LIONS HEAD COACH DAN CAMPBELL QUOTE SHEET
September 11, 2024
Opening Statement: “Really good opponent coming in here again. Third time in two years, so certainly we both have familiarity with each other, personnel-wise. Have a lot of respect for (Buccaneers Head) Coach (Todd) Bowles and what he’s done out there, really his whole career. It’s a tough, physical team, they’re disciplined, aggressive, particularly defensively. What they’re doing offensively is a lot of, really what we kind of saw last week. Then on top of things, they do well and have done well with (Buccaneers QB) Baker (Mayfield) and having (Buccaneers WR Mike) Evans out there, (Buccaneers WR Chris) Godwin, that whole thing, but really good personnel, quarterback’s tough, competitive. So, we got our hands full, but we’re looking forward to the challenge of it.”
On starting the season with two playoff rematches and how it could help the team: “Well, it doesn’t matter who you play. You have to find a way to win them. I think what’s unique is, I think the Rams last week and the Bucs here are certainly – they have a good chance of winning those divisions. They are certainly going to be competitive and be right there in the race, and so this is a chance to get an early one. You get an early one and you just don’t know what this is going to mean down the road and if you can put some money in the bank early in the season, it will pay big dividends for you down the road. So, I think that’s the way you have to look at it. That’s kind of looking out. Now in the moment, it’s – we just have to improve. I mentioned it the other day, we just have to get a little bit better and if we can do that as individuals, coaches, players, everything, then it’ll raise the floor of our team significantly this week. So that’s really where we have to hone in on that and just worry about ourselves right now and if we do that, we’ll be OK.”
On the biggest way that the Buccaneers are different or better since the last time that they played: “Well, this defense is, it’s an issue. It’s always been an issue. I mean they give you multiple fronts, multiple pressures, they disguise well, and so that in itself is always a headache. (Buccaneers NT) Vita Vea in the middle, these two edge rushers here are pretty good. They’ve grown, gotten better. (Buccaneers LB) Lavonte David in the middle, I just – with their personnel – I know they’re a little banged up, but we’ll see how all that stuff works out. They’re still going to have plenty of ammo over there, defensively. I think, look, it’s only been one game, but I do feel an improved offense when I watch last week’s game. I think (Buccaneers Offensive Coordinator Liam) Coen’s doing a good job over there, just what they’ve asked them to do. Certainly (Buccaneers WR Mike) Evans is a headache. Offensive line is improved, and they’ve got the backs. They’ve got a little bit of everything and then when you have (Buccaneers QB) Baker (Mayfield) who can facilitate it and run the show, it makes for a pretty efficient offense. This is going to be a good test for us. It’s going to be a really good test.”
On how much previously being on the Buccaneers team will help Lions CB Carlton Davis III this week: “Yeah, I think that helps. I think he’s very familiar, obviously, with them. He’s competed against – he and (Buccaneers WR Chris) Godwin now for a long period of time, so he’s got a really good feel there. But on the flip side of that, so does (Buccaneers WR Mike) Evans, right? So, they kind of know each other’s tricks of the trade, so it ought to be a pretty good battle whenever they’re on each other. But that helps, and certainly, we’ll pick his brain a little bit as we go here, as to just different thoughts and things. But I know this, I’m glad we got him. So, it’s good to have him out there running around. I thought that was a good Week 1 showing for him and he’ll only get better.”
