LIONS HEAD COACH DAN CAMPBELL QUOTE SHEET
December 23, 2024
Opening Statement: “Good win by our guys, good bounce back, which I knew they would, they always respond the right way. We have a good group, good group of coaches too getting them ready to roll. Things we did well, no turnovers on offense, it’s been a while since we did that, that was a point of emphasis, took care of the ball, protected it well, (Lions QB Jared) Goff was awesome with it, smart decisions. Run game efficiency was one of the highest we’ve had all year. The area where we weren’t great was red zone, rushing the ball, but overall, we did a good job. The offensive line upfront, (Lions RB Jahmyr) Gibbs, the tight ends helped us out, receivers certainly, blocking on the perimeter were good. Had 10 explosives, nine passes, one run, third down was good, seven-of-12, so that really got us to the point where we were able to score the points that we were. Defensively, shut down that run game which was going to be a point of emphasis. Got two takeaways, back-to-back series which was huge. We turned those into 10 points. We were good on third down, now we gave up a couple of them that bled into fourth down, but we were in good position a number of times, had them backed up, long-yardage situations, so we just close a couple of those out, we’re going to be that much better for it. But all in all, I thought the guys played hard. We talked about our identity, it was all over the tape, guys running, finishing on the football, we were disruptive, and we came away with a W. So, really proud of those guys. Offensively, our game balls were (Lions WR Amon-Ra) St. Brown and (Lions WR Jameson Williams) Jamo, both of those guys had huge games and really it was probably Jamo’s best game that he’s had since he’s been here and I’m talking about from run blocking as well as the pass game which everybody sees, so that was great. I also thought the O-line up front, all of those guys, (Lions TE Sam) LaPorta, talked about Gibbs, did a really good job. Then defensively, (Lions CB) Amik (Robertson) gollee, it was great, him outside. We felt good about that move and then moving (Lions DB Brian) Branch back to nickel just to give us the best line up on the backend, and I’ll tell you what, Amik was just outstanding. Covered great all day but also physical on the perimeter. The number of tackles and tough plays that he made really showed up. He was a force for us, so that was good. Then, (Lions CB Terrion Arnold) TA gave up that one touchdown, but really, he had a pretty good game, he really did. He did some things that were pretty good. He challenged out there, had the play in the red zone, knocked it down, that was good to see. And (Lions LB) Ben Niemann did some really good things. Special teams, (Lions DL) Pat O’Connor was a force on kickoff, he was the whole game. We had a lot of those kickoffs and he just – it was hard for them to block him, and he continued on the front side of those to really squeeze it, compact it down, make the plays. Special teams, I thought (Lions TE Shane) Zylstra, (Lions RB Sione) Vaki and (Lions RB) Craig Reynolds really did a good job for us there. So, that’s kind of it, good win and now it’s – in two days here, for the most part, getting prepared for San Francisco, going to let the players have off for Christmas and then we’ll come back in the day after and get ready for these guys. So, another tough matchup, we know what this was last year when we went out there and weren’t able to win, so this’ll be good. We’re looking forward to this.”
On Lions S Ifeatu Melifonwu’s performance and why he was confident in him handling the game load: “Well, he’s just the – from a physical standpoint of conditioning and all that, it’s not football, but he’s basically been running since training camp because he hadn’t practiced, so at least you know that his heartrate’s up, his muscles are in tune, and so we felt good about that. And it’s really – we need him, we have to have him. There is no other choice, there is no other option, you have to be able to go, so he did. I thought for not having played since training camp, it was solid. It really was. Now, it was rusty, he’s got improvement to make, he knows that, and he will improve. But for the first game back, I thought it was a solid performance.”
On Lions OL Christian Mahogany’s performance yesterday: “Another one I would say encouraging. It was encouraging. I did think that he tried to play violent. It was not too big for him. I thought (Lions C) Frank (Ragnow) and (Lions T Taylor) Decker and them helped him out, sandwiched between those two, and I thought it was – man, first time out, he’s another guy, he didn’t get to play any preseason, a rookie, but he’s continued to just get better and better on our look team, going against our defense all year long and so to be able to get him a game, it was solid. It was solid, he did some really good things. So, there’s certainly something to continue to work with there and improve.”
On what Lions OL Christian Mahogany did to earn the backup guard spot over Lions G Kayode Awosika: “Just the amount of development that took place during that period knowing that we didn’t have him in training camp and you’re talking about basically, call it Week 3 of the season until two weeks ago, just the level of development that’s continued to go and he’s a young guy and it’s really that you’re not going to know unless you go. You feel like you see the improvement and the last thing to find out is, ‘Can he play in a real game?’ You feel like he can and so it was just, we felt like he went there. Yode has been solid, he’s been steady, we like Yode, we know what Yode can do. But we needed to find out with Mahogany and seeing the growth and the development, it was time.”
