in that room, myself included, has forgotten that feeling of flying back on that airplane from San Francisco. And so, we’ve been, all year long, extremely detailed, extremely locked in, and to see it go up another level here this week, it’s been really impressive.”
The fact that Johnson and the rest of the team is still using last year’s NFC Championship loss as motivation and guidance to stay locked in should be all the assurance you need to know that this team won’t look sloppy out of the bye week.
On Commanders CB Mike Sainristil:
“We had a number of (University of) Michigan players come into the building, whether it was top-30 visits or a local pro day, and every single one of those players said that they would bring him along. Every single player said he was the one guy from Michigan that they would want to bring along with them, and to me, that spoke volumes because it’s rare that you see all these same guys from the same school and they say the same person, it’s normally the cliques you hang out with.”
Just thought this was a really interesting note from Johnson on their pre-draft process and it obviously speaks to Sainristil’s strong character. One has to wonder if the Lions ever seriously considered him. Sainristil went to the Commanders with the 50th overall pick before the Lions selected Ennis Rakestraw Jr. at 61.
Defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn
On Jayden Daniels’ escapability:
There’s been some discussion about how Commanders rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels predominantly scrambles to his right. Glenn, while not talking specifically about Daniels, said that they take note of such tendencies and gameplan accordingly:
“If there’s a guy that really wants to escape to his right or to his left, you try not to let him escape that way for the most part, but as you see, this League is trending toward all these quarterbacks that are just so athletic that it’s hard for your defensive linemen to try to contain these guys, so you have to do a lot as far as being disciplined in your rush, obviously sending more people at him so you can make sure you close up as many lanes as you can.”
On Terry McLaurin:
“He’s highly, highly competitive, he does a really good job on 50-50 balls, which you wouldn’t think that he would because of his stature, but he does a really good job of that. He’s always been a good player, we went against this player several times, but that’s the one thing that really stands out, is his competitive nature.”
McLaurin hauled in 82 catches for 1,096 yards and a career-high 13 touchdowns this season. He received high praise from Glenn, even comparing his competitive, physical play to that of Amon-Ra St. Brown’s.
On impact of Alex Anzalone’s return:
“He understands me to a T, he understands how I’m going to call the game, he studies the game plan just as well as anybody, and if something goes down with my mic, he knows exactly what AG’s going to call, and he does a good job with that, and we have so much conversation on, ‘How do I see it?’ That he understands how I’m going to call the game.”
We all saw the impact that Anzalone had on the defense in Week 18 against the Vikings, but it’s interesting to hear Glenn talk about the Lions linebacker like he’s an extra defensive coordinator out here on the field.
Special teams coordinator Dave Fipp
On if he has any interest in a head coach job:
“The thing that I love the most is working with the players and I love the meeting room, it’s my favorite place in the building is the meeting room when it’s full of players. I get to coach every player on the team, I get to be involved with a lot of different aspects of the game, offensive, defense, or offensive plays, defensive plays, offensive players, defensive players, and I really can’t imagine not having that to be honest with you. It’s my passion. I’m trying to—my goal is to keep my job and I mean that. These jobs are hard to get, I feel very fortunate to have the one that I have. It gives me a ton of fulfillment and there’s really nothing else that I’m looking for.”
Fipp couldn’t have made it more clear that he’s happy where his feet are, and even said he is not interested in the extra day-to-day things head coaches have to deal with.