Detroit Lions: Ben Johnson, Lions OC dishes on camp
Opening Statement: “We’re in a great spot right now, players are working their tails off. We’ve been very aggressive with the installs and as a result, we’ve had a ton of mental errors as we’ve gone, but I’m really pleased with the diligence. They’re working, they’re learning, we’re making a million mistakes, we’re learning from them, we’re really right where we need to be offensively right now. Really pleased with the coaching staff. They’re teaching the concepts, the techniques better than ever before, so it’s been exciting the first week, week and a half that we’ve been together and really looking forward to training camp really taking off here.”
On his confidence level in Lions QB Jared Goff and if he has seen anything different this offseason compared to last season with a new contract: “No. He’s been Steady Eddie ever since he’s gotten here. There’s not been much to faze him positively or negatively. He’s kind of been the same guy every time he’s come into the building. So, the consistency that (Lions Head) Coach (Dan Campbell) talks about to the players he really exemplifies, so that’s a credit to him. I’m sure it was a sigh of relief once the contract came through for him, but regardless, he came out in springtime and was really looking to hone in on the things that we identified that he could get better at and improve, and I think we’ve seen improvement in the spring and so far in camp in that regard and we’ll continue to push him along. But it’s been really fun to see him grow as a leader as well. I think our guys understand what’s at hand here this season, and they’re working hard to get this thing right.”
On if Lions WR Jameson Williams has stepped into his own this training camp: “Yeah, we started feeling it towards the end of last year and he’s taken that to another level in the springtime and so far here in training camp. He prides himself on bringing some juice to the offense and we certainly feel it out there both in the passing game, making explosive plays, but he also wants to be a dynamic blocker as well, which we really value. Things have started to slow down mentally for him. We’ve locked him into a couple spots and as a result, his route tree has kind of grown, it’s developed and in his mind, there’s nothing he can’t do and so far, we really haven’t seen that either, I haven’t seen anything that he can’t do so it’s been fun.”
On how much skillset within the offense factors into the evaluation process of the third tight end spot: “Yeah, listen it’s the best room that I’ve been around in 13 years now from top to bottom, one to six. These guys, they’ve all played ball in this League, and you can tell it with their approach and really how they block, how they run routes out on the field, it’s been very impressive. So, that room, the competition is lights out right now. In terms of the third spot, I think (Lions Head) Coach (Dan) Campbell, myself, (Lions Executive Vice President and General Manager) Brad (Holmes), we all – that spot needs to be able to wear a ton of hats because you just don’t know. You got (Lions TE Sam) LaPorta with his skillset, you got (Lions TE Brock) Wright with his skillset, and that third spot needs to be smart enough to fill in either spot if need be, and so the versatility is at a premium. (Lions Special Teams Coordinator Dave) Fipp certainly needs help there on special teams and so that plays a part also, but we need a smart player that can wear multiple hats. It’s a bonus if we can get some backfield work, if he can do some fullback-type jobs, or if he can split out wide, the more you can do increases your value right there.”
On his level of comfort with the depth behind the offensive line starters: “Yeah, I feel really good about that first group. It’s a veteran group that they know what they’re doing. They’re still gelling as (Lions OL) Graham (Glasgow) moved to a different side and (Lions OL Kevin) Zeitler got in there. Behind them, we’re still working through, there’s a lot of spots open. That swing tackle spot, you got (Lions T Dan Skipper) Skip, you’ve got (Lions OL Colby) Sorsdal and you got (Lions OL Connor) Galvin. Galvin’s doing a really nice job as well and so I think that battle will continue to heat up. We’ve only had pads on for two days and the longer we have with those pads on, the more I think gives them an opportunity to differentiate themselves. Interior-wise, it’s a shame that we lost (Lions OL Netane) Muti because he was really coming on, his physicality showed up earlier this week so it’s a great opportunity here for (Lions OL Michael) Niese. We’ve got some young guys on the inside as well between these undrafted rookies. I think they all are going tp, over the course of preseason, show that they are worthy of, at a minimum, practice squad spots in this League. (Lions C) Kingsley (Eguakun)’s a guy that stands out. He’s doing a great job at center. We load our guys down, our center’s down, so he’s able to make the calls. He’s also cross-training at guard, he’s doing a really nice job. We know (Lions OL Kayode Awosika) Yode’s coming back and he’s getting back in the swing of things for us. So, we’ve got a lot of question marks there right now and the longer we go with the pads on, I think some clarity will start to form.”
