LIONS HEAD COACH DAN CAMPBELL QUOTE SHEET
January 6, 2023
Opening Statement: “Start here, man, it’s great news on (Bills S) Damar (Hamlin). Man, that’s awesome. It’s unbelievable, but I think that just – the power of prayer, I believe it, and that’s just great news. It’s great news, start off there, everything else for us is – here we are, last day really of work, red zone work for us to get ready for the opponent, and these first two days have been good. Injuries are good. (Lions S) DeShon (Elliott)’s had two good days of work. (Lions C) Frank (Ragnow) will practice today, so it’s good.”
On if the good news about Bills S Damar Hamlin’s recovery lifts a cloud around the League: “I feel like – yeah, I do feel that way, and I know for me, just me personally, to see that, it feels like, it’s kind of a sigh of relief. I do think there’s a little bit of a black cloud lifted or a load off. That’s just great news because that’s all you think about is him and his family, and so it’s just great. It really is.”
On if he still fired up about the Packers game or if he has leveled off: “Yeah no, I’m excited. I mean our guys are excited. These opportunities don’t always come around, and I think you go through these things in life, and you don’t always what they’re going to be, but one day you’re going to look back and say, ‘Man, you had these special moments that you were able to be a part of.’ And I try to tell those guys you just don’t know when those are going to come up or what it’s going to mean, but I know this, when you’re done playing, you miss the hell out of it. And this will be one of those moments I believe they’ll always remember, this group, this team.”
On if he can pinpoint the turning point for the season after starting with a 1-6 record: “Yeah, I don’t know like true turning point, I don’t know. There again, it was – certainly, we got in the win column after losing five in a row against this opponent at home, whatever 10 weeks ago. And I just think it was a combination of things, but I think at some point, there again, we knew we were one play away, and it’s hard to say that when you lose five weeks in a row. Yeah, you’re one play away, but you’re not making the play, but yet, it wasn’t – it wasn’t like we were playing disastrous football, we’re not even competing. So, I just think they really did know, it was, ‘We are close.’ And we do a couple things a little bit different, and everybody – let’s get the sensitivity out of it. Let’s all thicken our skins here, and let’s lay it out all on the table, and let’s just correct the issues and not worry about whether I did something wrong or how I’m going to be viewed, and I think that goes a long way. And that really comes from the team. That comes from our guys in the locker room. It’s a little bit like (Lions Defensive Coordinator Aaron Glenn) AG said, enough is enough, and that started it. You get one, and then you’re able to get another one, which is the first one on the road, Chicago, and then you get another one, and pretty soon, you begin to learn how to win, and that’s what we’ve done.”
On his confidence in Lions S DeShon Elliott playing Sunday: “I’m pretty confident. I’m pretty confident. I’m confident enough to where he would have to have a setback today, a major setback on day three for that not to happen. That’s how I feel right now.”
On the importance of Lions DL Isaiah Buggs and his impact in stopping the run: “He’s extremely important, and I kind of feel like every week, you talk about the run game, it always starts inside. Everything for us starts inside and works its way out because if those guys don’t do their job, then all the strain starts to go out on the guys who that’s not necessarily what they’re able to do a full game of, whereas man, Buggs and (Lions DL Alim McNeill) Mac, I feel like those two guys are linked. They’re always going to be linked, and it all starts with them. They’ve got bang a way in there, they’ve got to hold the point, they’ve got to be violent, but to your point, yeah, Buggs needs to have a big game. He needs to have a big game, like to me, he needs to have one of the biggest games he’s had all season. He needs to have a better game than he had last week because they are running it, and they’ve got a one-two punch with these backs. We know (Packers RB Aaron) Jones is dynamic, but (Packers RB A.J.) Dillon will just bang away in there now, and they’ll hit them four or five a pop, and pretty soon, they start getting them out of there, and they’ll lean on you upfront. And they’re going to want to do that. They’re going to want to do that this game. It’ll help (Packers QB Aaron) Rodgers, and it helps their play-action pass, so Buggs is huge, so is Mac.”
On if Lions RB D’Andre Swift has turned a corner physically: “Well, I’d like to feel that way. It’s the best he’s looked, and you can tell he felt well, he felt good, was moving well, and then really, these last two days of practice, I feel like have been two of his better days all year. So, that would lead me to believe that he is trending the right way. He looks like he feels good. He’s got a smile on his face, he’s out there working, and so, yeah, I feel pretty good about where he’s at. I think we all do right now.”
On how different the offense is when Lions RB D’Andre Swift is healthy: “Well, look, I think the third-and-10 we had the other day kind of speaks volumes. When you get in a situation like that where maybe you don’t always want to throw it or put yourself in a bad position, but yet, you still want the ability, maybe something can happen with a handoff. Well, with him like that, anything is possible. It’s a little bit – last year, we go to Seattle right before halftime, and we just hand him the ball on a screen. He gets whatever that is, 30-something yards, and gets us in field goal range almost. And so, he’s got that type of firepower with him being healthy, and when he’s that way, it’s not always about scheming up the perfect play for Swift. It’s about just getting him started. As long as we can get him clean to the line of scrimmage, and you know he can have one-on-one in space, like you’ll take him all day. And so, that’s where – whereas it’s not always that way. A lot of times you feel like you’ve got to scheme everything perfectly, but when a guy like him is feeling the way he’s feeling, it’s, ‘Just get him started. And he’ll do the rest for you.’”
