GLENDALE, AZ – It was either an act of desperation or an act of God or – more likely – an act of faith, which is saying something when half of Lions Nation is calling for your job because the defense you lead
couldn't stop a stroller on a single-lane sidewalk.
But then Kelvin Sheppard isn't concerned about any of that. His self-belief remains moored, and his belief in his Detroit Lions defense is more anchored than that.
He bristled Thursday, Oct. 8, when it was suggested that his defense wasn't capable of weighing down its side of the teeter-totter. In fact, he was insulted, and whether part performance or part naivete or mostly stubbornness, the Lions' defensive coordinator stood at the podium during his weekly news conference, three days before facing the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, and doubled down on the talent in the locker room.
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"I think that's ultra-disrespectful to my unit to say someone has to carry us," he said, "... come hell or high water."
Eventually, he figured – and hoped – he'd find the configuration that would prove him right. Not that this was about him. He just wanted results, and where some see his near-weekly tinkering in the back end of his defense as proof that the timber isn't there, he's convinced it's a matter of framing it right, so to speak.
No amount of spin could hide what the Lions defense had done – and not done – the first four weeks of the season, and no amount of spin should convince anyone its Sunday's Week 5 performance in the desert rekindled Mike Ditka's '85 Bears.
Or, y'know, even an average defense.
The Cardinals, missing a soon-dealt first-round wideout and featuring a journeyman QB, weren't going to provide that evidence. But they are an NFL team, and they aren't yet a bottom-bottom-feeder. More so, the Lions had made all their offenses faced look Super Bowl-ready (except maybe Aaron Glenn's New York Jets, and even then Glenn and Geno Smith maybe just ran out of time).
Still, five straight three-and-outs forced Sunday by the Lions is notable, even in the context of Arizona's relatively limited quarterback, two missing offensive linemen, and a mid-game trade of a No. 4 overall draft pick who ranks among the bigger busts in recent memory.
And yet, you heard the jokes last week –Marvin Harrison Jr. would use the Lions secondary to make his case against bust status. Truthfully, it wasn't that funny – or particularly preposterous, even for a wideout with five catches on 13 tagets this season – in the context of Sheppard's flailing defense.
Even without some ridiculous Harrison redemption arc – when the Cardinals moved the ball down the field on their first possession, the weight of the collective Honolulu Blue dread darn near tilted the continent toward our peninsula. Every fear was right there.
Then Sheppard's defense took a breath and got to getting where they needed to be on the back end, despite the latest shift in personnel back there. The first defender who took a beat, if you'll forgive the pun, was D.J. Reed, who played his best game of the season at one corner. And Roger McCreary played his best game as a pro on the other side, at least by the numbers.
Six pass breakups?
That'd never happened for him at this level.
"Maybe in the Iron Bowl," said the former Auburn cornerback, referencing his days against Alabama.
Souvenirs, and a starring role, for Keith Abney
McCreary had played mostly nickel back until Sunday. His fellow DB, Keith Abney, hadn't played safety since middle school – yet there he was, starting for the first time in his NFL career, maybe 20 miles from where he played college ball at Arizona State.
April's fifth-round pick had a couple of footballs in his locker after the game. One that he picked off from Brissett, just before halftime. The other was given to him by Dan Campbell as a game ball. He vowed to frame his game jersey, too, and who would blame him?
Aside from the pick, all the rookie did was remind what it looks like when one of the safety spots is manned by a ball hawk, even an undersized one at 5 feet 9 and 187 pounds.
"Leaving here with a bunch of souvenirs," he said, grinning, grateful and amazed that his first start came just down the road from his second home.
Abney may not be the long-term answer at safety – Brian Branch, at least, should be back when the Lions host the Green Bay Packers on Oct. 25. But, boy, it's hard to see him not finding his way to the field in some capacity again.
Sheppard knew that Abney showed potential at safety all the way back in training camp, and he knew that the rookie loved to take notes and studied every position in the defensive backfield. Abney earned a rep as a cerebral player almost as soon as he got to Allen Park.
"Me being smart? Most of the credit goes to coach [DeWayne] Walker at ASU," Abney said. "We were meeting every day and afternoon watching practice clips. He always wanted me to prepare myself like a professional [and told me], when you get [to the NFL], write them safety notes down, you never know."
No, you don't.
And while Abney wasn't the driving force behind the Lions' best defensive effort of the season, or even one of its main principals – McCreary, linebacker Jack Campbell and defensive linemen Alim McNeill, D.J. Wonnum all delivered bigger plays – you noticed him.
Sheppard sure did, and did again in the locker room when the rookie was encircled by reporters.
"That's my dawg!!!" Sheppard yelled as he walked past, "that's my dawg!!"
Desperation?
Stopping the slide toward the bad kind of history
From the outside, sure, it looks like it, and why wouldn't it? Start a safety who hadn't manned the spot since middle school and the doubletakes make sense.
Then Abney got out there and after that first drive, settled in with the rest of the defense. The crew played more quickly and more freely by the possession, and with each stop, more celebratory.
"That's us," said linebacker Derrick Barnes, who felt the presence of the youngsters, "that's who we can be."
Whether they can be this on the weekly is hard to say, and probably not likely when the offensive talent on the other side is better. But this defense doesn't need to be dominant – just competent. That starts with following assignments and following the ball.
Abney can do that. His embattled defensive coordinator took a chance that he could do that. Then again, maybe it wasn't the risk it looked like.
Whatever it was, Sheppard got it right, and his defense stopped – momentarily – its slide toward the wrong kind of history.
Can it get better?
We already know what Sheppard thinks. As for Dan Campbell, he was insistent again that it could.
"We got our hands on some footballs ..." he said, "good to see us challenge some on the back end. The couple of things that we did get hit on? Those are mentals. They can't happen. You can't play that good for that long and all of a sudden, we get dirty eyes and we mess something up and we give up a 30-yarder."
He and Sheppard will keep tinkering and pushing and expressing faith, in each other and in the players in the room. They'll need reinforcements sooner or later. But in the meantime, they found a young ball hawk with a chip on his shoulder – a fifth-rounder? – and now some belief that he belongs.
In a season where the defense was desperate to show a pulse, they did. That's a start.
Contact Shawn Windsor: swindsor@freepress.com. Follow him @shawnwindsor.
Next up: Packers
Matchup: Lions (3-2) vs. Green Bay (3-2).
Kickoff: 4:25 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 25; Ford Field, Detroit.
TV/radio: Fox; WXYT-FM (97.1).
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Lions rookie hadn't played safety since middle school; a leap of faith pays off
