LIONS HEAD COACH DAN CAMPBELL PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTE SHEET
August 26, 2024
Opening Statement: “So, what I mentioned the other day, tough time of year. (Lions Executive Vice President and General Manager) Brad (Holmes) and I kind of had our first discussion last night. We’re going to continue here after this, so I’m not going to be able to give you any updates on that regard. Brad will speak to you – Brad and (Lions Assistant General Manager) Ray (Agnew Jr.) will speak to you, I know Thursday is the plan once everything is set, but just one more time, the appreciation we have for these guys that laid it on the line, gave everything they had. A number of these guys, the lost art of when your body doesn’t feel good, you’ve got the bumps and bruises and the just – for those guys that can continue to just push, those guys – it means a lot, it really does. Because that’s what this game is, it’s still a physical game and you have to be able to put that stuff behind you and still produce. So, tough 48 hours coming up, but really appreciate these guys.”
On if there is any position group that he and Lions Executive Vice President and General Manager Brad Holmes are finding more difficult to make a decision on: “Not really. I feel like we’re – for the most part it’s, I think we’re seeing things very much eye-to-eye and I think there’s things that he and I both are – ‘Let’s sleep on this.’ As of last night, a couple of things. I don’t want to get into what those positions are or who they are, but I would say I do feel like we’re very much on the same page and we’re both very much, ‘Let’s make sure we both feel this way when we wake up and we talk later.’ So, it’s good, it’s a good process. He and I – ‘Here we go, man, we’re on year four of this.’ So, we’ve got a pretty good feel of each other here.”
On how he can distinguish what a player can do on defense and what he needs from him on special teams: “I think if you’re – ultimately, I look at, ‘Man, the guy’s going to the game, so how much is he playing?’ There’s value there. How many snaps are we going to get? So, if you’re strictly special teams and you’re a backup position player, you’re a backup corner, safety, well, I know you’re going to play 25, 30 plays if you’re a core guy. That’s a lot. You can touch the game, you have an impression on the game, and we’re not even talking about your position on defense or offense, so that has a bearing. But yet, if you feel like maybe we’ve got injuries or we’re a little bit light in an area, then all of a sudden the priority has to be more defense than special teams at that time. Ideally you want – you like the young promising upside of a player in a position group that you feel like brings value to special teams because they can grow. They’ll only get better in that position. I think you’ve got to take it as it is in each position group. Where are you at, where’s the depth, is anybody injured, and can the kid continue to grow?”
On where the wide receivers have stood out that may have been missed by the media: “First of all, (Lions WR Donovan Peoples-Jones) DPJ and (Lions WR Daurice) Fountain both, they’re big guys. They are big receivers, they’ve got length to them and for their size they can run pretty good. So, there’s that element of that. ‘Can he play big-boy ball outside of redzone?’ That comes into play and so if you don’t have it, sometimes you do feel a little small. You feel like you – it would be nice to have the size. And so, you wish that would show up a lot more, but that’s what those two guys bring. That’s that that type of flavor that we talk about all the time. You would love to have a little bit of everything. You’ve got speed, you’ve got quickness, you’ve got the size, you’ve got your gadget. And so that’s kind of them. You guys know what (Lions WR Isaiah Williams) 83 is, I mean, it’s shown up. The guy’s – he’s made plays all camp, he’s really kind of more of that slot, but he falls into the mode a little bit like (Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown) Saint, (Lions WR Kalif Raymond) Leaf, (Lions WR) Tom Kennedy, they’re all kind of in that. So, I think that’s where it is and that’s what (Lions Executive Vice President and General Manager) Brad (Holmes) and I are having to weigh here. ‘Is there enough – have we seen enough out of those guys to where we feel like we can use them or need to use them sooner than later, or will they provide value depth or role player?’ The other thing is special teams, ‘How much do they bring in on special teams?’ I don’t know, it’s tough to say. So, it’ll all come into play.”
