Dave Fipp can't get Jameson Williams out of his ear -- and the Lions special teams coordinator loves him for it. It started two weeks ago on the sidelines in Indy when Fipp turned to Amon-Ra St. Brown to return punts after an injury to Kalif Raymond.
"I've been asking him ever since," Williams said Monday with a smile. "I went up to him that game because I saw St. Brown about to go back there -- and me and Fipp joke around a lot, we real close, got a real good relationship -- so I went up to him playing like, 'What’s going on, why am I not back there?'"
Williams isn't joking, though. With Raymond on injured reserve and the Lions still searching for a primary punt returner in the interim, Williams caught a couple punts in practice this week ahead of Thursday night's game against the Packers. His speed makes him a home-run threat whenever the ball's in his hands.
Fipp said Monday that he "could definitely see" Williams getting a shot as a returner. Williams didn't return punts in college, but housed two kickoffs his lone season at Alabama.
"I would say, (in his) development, he’s come a long way," said Fipp. "When he first came in here, the catching ability was -- like a lot of guys, he played wideout and it needed some work, I’ll just say it that way. But he’s gotten much better. And then, if you have a player like that and you want to play him back there, there’s things you can do to help him out."
When Fipp was special teams coordinator of the Eagles, he deployed Jalen Reagor as a punt returner despite the receiver's shaky hands by double-teaming both gunners to "at least get him started or keep him out of harm’s way." That way, even if Reagor bobbled the ball or fumbled it, he'd have time to "pick it back up and recover it at worst-case scenario," said Fipp.
"There’s ways you can still put the ball in an explosive player’s hands," he said.
Williams, a former track-and-field star, is one of the most explosive players in the NFL. Asked what appeals to him about returning punts, he said, "Just the ability to make a play, go back there and get good field position, maybe even return it."
After St. Brown got the call against the Colts following Raymond's ankle injury, the Lions turned to Maurice Alexander in their win over the Bears last week. But Alexander was waived a few days later to make room on the roster for a flurry of defensive additions, leaving the return man for Thursday in question. That has made Fipp a popular man with a couple 'Bama boys.
"There’s two guys on this team that will beg to be back there all the time, and I respect the heck out of them for it. It’s Terrion Arnold and Jamo," said Fipp. "They want to go back there and touch the ball, and I love it. It doesn’t mean they’re going to get that (opportunity), but I love the fact that they want to do it because there are some other players that probably are hoping that their number’s not called. It's just the reality of it."
In Philly, Fipp said DeSean Jackson and Darren Spoles were two players who always wanted to return punts because "they wanted to make a difference in the game." Williams looks at it the same way. While special teams might not be as glamorous as offense -- or defense, for that matter -- "it's still football," said Williams.
"Game-changers are still game-changers on special teams," he said. "People tend to shy away from that, but in the league it’s real serious. In college I feel like people don’t really take it that serious, but in the league, that’s a real position. You got the ability to change the game on special teams, no matter if it’s kickoff, punt, punt return, kick return, field goal, all that, field goal block.
"Those are plays where the game could be made, so you can put somebody with special ability at any position and make a play."