In the Lions’ Week 9 loss to the Vikings, Jahmyr Gibbs totaled 28 yards and no touchdowns. In the Lions’ Week 10 win over the Commanders, Gibbs totaled 172 yards and three touchdowns. But those weren’t the stats that most impressed Lions running backs coach Tashard Choice.
What pleased Choice was that Lions quarterback Jared Goff, who got sacked five times in Week 9, was not sacked at all in Week 10.
Choice said that after Goff was relentlessly pressured in the loss to the Vikings, it was clear that Gibbs’ pass protection had to get better.
“Our first thing is protect the football, then protect the quarterback,” Choice said. “Pass protection is 80 percent just want to. You’ve got to be willing to stick your facemask in there and fight. It’s a three-second fight most of the time. For him, the biggest thing that happened to him was when we came out of the Minnesota game because I was on his ass. Tough, had to be. I was on him. And he responded the right way, and that’s what you want from players.”
Choice said he had Gibbs working on the blocking sled in practice because he needed to see better blocking technique from him.
“As a coach that’s what I’ve got to do,” Choice said. “I’ve got to see what’s his weaknesses, things he’s not doing well, and I’ve got to harp on them and stay on him. And I know they probably get tired of me saying it, but the coaches that get on you the most are the ones that love you the most.”
Choice was Gibbs’ running backs coach at Georgia Tech in 2021, so the two of them have developed the kind of rapport over the years that allows Choice to tell Gibbs some hard truths. And Gibbs showed against the Commanders that he listens.