On if not having a bigger wide receiver limits what the team can do on offense: “No, I don’t believe that. I mean, we will always be able to – with what we’ve got on this roster, (Lions Offensive Coordinator) Ben (Johnson) does a hell of a job of making sure that we put guys in position to have success and let our guys go win and whatever it takes to allow them to do that. So, no, I wouldn’t say it limits us, but like any offense or defense, man, you want, ‘Give us everything.’ If you can have it all then you can use it all. But no, it’s not going to limit what we do. It would be a luxury to have, it helps, and I think a lot of it is – it comes into those one-on-ones to where, ‘OK, you’re not – you don’t always have to be in these cut-splits. Man, you can just get out there and it’s one-on-one and if you like the matchup, who cares if he’s pressed? Our guy is going to beat your guy.’ And (Lions QB Jared) Goff put into position to where he can play rebound, he can play big boys in the box and down on the block and is going to make a play for you.”
On his confidence level in the backup quarterbacks to come in and play or even start: “Honestly, I feel like – and this includes (Lions QB Jake) Fromm, I mean, they’ve all shown something a little bit different. Look, let’s start with (Lions QB Hendon) Hooker, you want to know – plain and simple, it’s hard for me to just jump right in the – let’s just jump right in and say, ‘Man, you feel great at number two.’ I think of him as, ‘Is he growing?’ Literally, that’s where my mind goes first is, ‘Is he growing, is he developing?’ Yes, he is, he got better because he got reps. Alright, that’s good. (Lions QB) Nate (Sudfeld), for the most part has done what we’ve asked him to do. There’s a couple of decisions here and there. But we know what he is. He’s been around the system now going on three years. And then Fromm, like we said, comes in eight days, doesn’t get any practice reps and functions like a high-level quarterback with limited snaps, so it’s hard to ignore that. And so, to answer your question, I would feel comfortable. We’ll find a way to get out of the game, that’s why you play with three phases. So, we’ll find a way to do what we need to do and then we’ll go onto the next week and set it up to where we’ll be able to have success and play a certain way if we have to.”
On if there were any surprises about players that were expected to return yesterday like Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs, Lions TE Sam LaPorta and Lions G Kevin Zeitler: “No, everybody was out there that we talked about, that I mentioned. It was good to have them out there, too. We got them out, it was about an hour, we let them compete against each other, a couple of team periods, individuals so guys could get worked in and it was just kind of pushing their heart rate a little bit, but it was good. Just to see LaPorta out there, part of the flow and Gibbs and (Lions LB Malcolm Rodriguez) Rodrigo’s worked in, Zeitler’s out there and (Lions DL DJ) Reader, that’s our first – even though it’s walkthrough and indy, just to have him out there, he is a big man. He is a big man, he and (Lions DL Alim McNeill) Mac over there together. Mac’s going to need to do more squats if he wants to keep up with Reader. Anyway, it’s a good-looking crew and it’s good to have all our guys working together. (Lions CB Terrion) Arnold was back out there, (Lions CB Carlton Davis III) CD, (Lions CB Ennis Rakestraw Jr.) Rake, so it feels good.”
On the likelihood of Lions DL DJ Reader playing in Week 1: “It’s tough to say. I mean, I would love to say we’re targeting that, we’re just going to take it as it comes. We’d always said long-term that we were kind of shooting for Tampa, but our eyes are open and we’re going to play close attention and see how he does, how he feels, and kind of go from there if it’s sooner.”
On if Lions QB Nate Sudfeld is still ahead of Lions QB Hendon Hooker on the depth chart: “Yeah, I think they – it’s hard to answer that because, there again, they both bring something different and you could easily say one of them gets you out of the game and the other one starts for you if something happened the next week. So, you’re going to use all of those guys, I guess, is the best way to say it.”
On if there will be any roster moves today: “We could, (Lions Executive Vice President and General Manager) Brad (Holmes) and I have talked about it. There’s a chance we may do something this afternoon.” |
