Pride of Detroit
A collection of the best quotes from the Detroit Lions coordinators in Week 16 of the 2024 season.
Let’s take a look at the seven best Detroit Lions coordinator quotes from this week as they put the loss to the Bills behind them and look forward to their Week 16 matchup against the Chicago Bears.
Note: We wrote a separate article on Ben Johnson talking about his aspirations to be a head coach. You can read the full quotes here.
On his assessment of the offensive line:
“It’s up and down, it hasn’t been consistent throughout the year. We’ve had glimpses of being a dominant unit and then there are other times, like last week, that we just weren’t ourselves. I will say, in regards to last game, the protection was—for throwing it 59 times—was pretty good. I know (Lions QB) Jared [Goff] had some pressure and he got hit a little bit, but when you drop back and you don’t move the pocket as much as we did in that game, we felt like our guys really answered the bell in that regard. It’s not necessarily always rushing statistics, it’s not always sacks, it’s looking at everybody individually and we’ve had some pretty consistent performances across the board. It’s just collectively, it hasn’t come together for an entire 60 minutes in a while.”
I thought this was a very honest (and very true) assessment of the offensive line. We’ve long praised the unit for potentially being the best in football, but they haven’t really played like it lately, and that’s highlighted most by their recent rushing struggles:
On Jermar Jefferson:
“He is a guy that has matured so much from the moment he got in the building, and he’s taken some lumps and been cut and brought back and this, that and the other. He’s really deserving of a chance here this week to show what he’s made out of. He’s almost like a silent assassin, he goes about his business, he’s coming in, he’s working, don’t even hear a peep from him in the unit meetings, but you know when you’re watching him on scout team and how he’s going about his job, he’s taking it very seriously, he’s very professional and I’m looking forward to him getting a chance this week.”
Jefferson has gotten a significant amount of hype from the coaching staff this week, and it’s clear from their language that he’s getting the call up from the practice squad this week with David Montgomery down. It’s not clear if he’ll have an offensive role with Jahmyr Gibbs, Craig Reynolds, and Sione Vaki ahead of him, but coaches seem pleased with his development since Detroit drafted him in 2021.
On the in-game frustration during a game like the Bills game:
“That’s a damn good player, MVP-type player that we went against. One of the best offenses in the league and we know that...
