Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Drew Petzing got a new piece of social media trivia this week, and he didn’t sound especially eager to hear it.
Before practice Thursday afternoon, Petzing was asked by local reporters whether he knew fans had been calling him “Megamind” online. His first response made the hesitation pretty clear.
“I don't know if I want to know that," Petzing said with a sense of trepidation.
Once he was told the nickname, he leaned into it the only way he really could.
“I do have a big forehead, so I guess that would be my reaction.”
The light moment came during a strong start for Petzing’s offense. Through five games, Detroit has been productive on both sides of the attack, with the passing game and the run game both sitting in the top 5. The offensive line has been the NFL’s top PFF-graded unit to open the season.
That kind of production is a big reason head coach Dan Campbell can feel better about where things stand even with the Lions at 3-2. The line has been steady, and Jahmyr Gibbs has emerged as part of the offensive surge.
Still, the unit isn’t finished. Detroit wants to get off to faster starts and clean up its third-down work.
The matchup this week also puts Petzing and the Lions in a familiar chess game. The last two opponents have come with built-in familiarity: Carolina, where Petzing’s brother is on the coaching staff, and Arizona, where Petzing spent three seasons as offensive coordinator.
Now Detroit turns to the Packers, who hired Jonathan Gannon as defensive coordinator. Gannon was the Cardinals head coach during Petzing’s recent time in Arizona.
Jared Goff said that kind of familiarity can matter, even if it only goes so far.
“Yeah, it is helpful and it was helpful last week too. And I don't know if there's much that isn't on tape that he's relaying to us, but there is some, I'm sure," said Jared Goff. "They both know each other pretty well and know each other's tendencies and it was the same last week and they got us on stuff, we got them on stuff, and it'll probably be the same this week and hopefully come out on top.”
Goff also pointed out that schemes change from stop to stop, even when the same coaches are involved.
“What they did in Arizona was not the same thing they did in Philly. And then what they're doing in Green Bay is not the same thing they did in Arizona or Philly.
There are elements of all of it as there are on a lot of teams in the NFL, but some of it there are some things, but again, not much that you can't see on tape that he'd be able to relay. Again, I'm sure there's tendencies that he knows and vice versa.
So, we'll see how that plays out.”
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