LIONS HEAD COACH DAN CAMPBELL QUOTE SHEET
December 6, 2023
Opening Statement: “Got a really good opponent this week. Look, this team’s playing at a high level. They’ve been playing pretty good. Obviously, got (Bears QB Justin) Fields back against us the first time and played a really good game against us. We were fortunate to come out with a win. And then Minnesota, man they’re playing at a high level right now. The quarterback’s playing well. He’s dangerous with his legs. This defense is opportunistic, eight turnovers in two games and they’re relentless, man this team plays hard. So, we’re going to have our hands full this week. There’s nothing easy about this one.”
On if Lions DL Bruce Irvin’s production against the Saints makes them want to get him more involved: “Yeah, I mean I think it’s – we would like to work him in more. And that was the plan last week was give him some opportunities and then see where he’s at there, see how he handled it, see how his body is and then potentially get him some more, so we’re looking into that. But yeah, he’s – I would say he’s earned that.”
On the opportunities Lions DLs Josh Paschal, Brodric Martin and Levi Onwuzurike will have with Lions DL Alim McNeill being placed on Reserve/Injured: “It’s a great opportunity for those guys. And that’s all you can ask for. If you’re one of them, you’re excited. Let me say this, losing Mac for these four weeks is going to be tough because he’s been a reliable, steady, productive player for us and he’s really come into his own this year. I mean, he’s just grown every year, but this year was – he was big, he was a force for us and the guys have got a lot of respect for him, so that hurts. But at the same token, man, this train moves on and that’s the nature of the game we play in. And we’ve dealt with it all year. We’ve dealt with it three years, every team goes through it and so it’s next man up. It’s a great opportunity. Levi, Brodric, (Lions DL Quinton) Bohanna, (Lions DL Isaiah) Buggs. I mean, everybody – we’re looking at next man up and these guys are getting an opportunity to prove their worth here and help us out.”
On what Lions DL Levi Onwuzurike needs to do to see time on the field consistently: “Yeah, I just think, there again, it’s been reps and some of these come down to just the position itself between the bigs in the middle, to OLB, to hybrid and (Lions DL John) Cominsky’s kind of a hybrid. (Lions DL) Romeo (Okwara)’s a little bit in that nature and so we can’t overload in one position, or another. And so, it’s just he’s kind of been the odd guy out, but he works his rear off and it’s really time on task. The more reps he gets, the better he’s going to be and he continues to grow, so we’re not disappointed with him. I mean, it’s – we’re excited that he’s healthy and he’s able to work, man. And he is growing, he is getting better.”
On what Lions DL Isaiah Buggs has to show them this week to have more opportunities to get out on the field: “Yeah, just be reliable. Reliable, dependable, do your job, be consistent.”
On if the defense as a whole needs to play differently without Lions DL Alim McNeill: “I don’t know. I mean, there’ll be some things that come up in a few situations, but I don’t think as a whole we’re going to need to change what we do. We’ll still be able to function and live in the world we’ve lived in. I mean certainly, there’ll be a couple adjustments, but I don’t think these are going to be major things for us.”
On if they have looked into the possibility of signing free agent DT Ndamukong Suh: “Yeah, listen, (Lions Executive Vice President and General Manager) Brad (Holmes)’s looked at all of it. I mean, we haven’t overlooked anybody. Brad – we got all up there. We’ve looked at everybody, so at this moment, we’ve made the decision we felt like was best for us.”
On how they have to approach the Bears this Sunday who are looking for revenge: “Yeah, I’m not worried about the whole revenge factor. I mean, we’re hungry and we’ve got to win to win. So, we want this too, now. I mean – and I think for them, look man, they’re playing pretty good football right now and they want to win. So, I think – I’m not worried about revenge, I’m worried about what this team presents. (Bears QB) Justin Fields, man, he’s an issue. (Bears WR DJ) Moore, he’s an issue. This D-line is long, explosive, they run, they hit, they’re sound. This returner on kickoff return, (Bears WR Velus) Jones (Jr.), I mean – so just like any other week, it’s the issues inside the game from the matchups, the one-on-one matchups, to the scheme, the schematic. Look, weather’s going to play a factor in this one, but it’s also, that’s a great equalizer, I love that. Turnovers and weather is a great equalizer. It puts you on a little bit more even playing ground and I feel like that works for us too. I’m sure they feel like it works for them, it works for us too. So, this is going to be good, this is going to be a good battle.”
