Alim McNeill: Alex Anzalone Is 'LeBron' of Lions' Defense

Alex Anzalone is a key member of the Lions' defense.

Detroit Lions veteran linebacker Alex Anzalone has earned the respect of his teammates and the coaching staff. 

In his third season in Detroit, the gritty defender has become a staple of a defense that has learned to execute Aaron Glenn's defensive scheme on a consistent basis. 

His leadership has helped guide young players, as they learn to deal with the intense scrutiny that comes with playing football at the highest level. 

"His leadership is outstanding as far as getting the guys to understand exactly how I'm trying to call the game and the direction I'm trying to go when it comes to the game," Glenn explained to reporters this week. "He does a good job explaining that to them. A lot of times they're in the meeting by themselves, watching the game with the call-sheet, saying, 'Listen, I know A.G.'s gonna make this call in this situation.' So  he does a good job of educating the other guys of exactly how I'm gonna call it, how I see it because he's been with me for so long."

Despite having fractured ribs, Anzalone was not going to miss an opportunity to appear in a postseason game and help his team advance. 

"Look, Alex is tough," Dan Campbell said last week. "He’s been through this. And, it does, it means a lot. I mean, that’s – that’s really what we’re built off here. And ultimately, it comes down to what the player believes they can do. If they believe they can still produce not being 100 percent, then that’s the difference, and we have a ton of guys that are that way.”

After securing a long-term contract this past offseason, the 29-year-old has grown into the position and become an aggressive, physical presence. 

"The other way he's grown is his ability to play more violent than he did when he was in New Orleans. I give a lot of credit to (Kelvin Sheppard) 'Shep,' his linebackers coach in that situation," Glenn explained. "Because he knows the linebacker, the way that we play he has to be like that. In New Orleans, we used him more in coverage, but here you've got to be a really good tackler, violent, physical. He's done a really good job with that. It's not like he didn't have that. It's just the fact that we brought that out of him. We do that because it wasn't required of him in New Orleans. So, there's a number of ways that he's grown. I love that player, he sets us as a defense. I just love everything about Alex." 

Getting more jungle karma! This is looking great. Alex Anzalone
🎥: @jimromepic.twitter.com/8ucfMUCfLD

— DetroitSportsPodcast (@DetroitPodcast) January 24, 2024

Defensive tackle Alim McNeill expressed that the level of command Anzalone has of the defense reminds him of one of the all-time great NBA superstars. 

"I can't put into words what Alex's value is. Even just to me personally, getting D-linemen aligned and getting certain calls, I might not have heard something and Alex knows exactly what I was trying to ask him before me asking him," McNeill said. "Alex's value to this defense, to this team period, I can't even put into words, honestly. 

"He does so much for us honestly, I can't put it into words. Alex does everything, he's like the LeBron of our defense. He just knows everything going on. I don't know how he does, he just does." 

60 minutes away from Super Bowl appearance 

For McNeill, just seeing the team being in the NFC Championship Game is motivation enough to keep him hyper-focused on the goals at hand. 

"Yeah, it's almost self-explanatory. This opportunity doesn't come much," McNeill said. "This opportunity's huge. I mean, it's everything to me. This is the only thing that's on my mind right now, the only thing I need to be worried about. We've got to win this Sunday, but you're telling me it's one game and then that game (the Super Bowl), yeah, it's self-explanatory."