| LIONS HEAD COACH DAN CAMPBELL QUOTE SHEET September 23, 2022 Opening Statement: “(Lions C) Frank (Ragnow)’s doing pretty good, so we’ll see where he’s at today, let him practice more. (Lions DL Aidan Hutchinson) Hutch ought to be okay, he’ll practice today. (Lions RB D’Andre) Swift, we’re just going to kind of monitor. I think he’s fine. We just want to be smart about it going into the game, and I don’t see (Lions G) Jonah (Jackson) practicing today, so I think that’s about it.” On how big of a boost it would be to get Lions C Frank Ragnow back: “Yeah, it’s good. Listen, I don’t want to go that far yet. I mean it’s certainly a step in the right direction. I would say it’s trending that way, but yet we want to see how he does today and then we’ll wake up tomorrow and see where he’s at. But certainly, if he can come back, it certainly helps. It’d be good to get him back.” On if Lions DL Aidan Hutchinson missing practice affects him more as a rookie than it would as a veteran: “Yeah, I mean certainly you want guys practicing. It doesn’t – it’s always better to practice so you get the looks, the live looks, but I’m not concerned because he’s mentally – he’s in it. He’s a visual learner. He’ll be able to see it, and there again, he’ll run around today, and they’ll work some of those – our games and things of that nature and our fits. And so, I don’t feel like it’s concerning – it’s always better if you can practice though to get it real and live.” On if Lions CB Jeff Okudah has lost anything physically that he had before his injury and why he believes he is back on track: “No, there is nothing physically that he’s lost. I mean, he looks great. Physically I think that he can run, he’s explosive. He’s using his length. He’s – you guys see it. There’s nothing that’s been lost, so. And what gives me hope that he’ll continue to trend upward is just the – I mean from the time we were here late in the spring to now, just to see – there were a couple of things we identified. He wanted to know with (Lions Defensive Coordinator Aaron Glenn) AG and myself and (Lions Defensive Backs/Pass Game Coordinator Aubrey Pleasant) AP, and we talked about it, and it’s something that he’s attacked every day. And so to this point, there’s nothing that would lead us to believe that he’s not going to continue to trend. And he’s still – every game, this is money in the bank. He’s learning, he’s growing, he’s putting in the reps, and so he’s only going to just get better and better.” On the first road game being a test especially for the rookies who have never experienced that type of environment in the League yet: “Yeah, look, it’s a huge test because it’s the first one. It’s the first road game, and this is something that we have a lot of urgency about us I feel like this week. This is big. We need to try and set the tempo for ourselves, and it starts on the road, division game. Of course, it’s not going to be easy. It’s going to be hostile. It shouldn’t be easy. And those guys are going to ready to go. They’re going to get back to what they do best, and we know that, but man, it goes back to the – we’ve got to be able handle this pressure on the road. Because that’s really what it comes down to, collectively, when you go on the road. There’s a certain amount of pressure that is applied, and how do we handle that overall? And that’s something that we’ve been talking about for a long time now. So, we are young, but we’ll see where we’re at.” On the challenge of playing on the road for an offensive line still building chemistry as rotations adjust to injuries: “Yeah, look, there again, it’s just – man, the silent cadence is the big thing. And it is the little things. You’re in the huddle, you’re trying to hear the play, ‘Did I hear that right? What did he say?’ Man, hearing it, being sharp. Clear communication, really everything starts with (Lions QB Jared) Goff, and so really the last two days, we’ve just had the music cranked non-stop. Normally, you do it, and then you hold up cards so that everybody can hear, and we just left it up, so that you’re trying to get personnel out there. Everybody’s trying to communicate, and it’s just a – it’s a mess in a good way. And I thought Goff has handled it really well, and I thought our players handled it well yesterday. But that’s about as good as you can do to this point, is just try to put them under that stress because – I just go back to this, if we can handle that offensively, I feel good about us being efficient. There’s other factors that play into it, but I think it’s the most critical is our communication. First one, on the road, and so, we’ve tried to work on that.” On if it is possible to get the team to a point of embracing going on the road for an away game: “Yeah, I think – I told the guys this yesterday, I think there’s a number of things that when you’ve played in this League that, man, you miss, and certainly snack the night before the game is one of them. But man, you miss that locker room, you miss the camaraderie, but man, there is something about being on the road and being in that with that group of guys. And everybody’s on top of you, and nobody wants you there. Nobody wants to see you win or succeed other than your own group. And there’s nothing better than, man, just honing in on each other and depending on one another, that, ‘Man, you’re going to do your job, I’m going to do mine.’ And when you make a play, the crowd just goes silent, and there’s nothing better than that. That’s the stuff you miss, and so, yeah, you do. And I think the good ones, they really do, they thrive. They thrive on that type of stuff. That’s when they’re – you can argue they’re at their best.” On if he believes the players are still building trust to be able to go in and play in hostile environments: “Yeah, I do, and I think there again a game like this goes a long way. I mean, we’re going to be tested, and the only way to get better on the road and in a hostile environment is to win on the road in a hostile environment and do the little things. We have to play a clean game. Man, this can’t be a, ‘Well, we got penalties and flags flying around.’ We get all these false starts, and we’ve got holding penalties. And ‘Wait, I thought he said –’ MA, palms up, like, we’ve got to play clean. And that’s the most important thing here. We cannot beat ourselves.” On his most hostile road game experience as a player: “Well, that was – I mean, I was in the NFC East for a number of years, so it was always going to Philly. There was nothing better than Philly. It was great.” On what color pants the coaches will be wearing on the sideline: “What do you think? We’ll have the gray pants this week so. Not that I’m superstitious. I just feel like we’ve got to wear gray pants this week.” On what it means for defensive backs to be physical and assist in defending the run game: “It’s huge, and it’s one of those not everybody sees all the time unless you’re on this team, or you’re one of the big men upfront, because they don’t take that lightly. That’s a big deal. That to me is the equivalent of your receivers blocking on the perimeter if you’re O-linemen. Like there’s a respect that comes with that, and there’s a – I just think there’s a ton of respect that happens when those guys know that you’re going to come up and tackle – because look, a lot of teams, we’re no different than anybody else. If we don’t think you’ll tackle on the perimeter, we’ll just gap it all out, take care of the D-line and the backers and just leave the free – just leave the corner free, and say, ‘Well, come up and tackle.’ And there’s nothing worse than you bounce it out, and the corner’s not willing to tackle. If you’re his – all those D-linemen who are digging into double teams and sticking your face in the gap one more time, and then you’re not coming up and tackling, it’s a – you’ll lose respect in a hurry for that guy. So, our guys will come up and hit. They’ll tackle, and I know our D-line appreciates that.” LIONS ASSISTANT HEAD COACH/RUNNING BACKS DUCE STALEY QUOTE SHEET September 23, 2022 On how valuable Lions RB Craig Reynolds is to the offense in terms of depth: “Yes, valuable. I mean, I can sit up here and rant, and rave about Craig all day long. Just going back to training camp, some of the things that he can do no matter if it’s out there on third down. Of course we know his running ability. Craig has been really good for us.” On the challenges of playing on the road and how difficult it is to silence a crowd: “Yeah, they invited. We talk about it all the time, especially this environment. Pretty special football environment, going up there playing those guys and that crowd does a great job. You can barely hear out there. So, just being a part of it, knowing when I went there and played how it was and how loud it was. These guys look at those situations because we do a good job of putting them in those situations here with the crowd noise and everything that comes along with that. I think they thrive in it. I think they want it.” On if playing in a hostile environment takes a special kind of competitor or if it is across the board: “No, I think it’s across the board. That’s what I think.” On how much pride he takes in the team being able to run the ball successfully on offense after trying to establish the run for years: “Yeah, it goes back – I think we kind of talked about this last week. It goes back to thought process, it goes back to OTAs, training camp, and making a commitment. And not just the players making a commitment, the coaches also. So, you see (Lions Offensive Line Coach) Hank (Fraley), myself being – everybody, you make a commitment to run a ball, you just – you spend a couple extra hours in the office trying to get it right.” On Lions RB D’Andre Swift’s production so far this season and the way he responded in the Commanders game after being challenged: “Oh, he did. He responded. And like I said before, he understands. He understands that – like I said, his 80 percent, man, is a lot better than other people’s 80 percent. So, and once he gets that understanding in his head, he can move forward with some of these little minor injuries.” On if Lions RB D’Andre Swift looked like the player he has wanted to see last week: “I’m still looking. I’m still looking. I’m hard, man, on him and I will be.” On what he saw on the play against the Commanders when Lions RB D’Andre Swift fell down and got up to score the touchdown: “So, to be honest with you the first thing came to mind was the Rams last year. Because if I’m not mistaken the same thing happened. That was the Rams game, right? Yeah, he did. I might have the game wrong, but he fell down and he got back up and he didn’t go score. So, the first thing – that’s the first thing I said to him I was like, ‘Man, you remember – this is like déjà vu. It happened.’ And he was like, ‘Yeah, you know.’ But he gets into his little celebration mode, so I try to leave him alone. But no, that’s what came to mind, I’m being honest with you like I remember he fell down and caught the ball. He tripped, fell down. I’m probably wrong. Yeah, go ahead and pull it up. Go ahead and tell me if I’m wrong. OK, well it’s another one where he fell. Find that one. No, but you see a guy like Swift, man, who’s quick, who’s super quick, but within a box. And what I mean within a box, he’s able to put his foot down, pick it up, he’s able to burst, stop, start. But you never think of any of that when he hit the ground and got up the way he did. So, the first thing I said – I hit the button, I told (Lions Head Coach) Dan (Campbell), I said, ‘Dan did you see that?’ I said, ‘We’ve been working on that drill.’” |