On what Lions DL Tyson Alualu brings to the table and if he will need time to acclimate and get into football shape before he plays similar to Lions DL Bruce Irvin: “Yeah, I think – we had him out yesterday. He’s been staying in shape, he looked good, just wanted to see what he looked like, did the medical and so it’s, ‘OK, here we go, and let’s get him shape, let’s get him in football shape like Bruce.’ And honestly, it’s a guy who brings – he brings the floor. He brings stability. And so, you kind of know what you’re going to get, exactly what you’re going to get, and that gives us comfort. And he’s got a little versatility to him, and there again, he’s an addition to the roster. And so, once we get him to where we feel like, alright, he’s in game shape, or he’s ready to do that, then we’ll make a decision. Do we – let’s see if he can help us.”
On how important it is to build positive relationships with his players and staff as a head coach: “It’s – a lot. It’s a lot, it’s a lot. You have to be able to understand kind of where everybody’s coming from, the psyche of the players, the coaches, all of it. There’s – and so I think it’s a huge part of it. You’ve got to be able to do everything, but I think if you can’t put yourself in the shoes of the person that you’re talking to, or you’re dealing with, no matter what situation they’ve been in, I think it’s hard to relate to them. And there’s a fine line. But I think that, but it’s also look, man we’re a village here. I’m not the only one. We’ve got a really great resource staff, our player development group, (Lions Co-Director of Player Engagement) Jessica (Gray) and (Lions Co-Director of Player Engagement) Sean (Pugh) and then the coaches, that’s another reason why you want to hire coaches that are good communicators and they can relate, but also push and get the most out of these players. So, I think it’s all-encompassing.”
On if they need to change their evaluation process of in-game injuries to protect players from trying to re-enter and despite not being 100 percent and potentially making the injury worse: “How do you know that made them worse? Yeah, I’d be careful on that assumption because I think if we really felt like, man they’re going to make this thing worse, we’re not putting them back in there. It’s not worth all that to where, alright man, we can see if he can limp along and now we’re going to lose him for six weeks, well we’re not doing that, but if the player thinks they can do it, then – and that’s like (Lions DL Alim McNeill) Mac went back in there, he tried, hey, it doesn’t feel right? Came back out, but it wasn’t – so I don’t feel that way.”
On if they need to evaluate how to protect players from themselves when they may want to re-enter a game after injury: “Listen, absolutely. And I think that, to me there’s a difference between – man, you get some of these you think you’re going to make them worse, like these can become significant if – it’s not worth it. But if these are things – listen, the thing’s stable, it’s a pain issue. Now, whether you can deal with it or not, that’s up to the player, it’s not – but I think those are a little bit different and if it’s, look it’s not going to get worse, he’s going to have to deal with pain, he wants to go back in, I’m all for it. But, if we feel like, man we’re going to put – we could put this player behind and relative to the production we’re going to get out of him being less than 100 percent, it’s probably not worth it, then yeah, we don’t want to do that to our guys.”
On how much of an emphasis they need to place on stopping Bears QB Justin Fields’s run game: “Every week, I guarantee you, every team does the same as what we’re talking about is how you contain this guy. You keep him in the pocket, you don’t let him out and every week he gets out, every week. It’s on the Minnesota tape and I guarantee you, (Vikings Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores) B Flo’s telling them, ‘This is how we have to hold this guy in there. This is how we have to rush, this is how we have to contain,’ And sure enough, he makes another play. He’s just – it’s a different speed, it’s a different quickness and it’s hard to simulate in practice. We’re going to do the best we can with it, but it’s always got to be an emphasis and he’s just – listen, he’s dangerous. He’s one of these rare, dangerous players and I’ll tell you what he’s done a really good job of, from last year to this year is once he – man, if it’s a pass and he starts to move, he’s still moving with eyes down the field much more than I felt like he had previously and that’s extremely dangerous because even in Minnesota, he had two or three receivers wide open after he had kind of run, found a way through, broke contain and all of a sudden he gets an explosive pass off of it. But he is dangerous and he – everything starts with him, for us defensively, and containing these guys.”