On if he expects Lions OL Graham Glasgow to play this week: “Yes, yeah. I see Graham coming back, I think he’s going to be ready to roll and he’s going to slip right back at left guard and start for us, he’ll be great.”
On if anyone on Reserve/Injured will come back to the active roster this week: “I’d like to – we’ll see where (Lions LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin) Germ’s at, he’s someone that’s a potential candidate, Jalen Reeves-Maybin. We started him last week, he got a practice or two, we’re going to get him more this week, see how he feels, where it’s at, and he is somebody that could potentially be brought up.”
On if Lions LB Alex Anzalone’s clock will start this week: “It’s close, I don’t know about this week, it’s close.”
On how much Lions Defensive Line/Run Game Coordinator Terrell Williams and Lions Assistant Defensive Line Coach Cameron Davis uphold the standard of the defensive line: “Well that’s where it starts, with those guys. It starts with (Lions Defensive Coordinator Aaron Glenn) AG, but then it’s – those are the guys who work directly with them, day in, day out, meetings, practice field, the whole thing, so both of those guys are huge to the development and the growth of that room from the vets who have been here to the guys that you see that are playing for us now, that are getting another opportunity, so guys that we brought in or young players that we’ve had on the practice squad, guys that have been on the roster that haven’t had the opportunity, and so that’s where they’ve done a great job. Terrell, I’ve known Terrell and long, long time and I just think that he’s an absolutely excellent coach, and Cam continues to grow as a coach as well and they work well together. I think they give our guys the best opportunity to have success in a game which is what you want.”
On if waiving former Lions S Brandon Joseph was due to what they needed on the roster or his off-field incident over the weekend: “Yeah, I just think it was the perfect storm is what it was. It was a little bit of both, and it was just the perfect storm of circumstances going into that last game, and so we felt like we had to make that move.”
On the quality that allows the team to not lose back-to-back games: “It’s really what all of those guys, everybody in this team is made of from the coaches to the players that we acquire and that we bring in, and it really is because of the people. So, I’m always going to use (Lions WR Amon-Ra) St. Brown as an example, but getting the bad taste out of your mouth is very important from losing and cleaning up the errors and not accepting what happened. It’s never a go in the tank, lose confidence, you want to compete. And I just think that we have a whole group of those guys. That’s what we’re made of, that’s what our locker room’s made of, from our quarterback to (Lions C) Frank (Ragnow) to (Lions T Penei) Sewell to (Lions T Taylor Decker) Deck to – I can keep going down the list. Defensively, all those guys that are over there, (Lions S) Kerby (Joseph), (Lions DB Brian) Branch, (Lions CB) Amik (Robertson), I mean we can keep going, but that’s really – those are our guys and our best players are our hardest workers and they’re out most resilient players and usually when that’s the case, you’re probably going to bounce back.”
On how much he has to tap into the NFC Championship loss to the 49ers from last season to motivate the team: “Yeah, I don’t think – honestly, I don’t think you have to tap into that. I think we know exactly where we’re at and we also know the team that we’re getting ready to go face. I haven’t done a deep dive yet, I know they’ve had injuries, but I also know that this head coach over there is an outstanding coach, they’ve been running their system offensively and defensively for a long time. This defense is a top notch defense, they always have been, it doesn’t matter where they’re at, they can get after the quarterback, they can get after your O-line, they run, they hit, they cause takeaways, and offensively, this scheme and this system, they’re going to find your weaknesses and try to exploit them, and they’ll just keep pick, pick, picking at it until they start getting explosives, they’ll lean on the run game and then play-pass. So, we have our work cut out for us, this is not going to be some – this is going to be a tough game. So, we know what we’re getting ready to walk into and we know that we have to win. We have to win and it’s onto the next one.”
On how he maintains the idea that they have to win the 49ers game even if the Vikings beat the Packers this week and the division title comes down to Week 18: “Yeah, I’ll make this easy for everybody that way all the critics can jump out and start attacking, but that way you don’t have to debate them anymore. We’re bringing everything that we have to this game, and we are playing, and I don’t care what it looks like, and where it’s at or who’s this, who’s that, we’re going out to play and win this game out on the west coast. So, there you go.”
On if there is added motivation to the players that were a part of the loss last season to the 49ers in the NFC Championship: “Anytime we lose, the thought of losing is going to motivate you to not want to lose again, particularly with where you were at. So, that’s always going to bring it’s own level of motivation to it, but it’s also, this is where we’re at in the season, we know that we need another win, we understand where we’re at in the division and the NFC, so I think it’s all encompassing. And look, most importantly, it’s the next one. It’s the next one in front of us.”
