Detroit Lions Culture Transformation Turns into On-Field Performance

“Culture” is a word that gets thrown around pretty flippantly in NFL circles. Not the idea of “culture,” of course not. Every team strives to have a cohesive locker room full of players sharing the same mindset, abiding by the same code. While most coaches emphasize it to the media and toss it around like the Word of the Day at opening pressers, not every team has that clearly defined, deeply resonating sense of camaraderie that brings a group of 53 men together.

The Detroit Lions, conversely, are defined by their culture. They are doing things their way, and they are off to the franchise’s best start in the DVOA era because of it. 

The second Dan Campbell took the stage for his opening presser, who could have expected change had already arrived? The last head coach, Matt Patricia, tried to bring a retread of a pre-existing team culture to Detroit. He had pending free agents popping champagne in the locker room on their way out the door in the last week of his first season. The Lions have been so historically toxic that they forced their only two pre-merger Hall of Fame players – Barry Sanders and Calvin Johnson – to retire early. The self-described “meathead” popping out of his suit talking about “biting kneecaps” felt like at best a stopgap and at worst … a bit of a joke.

It took about a season and a half to really get the ball rolling, but any doubts from Campbell’s presser have been dispelled. Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes put together a team that’s started the 2023 season 4-1 and won 12 of its last 15 games. Their historic start in DVOA isn’t fueled by overperformance in any one area. This is an all-around dominant team: fourth in offensive passing, fifth in offensive rushing, eighth in defensive passing, and fourth in defensive rushing. 

It’s every bit of a team effort as that holistic DVOA score may suggest. Detroit specifically excels at self-scouting, knowing the kinds of players they have and putting them in the best possible position to succeed. 

The easiest place to see the effect is at quarterback. Jared Goff came to Detroit as a known quantity: a player who could thrive in the perfect situation but was extremely limited when creating out of structure. New England laid out the blueprint during Super Bowl LIII, and it seemed like Goff’s ceiling was maxed out. 

Goff’s arrival in Detroit coincided with a full-scale Lions rebuild. Not sure at the time if Goff was the long-term option or just a stopgap, Holmes built an offense that would both assist Goff in the short term and help any potential incoming quarterback. They put protection around Goff, drafting Penei Sewell sixth overall and tacking him onto an already-competent offensive line corps. That line currently ranks fifth in adjusted line yards and third in adjusted sack rate. They gave Goff pass-catchers, adding Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, and Sam LaPorta in three straight drafts. St. Brown is coming off the 11th-best DYAR season by a Lions receiver, while LaPorta currently leads all tight ends in DYAR. (Williams, while exciting, is still an unknown due to injury/suspension). 

That offense, coupled with Goff’s production over the last three years, now has Holmes scoffing at the “lazy” idea that Goff was ever a short-term fix. Through five games, his 0.153 EPA/Play is his best as a Lion. If Goff maintained his 29.6% passing DVOA, it would eclipse Matthew Stafford’s 2019 season as the second best by a Detroit quarterback. 

With a complete passing offense in place, offensive coordinator Ben Johnson can maximize Goff’s effectiveness while continuing to push him. Through five weeks in 2023, Goff is attempting 11.9% of passes downfield, currently his highest deep passing rate since at least 2020. Goff’s experience in the offense has also improved his numbers under duress, although he still struggles when blitzed. 

On top of all the fun, exciting trick plays Johnson gets highlighted for, he is also excellent at positional utilization. It’s the reason Detroit has produced such a great offense without many household names through five weeks. Every player has a role, and the goal is to maximize that player’s role to the fullest extent if they buy into the scheme. 

You might have heard Campbell talk about those roles concerning the running back room (to the ire of many Jahmyr Gibbs owners). Montgomery is the “bell cow” – the steady, short-yardage back carrying the brunt of the workload – while Gibbs is the “change-up” that can get used all over the field as a rusher or a pass-catcher. One maximizes Montgomery’s larger size and durability, the other emphasizes Gibbs’ raw athleticism. 

One end of this bargain is currently cashing. Montgomery is eighth in rushing DYAR and third in rushing touchdowns among running backs. He’s converted just over a third of his rushing attempts inside the 10-yard-line into scores. Gibbs, on the other hand, has seen mixed results early. His best production came in the opener against Kansas City, with middling production thereafter as he deals with a hamstring injury. 