On if there was an experience in his career as a player that shaped his principle of making sure players know he remains confident in them despite things not going their way: “I don’t know if I could necessarily pinpoint one thing. I just – but I think you know when a coach believes you and if you feel like they don’t necessarily. So, I mean for me, most of the time it was if I was getting cussed at, that was probably a good sign. If you weren’t getting talked to, that’s probably not good, so that always was a positive for me like, ‘Alright, good, you’re still getting cussed at, they like you.’ But times have changed a little bit. But I think – look man, I know this, confidence is a huge part of any player’s psyche. It makes you play so much faster, so much more free and so I think – but that comes from practice, right. I mean, the confidence comes from doing what you’re coached to do, working through the little things and that’s where you first gain it, man. You do it right in practice, or you mess it up in practice and then come back and correct it from what a coach told you to, man you gain confidence from that and I think that’s our job is to foster confidence, but you can’t just give it, man it’s got to be earned and it’s got to be worked for.”
On if he thinks Lions DBs Brian Branch and C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Lions DL Alim McNeill and Lions T Taylor Decker going back in games after sustaining an injury caused their injuries to be more severe: “I don’t feel that way, I don’t feel that way, I don’t. Look, Decker, maybe because he did, he played the whole game on that thing. I think C.J., it was done and he just willed himself to play the rest of that game, it was already torn, which we didn’t know at the time, which is hard. You do the test and he’s good and he feels – and so, look, there’s always going to be a little bit of that give and take. You do the best you can with it and you’ve got to trust your doctors and you’ve got to trust the player too at some point and then use your gut on it. But I don’t think this is – this is something – if we think we’re going to set a player back and he’s out for the rest of the year, you’re going to set him back six weeks, or whatever that is – I mean that’s – no, it doesn’t make sense.”
On how Lions C Frank Ragnow is feeling after sustaining an injury against the Saints on Sunday: “Good, good, he’s feeling good.”
LIONS QB JARED GOFF QUOTE SHEET
December 6, 2023
On what gives him the confidence to play in the weather conditions he might see this week in Chicago: “Yeah, whatever it may be, we’ll be ready, and I’ll be ready. And I’ve played in cold games, and windy games and all sorts of games. So, yeah, we’ll see what it is, and I’ll be ready to go.”
On the worst conditions to play in as a quarterback: “You’d like it to be 70 and sunny every time, but you can’t always have that. So, I don’t know, anything that’s not that would be somewhat unfavorable, but you play in it every week. We’ve been lucky to be in a dome a lot this year, but if you play outside, play in a little weather, you deal with it. I’ve had some of my best games in weather. So, yeah, we’ll see.”
On if he can reference a game when he had a memorable performance in tough weather conditions: “In L.A. we played the Giants in 2017 – 2017 we played the Giants, I think we won 51-17 or something and it was raining, it was windy and we threw the hell out of it and had a good day.”
On playing a team twice in such a short amount of time: “Yeah, it’s interesting that you get them so back-to-back, and they only had one game of inventory for us to see in between. So, yeah, it’s interesting and they’re dealing with it too, so it’s always a little bit funky. But yeah, they’ll have something new for us as we will for them.”
On the biggest challenges Chicago’s defense presented last time: “I think they’re so improved from earlier in the year. And then even last year, how stout they are on the inside, how good they are against the run and then how hard they play. I mean they play hard and they’ve got really good players on every level. And I think their coaches have done a really good job of putting them in the right spots to make plays and they’re playing confidently.”
On if he thinks about how to maintain the offense’s level of success or about how much they are leaving on the table: “You tend to think about that, yeah. Obviously, the grand picture of the season we’ve done some good things, but who we are and what makes us great is that we see the things that you miss on, that you wish you could have back and that if you would’ve done that, it would’ve been a perfect day. And so yeah, that’s what makes us great. We’re always pushing to be better and know we’ve done some good things but can be a lot better and that’s still an exciting part.”