On how the Buccaneers’ offense is different than what he saw at the end of last season: “Well I think there is more of a commitment to run the ball. There is a much more concerted effort to run the ball and I think there is a perfect play mentality with this offense. I think they’re going to give (Buccaneers QB) Baker (Mayfield) a lot more leeway to get into the right looks, right plays, ‘If you don’t like something, here’s your options.’ And I think when you have a quarterback that can handle that, it makes for a deadly offense, and I feel like that’s where it’s really – now there again, I know it’s one game, but when you know where he came from and what he’s about, and then you look at last week’s game, they do a good job of exploiting, they try to attack your schemes. What you think you do well, and they try to go after them. They had a couple of runs there, they just gutted Washington right up the pipe. A couple of these G-runs, traps, things of that nature, so these are quick hitters. You let these backs go downhill and they’re on you in a hurry and all of a sudden, it’s a 12-yard gain. You’re getting these explosive runs. Then off of that is the same look, same action and it’s play-pass, things of these natures. So, a lot of mirror looks but they were cooking the other day. Then all of a sudden, you get your one-on-one out here with (Buccaneers WR Mike) Evans, you just take it, and he goes and plays big man ball. That’s tough.”
On how excited he was when Lions CB Carlton Davis III was traded to the Lions and why he was the right fit for the defense: “There again, I think so much of it goes back to, you always want to know the players still got it. Certainly, that’s going to fall into it. We felt like, ‘Yeah, this player is still playing at a high level.’ Then I think just – I know for myself and (Lions Defensive Coordinator Aaron Glenn) AG, we kind of had a history on the other sideline watching this guy. I always thought he matched up better than anybody against (Saints WR) Mike Thomas in Mike’s heydays, and I just watched him grow that whole time I was in New Orleans and every year he got so much better and really became – he was the guy, you put him on an island, he was going to handle his business over there, that was pretty evident. So, knowing we were going to be able to maybe pull this off, we felt like we were going to get a guy who could handle his side of the field. Nobody’s asking it to be perfect, but we don’t feel like that’s something we have to worry about.”
On if Lions WR Tim Patrick is trending towards being placed on the active roster or if Lions WR Donovan Peoples-Jones is ahead of him because of his familiarity with the offense: “All of those guys are competing. That’s why when you’re on the vet squad, every day you put in the work and our eyes are open. I told them all that last week and so we’re paying close attention to him and (Lions WR Allen) Robinson (II) as well. So, all options are on the table, and we’ll just take it as it comes.”
On if all he believes all teams are victim to low passing yards because of the lack of playing starters in the preseason: “It’s tough to say. I can just tell you there’s a lot of mistakes that are made early in the season, a lot. And it’s on both sides of the ball, including us. We made plenty of errors. But I think if you’re a little bit ahead in the pass game, particularly early, you can get a jump on some teams, and so much of it too is defense makes an error and the quarterback finds it at the right time, those are massive plays. Those are explosive, some of them explosive touchdowns, and that’s just on a busted coverage, or, ‘I thought, you thought.’ And I think a lot of those happen early in the year, is where you see them, so that could be. I haven’t watched every game, obviously, thus far, but I’m sure that has something to do with it.”
On what ways the team plays with his personality: “I don’t know – I think we’re all in this together. I think we all feed off each other. I think we’ve all been around the core of this team. We’re going on four years together now, so I think we all kind of have the same heartbeat here. To answer that question, no. I don’t think there was a doubt in our mind that we were going to win that game, we’d find a way. There’s a hope and a belief, but that’s from a demonstrated ability to get it done and we’ve begun to prove that we can do that, but that’s taken a lot to get to this point and you have to prove it again every week.”
On what Lions LB James Houston needs to show him this week to be a factor in the lineup: “Well, so much of it is, it could be him or it’s the defensive back. So, what’s going to bring more to you and what plays into that is, and special teams is a big one. What about injury in other areas? So, maybe you need the insurance. Some of it is, what kind of production is that going to bring or how many snaps is he going to get? So, I can’t answer that clearly, but he’s another guy – I mean he’s here, he’s working, we’d love to get him up if the possibility presents itself or the opportunity presents itself, and so we’ll just take it as it comes.”
