LIONS HEAD COACH DAN CAMPBELL QUOTE SHEET
November 25, 2024
Opening Statement: “These guys – obviously, this is a tough out. This team plays hard, they’re physical, got a lot of really good players. Offensively, quarterbacks’ playing better, has gotten better, really, every week, these last two weeks playing pretty good ball, efficient, he’s got weapons with (Bears WR DJ) Moore out there and he’s got (Bears WR Keenan Allen) 13 in the slot and then the rookie, (Bears TE Cole) Kmet, tight end, O-line is – they’ve been banged up, but they’re back and they’re doing a pretty good job. They’re going to try to run it, get (Bears RB D’Andre) Swift on the perimeter, Swift’s doing a good job, he’s been a good asset for them, and then defensively, it’s kind of the anchor of this team, I mean, always has been. This D-line, (Bears DL Montez) Sweat, those guys up front really bring it. Man, the backers, (Bears LB T.J.) Edwards flies and hits, (Bears LB Tremaine) Edmunds, (Bears DB Jaylon) Johnson’s playing outstanding out on the perimeter, they’ve got (Bears DB Kevin) Byard (III) who’s playing really well. So, just a ton of good players, run-and-hit defense, good special teams crew and this is going to be a hell of a test. This is going to be a hell of a test.”
On if turning the team’s Thanksgiving game record around is part of the message to the team this week: “Well, I think the message is really recovery. Rest, recovery and the mental work. It’s how fast can you recover, get your body right, get your mind focused on the job at hand, because you’re not going to get the physical, block out all the distractions – that’s one thing, the distractions are on us, not on them. We’ve got all our family here, friends, all that, you’ve got to block it out, tell them you love them and you’ll see them after the game. That’s kind of the challenge with all this, so look, this team’s been – they’ve lost a couple of heartbreakers here the last two weeks, but they’ve been in a bunch of these tight races, and they just keep coming back for more, so they’re hungry for a win and we’ve got our hands full.”
On how many of the players that did not participate in the walkthrough today he expects may not play on Thursday: “That’s tough to say, I mean, I’ve got the list right here. It’s – that’s tough, I mean, I think there’s probably three of them that I think it may be hard to get them there. But it’s really a day-to-day, it really is. We’re going to know a lot more about some of these guys tomorrow than we do today, and then it’s going to come down to the wire with a number of them. That’s the challenge with the short week. The good news is, I think most of these are not some long-term thing, but the problem is, three days to turn around and play, that’s where it becomes a bit of an issue. So, if we can’t, we’re prepared like we always are, next man up, you’ve got to hold the line, do your job and go compete.”
On which three players may not play on Thursday: “Right now, I mean, (Lions T Taylor) Decker, (Lions CB Carlton Davis III) CD, (Lions WR Kalif Raymond) Leaf, those would be – (Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown) Saint’s a little banged up, we’ll see how he recovers.”
On how important it is for the team to snap their Thanksgiving game losing streak: “Yeah, I mean, look, nobody likes losing, I don’t want to lose. So, I don’t want to lose the game and I don’t think any of us do, but it’s more so – it’s about a division opponent at home, the next one in front of us, more so than don’t want to lose a Thanksgiving game. We don’t want to lose, period, so I think that’s really more what this is. This is a big game, division opponent, and these carry a lot of weight.”
On the meme of Lions Defensive Coordinator Aaron Glenn sitting back on the sideline at Indianapolis and how he continues to draw up great gameplans despite injuries and getting the opponents’ best shots: “That’s just him, man, he puts in the work. He puts in the work, he’s creative, he does a good job of understanding what our players do well, putting them in position to have success and where we feel like we can have the most – have the biggest advantage on our opponent, so that’s where it all starts, that’s the way it is. But you don’t get that way without putting the work in and I’m telling you, he grinds and grinds on it. So, I haven’t seen that, but believe me, he’s never that relaxed, OK? He’s doing a hell of a job.”
On how far away Lions CB Emmanuel Moseley is from contributing on defense: “He’s ready. I think that was – this game yesterday was big. I had to think about that, that was yesterday. That was big to be able to – for him, I mean, really, he hadn’t played in two years, and to be able to go out there and know that, ‘OK, I can trust this, I can trust my body.’ He went out there, competed, did a good job on teams for us, but yeah, I think he’s ready. I think he’s ready and we’re not afraid to use him.”
On if he is throwing out a lot of the film from the beginning of the season when it comes to Bears QB Caleb Williams since they recently promoted Bears Offensive Coordinator Thomas Brown: “Well, a lot of the focus is these two games, but we look at all of it, we look at every one of the games that they’ve played because there’s things that they’ve had success on they’re still using. They haven’t just thrown everything out the window, there are still things that they hang their hat on, but I think more of it is about the procedure of it over the last two games. Just some of the things they’re doing, a little bit more shifts, motion, pre-snap, perfect play, and so, it’s that. Now, this will be their first road game with him calling it and doing things just a tick different, so that’ll be interesting, but they’re doing well, and Thomas is doing – he’s calling a couple of good games, man, and they’re putting up yards, they’re converting on third down and they’re having success.”
On what this week looks like to him and if he allows himself to get sick: “No, you don’t get to get sick. You don’t get sick, that doesn’t exist, you roll. I think at one point three years ago or whatever that was, I think I had Covid, but I don’t remember, so you just go. But no, we’re good and that’s – the coaches are in that boat too, we just roll, so, all good.”
On if he will wait until Wednesday to sleep this week: “This week always reminds me – listen, it’s nowhere even close to the same, reminds me of hell week with the SEALs, when you hear them talk about that and it’s like, whatever they get, an hour or whatever and then the bell rings and you’re gone, you’re on to the next thing. So, it’s like these – just every once in a while, these power naps. You just hit it and then you’re up and then maybe – so that’s kind of where we’re at, man, just enough to refresh the brain and hit it again.”
On what he saw on tape yesterday from the players that filled in for injured players: “Yeah, well those guys did a good job. First of all, we used (Lions LB David) Long (Jr.) more than we thought we might, and we just – man, as that game went on, getting David in there felt like, man this was a – he had a grasp of the calls going into the game and we felt like it was kind of more his type of game, and so we started out and we used (Lions LB Ben) Niemann, he was solid, he’s got a role, helps us on teams, and then we threw David in there and, man, he showed up, he made some plays in space for us, and so that was good. And then look, (Lions LB) Jack (Campbell) and (Lions LB Malcolm Rodriguez) Rodrigo, man, those guys played their rears off, I mean, they really did, they were all over the field and those two guys, man, you talk about keeping things together, there’s a number of people involved, but those two guys are a couple of staples for us. I mean, they played outstanding and that’s not going to go away, those guys are good football players for us.”
On if he ever did any celebrations as a player: “No, spike was about as far as I got.”
On the players being able to do more creative celebrations and it being better for fans: “Well, it depends on what that is, whether the League lets it happen. They’ll use whatever they need to, the content.”
On Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs and Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown’s celebration yesterday and his thoughts about the players’ creative celebrations: “Yeah, I mean, I’m not – I don’t really get caught up in it. I tell our guys, ‘Hey, as long as you don’t cost us 15.’ I’m good with whatever they do, so they have fun with it, they are creative, they like to push the boundaries of – of whatever those are, and they are. So, I know our guys have fun with it and I think that’s important. They enjoy it, so it’s all good. But I haven’t seen everything, I hadn’t had a chance to see everything, unless my wife sends it to me and then I get it. But look, I’m glad they have a good time with it.”
