LIONS HEAD COACH DAN CAMPBELL QUOTE
November 13, 2024
Opening Statement: “This is a talented roster, good coaches, (Jaguars Head Coach) Doug (Pederson) does a really good job, I know (Jaguars Defensive Coordinator) Ryan Nielsen, coached with him at New Orleans, aggressive defense, pretty hard-nosed, but a talented bunch here. So, that’s one element, the other is just us improving, correcting our own errors and continuing to get better every week. So, that’s really kind of the start of this day.”
On the struggles on the offensive line in the passing game: “Some of them are just a few things on passing the games clean. The style of play that we’ve faced, these up the field defenses are just a little unique and it takes a minute to get used to them sometimes. You simulate it in practice the best you can, but if you’re off just a little bit and we’re on different levels then you struggle at times. So, just some of those, there again it’s a technique – those are about technique and things that are very correctable, and we’ll get them corrected.”
On how he makes sure this team handles its business when playing teams with bad records: “Well I think no different than what we just – I think we just faced a team in Houston that felt like their back was against the wall. I think that’s how they approached that game, and they brought it. I would expect nothing different out of this team, I would expect that we’re going to get their best game of the year and same with the Colts after that, and same with Chicago after that and same with Green Bay after that. So, we’re going to get everybody’s best shot and you have to understand that we have to assume that we will get the best version of what they are and what they’re capable of. So, with that, we have to be on our game, and it really is about yourself and it’s about the details to what we do. What we put in for this opponent, it’s about the why, ‘Why are we doing what we’re doing?’ And the how, ‘How are we going to do it?’ That’s really the starting point with this week or any team.”
On where he feels like the team needs the most growth as they hit the second half of the season: “Well, look, I think I want to feel like we get our efficiency back offensively. We’ve been efficient in spurts but get one of those games – and I’m not even talking about where you’re scoring touchdowns every time. You just want to know you’re getting out there and converting first down, first down, first down, and does that lead to a field goal or did you have to punt? But at least you’re moving the football because that gets us in a rhythm and I think that’s important, and some of that is the fundamentals, details of what you do, some of it is in those details – catching knife early. Get this ball and go north and south and don’t try to do too much early, let the game come to you and if we convert the next first down then that gives us another three or four plays. Convert the next one, you get another three or four opportunities and then pretty soon we gain our momentum and we’re really good about that. So, I think that in general, just getting our flow back a little bit. It’s not something I’m concerned with, but if it’s an area that I feel like we can improve and will improve, that’s it.”
On in if it is good that there are still things to fix even though they have a good record: “Yeah but I’ve never been a part of a team that didn’t have anything to fix. I mean all those years in New Orleans, we had some pretty good teams, we always had things to fix. It was inevitably – we’d come out of games and really very similar to now and you’re like, ‘Man, this is going to bite us, this is going to bite us, this is going to bite us down the road, this is going to catch up with us.’ And you just continue to win, and you keep – you clean up one thing and something else may pop up, but pretty soon you begin to eliminate most of those and you’re playing your best ball by the time you hit January. That’s really what it’s about as by then you’re making very few errors and ultimately, it’s always going to come down to making fewer errors than your opponent no matter what. That is the most important thing.”
On if he is setting realistic expectations with Lions DL Za’Darius Smith for his performance Sunday: “No, I can’t – that’s hard and honestly, I’m not looking at the – I’m not going to be looking at the stats. I just want to know that he’s doing his job and he’s as productive as he can be in that. So, no, I can’t say that I’m putting these – I’m like, ‘Alright, this is what needs to show up in stats sheet, this many sacks, this many pressures.’ Just go in there and if you do your job and you’re able to push the pocket and (Lions DL Josh) Paschal gets one or (Lions DL) Alim (McNeill) then we’ll know you did your job. That in itself is going to count for a lot. Then Paschal will push them to you or vice versa. That’s really what I -I’ve said it all along, I’m looking for a complementary piece and somebody that’s going to be able to help our defense, that’s going to elevate us a little bit and I think that he’ll do that for us.”
On what he saw in Jaguars DL Travon Walker coming out of college and his performance now: “Yeah, he’s a good player. You have him on one end and (Jaguars DL Josh Hines) Allen on the other. We did, we liked Travon when he was coming out. He was kind of I guess raw for an edge defender. He played more of that four-eyed defensive end at Georgia, but he’s got all of the physical ability you can have. He plays stout, he’s physical, he’s explosive, he’s able to transition into rush, and you’re right, I feel like he’s grown every year. He’s a handful on the front side. You try to run at him, and you single him up on some one-on-one, he can be an issue. He’s somebody that we know we have to take care of and keep our eye out for because he is a good player.”
