This week’s Detroit Lions coordinator recap focuses a little more on recapping the loss to the Los Angeles Rams rather than a look forward to the Pittsburgh Steelers. However, it features a lot of interesting topics, including Jameson Williams’ explosion in the past six games, some important self-scout on defense, and a full-throated endorsement of kicker Jake Bates despite some recent struggles.
Here are my six biggest takeaways:
Offensive coordinator John Morton
Run game struggles start up front
The Lions running game has been explosive
at times, completely neutralized at others. Coming off one of their toughest performances against against the Rams (70 rushing yards, 3.5 YPC), Morton was asked about why the running game has struggled this year more than they historically have. His answer was relatively simple: they need to be better up front.
“Bottom line, it’s just coming off the ball and using the right technique and being disciplined,” Morton said. “That’s the biggest thing. So, I mean, we’ve got the backs and we’re going to get going. Looking forward to this challenge, because historically it’s been tough to run the ball on Pittsburgh, but we feel good this week going into it.”
Jameson Williams’ rise
In Williams’ last six games, he’s produced 31 catches for 581 yards and four touchdowns. Only four other receivers (Puka Nacua, Trey McBride, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and Nico Collins) have more yards than Williams over that span. Morton says part of the reason Williams’ production has exploded was the loss of tight end Sam LaPorta, who has missed the last five games. But he also said they are putting more on his plate every week, and he’s rising to the challenge—while also getting some favorable looks from the defense.
“There were certain things he was doing in OTAs and training camp that weren’t going our way in the beginning of the season, now we’re kind of getting those looks,” Morton said. “I’m giving him a little bit more every week, that way we can change it up, that way so they’re not just saying, ‘Oh, he’s just doing this and that.’”
Defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard
Note: We wrote a solo story on Sheppard’s odd response to criticism of Detroit’s run defense vs. Rams here.
Pass game troubles, more changes coming
While Sheppard may be denying struggles in the run game, he is more than aware of the problems with the team’s pass defense. He took responsibility for the unit’s struggles over the past month, noting that no good coach is going to blame his players. If the players aren’t playing well, it’s on the coaching staff to find what they do well and formulate the scheme around that. So with that in mind, Sheppard promised more changes in personnel and strategy are coming.
“Can’t be hard-headed and say, ‘We have a system. This is what we’re going to do. You either do it or you’re not playing.’ No, that’s B.S. in my opinion, that’s not coaching,” Sheppard said. “Coaching is identifying what your players do well and regardless of what’s your system, it’s players over scheme.”
Later adding, “So, there will be some changes, whether that’s schematically, whether that’s personnel-based and these guys are all in on it.”
Offenses reading their defense
Sheppard made an interesting comment when asked about the freedom he gives his linebacker crew. He said he’s spent some extra time this week paying close attention to how offenses react to their defense’s looks, and he wants to give the linebacking corps even more freedom to remain unpredictable.
“What I’ve identified is, that’s what offenses are doing to us lately: they’re just breaking the huddle, I believe with a run-pass option, depending on the shell of our defense,” Sheppard said. “I just went back and just watched it. Why is this happening? Where are they identifying? What are they seeing from us when I’m single-high versus when I’m two-high and then what are the types of plays we’ve seen? And then a lot of it starts to get kind of clumped into those explosive plays that we just mentioned here. So, just overall, giving those guys flexibility. Ultimate trust and confidence.”
Special teams coordinator Dave Fipp
A strong, unwavering defense of Jake Bates
Lions kicker Jake Bates isn’t have a great second season. After making 89.7 percent of his field goals last year, Bates is averaging just a 77.8 percent accuracy rate in 2025. As a team, Detroit’s field goal percentage ranks 26th in the NFL.
Yet Fipp couldn’t have been more clear that the Lions are firmly in Bates’ corner. Throughout a long-winded answer about Bates, Fipp called him “a very, very good player,” said, “I totally believe in him,” and even said he’s never witnessed a more accurate kicker when combining game and practice kicks.
“A lot of my faith is based on the fact that I’ve seen him kick a million kicks and we’ve charted a lot of them, so we have hundreds of kicks charted now on him. And he’s hitting field goals at a higher percentage than any kicker that I’ve ever had overall. So really, it starts and kind of stops right there for me,” Fipp said.
Fipp said if the Lions were to cut him, “there would be a bunch of teams claiming him right away.”
So if you thought the Lions were down on Bates at all this year, think again.
Near disaster on double punt returners
Last week against the Rams, for the first time this year, the Lions had two punt returners in on the same play: Kalif Raymond and Tom Kennedy. On the play, the two bumped into each other, but Kennedy came down with it and returned it for 8 yards.
Fipp said that the two had trouble communicating because of the noise, but ultimately said that it was Raymond who made the mistake. Kennedy was supposed to cover the left side of the field and Raymond was supposed to man the right. The ball landed a few yards wide of the left hashmark, making it clearly Kennedy’s ball to catch.
As for the strategy, Fipp noted that it allows the returners to cover more ground regardless of where the ball is kicked. It also gives them some options in terms of trick plays.
“There’s a million other things you could do, you could run a throwback, you could hand it off, you could fake a reverse, you could run a reverse. You could have one guy block, and the other guy catch it. So, a lot of different stuff,” Fipp said.