On if there are any unique challenges that come with the continuity of the offense: “I think there’s more benefits than there are challenges. Like I said, this staff – I’m shocked that the staff is put together almost exactly the same as it was a year ago. These guys were at the next level of coaching. (Lions Assistant Head Coach/Running Backs Coach) Scottie Montgomery and (Lions Tight End Coach) Steve Heiden, they’re not having to learn, ‘Hey, what are you,’ no, no, no. They’re taking it and running with it. So, I think from a coaching perspective, we’re better than we’ve ever been, and then for the players, it’s a balance between training the young guys and having them understand the fundamentals, the big picture of what we’re trying to do, and yet still challenge the veteran players. (Lions QB) Jared Goff needs to be challenged. (Lions WR Amon-Ra) St. Brown needs to be challenged, because if they just come into the building every single day and they hear the same thing that they heard two years ago, then that gets stale very quickly. So we’ve tried to challenge them while still keeping a good balance of what our identity is to where these young guys can come along and I think that’s where you see a lot of mistakes popping up because some of the young guys are still swimming a little bit, and as the installs start to thin out, I think their play speed is going to pick up and they’ll develop a little bit of more confidence.”
On what he has seen from the run game after two days in pads and what his expectations are for them: “Yeah, shoot I think our defensive front’s going to be pretty darn good is what I think. It’s probably, after two days, we’ve had more runs stuffed than what we have had in the past few training camps. So, we’re going to continue to push the limit. When we look at it from the offensive perspective, we’re very close to generating some big ones, but we haven’t put it together yet, that’s the easy thing to say. It’s going to take a little but more time on task for us to make sure that we’re all on the same page. Our combinations haven’t been quite right. We’ve had some run-through linebackers at times, things of that nature, where it’s full speed now, we need to ricochet, we need to come off of things and we’re just not 100 percent clicking which is, I think, not uncommon at this stage of camp.”
On if there are any defensive standouts from his perspective: “Oh shoot, I mean I think it’s across the board to be completely honest with you. Upfront, (Lions DL) Aidan (Hutchinson) and (Lions DL) Alim (McNeill) as you would think. Shoot, we tried to double-team Alim the other day, we could barely move him off the ball. He’s got a low center of gravity and did a really nice job on us. The second level, those guys are all coming back, I mean between (Lions LB Alex) Anzalone – Anzalone’s, you know, he’s seeing our MIKE point this that and the other, and he kind of knows what’s going on at this point, so we’re going to have to start getting some dummy calls on him and keep him honest. But honestly, the biggest adjustment has been these corners. They’re coming up, they’re pressing us, they’re challenging us, and we need that type of work. The more one-on-ones we can get in practice with the pads on are going to be helpful for our guys releasing versus press, but these guys are fearless, they have a swagger, and some mistakes that they were making early in camp, we got them on a few deep balls before the pads got on, they’ve cleaned that stuff up, so you see improvement every day from the backend.”
On how many of Lions QB Hendon Hooker’s inconsistencies are to be expected from his time off and where he needs to go for him to feel comfortable with him at the number two spot: “Yeah, listen we’ve taken the approach, we’re coaching him hard, which means we’re throwing a lot on him and when he makes a mistake, we’re letting him know about it and that’s what we believe in. That’s what we believe in because if he can handle that, then once he gets to these preseason games, it’s going to be a sinch for him. He’s really going to click, and I really think he’s going to flourish because of that so he’s feeling it, he felt it a lot in the springtime. I think at this point now, he’s got a comfort level. Those six weeks off during the summer, all of the young guys, but especially Hendon, I mean you can tell he really worked at his craft, he worked on calling the plays, getting in and out of the huddle, the procedure of it because once he got that part right, now we can see his talent really coming to life. He’s been a lot more accurate here in training camp, you’ve seen him on the move a little bit more. I think once we get into games, we’ll see his legs really be a benefit for us. So, I’m pleased with the growth he had from the springtime here to camp and we’ll continue to see how far we can push him here over the next few weeks.”
On if there is a particular blueprint that he looks for in the third wide receiver spot: “Yeah, we’ve been pretty consistent as a staff really since we knew that (Broncos WR) Josh Reynolds was leaving us and that has been, we need smart, we need reliable, OK? And if we had to be picky, we want a little bit of length, just so it rounds out those three guys that we’re anticipating entering the season with. So, with that being said, we’re charting every single day who’s the most reliable, mental errors, who’s catching the ball, who’s dropping the ball. These guys see it, they get the feedback every single day, they know what’s going on, they know they’re in the midst of the battle right now. We’ve got a number of guys competing for that spot. (Lions WR Daurice Fountain) Reece has certainly come on so far in training camp, his physicality, his explosiveness has shown up. (Lions WR) Antoine Green is still pushing all along here. We see growth from the springtime, we just need to see the consistency that we’ve been hoping for from him. (Lions WR Donovan Peoples-Jones) DPJ has made some big plays for us, he had a big block just the other day in practice that we took note of, and we know what (Lions WR) Kalif Raymond is. He’s not to be overlooked either because he’s going to be a big part of our offense as well. The competition is healthy, those are a few names, but everyone is in it at this point.”
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