LIONS HEAD COACH DAN CAMPBELL QUOTE SHEET

LIONS HEAD COACH DAN CAMPBELL QUOTE SHEET

October 17, 2022
Opening Statement: “I’ll start with this, we – so injury-wise we’re a little bit better. I don’t know how far along we’ll be until Wednesday, but I know everybody feels a little bit better. Now how much? We’ll see. (Lions DL) Levi (Onwuzurike) about a week ago had surgery on his back, so he’s out for the season. So, that’s a little bit of a gut punch. And then, other than that everything for us is just moving forward, getting ready for Dallas. We’re going to go back and do a lot of things we did in camp just to prepare. That was one of the things that came out of it. Be much more competitive in practice, we’ll get back to some pads, one-on-ones, things of that nature.”
On the message to the players in the team meeting this morning coming out of the bye week: “Yeah, really it’s – really no different than any other week as far as – man, if you want to have a chance to win a game, man, it’s got to start on Wednesday and Thursday, Friday. And so, we’ve got to win the week, man. We’ve got to be on point for each practice and prepare to win. So, that’s really what it is. We can’t just say we’re going to do it, so man, it’s all about our preparation. And attack each day, get better each day and feel like we came out of that day knowing that, man, we are prepared. And now, let’s get to Thursday do the same thing, third down. So, that’s really what it is. That’s really what it is.”
On what Lions DL Levi Onwuzurike’s surgery is aiming to fix: “It’s his back.”
On if there is anything else Lions DL Levi Onwuzurike’s back surgery is aiming to fix: “No, it’s in the back. It’s a disc.”
On the long-term prognosis of Lions DL Levi Onwuzurike’s back injury: “Yeah, hopefully I mean this – hopefully this certainly helps. I mean that’s a – it’s a last resort. But we felt like that was – he felt like that’s where he needed to go with it and saw a number of doctors, and so we’ll see where it goes.”
On if he spends Sunday watching football on a bye week to glean from other teams: “No, I watched the game last night. But everything was – I spent my day looking at Dallas.”
On if he watched the Cowboys-Eagles game last night: “I did. But I watched their first four games, and then I watched the game last night.”
On if the Cowboys’ defense is as scary as it looks: “It’s a good defense. It’s a good defense. They play hard, (Cowboys Defensive Coordinator) Dan Quinn’s done a good job out there. They’re talented, they play hard, they’re good at what they do. Multiple fronts, good disguises in coverage, and so, yeah it’s a good unit. It’s a good unit.”
On what went into his decision to make practice changes and go back to what they did during training camp: “Yeah, I would say some of this, some of it – well, a lot of it was just with where we were at. We had a number of injuries, and so you dial back a number of things to feel like so you can get through what you need to get through in practice, but yet still prepare them. And I think when I really look back on it, it’s well maybe at the expense of us losing some reps. We’re a young team, you may put a strain on other groups because you’re light in that area, but man, the rest of your team needs that work. And so, I just felt like we’ve got to get back to those things we were doing in camp. It’s not – this is not a – we’re not talking about going out there for two and a half hours. But man, we’ve got to get back to some of this – the competitiveness, the good-on-good, and just good one-on-one work, we have to. So, that was one area I looked at myself and said, ‘We’ve got to get back to those things.’ It’s really who we’ve been and what we are.”
On the areas of concern that stick out about the defense after doing a deeper dive and his understanding of why the defense has struggled: “Yeah, look there’s a number of things that go along there and honestly I don’t want to get into what we’re doing. We’re changing a few things. We’re changing a few things, but I don’t want to get into that before we get to Dallas. So, we looked at everything from the front, to our personnel, to even the backend, what do we do there? Scheme, personnel, all of it. And so, (Lions Defensive Coordinator Aaron Glenn) AG did a good job, deep dive. We sat down for a long time, he and his staff. And so, we’re – there’ll be some things that we change up a little bit. But I feel good about it.”
