Aaron Glenn: 'I Like to Blitz'

Lions Aaron Glenn is not blitzing just to replace production of Aidan Hutchinson.

Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn reacts to a play against Los Angeles Rams / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Detroit Lions' defense significantly increased the amount of blitzes that were dialed up against the Minnesota Vikings.

Many attributed the increased aggression to defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn making up for the lost production of Aidan Hutchinson.

Glenn expressed during his weekly media session that he loves calling blitzes and the increased aggression in Week 7 was not solely due to Hutchinson's loss.

"I like to blitz anyways. It's really about game plan, and it's about the players that you have. Going back to our linebackers, Man, I want to blitz those guys as much as possible, because I think it's hard for a running back to actually block those guys," said Glenn. "You got Jack (Campbell). He's a 6-4, 250-pound man on the running back. Man, I'm gonna take that match up all the time. Same thing with Alex (Anzalone). You have a 6-3, 240-pound man on a back. I'm gonna take that match up all the time.

"So, it's not the fact that, man, we're just trying to blitz to recoup what Hutch was giving us. It's the game plan that we're trying to make sure we take advantage of," Glenn commented further. "But at the end of the day, I like to blitz."

Respecting the Titans

Cornerback Terrion Arnold was spotted at the Detroit Pistons home opener and echoed the sentiment coaches and the locker room have been expressing this week during a television interview.

Many can relate to the plight of the Titans, who are a sub .500 football team and have decided to trade assets away ahead of a road game. Not too long ago, the Lions were in a similar downtrodden state and set their sights on proving a point by beating teams with better records.

Glenn indicated the Titans still have recognizable names and the team will not be taken lightly.

"Listen, this is an opponent in this league. Record doesn't matter, you can get your ass kicked at any given time and we understand that," Glenn said. "We were in Tennessee's shoes before, we were that team that, we were out for blood every week, and I know this team feels the same way. They have names, they have players, they have high draft picks that want to come out and establish dominance. But we have to do a really good job of understanding what the task is at hand and records doesn't matter. We have an opponent in front of us that we have to beat to get on to the next level that we want to get to."

Terrion Arnold taking in the action
—Can’t let Titans record fool you #Pistons #DetroitLions pic.twitter.com/iXTONEvzOm

— DetroitSportsPodcast (@DetroitPodcast) October 24, 2024

Notes

The Lions have been quite successful as of late defending the Hail Mary. In fact, Trevor Nowaske sacked Sam Darnold when the Vikings were attempting on in last week's game.

Detroit's roster spends a significant portion of time reviewing situational football and have been adept at recording pressures and sacks when defending against a Hail Mary.

"Well, that doesn't happen a lot. But thing is, and again, this is to our players and also to our head coach, we talk about situational football all the time," Glenn explained. "And I think you have to prepare guys for any situation that comes up, and sometimes they don't come up. But the thing is, our guys understand the situation, and when it's time for Hail Mary, we have certain plays to look to run against the Hail Mary's. And our guys, they go out there and execute, and when you do it at a high level, usually good things happen. And Trevor was the guy that actually had a chance to get the sack on him, so good for him."