ALLEN PARK — The Detroit Lions have preached to their players that physicality is something they want to be known for around the league. But they’re trying to find the right balance after getting flagged for two unnecessary roughness hits on the quarterback in Week 1.
Linebacker Alex Anzalone was docked for going high on Jalen Hurts on first-and-10 early in the third quarter. The Eagles quarterback faked the handoff, then went in the other direction before Anzalone gave him a healthy shove. Safety Tracy Walker got called for hitting the sliding quarterback and then for his role in a scuffle after the play. He was ejected for the pair of personal foul penalties on the same snap. Both calls on the pair of team captains occurred in the third quarter.
Aaron Glenn said coaches also preach the importance of discipline to their players. Still, the second-year Lions defensive coordinator doesn’t see this being a long-term issue for his unit.
“And they will be the first to tell you that that was a bad decision by those guys, but I will also credit that to being just overanxious, the jitters I was saying,” Glenn said. “And that can happen during the game, as we were playing. And so, Anzalone, man, ‘I’m going to try and just get a hit on the quarterback,’ but you can’t lower your head. Man, these quarterbacks are sliding because they’re trying to protect them. Tracy’s just got to know when, ‘Once he slides, I can’t go into the quarterback like that.’
“And that’s a learning experience for all of those guys because they really want to get hits on these guys. Because we do — we stress physicality, and we want to be that, but it has to be directed the right way. Now our guys have to understand that.”
Anzalone’s penalty moved the Eagles from Detroit’s 29- to the 14-yard line on top of a 24-yard run by running back Miles Sanders. The linebacker finished with nine tackles, including one for loss in the 38-35 defeat.
Walker was having one heck of a game before getting disqualified in the season-opening loss. He had 11 tackles, including one for loss and one sack, while adding a pass deflection. Walker’s penalty was a significant turning point. Hurts ran for 5 yards on the play, which would have moved the chains on third-and-4. But the penalty pushed the Eagles to Detroit’s 23-yard line, setting up a touchdown two snaps later to take a 38-21 lead.
“Disappointed, but encouraged,” Glenn said of the defense’s performance. “Highly encouraged, and I say that because when you watch the tape, you see a group of men that came out very excited, probably overly excited, and some of the responsibilities kind of went out the window. And a lot of our young guys, a lot of our young guys, even some of our vets, I think going into the second game, those jitters will be more calm, and we get back to just doing our responsibility and doing our job, and it pops out over the tape, but man you have to appreciate the ‘want-to,’ but sometimes that ‘want-to’ can take you out of doing what you’re supposed to do as far as your job is concerned. ”
After the game, Walker apologized for his mistake, saying he let his team down and that he knows better. Walker said: “I was hot-headed at the moment. And like I said, I’ve got to make better decisions at the end of the day.”
Anzalone told MLive in the locker room on Thursday that there truly is a balance between playing physical and staying disciplined. The veteran linebacker said it’s easy to get caught up on plays like play-action passes and read-option fakes since the goal is to attack downhill.
“It’s just like the nature of that game, too. It was just having. Either way we shouldn’t have had those penalties,” he told MLive. “Mine wasn’t as bad (laughs). But I know what you mean. Like, there’s sometimes where there is going to be stuff you’re going to have to live with and stuff that is kinda just the way you do business. But at the same time, you have to be a disciplined team. I do not know. It’s a gray area.”
NFL rules dictate defender treat a “sliding runner as they would a runner who is down by contact” and that “a defender must pull up when a runner begins a feet-first slide.”
Anzalone said playing within the rules of sliding quarterbacks in certain situations is hard. The linebacker pointed to assessing the situation “in literally a moment’s notice” to know if a quarterback is sliding, embracing the contact or trying to get out of bounds.
“It’s hard. Yeah, it’s hard. Especially, you see on film like guys not going or sliding,” Anzalone said. “And then you have to assess in literally a moment’s notice as far as like, ‘Do I shoot and take my shot but keep my head into the shoulder a bit? Do I like arm tackle, or is he going to run me over? Is he going to tip-toe the sideline, or is he just going to get out of bounds?’
“So, I don’t know. It’s just part of the game that you got to deal with. It’s pretty subjective. I feel like the biggest thing they’re (officials) looking for is if you’re putting like a head or a shoulder into it. There are ways to do it the right way. But it is very hard. It’s hard to do.”
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