On if there is a focus on the cleats they will wear to combat field conditions at Lambeau: “Oh yeah. Yeah, oh yes. So yeah, that’s been a big deal. I started the week with that. Put up there a bunch of clips of players slipping at Lambeau, and that’s one of our keys to victory is wearing the proper shoes, and our guys know it. They’re on it. Shoot, they’ve worn them the last two days, what they’re going to wear out there. They’ve worn it on our field. So, it’s been good, and we’ve gotten pretty good work out there. The field’s been a little moist here. It’ll be moist again today from some of the drizzle we’ve gotten, so it’s really, we’re getting perfect conditions. The only thing is it’s not quite as cold as it’ll be there, but it’s not like it’s not cold here. But yeah, shoes are big. Shoes are big. Slipping is not an excuse this week.”
On why players are reluctant to wear shoes built to combat slippery surfaces: “Well, they hurt. I mean they hurt your feet. It’s like putting rocks in your shoes and then going out there and running around. They just hurt, but that’s a small price to pay to keep your feet and not let your teammate down. They just don’t feel as good as the other ones, that’s the bottom line.”
On how much he was involved in the decision to change the type of turf in Ford Field this offseason: “Well, I did a bunch of research. I’ve tested a number of different – just joking. I didn’t test anything. No, (Lions President and CEO) Rod (Wood) is – look, we’ve talked about it. This has been in the making for a while, and Rod’s been talking about this for before anything came up about the grass and this and that. But we know that – look, we’re committed – (Lions Principal Owner and Chair) Sheila (Ford Hamp) and Rod are committed to finding – whatever it is, we know we can’t have grass. We’re a dome team, so let’s find the very best, the best rated turf that we can get, and so, that’s been a priority. So, I’ve known that’s been going on. I think that’s a big deal. I think that’s another reason why – look man, this is a good place to be. When you have ownership that’s willing to do anything, and it kind of starts with the players, I think they think that way. I think that’s big.”
On if he will avoid watching the Rams-Seahawks game: “I mean I’ll watch. I’ll probably watch, more just to see the score. I don’t want to get invested in it emotionally. I just want to see the score periodically. That’s me, and I know our guys will be looking at the score, but I think that that’s – just keep it at arms’ length is what I would say. That’s the best way to approach it.”
LIONS ASSISTANT HEAD COACH/RUNNING BACKS COACH DUCE STALEY QUOTE SHEET
January 6, 2023
On the significance of reaching 1,000 rushing yards in a season as a player: “Yeah, it means a lot not just to the running back, to the team, to the offense, just to hit that milestone. I mean, you work hard. You work hard and I remember Jon Runyan, some of those guys, Tre Thomas, some of those guys would come to me and say, ‘Hey, man.’ They would keep up with how many yards they need more than me, and say, ‘Hey, you need 12 yards, you need 15 yards man, we’re going to get it on this play, or we’d get it on that play.’ So, they were more excited about it than I was and it’s huge for (Lions RB) Jamaal (Williams), it’s big, being this is his first. And I’m happy for him, this kid’s been working his butt off since he’s been here and it shows.”
On Lions RB Jamaal Williams approaching former Lions RB Barry Sanders’ touchdown record and how much he wants to see him break the record: “Now, that’s big. Yeah, that’s huge. Oh no doubt, we all do, everybody in the building wants to see him go out there and do it. And tell you what, he’s going to have many chances.”
On how much the offensive line contributes to the running backs room’s success: “Oh man, it’s them. It’s all them and most running backs will tell you that. They paved the way for us and it’s one of the things especially in our room, I say, ‘Alright, these guys will get you four, you’ve got to go get another four.’ And it’s to set that bar high and they buy into it and they know how hard the hogs work. And they go over there and they tell them thank you. You’ll see them during the game, going to talk to them, you see (Lions RB D’Andre) Swift, (Lions RB) Jamaal (Williams), (Lions RB Justin Jackson) JJ and those guys walk down to the other side of the bench and they’re talking to them about maybe a read they missed or maybe something that they can help each other on, on how this guy’s playing. And it’s just good to see that interaction, so that part of it has carried on in the building and on the field.”
On what it says about the versatility of the offense to have over 4,000 receiving yards and over 2,000 rushing yards in a season: “All credit goes to these players, man. All the credit, these guys bought in from day one, they knew that the task was a tall task just to get out there and kind of – we put the pressure on them. Put a lot of pressure on them and they knew how hard we were going to be on them, we demand a lot. And I’ll tell you man, they showed up every day. Some days were of course better than others and we all know about this League, this is a violent League man, violent, violent League and these guys go out there and put their bodies on the line. But every day they came to practice and every day they came to work.”
On how he has dealt with the emotional wave of this week in terms of what happened to Bills S Damar Hamlin and preparing for Green Bay: “Yeah, tough week, definitely our thoughts, our prayers go out to the family and of course Hamlin. And just being – just sitting in that seat and just remember some of the hard licks I took, none of those compare to what he’s been through of course and I think the most important thing is just to talk about it with our guys and that’s what we did. Had a conversation about it, talk about it and kind of get them a chance to get it out their chest, anything they want to share and those guys, man, I mean this is a good group. This is a good group and of course their hearts go out to the Buffalo family, the fans, everybody over there and all the things that were done to kind of make this situation as comfortable as possible. And once again, I heard that he was talking. Yeah, that’s awesome, man. That’s awesome.”
On if he had ever experienced or witnessed an incident like Bills S Damar Hamlin: “Yeah, well being in those shoes on the other side, or a teammate of yours, anytime anybody goes down you don’t know. Especially when the doctors come out, the trainers come out, you have people kind of standing over them and of course as a player when you don’t see them pop up as quickly as you want them to pop up you start thinking, ‘Alright, man, what’s wrong? What happened?’ So, it’s been a couple of injuries like that. Of course, nothing as serious as this, but you have guys who of course tear their knee, neck injuries and things of that sort. But like I said, nothing compares to this.” | |