On if a tight end like Lions TE Sam LaPorta becomes more valuable in a weather-dependent game: “Yeah, it could be. I mean it depends on what we end up doing. I don’t think we’ll change our gameplan much on what the conditions may be. So, if he’s involved and it’s going to be no conditions, I don’t think it would change much if it was conditions. Yeah, we’ll see as the week goes, where he’ll be. I don’t think we’re thinking too much about it. But yeah, he’s done a good job getting himself open and making those catches when it matters and a guy that I trust a lot.”
On how he does not let the weather conditions affect him: “Yeah, nothing I can do about it. Nothing I can do about it. So, if it rains, it rains. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t. We get to play indoors at home which is great, but if you’re outdoors and there’s weather, you deal with it and you play. Guys do it every week, all around the League and you’re in, so you just deal with it.”
On if rain is the worst precipitation to play in: “It can be. It can be. Last year, we played at the Giants, Giants or Jets it was windy and yeah, that can have an impact on some things, but you deal with it, you make the throws you need to make, get the ball and try to win a game.”
On Lions OL Graham Glasgow’s ability to play multiple positions on the offensive line: “Yeah, it’s been fun. It’s been really fun to see that. Obviously, (Lions C) Frank (Ragnow) is one of a kind and having him in there is a difference maker for us, but when Graham has to come in and handles it so well mentally, physically, all of it, handles it really well. Last game was no different and then moving forward, we’ll see what happens, but he’s done a great job being ready to go and making sure he’s on top of what he needs to be on top of.”
On if he ever uses a glove on his throwing hand and if that makes it more difficult to throw: “Yeah, I’ve done gloves on both hands in the past. And is it difficult? No, I love it. There’s a certain threshold I always joke about like it has to be cold enough. If it’s not cold enough, then it’s not very helpful, but when it’s cold enough, it is. I think it’s very helpful for me personally and something I’ve used in the past, so yeah, we’ll see this weekend.”
On if wind or snow is harder to play in for a quarterback: “They’re both challenges that you overcome. You just deal with it. I don’t think either one is particularly harder than the other. But yeah, if it’s not perfect conditions, they’re playing in it too, so you just deal with it and make the throws you need to make and compete as best as you can and try to win a game.”
On Lions WR Donovan Peoples-Jones’s progression: “Yeah, he’s done a great job and I think we’d like to get him involved more as this year goes on. And he’s been helpful, he’s been having a great attitude, he’s doing a lot of good things during practice and trying to find ways to get him involved certainly.”
On the key to finishing the season strong: “Yeah, just turn our urgency up a little bit and know what time it is and know that kind of everyone is in that mode of you have to win these games and everyone has things that they’re going for. And no one’s out of it and everyone’s trying to win a game, so knowing that you have to turn your urgency up a little bit and stay process-oriented and trust what you’re doing daily in practice. But yeah, certainly your intensity turns up a little bit this late in the year.”
On if their urgency turns up more being that three of their last five games are divisional opponents: “Yeah, sure. Those games always feel like they count a little bit more, so yeah, I don’t think it changes what we’re thinking about this week when we play the Bears. And they are a division opponent, so yeah, it’ll be another challenge for us. But yeah, looking forward, we do have some more coming up, but right now it’s about the Bears.”
On if there is something about Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell’s approach that made him well suited to lead this team to success: “Yeah, I think last year we talked about this a bunch of his ability to stand in front of a room in the face of adversity and in the face of challenges and be able to be the same guy every day and to speak confidently to the room and to never lose belief in us when things are bad. And they were bad for quite some time for there early on and that speaks to who he is and why we believe in him and why we trust him and why he’s the leader of this team.”
On how they know that Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell still believes in them in times of adversity: “The way he speaks to us. And again, this is two years ago and then early parts of last year. The way he speaks to us, the way he tells us and how genuine he is and yeah, he’s a hell of a leader and a hell of a coach that we’re happy to have.” | |
