LIONS HEAD COACH DAN CAMPBELL QUOTE SHEET

LIONS HEAD COACH DAN CAMPBELL QUOTE SHEET
October 3, 2022
On the first fix that he needs to make to improve the defense: “Yeah, I mean look (Lions Defensive Coordinator Aaron Glenn) AG and I are still working through that. Us and the defense, we’ve been going through that and had the team meeting, so I’m not totally through with all that, but I know we’re going to need to move some personnel around. That’ll be one part of it, and then certainly look at calming things down and simplifying schematically. Those will be two of the biggest changes that I think that we’re going to need to make.”
On if he feels confident with the talent that is on the roster: “Yeah. Yeah, I do. I do.”
On if he can clarify what changes will be made to personnel: “No. I don’t want to do that yet.”
On how much of a deep dive he is going to take into the defense and if that is possible this week: “No, I think it’s just as much as you can try to – do we have guys in the right places? How are these guys responding and – I mean, there’s so many different things that come up, it’s like even Minnesota last week, it’s – you want to simplify, but yet you’re also – you’re trying to double (Vikings WR Justin) Jefferson, and then take care of the run, so you don’t – and then, this week it’s a little bit different because you’re not necessarily doing that. And we’re back to – so, I think you’re looking at the totality of it. I just – our FBI is – we’ve got to get some players that we feel like we can just – we can rely on, we can trust to get out there because once they’re trustworthy then their teammates will trust them. And I think the – when you really watch it, the theme that – and I told these guys this, that shows up over and over is that it’s a snowball effect. And we have a guy that doesn’t do the right thing, and then a guy who knows what to do is trying to overcompensate for it, and then that’s costing him a step behind his job. And then, this guy is trying to cover for him and then the next play they don’t trust that their teammate’s going to be there and it’s just – we’re in this vicious cycle right now. And so, we’ve got to pull things way, way back, and just get our confidence back and gain some trust among teammates. And so, that’ll – that comes with scheme, that comes with personnel, and we’re going to work through it.”
On if he thinks the issue with the defense is coaching or the players: “Listen, it’s both. I mean, it’s on all of us. I mean, we can’t – it’s hard to say you’re just going to point fingers at this or this. I mean, we’re all encompassing because my fingerprints are on this, and so are the players’. So, it’s all of us.”
On Lions RB Jamaal Williams’ production this season and how that will change when Lions RB D’Andre Swift comes back: “Yeah, I think – look, Jamaal, it didn’t surprise me at all. I mean, Jamaal he’s a work horse, man, he gets in there and he just – he’s very consistent and he’s going to give you a full day’s work. You can always count on it, and since he took more of the load you saw the production come out of there. And I think – what it does is it just enables you. When Swift comes back, you’ll be very particular on what plays you’re giving him. Most bang for his buck, that you’re not putting a load on him to where he gets exposed to injury. So, that’s where it helps you. But certainly, we trust Jamaal.”
On if it is hard to separate the respect for a coach and being objective when making personnel change decisions: “Yeah, I don’t believe that. Look, it was – I mean, even – I know it was at the end of the year, I had a ton of respect for (49ers Assistant Head Coach/Running Backs) Anthony Lynn and I made a tough decision. I’ve had to do this before and I’m not afraid to make a hard decision if I really believed that’s where it was the cause of it, and I don’t believe it is. I believe that (Lions Defensive Coordinator) Aaron Glenn is the right man for the job and he gives us our best – he gives us our best hope, our best option to run this defense. I just do.”
On Seahawks RB Rashaad Penny’s comments yesterday that they showed what they were doing on defense and if they are too predictable when it comes to the run defense: “No, but it’s something to – because they got us twice. They schemed us up, they got us and he’s – Penny’s absolutely right. They got us. But that’s the first time we’ve been exposed in those two fronts, third-and-long. One was third-and-medium, one was third-and-long, and they did. So, now alright, now they got us. And so, it’s on tape and it’s certainly something to be aware of, but that’s the first time we’ve been exposed on the run in those fronts that we’ve given. Those have been a lot of pressure fronts for us, and so yeah it – at this point, yeah, here we go. It’s on tape now.”
