Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn likes to open his weekly press conference with positives from the prior game. On Thursday, his defense four days removed from getting ripped apart by the Seahawks, Glenn opened with this:
"There are no positives, really, with the way that we played. The only positive I will say is we got a chance to practice yesterday which was really, really good and we get a chance to play this week."
For the Lions, Sunday's game against the Patriots and third-string rookie QB Bailey Zappe can't come soon enough. Anything to wash the taste of last Sunday out of their mouths. Anything to forget the first four games of the season, over which time they've allowed the most points and most yards in the NFL. Anything to prove that they are better than this.
"We’re tweaking a lot of things and we’re looking at a lot of things. When you play the way that you did play against this team, you do have to take a look at yourself," said Glenn. "You have to take a look at your players, you have to take a look at your coaching staff and make sure that we’re doing the things we have to do to be successful."
The Lions haven't stopped the run, last in the NFL in yards against per carry. They haven't stopped the pass, third to last in passing yards against, partly because they haven't gotten to the quarterback, tied for fourth last in sacks. They haven't gotten off the field, last in third down percentage, and they haven't stiffened up near the end zone, last in red zone percentage. They look undermanned and overwhelmed. Glenn, one of the hottest names in coaching entering this season, is now under fire.
"I feel pressure just by being a coach," he said. "That comes with the job. ... Even though me and Dan (Campbell) are friends, this is a job and I look at it like that. I have to perform just like everybody else has to perform, he has to perform, the players have to perform. When things are not going well, you have to answer to that, and I’m not blind to that fact."
Campbell is in Glenn's corner. He backed his defensive coordinator after last Sunday's 48-45 loss in which the Lions failed to force a punt and he reiterated this week that Glenn gives Detroit its "best hope" to execute its defense and is "the right man for the job." Glenn isn't in danger of losing it, at least not yet.
Nor is he worried about that.
"My track record speaks for itself and I’m going to continue to let that speak," said Glenn. "We’re going to get this thing fixed. We’re going to get this thing moving forward. Our guys are going to respond, our coaches are going to respond and things are going to be alright.”
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As a player and a coach, Glenn has been here before. He said he's used to the heat, especially after spending the first eight seasons of his career with the Jets "in the media capital of the world." He recalled allowing two long touchdowns to receiver Joey Galloway in a game against Seattle -- who else? -- late in the 1998 season before earning his second of three Pro Bowl nods as one of the top corners in the NFL.
In 2016, his first year as defensive backs coach of the Saints, Glenn took over a unit that had allowed the NFL's highest passer rating the season prior. The Saints allowed one of the NFL's lowest passer ratings and led the league in interceptions a year later. Their secondary continued to play well over the next three seasons under Glenn, until he came with Campbell to Detroit.
"I’ve been built and I’ve been hardened to be able to handle things like this," Glenn said.
After the game last Sunday, Glenn went out to eat with his wife. He said he spent the first part of their meal "just bitching about everything" that had happened on the field. Once he got it all out, his wife looked at him and said, "Are you done?"
"I’m like, ‘Yeah," said Glenn. "She said, ‘Well, go be AG. Go be AG. Man, you’re built for this.’ And she’s right."
"And that’s what I’m excited about. Like, this is a great opportunity for me, for my staff, for some of these players who are going to get a chance. That’s what excites me because I know me. I know how I respond to things like this," said Glenn. "And man, I can’t wait for it.”
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