On what Lions QB Jared Goff said to him leaving the field after the Texans game: “He said, ‘We’re just different.’ That’s really what he said, ‘We’re just different.’ And I agreed with him, we are. That’s the way we’re built.”
On Lions DL Josh Paschal’s performance in the Texans game: “I thought he played really well. I thought he – I mean it was good to get him back. It was noticeable having him back in our rotation on that D-line. He’s – there again, even with being off that week or two, I feel like he improved even from the last time that he played. He is physical on the perimeter. You talk about crushing the edge, setting an edge in the run game, and then pushing the pocket, transition into rush, chasing the ball down, relentless effort. He’s us. It’s one of the reasons that he’s here. But now that he’s had his chance to really step up and play a significant amount of reps for us, he’s making the most of them.”
On if they go to Lions T Penei Sewell when they need to get out of a rut: “Yeah, I think that’s fair. Sewell is – I mean it goes without saying, Sewell is so versatile, there’s so many things that he can do and everything from, obviously, the gap scheme to really knocking an edge down – you talk about people setting edges, he can just knock an edge down and create a couple of gaps in the defense. But even then, on the perimeter, his ability to run and maneuver. He’s just such a good athlete, he’s powerful, he’s nimble. So, I think that’s fair and we’re fortunate because we have a lot of guys that I feel like can get us out of a rut. It starts with the quarterback, but Sewell and (Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown) Saint, (Lions RB) David Montgomery, and (Lions RB Jahmyr) Gibbs, (Lions WR Jameson Williams) Jamo’s getting better. We’re just continuing to grow, but yeah, he’s definitely one of those staples for us.”
On how he liked the way that Lions WR Jameson Williams attacked in the Texans game after being out for two games: “Yeah, I loved it. That was good to see. He went in there, it felt like he attacked the football. He really made two outstanding catches. One back hip catch behind him, and then the other one over the middle where he’s just getting sandwiched and catches that ball over his head and takes it all the way down for the catch. Those were big time plays for us. Both of them explosive plays. So, it was good to get him back and to feel like, OK – you didn’t feel like you’re starting all over with him. That’s a good feeling, that’s what we anticipated, that’s what we hoped for, ‘Hey, he’s going to be alright, he’s going to pick up where he left off.’ And he certainly did that. So, love where he’s at right now.”
On how much confidence Lions DL James Houston gained in the Texans game and how he has done over the last couple of weeks: “Yeah, I think he can gain a lot. It looked different. There was a number of reps that looked different, and it looked like he’s beginning to get some of his confidence back. And even in the run game was a little bit better which is encouraging because he’s got to be able to help us there in rotation. We can’t – I mean we can, but we would rather not just sap (Lions DL Josh) Paschal and those ends, (Lions DL) Za’Darius (Smith) now and (Lions DL) Levi (Onwuzurike). You want them to have enough to where they have plenty in reserves and when we need him – so we need him. He had a couple of really good rushes. He had one where his get off was – that’s what we need out of him all the time, he’s got that ability.”
On an injury update on Lions T Taylor Decker and if there is a preference to have Lions T Penei Sewell on Lions QB Jared Goff’s blindside if Decker cannot play: “Yeah I think knowing that if that was the case and we were not going to have Decker, I think that was probably where we would go. As of right now, I do feel better about having Decker this week. He was out there at walkthrough going through and I feel like he’s questionable but I’m starting to feel pretty good about him. I think he’s going to be able to make it. Tomorrow will tell a lot certainly, that’ll be a full speed practice for us. But everybody else is trending the right way. (Lions TE Sam) LaPorta is the one guy who’s not practicing today, didn’t go through walkthrough or anything like that. Like I said, he’s day-to-day.”
On an injury update on Lions CB Emmanuel Moseley: “He and (Lions S Ifeatu Melifonwu) Iffy are in the same boat. We just take it as it comes and if they’re ready, they’re ready, if they’re not, they’re not.”
