Detroit Lions Alim McNeill: Alex Anzalone Is 'LeBron' of Defense

Detroit Lions veteran linebacker Alex Anzalone has earned the respect of his teammates and the coaching staff. 

In his third season in Detroit, the gritty defender has become a staple of a defense that has learned to execute Aaron Glenn's defensive scheme on a consistent basis. 

His leadership has helped guide young players, as they learn to deal with the intense scrutiny that comes with playing football at the highest level. 

"His leadership is outstanding as far as getting the guys to understand exactly how I'm trying to call the game and the direction I'm trying to go when it comes to the game," Glenn explained to reporters this week. "He does a good job explaining that to them. A lot of times they're in the meeting by themselves, watching the game with the call-sheet, saying, 'Listen, I know A.G.'s gonna make this call in this situation.' So  he does a good job of educating the other guys of exactly how I'm gonna call it, how I see it because he's been with me for so long."

Despite having fractured ribs, Anzalone was not going to miss an opportunity to appear in a postseason game and help his team advance. 

"Look, Alex is tough," Dan Campbell said last week. "He’s been through this. And, it does, it means a lot. I mean, that’s – that’s really what we’re built off here. And ultimately, it comes down to what the player believes they can do. If they believe they can still produce not being 100 percent, then that’s the difference, and we have a ton of guys that are that way.”

After securing a long-term contract this past offseason, the 29-year-old has grown into the position and become an aggressive, physical presence. 

"The other way he's grown is his ability to play more violent than he did when he was in New Orleans. I give a lot of credit to (Kelvin Sheppard) 'Shep,' his linebackers coach in that situation," Glenn explained. "Because he knows the linebacker, the way that we play he has to be like that. In New Orleans, we used him more in coverage, but here you've got to be a really good tackler, violent, physical. He's done a really good job with that. It's not like he didn't have that. It's just the fact that we brought that out of him. We do that because it wasn't required of him in New Orleans. So, there's a number of ways that he's grown. I love that player, he sets us as a defense. I just love everything about Alex."