Entering the second year of the Brad Holmes-Dan Campbell regime, you can feel major steps are being made after many lessons were learned in the first year. One of the major changes implemented in the defense is switching from a read-react defense to a more aggressive scheme, which surely fits what Campbell and Aaron Glenn are looking to accomplish.
The Lions have done a great job in bringing players who can generate the thump and thunder to make this change successful. With the majority of the players back from last year to supplement the infusion of draft talent that fits the mindset, the pieces are in place.
For the attack-first mentality to work, the defense needs to be in unison, from the defensive line to the linebackers to the secondary. The Lions retained most of their coaches from last year, which led to productive seasons from unexpected players, specifically defensive line coach Todd Wash and linebackers coach Kelvin Sheppard, who was promoted from outside linebacker coach last year.
In a recent interview with Lions senior writer Tim Twentyman on his podcast, Sheppard mentioned how Wash influenced him in his first season as an NFL coach.
“Without Todd Wash, I would not have had half the success that I did,” he said.
These coaches will be at the forefront of the Lions’ new mentality. Considering their relationship’s strength, they can scheme the best situations for their players to maximize their potential, especially under Glenn’s tutelage.
Earlier, Wash praised the additions of defensive ends Aidan Hutchinson and Josh Paschal, lining up with Sheppard’s observation that the aggressive mentality is a blessing for the linebacker corps.
“As a linebacker, it’s everything you ever wanted. To a react defense, you have to marry everything that’s happening up front. … When they play react, it’s a lot of principles that those 3-4 systems have, where you see bigger inside linebackers, because they’re two-gappish type of players….