One of the areas where Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard thought his defense played particularly well last week after watching the tape was keeping Packers quarterback Jordan Love in the pocket and not allowing him to make plays with his legs.
“I want to give credit to our guys of not letting this guy out of the pocket,” Sheppard said Thursday. “That’s things that we’ve struggled with in years past. Jordan Love has burned us in years past with his legs. He had one run, I think, for four yards. So, I want to look at the positives in that.”
Detroit will have to good this week too, facing Bears quarterback Caleb Williams, who rushed for 58 yards and a touchdown against the Vikings Monday and extended some big plays in the passing game by getting out of the pocket and buying time with his legs.
“It’s a heightened emphasis if you watched the Monday night game,” Sheppard said Thursday of Williams. “Caleb was outstanding, he extended a lot of drives, he put points on the board, he gave his team an opportunity to win last year via his ability to escape the pocket and run. We’re very aware of that and we’ll have a plan for it.”
Williams passed for 590 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions and a 102.8 rating in two starts against Detroit last season. He rushed for only 44 yards combined in those two contests, both Detroit victories.
Morton confirmed Thursday that rookie wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa will be a much bigger part of the game plan this week after missing most of the practice week due to illness ahead of the Packers game and being limited to some spot red zone work.
“I think his catching ability is big time, I’ve said that before, but he’s smart and he’s tough,” Morton said of his rookie receiver. “He didn’t have a lot of plays in the game, but he came in, that was an unbelievable catch. So, his role will be expanded. He will help us.”
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