That same emphasis shakes out in the receiver room as well. St. Brown remains the team’s high-volume space creator in the slot. Kalif Raymond is the gadget guy, averaging 16.5 yards per touch. In Jameson Williams’ absence, Josh Reynolds has been a quality vertical receiver in a pinch. All 16 of Reynolds’ receptions have either gone for first downs or touchdowns. 

Defensively, the Lions have asked a ton out of their rookie-contract players. Some have contributed immediately. Last year, Aidan Hutchinson finished second in Defensive Rookie of the Year voting off 53 total pressures and 9.5 sacks. He’s already topping that performance in 2023. Hutchinson has a league-leading 34 pressures, 4.5 sacks, and an interception and forced fumble to boot. 

Hutch has passed the Lions’ DROY honors torch down to safety Brian Branch, the second-round safety who’s been asked to do everything this season. Branch has both locked up in coverage (three passes defensed and a pick-six on 4.2 yards per target allowed, per SIS) and has been a force in run support (his three tackles for loss are tied for second most on the team). 

Detroit demands a lot out of an extremely young defense. The Lions spent 13 draft picks in the last three drafts on defense; all the starters are under 30 years old.  Detroit added a first-round linebacker in Jack Campbell during the draft, but he’s been playing less than half the team’s snaps as he ramps up into a more prominent role. That means the front seven that ranked 25th in defensive rushing DVOA last year has transformed into a top-five unit. 

Detroit was able to get new life out of second-stop guys like linebacker Alex Anzalone, who leads the team in tackles, or Charles Harris, second behind Hutchinson in pressures. Alim McNeil has built on his second-year flashes to become a prominent interior pass rusher. It all combines for a unit that ranks third in RB yards allowed per carry, second in second-level yards, and 11th in adjusted sack rate. 

The most transformed group on this defense would have been the secondary, but that’s been the position hit hardest by injury. C.J. Gardner-Johnson is out indefinitely with a torn pec, while Emmanuel Moseley is done for the year with a torn ACL. Cameron Sutton, the lone healthy member of the secondary, now gets to play with Branch, second-year safety Kerby Joseph, and third-year UDFA Jerry Jacobs. Jacobs in particular has already risen to the occasion, charting three pass breakups and three interceptions already. 

This is a young group that, while talented, is collectively playing well above the sum of their parts. There are still some major shortcomings: Hutchinson’s league-leading pressures aren’t frequently translating to sacks. Goff has fixed general pressure woes but still struggles when blitzed. The pass defense is a bit inflated by some early turnovers and will regress with the piling injuries. There’s also some worry about the window beyond this season. Both coordinators, Johnson and Aaron Glenn, are prime head coaching candidates in this next cycle. However, this is an extremely impressive group whose future schedule, by DVOA, gets easier from here. This is their window to do something great. 

What stands out most about this group is just how singular an identity these players share. You see it on either side of the ball. Goff said in an interview with ESPN that “anytime you’re traded, a team is basically telling you, ‘We don’t believe in you; we’re done with you.’” St. Brown can still recite the names of all the wide receivers drafted ahead of him. Branch said after the draft that falling out of the first round is “going to be with me forever.” 

These lines are commonplace in sports, almost to the point of feeding into tropes. It just feels different when it’s echoed across the whole locker room. It doesn’t come from a place of arrogance, either. This is an attitude meant to self-impose humility and keep players grounded. 

The 4-1 start hasn’t even gotten to the head coach. His tune hasn’t changed a bit, even in the face of victory. Campbell has not only managed to be true to his shtick, he was right all along. That oft-referenced kneecap line starts out with a section that’s not quoted nearly enough: 

“This team is going to take on the identity of this city. This city has been down and it found a way to get up. It has found a way to overcome adversity. So this team’s going to be built on…” 

That’s where he goes into kicking teeth, smiling after punches, and becoming harder and harder to knock down, all the while chomping off limbs. It’s that first part that’s important, though. The part about Detroit, a city built on hard work and blue-collar labor to become the world’s leading car manufacturer at its peak. A city brought to its knees time and time again throughout history but, continuing to find a way to get back up.

Campbell was able to embody that resilient, indelible spirit from the second he took the podium, There’s still work to be done of course. Detroit’s never made the Super Bowl. They haven’t been to the playoffs since 2016; they haven’t won a playoff game since 1991. If Campbell and the Lions can keep this up, any one of those might be on the table.