On how he feels about the outlook of the team after making changes during the bye week: “Yeah, I feel pretty good about it because I feel like once you get away from it, you look – you realize just how close you really are. But we can’t just say that. We can’t just say we’re close. We can’t just be close, and so I think that’s why everything goes back to – man, we have to hone in all the little things that we do in walkthrough, man, our urgency the way we walk through. And then practices have got to be on point, and I think there’s got to be such a focus on that day and quit worrying about two days from now, Sunday – it doesn’t matter. All that matters is the work that you put in on that day, and look, we’re going to give them a plan they can digest, they can play fast, very much like, for example, the defense, what we did in New England. We calmed some things down and let them go. So, that’ll still be kind of what we do there, but we won’t be totally vanilla. We’re not going to be sitting ducks. But yeah, look man – there again, I’m not discouraged. I’m not happy with where we’re at. I mean I don’t think anybody is, but when you really look at it, it’s – you’re one or two plays away here, and all of a sudden, you’re sitting here with three wins, so, but the reality is we only have one. So, that’s where we’re at.”
On the injury status of Lions DL John Cominsky, Lions DL Josh Paschal and Lions CB Jerry Jacobs: “Yeah, I would say, we’ll see. I know Cominsky, it looks pretty promising for him. And Paschal had another good week last week. I mean we’ve only had a couple practices, but he’s put two weeks back-to-back that have been pretty good, so we’ll see where he’s at. Jerry continues to get better, so I would say all those guys are trending in the right way.”
On where Lions CB Jerry Jacobs is going to be used once he returns from injury: “Yeah, we talked a lot about Jerry. We all feel like he’s got some flexibility in the coverage. The only thing is – as he continues to progress physically, get his legs back under him, he’s doing a good job, and man, he’s all in, all out. And it’s just making sure that as he continues to progress, that we put him in a position where he can have success. That doesn’t mean that it wouldn’t be slot, it’s just he wasn’t able to go through practice in camp and run those, and so I think the first thing you’d be thinking is outside is where he’d be competing at. The good news about Jerry is, man, when he’s physically ready, I mean, you know you can take him to the game because he’s going to help on special teams immediately, and so now you’ve got him to the game, and now it’s OK, hey, you sprinkle him in outside or maybe we do feel good at nickel. But look, he brings value to the roster at a minimum just to have on gameday because he does so many things.”
On what Lions CB Amani Oruwariye has to do to earn another opportunity to play: “Amani’s going to get a chance to compete. I mean he’s – I told him he’s not out of the boat, so he’s going to get a chance to compete this week and see where he can help us.”
On if Lions CB Amani Oruwariye potentially feels the pressure to perform in a contract year: “I don’t know about all of that. I think it’s just – every player’s a little bit different at any given time and there’s always these circumstances that are – sometimes – you have control over, sometimes maybe not, but look, Amani’s a pro, and look, he had two good days back-to-back last week, came out to work. And so I anticipate him coming out Wednesday ready to roll, and he’s a competitor, so.”
On if he evaluated the training process to see what is causing the high number of injuries: “Look, everything that we’ve got in regards to our numbers and what we look at, I mean it’s – there’s nothing that I can say would pinpoint – there’s what we’re doing, what we’re not doing. I know this, we’re going to get more intensity and less volume. And so, that’s one little tweak that I hope helps us a little bit. There again, we won’t be out there for two hours, but yet, man, the time that we are out there, we should be flying around, and see if that helps us a little bit.”
On if Lions DL Romeo Okwara’s recovery timeline has him on track to play this season: “Yeah, that’s the plan. And he is progressing. He’s doing a good job. There again, the Achilles just happened at a different rate, but he’s doing a good job and you guys know Romes. I mean he puts in the work now, but it’s coming. It’s just when he’s ready, he’ll be out there.”
On the injury status of Lions WR Jameson Williams and Lions FB Jason Cabinda and if they plan to practice this week: “Yeah, I don’t see any of those guys – they’re all on track. I think Cabinda’s coming in a hurry, but I don’t know if I necessarily see them this week.”