On if he expects to get any of the players who are on the reserve lists back at practice this week: “We’re talking about starting (Lions CB) Jerry (Jacobs)’s clock, and (Lions DL Josh) Paschal, potentially Wednesday, starting their clock.”
On if players such as Lions DL Levi Onwuzurike, Lions WR Jameson Williams, Lions DL Romeo Okwara, and Lions FB Jason Cabinda will return shortly after the bye week: “I think the one that has the best chance right after the bye – or closer than the others is Cabinda. He’s probably the closest of those three you just named.”
On the injury status of Lions CB Amani Oruwariye and Lions C Evan Brown: “Yeah, Amani I think is going to be OK. And Evan is – he’s got an ankle. I don’t think it’s long term, but it’s a day-to-day. We’ll see where it is. It’s a little puffy this morning, but it sounds optimistic, but we’ll see.”
On Lions LB Malcolm Rodriguez leaving the game yesterday: “He had a little bit of stinger. He appeared to be OK today though.”
On Lions WR Quintez Cephus’ injury status: “Yeah, he’s another one. We won’t know. We won’t know. I don’t know where he’s at. He’s got a foot. So, he’s probably not as optimistic as some of the other ones we were talking about, but there again, he’s getting an MRI right now.”
On if there are any plans in place for changes to the kicker personnel: “Yeah, we’re bringing in some guys to kick, just to get a look at them, and we’re hopeful of maybe – we’re hopeful to see if we can get (Lions K Austin) Seibert to kick Wednesday, see where he’s at. So, we’re just keeping our options open, looking at everything.”
On if Lions DL Levi Onwuzurike has made any progress in his injury rehab: “I mean, yeah it’s not moving, so – that meter’s not moving, so there again, we’re just kind of – see where he goes.”
On what he has seen from Lions DL Aidan Hutchinson and the progress he has made in his first four games: “Yeah, look, I think he’s come a long way. I mean I think every week, he’s getting a little bit better. I think he’s one of the players that I think we need to look long and hard about, ‘Do we need to move him in some different spots? Do we need see if we can give him an opportunity to have more success?’ But look, I think he did a lot of good things in the run game yesterday, and look, I think he’s kind of where our defense is right now, where we’ve just got to improve, I mean get a little bit better, and I think we can all help each other. Just like when we get good coverage, we’ve got to get rush. When we get good rush, we’ve got to be able to cover, so – but I’m certainly not disappointed in him.”
On if the Lions plan to switch Lions DL Aidan Hutchinson from a three-point stance to a two-point stance after he had success with the same switch in college at Michigan: “Yeah, I think – and some of that could be with thinking about moving him a little bit potentially. If you decided you were going to put him on the open edge or do you keep him in the close – if he’s going to be down over the tight end, it’s hard to be in a two, just to play the run – not that you can’t. But you’re going to be much more on top of a tight end or a tackle, where it’s a little easier on the other edge, so look, we’re all open to whatever is most comfortable. Like if he feels like he can get his job done up, listen, no problem. So, I don’t feel like that’s an issue with him or that’s going to change anything, but we kind of take it all into account. If it’s something he feels like he’s more comfortable at, we’ll go with that.”
On if finding the best place to play Lions DL Aidan Hutchinson is impacted by his body frame: “That’s right, yeah.”
On the Seahawks success on first down and converting short second-down plays and how he plans to address the issue: “Well, you know, they got us on a number of boots. They weren’t good, they got us on quarterback scramble – you’re talking about on first down? Yeah, the runs were getting – one point, man, I think it was their first-and-10, first-and-10, I think there was three or four first-and-10s in a row on one drive, which that’s – and so they were just – listen man, the boots got us. We’ve had a couple of blown assignments on the perimeter, so that was just easy throw and catch there. They were efficient with their pass game. The play-action was pretty good for them, so they just – I feel like they were one step ahead of us, and (Seahawks QB) Geno (Smith) played a good game. He did well.”