It’s preseason, sure, and the Detroit Lions weren’t exactly spilling all their secrets against the Cincinnati Bengals, but you better believe teams around the league, including the Lions themselves, are looking for every edge. Their defensive coordinator, Kelvin Sheppard, is deep into his second year, and his defense is evolving, especially with more nickel formations. The big question, though, is how do you get stout against the run when you’re swapping a base front-seven guy for an extra defensive back? That’s the challenge, and it turns out our own Mike Macdonald and the Seahawks have been lighting the way.
Nickel Is The Name Of The Game, But Run D Can’t Take A Backseat
The whole darn league is playing more nickel these days, and Vic Fangio, the Eagles’ respected DC, laid out why: the fullback is basically gone, replaced by a third wideout or a receiving tight end who’s stretching the field. It makes sense, right? You gotta match personnel. But here’s the rub: pulling a run-stuffing defender for a DB can make your run defense soft. Sheppard knows this cold. He wasn’t messing around at the start of training camp, proclaiming, “We will get back to playing elite run defense here.” Every team wants that, especially when the stakes are high, but how do you actually make it happen without sacrificing coverage?
Mike Mac’s Masterclass: How The Emerald City Leads The Way
This is where our Head Coach Mike Macdonald comes in, because he’s practically written the textbook on this. He explained his defensive philosophy, saying he’d “draw up my front against duo and build and then draw in how they’re going to block it against the front that I’m going to be in the most. And now I want to take blocks that they’re going to have and I want to move them.” That’s the genius right there! It’s all about interior defensive line movement, forcing offensive linemen into bad angles, creating 2-for-1 situations, and getting a free defender to the ball. And guess who’s the poster child for this? Our own Nick Emmanwori. He’s a special player, that guy. Macdonald uses that interior movement, yes, but he also trusts Emmanwori, his extra defensive back in nickel, to flat-out penetrate the B-gap. It changes the picture for the offense after they’ve already tried to identify the front. Sheppard even joked at the NFL Combine, “It’s funny because I keep hearing about this Seattle…” Yeah, Kelvin, because when it comes to getting aggressive in nickel while still stopping the run, the Emerald City has figured it out.
The Lions have more preseason games on the schedule, and you can bet fans will be watching closely to see if they can start implementing this kind of tactical genius. Can they find their own Emmanwori, or develop their defensive line movement to the level our guys run it? That’s the challenge for them, and the blueprint is right here in Seattle.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Pride of Detroit.
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