Dan Campbell’s aggressiveness with the Lions’ offense is starting to change how defensive coaches think about football
How do you defend this?
Since Dan Campbell became the Detroit Lions’ coach, there’s been a large shift in how the team’s offense plays. In fact, there’s been a large shift in how everyone’s offense plays football, and it largely comes from Campbell. We’re talking about the aggressive nature in which plays are called. The Lions are not scared to try things on third-and-long, and they’re definitely not afraid to try things on fourth down.
That aggressiveness has taken over the NFL. You’re starting to see a lot more teams attempt the latter. Everyone wants to go for it on fourth down now, and while they’re not exactly doing it the way the Lions do, it’s still happening, and it’s changing how defensive coaches think about football.
Not long ago, if a defense got into a situation where it was third-and-7, it knew what it could do. The defense could send the house and dial up a NASCAR package, or it could put safeties over the top because it knew a throw was coming. What do the Lions do? They don’t throw it. They instead run the ball, and maybe they get that first down, but if they don’t, they definitely get four or five yards and turn it into a fourth-and-short, let’s say fourth-and-3.
If the Lions are anywhere near the middle of the field, they’re going on that fourth-and-3, and they’ll hit you with a run or a pass there.
Listening to The Athletic Football show this week, they spoke with defensive coaches, and that very scenario is something everyone is trying to figure out. How do you defend that? We’re not necessarily talking about plays themselves; it’s that aggressiveness.
Put yourself in the shoes of a defensive coach going up against the Lions. It’s third-and-7, and conventional football wisdom tells you they will pass to make up yards and try to reset the downs, but this is Detroit.
It has Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery. It’ll run to set up a fourth-and-short. So, let’s gear up for the run. Well, now that you’ve geared up for the run, you’ve left your queen undefended, so to speak. Now the Lions can go for that pass. OK, so we’ll defend the pass. Well, now the Lions can go for the run. Now, you’ve gone cross-eyed.
That’s the perfect example of how the Lions’ offense and aggressiveness have changed defensive football. You have to throw conventionality out with this team because there’s nothing conventional about it. Other teams are seeing that and want to try it. The Eagles have become that now that they know the Tush Push is unstoppable. So, they’re a four-down team every time. The Bears are likely to try to become this type of offense, too. That’s why Week 2 will be interesting to see how Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard responds to that.
This is a big year for the Lions’ offense, and it will be fun to see how the rest of the NFL responds to what it does. Everyone thinks that with Johnson leaving, the intrinsic nature of this offense goes with him, but that’s all Campbell, something even Johnson would tell you.
From what I’ve seen this summer, the Lions still have plenty up their sleeves on offense.
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