Lions patiently waiting for next fake-punt opportunity to present itself

Allen Park — The Detroit Lions have conditioned us to expect a fake every time they line up to punt. As they've proved throughout Dan Campbell's tenure as coach, and most recently in the season opener in Kansas City, they're willing to fake it almost any time in the game and at any spot on the field.

But, that successful fake against the Chiefs, while pinned deep in their own territory, is the last one the Lions ran. That's, in part, because opponents are anticipating them as much as anyone.

"Oh yeah, for us, I mean yeah, we say every week, whatever's on film and whatever they’ve done against these other guys, we’re going to get something different," Lions special-teams coordinator Dave Fipp said. "We know that. So, it’s definitely been different, it’s week-to-week for us, and so we have some things we can put on or take off, and if the look’s there, then we can run it. If not, we don’t."

Fipp said the Lions had plans for a fake in recent weeks, but opted to punt on the play, based on the defensive look. In the meantime, they'll continue to work on those opportunities in practice. They've already proven they have a capable upback, in Jalen Reeves-Maybin, who can take a direct snap and run for a first down, as well as a punter, in Jack Fox, who can throw the ball as well as anyone playing his position.

"We're always kind of working on stuff and have stuff in our back pocket," Fipp said.

In the past three years, the Lions have gone 7-of-8 on punt fakes. The only failure was a drop on a well-placed throw from Fox.

Emergency options

The Lions had to make a change at long snapper during the bye, after Scott Daly suffered a season-ending knee injury. That occurred in the closing minutes of the team's most recent game, against the Las Vegas Raiders, so they never had to experiment with an alternative option for handling those duties.

According to Daly, the likely candidates would have been defensive end Aidan Hutchinson or linebacker Alex Anzalone.

The Houston Texans weren't so lucky, after kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn exited because of a quad injury during the second quarter of the team's game last week. That required their offense to go for it on fourth down more frequently than normal, and when they had to kick, they turned to running back Dare Ogunbowale. To his credit, he actually converted a short, go-ahead field goal in the fourth quarter.

The emergency scenarios are uncommon, but they do happen around the league a few times a year, requiring Fipp to always be prepared with contingency plans, such as Hutchinson or Anzalone handling long snaps. The team has their emergency options practice in those roles once per week to stay fresh for the possibilities.

As for a backup kicker, the Lions would turn to Fox, who did a little bit of placekicking in high school and college. And while it seems like a given that every punter should be a team's emergency kicker, it's not that simple, according to Fipp.

"Yeah, it’s just a totally different kick," Fipp said. "...You would think it wouldn't be that hard, but I’ve seen a number of punters (where) it looks rough when they try to kick it."

jdrogers@detroitnews.com

@Justin_Rogers