ALLEN PARK — Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard learned a lot from Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson during his time as the Lions’ offensive coordinator.
Sitting in Johnson’s office, Sheppard — then the linebackers coach for Detroit — would have his understanding of higher-level offenses shaped by one of the best minds in the NFL.
It led to a simple answer when asked by reporters ahead of Sunday’s matchup with the Bears what Johnson’s biggest strength as a play caller is.
“Everything. Next question.”
The Lions have plenty of respect for their recent staff member, so they believe it’s important not to overcomplicate this week and avoid the traps that they’ve watched countless teams falter against in recent years.
“I told the guys ‘It’s going to be training camp practice, guys, it’s training camp,’” Sheppard said during a fiery press conference on Thursday. “Don’t go chasing ghosts, don’t go worrying about if he brings in eligible and he’s at receiver.
“Listen, we all understand and respect Ben Johnson as a person, more importantly, but also as a play caller. That’s why he got afforded opportunity he’s in and we all understand this. But I clearly want to make this about the players. They’re the ones going to play, Ben will tell you the same thing. They’re the ones going to play in executing all these things we’re drawing up”
Even though the sample size of just one week of the Bears offense under Johnson and offensive coordinator Declan Doyle isn’t much to base a game plan off of, the similarity to the Lions is apparent to Sheppard on tape.
And he even pointed to the Bears defense reflecting Detroit’s to some extent, now run by Dennis Allen, someone Sheppard has known for a while and came from the same coaching tree as coach Dan Campbell and former Lions DC Aaron Glenn.
“We’re going in with a tight-wound plan where these guys understand we have adjustments,” Sheppard said. “We have certain things we’re going to do and it’s about us and understanding that stuff and making sure as long as we go out and execute...(we can) play a dominant brand of football like I believe we’re capable of doing as a defense.”
The Lions defense will certainly have their hands full just a week removed from struggling to contain Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers for large portions of their season-opening loss.
Led by quarterback Caleb Williams, who flashed his dual-threat ability in Week 1, a dynamic group of receivers — featuring DJ Moore and Rome Odunze — and a familiar running back in D’Andre Swift, there’s plenty of challenges for Sheppard’s unit.
“Highly talented all over the place. My guy Swift, that’s my guy. Make no mistakes about it, for 60 minutes Sunday he won’t be, but that is my guy, man. I have the utmost respect for these players,” Sheppard said. “I mean these are real guys in this league across the board. He’s implementing things on the O-line to help them and that showed up. So we know the task at hand. We’re going to have a tight-wound plan and we’re going to play Detroit-brand 2025 defensive football, guys.”
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