| LIONS HEAD COACH DAN CAMPBELL TRAINING CAMP DAY 20 QUOTE SHEET August 25, 2022 Opening Statement: “Everything today is about Pittsburgh. So, kind of started our walkthrough yesterday and then today’s more third down. So, getting ready for those guys.” On what the game preparation for Pittsburgh will look like today: “It is. It is, like I said we kind of started that yesterday morning and it’s – so, yesterday was a little bit of – it was more of a hybrid day and then today’s more true to what an in-season preparation for the opponent would be.” On what preparing like it is the regular season will give the young players and coaches who have never been through it: “Yeah, that’s – I think it’s a chance for some of the new coaches or new ways we do things. For example, the offense, (Lions Offensive Coordinator) Ben (Johnson), and then some of the new defensive coaches, and then certainly the young guys who haven’t been through it, you kind of shift from camp mode now to in-season. And so, for them what does it look like? For example, the lifting is now – you’ve got to do it before practice, or you do it after practice or before meetings you did it after practice. And then, just the scouting of the opponent, talking about their personnel, and then the scheme as it relates to who we’re getting ready to play. It’s just more in-depth.” On how he weighs what he sees at punt and kick returner between experienced players and players they are trying out at the positions this preseason: “Yeah, I mean I think you – like I – we’ve got a real good feel of what we have in (Lions WR Kalif Raymond) Leaf and (Lions RB) Godwin (Igwebuike) to an extent. And so, I think it’s more about, ‘OK, we know what those players are and what they can do.’ And so, now let’s see if somebody catches our eye or we believe can really surpass that. Which is honestly – that’s hard to find in one or two preseason games. But you just want to see if there’s something there.” On if Lions WR Kalif Raymond will be the punt returner this season: “Yes.”On if Lions RB Godwin Igwebuike would be the kick returner right now: “Yeah, I would say right now Godwin would be the kick returner.” On what he saw from the players during Tuesday night’s practice with increased intensity: “Yeah, I would – I think first and foremost, we put a load on our guys that they desperately needed, particularly the ones, that first group. That was – well, I could say that about most of the team. I mean, there was a few guys in this Indy game that got 70 reps, but a majority of our guys, particularly the ones, have not had that kind of consistent load yet. And to be able to get almost 60 plays or around 60 plays in a two-hour period was crucial. Like, we had to have that because we’re not going to be able to get that. They’re only playing a half in this game. So, and then we got a ton of situational work. So, really that was more of a practice to put a load on him, and then to feel fatigue. They needed to feel the fatigue and they needed to be able to push through it and still stay detailed-orientated, which that showed up. That’s where we’re a little deficient as most teams would be, honestly. But the good news is, it’s been identified, and they know it as players, I mean they understand that as well. And so, because we got that load, they’ll be better for it now.” On placing Lions WR Jameson Williams on Reserve/NFI and how he is progressing through his ACL injury: “Yeah, he’s progressing. He’s – there again, he’s continued to get better. It’s just with the nature of the injury and where he’s at, everybody is on different paths. I mean, (Lions CB) Jerry (Jacobs), they were kind of relatively the same time, but Jerry’s farther along. It’s just kind of the nature of it. Everybody’s different, but he is progressing. There’s no setbacks, but we just felt like, particularly being a rookie, he’s got a ways to go. And so, the best thing for him and for us is to make that move and just get him right, make sure that the knee is stable and he’s got strength in that leg. And he can cut, he can decelerate, he can accelerate, he can – everything, before we put him out there and start getting him reps. And we just felt like this was the right move.” On how Lions WR Jameson Williams is getting his body ready as a whole throughout rehab: “Yeah, he’s coming. I mean there again, there’s only so much you can do in a rehab mode. But he’s doing what we’re asking him to do and he is progressing and that’s really the best way to say it.” On the biggest deciding factor on who will be the backup quarterback: “Yeah, I mean I think what we need is we need somebody to really take the reigns here. I mean, somebody needs to step up out of the two and I thought they both progressed last week. Now, somebody needs to step up and run this offense, play efficient, play smart, take care of the football, get us the first downs, and when we get down to the redzone, score touchdowns for us.” On if there is a possibility of bringing in another quarterback before the season starts: “There’s always a possibility. That goes with any position. I mean, we’re still number two on the claim list. So, at the end of this, there’s nothing to say that just because somebody has made our roster that they’re staying that way. And those guys know that, they understand that.” On how much he weighs this upcoming preseason game with playing experience when evaluating the backup quarterback competition: “Yeah, look I think, number one we’ve got our first O-line out there. We’ll have our receivers, so they’re going to have – they’re going to have all the bullets at their disposal for the most part. And so, let’s see what they do with that. I think that’s the best way to say it.” On which quarterback will start with the ones against the Steelers: “We’ll talk about that tonight. I would see (Lions QB Tim) Boyle starting us out here.” On not placing Lions CB Jerry Jacobs on Reserve/PUP and how close he is to returning to the field: “He’s certainly – he’s closer. He’s – now what does that mean? I don’t know what that means, I just – we know he’s further along than (Lions WR Jameson Williams) Jamo is. He’s really further along than any of those guys, that’s why we did it. And so, a lot of it is not so much, ‘Hey, we’re going to have him Week 1, Week 2, Week 3,’ it’s more man, can we begin to get him some practice reps, just slowly implement him in what we’re doing in practice, whether it’s scout team cards, or running our defense, just a couple of plays then he’s off to the side. Continue his rehab, strengthening, and then maybe the next day he’s able to get a little bit more. And then, hypothetically, he’s ready Week 5, let’s say. Well, shoot he’s gotten practice for four weeks and he’s ready. Whereas if you just did PUP, he’s not up for four weeks and then first thing you do, you pull him off, he’s not going to be ready to play, he hadn’t gotten any practice