If Only the Lions’ Defense Were as Defensive as Their DC Was with a Reporter

Detroit's defense caught a break on Thursday night. The Cowboys' loss gave everyone something else to talk about. It did not last long, because Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard made sure his unit stayed in the headlines.

The backdrop is ugly. Rich noted the Lions gave up the most yards in the sport over the first four weeks, and Mike Tirico pointed out during the loss to Carolina that the total was even worse than the winless Lions team's through four games. Sheppard's job status has been put in front of Dan Campbell multiple times, and Campbell has essentially said no thanks, not yet.

Then came the press conference everyone is talking about. Asked how to make the blitz more effective, Sheppard repeated himself. "Those calls were the right calls. Those calls were the right calls. And I leave it at that." Asked about Bryce Young going eight-for-nine against the blitz, he said, "Those are private conversations that we have that I'm going to keep in-house."

The real flashpoint came when a reporter raised the perception that Detroit's offense has to carry the team. "That's the perception from who?" Sheppard asked. Then he went further. "I can care less about perceptions. I can care less about the talk. It's all poison. And I mean it." He said the praise is "the big poison now," and called the idea that anyone has to carry his group "ultra disrespectful to my unit." His closing promise: "We're going to do our one-third here. Hell or high water. Point-blank period."

The crew saw it as on brand for a Campbell staff that is all about puffing the chest out, grit and belief. Sheppard did say something has to change in another sound bite. Still, the poison line drew some pushback in the studio. "Is this the Rich Poison Show?" one voice asked, comparing it to Nick Saban's famous rat poison warning.

Where the conversation landed was the stat line. A defensive coordinator should take offense at the idea that the offense carries the team, but the emotions bubbling over do not change the math. Detroit has scored 31, 31, 31 and 26. The defense has allowed 30, 41, 24 and 32. "They should be three and one at the worst," was the response in the studio, with the Lions sitting at 2-2 instead.

The comparison to Dallas came up quickly. The same way the Cowboys have a championship offense waiting on its defense, the Lions have Jared Goff, Jahmyr Gibbs, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams, described as "kind of like the Pickens of this equation."

That makes Sunday in Arizona a big one. The Cardinals have weapons galore and scored 54 points over the last two weeks. Win it, and Detroit goes into the bye at 3-2 with Green Bay and Minnesota coming to town. This is a team that was picked to win the division. The defense, as Rich put it, "has to pull its one-third in a way that they have yet to. That's a fact."