![\"Detroit](\"https:\/\/www.freep.com\/gcdn\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2024\/11\/11\/PDTF\/76189533007-2184088619.jpg?crop=4639,2610,x0,y241&width=660&height=371&format=pjpg&auto=webp\")
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He has had his ups and downs, but 10 games into his rookie season,\u00a0Detroit Lions\u00a0cornerback Terrion Arnold is sure about one thing.<\/p>\n
“This defense is going to get me paid,” Arnold said Thursday. “When you cut on the tape, you\u2019re like, ‘OK, he’s a rookie, he’s back side, the safety’s in the run fit, he’s by his self.’ Ain’t nobody else doing that.”<\/p>\n
The ultra-confident Arnold is tied for the seventh-most penalties in the NFL this season, with 10, and has surrendered three of the Lions\u2019 seven passing touchdowns allowed,\u00a0according to Pro Football Reference.<\/p>\n
But after a rough patch to start the season, he\u2019s entering the holiday stretch playing the best football of his young career.<\/p>\n
Arnold has started all 10 games for the Lions at the cornerback spot opposite Carlton Davis III and has often been asked to guard the opponent\u2019s top receiver in a man-to-man heavy defensive scheme that\u2019s tailor-made for his skills.<\/p>\n
He has just two defensive penalties in the past six games after drawing\u00a0eight flags in the Lions\u2019 first four games, and his physical play and sticky coverage are a big reason why the Lions have not allowed a touchdown in six quarters entering Sunday\u2019s game against the Indianapolis Colts.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s improving every week,\u201d Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn said. \u201cThe one thing that we want to make sure that he continued to improve on in practice was his ability to not grab and hold and things like that.<\/p>\n
\u201cListen, he\u2019s a very aggressive player and we play aggressive at the corner spot. And we knew some of those things were going to take a while for it to come out, and he\u2019s doing a good job listening. And it\u2019s going to happen again. I know that, he knows that, but he\u2019s gotten a lot better with his technique and it\u2019s showed up on the field.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Detroit](\"https:\/\/www.freep.com\/gcdn\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2024\/11\/03\/PDTF\/76034922007-11032024-lions-21.jpg?width=660&height=440&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp\")
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Arnold credited his improvement to taking the same even-keeled approach to his work every day.<\/p>\n
His confidence never wavered despite his early struggles, and he said he\u2019s starting to gain more \u201cNFL clout\u201d from officials across the league.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I come in, the ref he’d be like, \u2018Hey, we watched the tape on you. You\u2019re very, very sticky in coverage. We see it, we broke it down, just at the top of the route, hey man, just make sure you\u2019re looking back for the ball,\u2019\u201d Arnold said. \u201cOne of the refs broke it down. He was like, \u2018People aren’t really used to this.\u2019 They’re not used to receivers getting up in your face and being right here running the route for you. And some of them, it happens. That kind of stuff happens, especially when you\u2019re playing press man. It\u2019s not like you\u2019re sitting back in zone with your eyes on waiting for the quarterback to throw it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Lions, who\u2019ve played the highest percent of man coverage this season, at more than 40%,\u00a0traded up to get Arnold with the 24th<\/sup>\u00a0pick\u00a0in April\u2019s draft as the final piece to their revamped secondary.<\/p>\n Arnold called the unit \u201cthe best secondary in NFL,\u201d and said it will only get better as he improves with experience.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, I\u2019m 21 years old,\u201d he said. \u201cEvery time I look on tape I be like, \u2018Bro, all right, this dude\u2019s 30, this dude\u2019s 27, I’m 21.\u2019 When I’m 27, ooh. Like when I look on the tape I be like, \u2018Dang he got three kids. I got a little sister.\u2019 That’s the difference.\u201d<\/p>\n As much improvement as he\u2019s shown, the Lions (9-1) will need more from Arnold down the stretch.<\/p>\n The front seven is hemorrhaging talent because of injuries \u2014 starters Aidan Hutchinson, Marcus Davenport and Derrick Barnes are likely out for the season, and Alex Anzalone will miss the rest of the regular season with a broken forearm. Arnold has a 94 passer rating against, according to PFR. And after playing two games in five days against the Colts on Sunday and the Chicago Bears on Thanksgiving, the Lions play four playoff contenders in the final five weeks, including a home date with MVP candidate Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills.<\/p>\n Arnold said he\u2019s proud he hasn\u2019t given up many big pass plays this season; he\u2019s allowing just 11 yards a completion on the year, and less than 3 yards after the catch.<\/p>\n But he also is the only starter in the secondary who has not forced a turnover. Kerby Joseph leads the NFL with seven interceptions. Brian Branch has four picks. Davis had two interceptions in a game against the Houston Texans earlier this month. And Amik Robertson forced two fumbles last month in a win over the Tennessee Titans.<\/p>\n Arnold isn\u2019t fretting his interception-less start and said Thursday that\u2019s about to change soon.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen my picks come, they\u2019re going to come in bunches,\u201d Arnold said. \u201cI know at the end of the day when I come in here what my job is and I ain’t never been one to kind of seek validation from others. Some people they glorify stuff like that. They\u2019re like, \u2018Well, if people ain’t giving me my praise then I ain’t doing that.\u2019 I know what I’m doing. I know when I’m on the back side by myself, it’s locked up.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" freep.com wants to ensure the best experience for all of our readers, so we built our site to take advantage of the latest technology, making it faster and easier to use.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3872,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3871","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-detroit-lions"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"Los](\"https:\/\/www.freep.com\/gcdn\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2024\/09\/09\/PDTF\/75139823007-090824-lions-2-hot-14.jpg?width=660&height=441&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp\")
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