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Why Brandon Joseph looks like Detroit Lions secret sauce come to life
Jeff Seidel
Detroit Free Press
There was an interesting, if not revealing moment in Dan Campbell’s news conference Sunday afternoon.
After he talked about how Detroit Lions cornerbacks Amik Robertson, Ennis Rakestraw Jr. and Terrion Arnold did in their debut against the New York Giants — clearly, he was impressed with all three — Campbell was asked a different question.
Did anybody else stand out to him?
“Well, I think everybody we kind of talked about,” he replied.
But then, he singled out somebody.
“B-Joe, I thought he really showed up,” Campbell said.
Who is B-Joe?
Brandon Joseph, a safety who spent last season on the practice squad after going undrafted out of Notre Dame.
“What's really encouraging — you talk about going into the game, all right, here's where you got to be better, whoever that player is, and to see those players do what we were asking them to do,” Campbell continued. “B-Joe, man, we need you to be more physical down in the box, you got to play bigger when it comes time. And he did that, and he came away with the takeaway.”
Joseph led the team with three solo tackles — yes, that’s being more physical in the box — and had an interception and returned it 20 yards.
“He showed up, and I thought he tried to do that on special teams,” Campbell said. “That was encouraging. We put these guys on some of these special teams reps, he and (Lions DL) Nate Lynn and (Lions K Jake) Bates, and they fought their ass off. I mean, they were grinding, giving everything they've got. Played hard on defense. So there was a number of these guys, and it's the little things you don't always see. But when we tell them, ‘This is what we're looking for in the game and what you need to improve on,’ you could see that growth out of these players. There was a number of them. So that fires you up as a coach.”
Actually, it should fire you up as a fan.
Secret sauce of Lions success
If you ask me, this is the Lions secret sauce — the reason they have turned around this franchise: How they have developed young players.
Every team has stars. Every team has talent at the top. Just from the nature of the draft and free agency and roster turnover, it’s hard not to have at least a few good players.
But the real trick — the thing the Lions are doing so well — is something different.
First step: Acquire young players with the right mentality, the right character and the right determination while making sure they have a special trait or ability — that’s Brad Holmes special touch.
Second: Coach ‘em up and give them time to improve, even if it takes an entire year. Yes, this part requires patience.
Final step: Turn them loose in a game and find out if it’s working.
And that’s what Joseph proved against the Giants. It's working wonderfully.
Learning to play fast and free
Joseph spent last season on the Lions practice squad.
Think about what that means.
Day after day, he had to play scout team defense against Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Sam LaPorta and running backs David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs.
Which is baptism by fire for a rookie in the NFL.
“I got so much better going up against Jared, going up against Saint and Sam and Jameer, like my tackling,” Joseph said Sunday. “I learned so much last year, being on the practice squad, going against some of the best guys in the world every day last year. So I've just tried to use that going into OTAs, going into fall camp, and to continue to get better.”
Now, that sounds interesting on the surface.
But there are so many layers to it.
It’s not just facing talent.
It’s all the little things, like learning how to take the right angle to bring down a speedy back like Gibbs.
“I think one of the biggest things I like been I've gotten better at, is my tackling angles going against (Gibbs) and (Montgomery) every week, like my angles of approach,” he said “Obviously we're not tackling every week in practice, but just like working that angle and being in perfect position every time, I think I definitely improved on that. And just in my game overall, it's just the confidence, the confidence that comes with it, the experience."
But he also had to learn the mental side of the game.
Because when you are thinking, you can’t play fast.
“It's night and day,” he said. “I understand the defense. I understand what (defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn) wants, and I know this defense, I know where I'm supposed to be, when I'm supposed to be there, how to read the quarterback, where I'm supposed to be in certain coverages.”
Now, his instincts are coming back.
He has always been a ball hawk — he had nine interceptions in his final two seasons at Northwestern, becoming an All-American, and then spent 2022 at Notre Dame.
That’s the special trait he has — an ability to be in the right place at the right time and make a play — and it came out against the Giants.
“I know I am a ball-hawking safety," he said. "I know I have the ability to get my hands on the ball and make plays for a defense, and so it felt great."
But he can also hit.
On practice squad last year, he wasn’t allowed to hit.
Not real hitting.
But he got one of those against the Giants.
“It felt amazing," he said. "I made a tackle and I was like, 'oh my gosh, I missed this. I still got it.' The love of the game, it comes back out.”
Get enough guys like this.
Fill out the roster with young, talented players. Give them time to improve.
And you can end up with something special.
Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com or follow him @seideljeff.
Next up: Chiefs
Matchup: Lions (12-5 in 2023) at Kansas City Chiefs (11-6 in 2023), exhibition.
Kickoff: 4 p.m., Saturday; GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Mo.
TV/radio: WJBK-TV (Fox 2 in Detroit); WXYT-FM (97.1).
Regular-season opener: Sept. 8 vs. Rams, Ford Field, NBC.