reps. So, I think that’s kind of the – and that’s bearing that we feel good about the roster, and being able to do that. I mean, there’s still a chance that we put him on PUP next week, that could happen.” On his and Lions Offensive Coordinator Ben Johnson’s growth in time management and situational football: “Yeah, and look, I would say that (Lions Defensive Coordinator Aaron Glenn) AG as well and (Lions Special Teams Coordinator Dave) Fipp, I mean it’s great for all of us. We all need to be put in those situations. But it just – there’s so many things, it’s hard to say – it’s easy to go through all these and say, ‘Man, we need to get this situation, we need to do this, we need to – and you try to set them up, but sometimes when you’re setting up a situation, it leads to the next one that you don’t realize, you aren’t intentionally trying to do, but that’s the beauty of it. It just comes up, and it forces you to have to think spontaneously, and in the moment and how you handle that moment. And then you can go back and say, ‘Man, this is what we should have done.’ And so, once you – being able to prepare and put yourself in those situations is always going to help, but I think the spontaneous moments that come out of those is way more beneficial believe it or not. Because you are – you’re forced to make a quick decision and then you can learn from it.” On if he feels like he has grown in situational football decision making since last season: “I have, absolutely, I feel like I have. I feel like we all have as a staff. We’ve come a long way.” On how an improved and deeper roster affects how he handles decision making with situational football: “Yeah, there again, I just – I think take it as it comes, I think is the best way to say it. If I feel like it’s right, the time is right, and I love the play, I love the moment, then we’re going to do it.” On if Lions DL Levi Onwuzurike has faced any setbacks in his injury recovery and if he expects him to be available early in the season: “Yeah, that’s – it’s hard to say right now. I would say there’s no setbacks. He’s trending the right way but it’s at a snail’s pace is the best way to say it. He’s doing everything we’re asking him to do, it is getting better, but I don’t know. I would say this, if you’re asking me right now, you’re twisting my arm, I’m saying he’s not available for Philly, that’s me, but we’ll see.” LIONS SPECIAL TEAMS COORDINATOR DAVE FIPP TRAINING CAMP DAY 20 QUOTE SHEET August 25, 2022 On how he weighs Lions RB Godwin Igwebuike’s performance at kick returner last year versus new players they are trying out at kick returner this preseason: “Yeah, I would say, I mean that’s a good question because it is hard. It’s hard to compare preseason to regular season. Sometimes you’re playing against — I want to say this the right way — maybe not their best players in a preseason game. Like obviously in the season, their best guys are out there covering kicks against you and all that. So, it does make it tough, I think. At the end of the day, what you’re looking for in the preseason is guys who make explosive plays. Obviously (Lions WR Maurice) Alexander did that a week ago for us, so that was intriguing, so definitely something for us to look at. I think the good news for us is there’s a lot of positions on this roster that are really competitive. I think the kick return stuff is definitely one of those. So, we’ll see what happens in this last preseason game and then ultimately, (Lions General Manager and Executive Vice President) Brad (Holmes) and (Lions Head Coach) Dan (Campbell) and those guys have got to make some tough calls. Fortunately, not me.” On why Lions RB Godwin Igwebuike has not had more reps at kick returner this preseason: “I would say at the end of the day, you only get a handful of reps. That’s the one thing that’s hard about kickoff, or any time you talk about the returner positions, punt return, kick return. You don’t know how many times they’re going to punt the ball. We punted the ball three times in two games now, so if you’re playing against us and their returner’s gotten three looks, well who do we put in? How do you do the rotation? Do you do, he gets one, and then the next guy gets one? Well, that’s the only way to kind of balance the reps out. Two of those come in the third or fourth quarter when there’s more down-the-line guys playing and the top of the roster playing, you know what I mean, and so there’s really no right way to do it, I don’t think. The one thing I would say is I value all that regular season work quite a bit. If you see a guy do it in the National Football League against real players in the National Football League in regular season games, then you’ve got a pretty good idea of what he’s going to do. I would relate that to really the evaluation process of like a free agent versus a college player coming out. If we’ve got tape on a free agent and somebody comes to me and asks me, ‘What do you think this guy can do for us on special teams? Here’s all his film from playing in the National Football League,’ I feel like I’ve got a pretty good idea of what he’s going to do, and I feel really comfortable about giving him an evaluation. And I think I should be held accountable, but like hey, if I’m off on that, then come get me. But a college guy, that’s hit or miss, just a lot more, it’s just definitely harder. So, I would say the same way. If you’ve got regular season film on a guy, then you have a pretty good idea of what he is.” On how he balances evaluating the returner with the blocking coverage the returner has: “I’d say you’ve got to look at all of it. I had this conversation with a guy in our building the other day, he’s in analytics. They look at punters and they grade guys and how well they’re doing and all that. And my first question to him was, ‘Well, how do you account for the coverage and the guys around him and the scheme?’ And he didn’t know either. He looked back at me. But anyway, I think there’s an art or a science to everything. And I think that’s part of the art is to be able to say, ‘Hey you know, in this game it looked like that. I think this would kind of look more like this if it were in the regular season.’ One way or the other, you’re trying to project a little bit.” On how Lions RB Craig Reynolds has been coming along on special teams after not having much experience in it last season: “Yeah, I would say that position man, all of those running backs have really played at a high level. I know we talked last time I was in here about (Lions RB) Jermar (Jefferson), and he’s taken a big step forward and there’s four guys in that group that, to me, they can all play and contribute on special teams. All their skillsets might be a little different but, all of them can help. So, that’s a competitive room and I’m glad I don’t make that call either. Sounds like you’re asking about (Lions RB) Godwin (Igwebuike).” |
