5-questions for Ravens-Lions: despite offseason losses, Detroit’s mentality remains the same

With the Ravens hosting the Lions on Monday Night Football this week, Baltimore Beatdown asked Pride of Detroit what to expect from Dan Campbell’s squad. Here are their answers, courtesy of Senior Editor Ryan Matthews. Also, check out our answers to their questions about the Ravens here!

1. The Lions’ offseason was marked by significant departures from their coaching staff and starting lineup on both sides of the ball. Dan Campbell has prioritized building a strong culture that seems designed to withstand adversity, but Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn were two of the best coordinators in the NFL. Before getting into the schematic and personnel differences from previous squads, what is the team’s mentality after so much turnover this offseason?

“Week 2 went a long way toward reinvigorating the belief and trust in this football team from the perspective of fans, but it’s hard to imagine the players or coaching staff were ever in doubt of that. Accountability is a foundational pillar Dan Campbell put in place when he became head coach in 2021. It’s been about counting on the guy lined up next to you to do their job, and that guy trusting you to do what’s expected of you as well, that’s where it all starts. A byproduct of accountability is trust, and this team–ownership, the front office, the players–they trust Dan Campbell.

And they trusted him when he chose to bring back John Morton, Detroit’s offensive assistant in 2022, to be the team’s offensive coordinator. Morton was integral in putting together the offensive system that since blazed its way to the top of the league, and after ironing out some of the communication errors that plagued them in their season opener against the Green Bay Packers, it looks like the offense is back to its old ways after hanging 52 on the Chicago Bears.

As for the other notable vacancy at defensive coordinator, the Lions hired from within, promoting long-time positional coach Kelvin Sheppard to be in charge of the defense. He spent years learning from his mentor Aaron Glenn, and it seemed like Sheppard taking over for Glenn as the team’s defensive coordinator had been the plan all along. Here’s Glenn from last December:

“He’s been there from the beginning, and he knows exactly how I think—exactly. And that’s a guy that I’ve been actually mentoring to be in the DC role at some point,” Glenn said. “I think he’s damn near close, if not there, to be ready to do that. He’s a damn good coach, he’s fiery. Everything that you need as a linebacker coach, he’s that, and there are certain coaches on the staff that I think have to be bulldogs, and he’s one of the those coaches at that position.”

So while there has been turnover, it’s marked by familiarity from people they’ve trusted in years prior. Their mentality remains focused on the ultimate goal of winning a Super Bowl for the first time in their franchise’s history.”

2. **The Lions replaced...