On how beneficial it is for Lions CB Terrion Arnold to get reps against some of the most productive wide receivers in the League and how much it will carry over later in the season: “Yeah, the better players you play, the better you’re going to get. Especially if you’re a competitor and Arnold is a competitor, and he is unfazed. I think that’s something that if you said, ‘What do you know about Arnold?’ One hundred percent, and for a guy this young, this early, I really feel like this guy’s unfazed. I don’t think you’re going to – you’re not going to have to worry about breaking his spirit or his competitiveness, he’s just going to keep coming back for the next one. So, when you know that, a guy who will just keep competing and keep trying to win and continue to improve and he faces better competition over and over, he’s just going to only raise his level of production and play. So, I feel good about it, I love where he’s at, he’s going to keep getting better and he’s going to be a good corner in this League for a while I believe.”
On what Lions LB Malcolm Rodriguez did to earn a defensive role in Week 1 after missing time in training camp: “Yeah, Rodrigo is – look we had no problem with Rodrigo playing. There’s a lot of trust and faith in him. He’s a smart, conscientious player. We do feel like he improved even before he had the injury, then when he came back, the hammy’s good, I mean he picked it up pretty quick for the time that he was able to get back in there. So, when you trust your guys to go in there and help you, that takes a load off. Our linebackers do so much for us, all of them. (Lions LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin) Germ, Rodrigo, (Lions LB) Alex (Anzalone), (Lions LB Derrick) Barnes, (Lions LB) Jack (Campbell), even (Lions LB Ben) Niemann, and so with all of those, we spread the load with them because we trust all of them and they can take reps off each other between special teams and defense, and so I think that’s how you get production but you also – we get down into December, January, I think this is going to help us out too.”
LIONS QB JARED GOFF QUOTE SHEET
September 11, 2024
On if the familiarity with the Buccaneers’ personnel offsets any scheme they have: “I mean, they’re tough, regardless. Sure, they’ve got some of the same players, but some of those players are actually out this week, so yeah, it’s a tough scheme, they do a lot of different things, it’s very multiple and we know that, and we were able to get away with two wins last year, but they’re a damn good team. We know that and they’ll be coming back this year for a little revenge, I’m sure.”
On how he approaches Week 2 given that he said last week that the name of the game is improvement: “Yeah, absolutely, it is. It’s a race to improve, that’s what we’re always talking about, and that starts in training camp, and it doesn’t stop when Week 1 happens, it goes all the way out throughout the year, and so we’re continuing that feeling right now.”
On how gratifying it was to see Lions WR Jameson Williams’ performance last week: “Yeah, it was fun, it really was, and it was on a ton of stuff that we’ve worked on. I mean, that route that – we talk about coming out the back, that little in cut he ran that really did come out the back, we’ve been working on that a ton over the last couple years, and to get it in a game the way it’s supposed to look is a lot of fun and I’m happy for him and it’s only the beginning.”
On letting Lions WR Jameson Williams have a moment after his touchdown before going over to celebrate: “Yeah, I was like, ‘Hey man, you going to give me some love or are you going to keep on looking at the fans?’ No, he was enjoying that moment. But yeah, that was fun. He certainly deserves that game ball, and it was exciting to see him do his thing.”
On how the ending of the Rams game reinforces the identity that the Lions have created: “Yeah, sure, I think we did wear them out a little bit there at the end and you could feel that when we were able to run the ball the way we were in that overtime and having that long drive right before that and then going to overtime and getting the ball back. You could feel it and it’s a testament to our conditioning and those guys up front and obviously (Lions RB) David (Montgomery) kind of putting the team on his back there, but yeah, it was a fun way to end it.”
On how rewarding it is for the offense to work well with Lions WR Jameson Williams when the opposition takes away Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown: “Yeah, absolutely. I mean, that’s going to happen, and I think what made us a good offense in the past is that last week it was Jameson and this week it could be him again, but it could be anyone. It could be (Lions TE) Sam (LaPorta), it could be (Lions WR) Kalif (Raymond), it could be – obviously St. Brown is a big part of it, but it could be anyone and that’s what’s good about our offense.”
