Dave Fipp Not Concerned With PFF, DVOA Metrics

Fipp explains disdain for DVOA, PFF metrics.

Lions special teams coordinator Dave Fipp. / Kimberly P. Mitchell / USA TODAY NETWORK

Detroit Lions special teams coordinator Dave Fipp has a vision of success for his coverage and return units. That vision does not include the numbers and statistics that evaluate DVOA and Pro Football Focus grades.

When asked what areas he views as needing improvement as the Lions have passed the halfway point of the 2024 season, Fipp dove into a lengthy explanation of why he does not use outside metrics to evaluate his team.

The veteran coordinator remembered travelling to New York for a game against the Giants. When speaking with a member of New York's special teams coaching staff, he was informed that a player on his team was ranked as the highest-rated blocker on kickoff return in the entire NFL.

There was one problem. That didn't match Fipp's evaluation of the player at all.

"I'm like, Oh my gosh. I'm like, number one. This guy's like the worst blocker on our team," Fipp said. "We put him on these matchups on the backside of the return every week where he's blocking like, basically a guy doesn't need to be blocked in just in case. So he wins the matchups. He's got a great PFF, and he's really the worst player on the team at this job description, but he's rated the best with PFF."

Fipp did not name the specific player being referred to, only noting that he is currently in the media.

Because Fipp has his own way of evaluating special teams success, he doesn't rely on outside metrics to evaluate the performance of his team. Above all else, he judges satisfaction based on how the team finds ways to win games.

“When those two things came up, DVOA, PFF, what you’ve got to be great at. All that stuff," Fipp said. "We’ve got to be great at winning football games. We’ve done a good job of that, but we’ve got our hands full, it’s not gonna get easier.” 

The special teams coach explained that the Lions' methods are more aligned with his vision, as they prioritize finding methods to win games as opposed to evaluating the team through different metrics.

"A lot of buildings get caught up in. How are you performing in this area? How are you performing in that is it good enough? Is it good enough to compare to around the league?" Fipp said. "And what we focus on in this building is how can we win this game this week? And we really don't care how it happens. And because we focus so hard on finding a way to win that game against that matchup with this team, we find ways to win in a lot of different ways. I really believe that."

Fipp believes that the team can gain more advantages from internal evaluations than weighing their performance with other outside metrics who don't have access to the day-to-day happenings of the team or a knowledge of the team's schemes.

"The challenge is people listen to this stuff in the buildings instead of asking people who might really know," Fipp said. "There's buildings out there that really get involved with that stuff, which is crazy."