Thursday is coordinator day for the Detroit Lions, so we continue our series of key quotes from the coaching trio for Week 2 – the week of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn

On Jack Campbell’s split snaps:

“We have different packages for different players. All of these guys deserve to play. I think I’ve said this since I got here: If you’re a good player, we’re going to try to find a way to get you on the field. All of these guys deserve it.”

One of the most unexpected developments of Week 1 was that Campbell – a 2023 first-round pick – played just 56 percent of the snaps. Although Glenn called Campbell’s performance “solid,” it’s clear they still hold Malcolm Rodriguez and Derrick Barnes in high regard.

On the Rams’ success in the short passing game:

“We actually did what we wanted to do and forced him to make a finesse play where he can make passes. We knew he was going to pass for a couple of yards, I took that from coach (Bill) Belichick: ‘Put a team on left-handed and force them to do something different.’ And that’s what we did. The thing is he made some dink and dunk passes that you talked about on the eight of eight (completions). What we need to do is when we have those zone coverages, we need to be able to compete a lot better and that’s what we’ve been working on. We worked on that in practice yesterday.”

The Lions were exploited almost to the limit on Sunday, and that was at least partially intentional on Detroit’s part. They were clearly trying to prevent long shots, but Glenn said their zone coverage needs to be better coordinated and their man coverage tighter than it has been.

On Terrion Arnold’s pass interference calls:

“We worked on that a lot this week in practice. We’re going to keep working on that. And he knows that when he came in. He knows it’s going to be called differently (than in college). He understands the magnitude of how the NFL views offensive football, so we just have to keep working on those things. But I’m not going to tell him to slow down and take away his aggressiveness.”

“We have to make sure we teach him those things. ‘Where is your hand position? Understand where you want to turn your head in certain situations on the ball.'”

I like this answer to Glenn because he praises Arnold’s aggressiveness and physicality, but also admits there are some technical points he can improve on to avoid flags in the future.

Offensive coordinator Ben Johnson

On the offensive problems in Week 1:

“I think we were all disappointed. We’ve been together long enough to know it’s the first game and we knew it wasn’t going to be our best performance of the year, but there were still some things that came up that just didn’t fit us – that are typical of us and the way we play. It was more about the way we play than any schemes and stuff like that. So we’ll correct those things and hopefully get better results in the future.”

Johnson spoke honestly about the team’s disappointing performance in Week 1. He also mentioned that their third-down performance (6 of 13) – especially in games with 4 or more attempts remaining – needs to be better.

On the use of weapons with physical or rapid effects:

“We’re fast on the perimeter, we’re fast in the backfield, we have a super athletic tight end that can make plays, and when you combine that with an offensive line that can be dominant and play in and out, it’s a dangerous combination and we can adapt to whatever the defense throws at us. So if they want to go all out and stop the run, we can throw the football very confidently. If they want to play two-high looks and stop our speed down the field, we’re pretty confident we can run the ball against that.”

I think that’s a pretty accurate description of the dilemma teams will face against the Lions this year. The Rams have chosen to play the death-by-run game. We’ll see what the Bucs do this week.

On the challenge of Bucs coach Todd Bowles:

“Today is third down day. If you look at last year, they played almost every known coverage and different variations of it. So I think the scheme in and of itself is extremely challenging and then when they combine the good players that they have with that scheme, I said it last year when we first played them in the regular season and postseason, this is a dangerous team.”

The Bucs may be down a few defenders this week, but don’t forget that they’ve been a top-10 defense for several years under Bowles. Last year they were seventh in points allowed, 13th in 2022, fifth in 2021 and eighth in 2020 when Bowles was the defensive coordinator.

Special teams coordinator Dave Fipp

About Jake Bates’ clutch gene

“I feel like he’s got a little bit of that. The pressure is building and he’s kind of calming down and seems to be coming up big in big situations here, which is obviously an important trait for a field goal kicker, for sure, it’s really one of the most important. But it was a huge kick, I mean, basically it was really a game-winning one.”

The Lions continue to praise Bates’ demeanor, saying he has the mentality needed to be a successful NFL kicker. The fact that he has successfully completed 4 of 4 kicks so far also helps.

It’s worth noting that while Fipp didn’t say it directly, his basic implication was that Bates’ line-drive kickoff was actually a miss.

Why Jack Fox doesn’t do kickoffs:

“I’ve always been of the opinion that the kicker should be the one making the kick. That’s really his skill, that’s what he does. As far as the style of kicking, it’s very similar to a field goal, obviously very different than a punt. But I’ve also always said it doesn’t really matter. We do what’s best for the football team. In years past, Fox just had a bigger leg than the other guys out there, so he put our team in a better situation by making the kick. And now, now with Bates, we obviously have – I mean, he’s got a big leg.”

It sounds like his similar shooting technique combined with Bates’ strong leg will make him the kickoff guy until Fipp gets a reason to change his mind.