LIONS QB JARED GOFF QUOTE SHEET
November 13, 2024
On Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell saying that he would like to see better offensive efficiency in the second half of the season and if he agrees with that: “Yeah, I think so, and I think the last three games are kind of indicative of that. I think the Tennessee game was somewhat of an outlier, but when we weren’t in the red zone, we weren’t really moving the ball down the field and then Green Bay, just conditions and whatnot, we weren’t able to be as explosive as we wanted to, and then obviously last week wasn’t as explosive as we wanted to. So, yeah, getting that back on track, I think he’s absolutely right and it starts this week for us.”
On how much heat the Jacksonville defense can bring with Jaguars DE Travon Walker: “Yeah, they’re good, they’re really good up front. They’ve got good players all over the place and I think they’re a very talented defense and are still putting things together. But we’ve got a lot for respect for those players over there. We practiced against them a year or so ago, and seeing them up close and in person, they’re a great team.”
On how he keeps the team motivated in games that could be considered trap games: “Yeah, we’ve got a mature group. There’s not much that needs to be said. We have our own standards that, regardless of who we’re playing, regardless of what their record is, we have our own things that we want to prove and improve on, and I think that’s the biggest battle right now, is to continue to improve and know we need to improve even though we’re able to win some of these close games.”
On his comments after the game on Sunday to Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell about being different and what makes the good teams he has been on different: “Yeah, every team’s different. I think my notion there was that the adversity we’re built for is different than every other team in the League, and I think I said it after the game, the team – it is, it truly is. There are a lot of good teams in our League, but you’d be hard pressed to find some who have been through what the core group of this team has been through, so in a game like that where you dig yourself in that big of a hole, knowing we’re built for that and built to come back in those instances.”
On what he likes about having Lions RB David Montgomery more involved in the passing game: “Yeah, he’s got great hands. I think both those guys can do that, we throw it to (Lions RB Jahmyr) Gibbs and him and I thought the screen he caught the other day was a great play. But yeah, early on in the year we were able to hit him on a couple checkdowns and he was able to make some plays happen, so any time we get the ball in either of those two guys’ hands, but certainly in David’s, it’s a good thing.”
On if he felt that nothing would stop the team other than themselves after the game at Houston: “Yeah, I think so, and that’s a really good team – Houston is. But yeah, I think we dug ourselves in about as big a hole as you can dig it and still have a chance to come back, and we knew when it was 10-point game or whatever it was, 13-point game, we had a chance, we knew that. We knew it was a two-score game and felt good, we never really wavered, and I never wavered, I never lost confidence, felt like I was seeing it well, but things didn’t go our way for some of the day, and then that fourth quarter we kind of figured things out.”
On if he learned anything about himself from his performance at Houston: “Those ones are hard, those ones make you a better quarterback, and I think back to the Chicago game last year, when things kind of aren’t going your way and finding a way to win in the fourth quarter, and yeah, I feel like I became a better player through that and mentally tougher and the whole thing.”
On if winning in the manner that they did at Houston can be beneficial: “Yeah, sure. I think it was a very adverse game, win or lose. But yeah, being able to learn lessons on the winning side of things is certainly a lot easier. But yeah, I think either way, there’s a million things that we can improve on, that I can improve on, that we’re going to have to improve on if we want to continue on the trend we’re on.”
On the team being able to improve on the fly: “I don’t know about that. We’ve got a lot of work to do and today it started. I thought we worked really hard today and were intentional and our walkthrough was great. Yeah, we are very intentional about not being fooled by being 8-1 and knowing that we’ve got a ton of things to improve on. And like I said, we have to.”
On fans chanting his name during a serious situation at a Detroit Pistons game: “I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about, sorry.”
On his relationship with University of Michigan QB Davis Warren: “Yeah, Davis is awesome, I met him years ago. Shoot, I might’ve been in high school, he was young, at the Elite 11, and then I met him again when he was in high school going through his stuff he went through in high school, and then I was out throwing with him years ago. We threw with the same trainer, and I was like, ‘That kid’s good. Who’s that?’ And they were like, ‘Actually, he missed a year because of leukemia and now he’s got to go to prep school.’ And I’m like, ‘Shoot, man, whoever gets him is lucky to have him.’ It’s fun. I’ve texted back and forth with him, it’s fun that we’re both in the same state now representing the teams we do. Yeah, I’m rooting for him, he’s a good kid and I root for him.”
On what the Jacksonville defense does that gives offenses challenges like they did in their last game: “Yeah, they had a great plan, they really did for Minnesota and were able to create those turnovers and play really sticky man coverage most of the day, and yeah, they did a good job. Like I said, they’ve got really good players over there.”
