In Kelvin Sheppard's first year coaching the Lions, his predecessor Aaron Glenn told him that "the toughness of your defense lies in how your DB's -- specifically your corners -- show up in the run game." Sheppard, a former linebacker who was coaching that position, thought it was sort of a silly notion.
"I was like, 'Oh really? The linebackers better stop the run,'" Sheppard said Friday. "But now you start to look at schematically what offenses are doing, they’re putting the ball on the perimeter and they’re doing it on purpose, cracking support and making your corners tackle. And you see D.J. Reed coming up last week, he looks like a linebacker and it just sets the tone."
Reed took down running back D'Andre Swift in the open field to prevent a big gain on the Bears' first play from scrimmage in the Lions' 52-21 win last week and made another strong tackle on D.J. Moore to shut down a screen. Terrion Arnold set the edge against an offensive lineman in space to funnel Swift directly into the path of Brian Branch, who created Detroit's first takeaway of the season with a thunderous hit.
It was a strong day in run support for Detroit's starting corners, who will need to be even stouter Monday night against Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry and the Ravens.
"If those guys can go in there and put their hat in there," said Sheppard, "why can’t the linebacker, why can’t the safety, why can’t the defensive linemen? We know that, we preach it and these guys practice it."
Glenn's mantra is now echoed by Sheppard and Lions defensive backs coach Deshea Townsend. And it's "the truth," said Arnold.
"If you have a secondary that doesn't tackle, you can kind of measure how tough the team is," he said. "When me and D.J. go out there, and even Amik (Robertson), we pride ourselves on saying, 'Hey, man, it's not going to be us. We're not going to show up on tape as the team that won't put our nose in there.' We don't want to show up as a team that looks soft physically."
As well as Reed and Arnold have tackled to start the season, their coverage has left a lot, at times, to be desired. It marks a stark contrast from training camp when the duo was giving the Lions' top receivers all they could handle. Both of them looked poised to be difference-makers on the outside. Neither one, so far, has lived up to it.
Opposing quarterbacks have picked on Arnold, in particular. He had a great start against the Packers in the season opener before allowing back-to-back explosive plays in the second quarter following a groin injury, including a 17-yard touchdown. Against the Bears, Arnold had a difficult time sticking with fellow 2024 first-round pick Rome Odunze. Through two games, he's allowed 10 completions on 15 targets for 175 yards (most in the NFL among corners) and a passer rating of 128.5, per PFF.
Arnold said Friday he's focused on "growing every day" and playing with more consistency. He nearly came down with his first career interception last week, only for it to be wiped out by a roughing-the-passer penalty on Brian Branch. At the same time, he was bailed out by a drop by Odunze on what would have been a long completion and by a batted pass by Tyleik Williams on fourth down when it looked like Arnold was beaten off the line.
"I don't grade myself based on, how does it look?" Arnold said. "When I sit down there with my coach and analyze the tape and really break it down, put yourself in coverages and think about how you could've won your one-on-one, that's how I grade it."
Reed has allowed seven completions on eight targets for 81 yards and a passer rating of 108.9. The eight-year vet acknowledged Thursday that his performance against the Packers was "definitely not up to my standard" and that he's "focusing more so on coverage" this week than anything else. It has to be better in a game the Lions will likely devote extra defenders to stopping the run and leave Reed and Arnold on islands against the Ravens' receivers.
Asked how he'd evaluate the way they've covered so far, Arnold said, "I would just say it's early."
"I was even talking to him, like, getting used to playing with each other. And then when we go out there and make mistakes, our coach reiterates it, you have to go out there as a DB and make your opponent beat you. In the NFL, it's a lot of shifts, a lot of motions, a lot of stacks, a lot of eye candy just to try to get you off your game," Arnold said. "And when you really break down the tape, a lot of times we were getting beat by alignment or just communication."
It's only two games, which bears repeating. But the Lions have several more dangerous quarterbacks ahead of them, starting Monday night. Both Arnold and Reed said in camp that Detroit's secondary should be one of the best in the NFL. It certainly has the safeties to back that up. The cornerbacks need to do their part, and both of them know it.
"I hold myself to a high standard," said Arnold, "and I know that my teammates hold me to a high standard."