On having two running backs that run well with different styles: “I think they’re both very unique in their own way, but we’re lucky to have them both. I mean, you look around the League, I don’t know how many guys have two guys that you feel so confident in and they do both bring a little different style, and that’s what makes it dangerous is, you can’t really prepare for just one of them. You’ve got to prepare for both of them and sometimes we’re able to get both of them on the field and that makes it even harder, but yeah, it’s fun to have them.”
On how he evaluates himself early in the season while he is still trying to find his way with new pieces or plays: “Yeah, I think we’ve had a ton of practices up to this point to get into that rhythm and, yeah, the Week 1 stuff, there are things that happened. I think, for us, I said in the postgame, it was more operational, pre-snap, procedural. The stuff post-snap, we can fix, and we will fix the stuff pre-snap too, but the stuff post-snap was just execution better and we weren’t at our best in the past game, certainly I wasn’t at my best and I don’t think you can attribute it to just being Week 1, I think it’s just, sometimes that happens and you try to improve the next week and not do it again.”
On how rewarding it was to not be at his best and still be able to win the game: “Yeah, it’s huge and I think there are certain teams that can’t say that where the offense is struggling and you kind of lose a game because of that. We were struggling, defense had our back – I mean, think about at the end there, we give them the ball back with four minutes or so and for us to get the ball back in our hands prior to the two-minute warning, that’s kind of unheard of in that situation and it’s huge.”
On how Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown was the next day after the game: “He’s fine, man. He’s incredible, he’s a captain on this team, he’s a leader, he knows he’s going to get his, it’s just a matter of time. It just wasn’t that game for whatever – a multitude of reasons, it’s just, sometimes that happens, but he knows he’ll get his.”
On what he learned about Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown when things were not necessarily going his way during the game: “Yeah, he’s a leader, he’s a captain. He’s got the C on his chest for a reason, and I think – I know he still wants the ball, of course he does, all those receivers want the ball, but I think he understands, when we’re able to win a game and he doesn’t get as involved as maybe he’d like, he’s good with it. We’re winning the game and we’re trying to win a Super Bowl this year. It’s one week at a time and he knows that and, like I said, he’ll get his and he also knows that.”
On if it is hard to prepare for an opponent when there is so much unknown about the secondary or if the scheme matters more: “I know they’ve got some injuries over there, but they also have the similar coaching staff that they’ve had, so a lot of the scheme will be similar, but I’m sure they’ll have something for us that’s different and certainly without (Buccaneers S Antoine) Winfield (Jr.) they’ve got to change some things that they do a little bit, I’m sure. I’m not exactly sure what they will be changing, but he’s a big part of their defense and if he’s not out there then they’ve got to do a little bit – something different, so we’ll see.”
On how much he looks back to the Lions’ 2023 NFC Divisional Round game to prepare for this game: “Yeah, you can look at it. You do and you see – you can play the game all day long of, ‘OK, we did this, and they did that, so how are we going to counter this and then we’ve got to counter that.’ And that’s a long rabbit hole you can go down, so you just try to prepare for it like it’s another game and watch that tape as if it’s another game and understand there are some certain things that they were trying to take away from us, but at the same time, I’m sure they’ll try to take away something else this game, so we’ll have to adjust as we go.”
On why he has had success against Buccaneers Head Coach Todd Bowles’ blitz packages: “He’s gotten me too, though. We were able to play pretty well the last two times, but I’ve played him a handful of times in my career, he’s gotten me too. He’s a great coach, he’ll have some good blitzes dialed up, I’m sure they will, they’re a pressure team, and we’ll be ready to handle them.”
On if he sees a lot of variation in types of pressure every time he faces the Buccaneers: “Yeah, certainly, I mean, they’ve got a ton of them, they really do and they’ll probably have one for us next week that they haven’t shown on film and we’ll react accordingly.”