Jeff Seidel
Detroit Free Press
There was an interesting, if not revealing moment in Dan Campbell’s news conference Sunday afternoon.
After he talked about how Detroit Lions cornerbacks Amik Robertson, Ennis Rakestraw Jr. and Terrion Arnold did in their debut against the New York Giants — clearly, he was impressed with all three — Campbell was asked a different question.
Did anybody else stand out to him?
“Well, I think everybody we kind of talked about,” he replied.
But then, he singled out somebody.
“B-Joe, I thought he really showed up,” Campbell said.
Who is B-Joe?
Brandon Joseph, a safety who spent last season on the practice squad after going undrafted out of Notre Dame.
“What's really encouraging — you talk about going into the game, all right, here's where you got to be better, whoever that player is, and to see those players do what we were asking them to do,” Campbell continued. “B-Joe, man, we need you to be more physical down in the box, you got to play bigger when it comes time. And he did that, and he came away with the takeaway.”
Joseph led the team with three solo tackles — yes, that’s being more physical in the box — and had an interception and returned it 20 yards.
“He showed up, and I thought he tried to do that on special teams,” Campbell said. “That was encouraging. We put these guys on some of these special teams reps, he and (Lions DL) Nate Lynn and (Lions K Jake) Bates, and they fought their ass off. I mean, they were grinding, giving everything they've got. Played hard on defense. So there was a number of these guys, and it's the little things you don't always see. But when we tell them, ‘This is what we're looking for in the game and what you need to improve on,’ you could see that growth out of these players. There was a number of them. So that fires you up as a coach.”
Actually, it should fire you up as a fan.
Secret sauce of Lions success
If you ask me, this is the Lions secret sauce — the reason they have turned around this franchise: How they have developed young players.
Every team has stars. Every team has talent at the top. Just from the nature of the draft and free agency and roster turnover, it’s hard not to have at least a few good players.
But the real trick — the thing the Lions are doing so well — is something different.
First step: Acquire young players with the right mentality, the right character and the right determination while making sure they have a special trait or ability — that’s Brad Holmes special touch.
Second: Coach ‘em up and give them time to improve, even if it takes an entire year. Yes, this part requires patience.
Final step: Turn them loose in a game and find out if it’s working.
And that’s what Joseph proved against the Giants. It's working wonderfully.
Learning to play fast and free
Joseph spent last season on the Lions practice squad.
Think about what that means.
Day after day, he had to play scout team defense against Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Sam LaPorta and running backs David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs.
Which is baptism by fire for a rookie in the NFL.
“I got so much better going up against Jared, going up against Saint and Sam and Jameer, like my tackling,” Joseph said Sunday. “I learned so much last year, being on the practice squad, going against some of the best guys in the world every day last year. So I've just tried to use that going into OTAs, going into fall camp, and to continue to get better.”
Now, that sounds interesting on the surface.
But there are so many layers to it.
It’s not just facing talent.
It’s all the little things, like learning how to take the right angle to bring down a speedy back like Gibbs.
“I think one of the biggest things I like been I've gotten better at, is my tackling angles going against (Gibbs) and (Montgomery) every week, like my angles of approach,” he said “Obviously we're not tackling every week in practice, but just like working that angle and being in perfect position every time, I think I definitely improved on that. And just in my game overall, it's just the confidence, the confidence that comes with it, the experience."
But he also had to learn the mental side of the game.
Because when you are thinking, you can’t play fast.
“It's night and day,” he said. “I understand the defense. I understand what (defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn) wants, and I know this defense, I know where I'm supposed to be, when I'm supposed to be there, how to read the quarterback, where I'm supposed to be in certain coverages.”
Now, his instincts are coming back.
He has always been a ball hawk — he had nine interceptions in his final two seasons at Northwestern, becoming an All-American, and then spent 2022 at Notre Dame.
That’s the special trait he has — an ability to be in the right place at the right time and make a play — and it came out against the Giants.
“I know I am a ball-hawking safety," he said. "I know I have the ability to get my hands on the ball and make plays for a defense, and so it felt great."
But he can also hit.
On practice squad last year, he wasn’t allowed to hit.
Not real hitting.
But he got one of those against the Giants.
“It felt amazing," he said. "I made a tackle and I was like, 'oh my gosh, I missed this. I still got it.' The love of the game, it comes back out.”
Get enough guys like this.
Fill out the roster with young, talented players. Give them time to improve.
And you can end up with something special.
Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com or follow him @seideljeff.
Next up: Chiefs
Matchup: Lions (12-5 in 2023) at Kansas City Chiefs (11-6 in 2023), exhibition.
Kickoff: 4 p.m., Saturday; GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Mo.
TV/radio: WJBK-TV (Fox 2 in Detroit); WXYT-FM (97.1).
Regular-season opener: Sept. 8 vs. Rams, Ford Field, NBC.
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