ALLEN PARK -- “Animal. An animal!”
That’s how animated running backs coach Tashard Choice was when describing David Montgomery’s work in pass protection. The Detroit Lions assistant met with reporters Friday, outlining the principles he drills into his backfield when they’re not carrying the ball.
At the top of that list: keeping quarterback Jared Goff upright when their number is called in pass protection.
“I love how you run, but when they put their face on somebody, that’s everything. Because -- protect the quarterback,” Choice said. “I’ve got laws of the jungle. The first one is protecting the football. The disciple is protecting the quarterback. JG is everything to us. How you show respect as a running back -- you get so much praise for running the football. When you block, put your face on people, and you do it over and over again, it gets me riled up. I may get more excited about that than them scoring a touchdown because that’s the selflessness.
“When you talk about receivers blocking down the football field, that’s how it goes. When you do stuff away from the football to make big plays, that’s what football is all about. Especially when guys are really good, who are detailed and really good at their position, you want them to get better at other aspects of the game to help the team. And so how he blocks, his attention to detail -- when he doesn’t do it right, I’m on him about those things. He and Jah both. I can show you clips of Jah putting his facemask on people. That makes me really, really excited. But then I still tell them they’re sorry as hell.”
While that last jab was said jokingly, it reflects the kind of sharp, constructive criticism driving the Lions’ complementary brand of football -- a phrase often echoed by coaches during their current four-game win streak.
After his six-year NFL career ended in 2013, Choice began coaching in 2016 as an intern with the Dallas Cowboys. He later coached running backs at North Texas, Georgia Tech, and Texas before returning to the NFL this offseason to join Dan Campbell’s staff in Detroit.
Over time, Choice has developed a set of core principles for his position group -- rules he’s brought to the Lions’ practice field and film room.
“So the first thing -- protect the football, protect the quarterback, run with physicality, run with second or third efforts, catch the football, run the fine routes, and score touchdowns,” Choice said. “I came up with that when I first started getting into coaching because I looked at the running back position and how you can positively affect the football game and be a good teammate. And ‘score touchdowns’ is last. So the thing that most running backs care about -- scoring -- I put that last. The thing we’re going to do is make sure we protect the football and protect the quarterback, and we’re going to run physical, and we’re going to break tackles.
“Those are the things I try to make sure the guys understand -- that’s what we want to represent. When you look at the running backs, that’s what we want to see. That’s what I want teams to see. So that’s one of the biggest things that I’ve tried to imprint on those guys.”
So far, his message is taking hold. The Lions remain one of the league’s top rushing attacks, and their backs are a key reason Goff ranks among the least-sacked quarterbacks in the NFL (five).
Through five games, Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs have combined for 639 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns -- production that perfectly reflects the toughness and discipline Choice demands.
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