| LIONS HEAD COACH DAN CAMPBELL QUOTE SHEET November 7, 2022 Opening Statement: “I’ll just start with this, defensively, when you’re – really your first six possessions, we get interception, interception, we get a stop on fourth down. (Lions CB) Will Harris made a heck of a play, and then they have a victory to go in, they have 15 seconds right before halftime, so they kneel it, and then you come back out, and third-and-11, you get a stop. (Lions S) Kerby (Joseph) knocks it down, and then you come back with an interception, which was after we had an interception offensively, so defense got the ball back. That was big, I mean, defensively set the tone. Now, the other good thing was we did, we complemented each other because – then once they mounted a drive and scored, offensively man, we answered back with a score the very next possession. So, at the end of the day, we did play complementary football. These guys played hard, and I was proud of them.” On how different a win feels for him and his staff: “Yeah, I mean it certainly gives you a little more just – feel like you rebound just a little quicker. That’s probably the best way to say it. You feel like you get the wind under your wings a little bit faster, that’s all. So, it’s good. Everybody puts a lot of work into it obviously. It’s hard to win in this League, but that’s the name of the game, and it’s what it’s all about. Man, it’s fun. It’s fun.” On if a win offers validation that the team is on the right track: “Yeah, I don’t know validation, I just know I do feel like we’re going the right direction. I know the wins are not there, though we just got one there. I like the improvement. I would like to be in a better place than we are certainly. I feel like we should have at least two more wins here, and that’s on me. But certainly, to get a win for wins’ sake, for winning, goes a long way. And we’ve got a chance this week to win on the road the first time since I’ve been here, win back-to-back games, win another division game, so for us, we’ve got a lot of play for obviously.” On if he ever allows himself to think what could have been if the team had won the close games this season: “No, I mean those things transpire after the game immediately for the first two days, and then I’ve got to just let it go because there’s nothing I can do about that anymore other than learn from those maybe errors that transpired or things that I didn’t feel like I did well, or we didn’t do well as a team to move forward from there, but as far as looking back, it’ll do me no good. I don’t want to dwell and all of that, what could have been. Make the corrections, and we move on.” On if Lions LB Derrick Barnes played his best game so far in his career yesterday: “Yes, by far. By far that was his best performance. He did. He played – I thought he played well last night, and then you go back and watch the tape, it was even better than that, so he played really well. He’s continued to improve every week, and he really stepped up, and really, he and (Lions S) Kerby (Joseph) had two of the best performances on defense yesterday. I thought (Lions CB) Mike Hughes played well. I thought (Lions LB) Alex (Anzalone) played well. I thought (Lions CB) Will Harris played well. Now, there is – all those guys on defense, really top to bottom, played pretty good football, but those guys were particularly – did well, so yes, it’s good to see though. And that’s good, to get him in there and see him play at the level that he played at, because he was, he was productive. He was all over the field, so that’s good for us.” On if Lions RB Jamaal Williams has surprised him at all production-wise these past two seasons: “No. No, he’s exactly what I thought he’d be, and I mean that in a good way. Like I love dependability, I love to know what a player brings to the table, like he is one of our most consistent players week in and week out. Like you know exactly what you’re going to get out of him. You know exactly what he’s going to do for you, the production in the run game. You know how he’s going to protect. You know that in the pass game, the checkdown, he’s going to be exactly where he’s supposed to be. He’s as steady as they come, so he’s been a solid force for us, man. I’m glad we got him.” On the combination of players in the secondary between Lions CB Jerry Jacobs, Lions CB Will Harris and Lions CB Mike Hughes: “Yeah, we liked it a lot. There again, I thought it was good to see. We got Mike off of the – he came back from an injury. So, I thought he looked really well on the edge on the perimeter and so did Jerry. And that was the plan to work Jerry in as well and let those guys play. And we like both of them and we love Will at the nickel. Man, he really stepped in there and played well. You guys know Will’s our Swiss army knife. Man, he can do a lot of things for us. We needed him to play nickel and I thought he really stepped up and played a physical game, run and pass.” On the decision to put Lions S C.J. Moore in during a critical moment at the end of the game yesterday: “Well, there is – the good news about C.J. – there is carryover. And he was one that – that was hard for us at the end of camp to do what we felt like we had to do just for the roster. We didn’t want to lose him, but we felt like we had to do it at that moment. And so, we – (Lions Executive Vice President/General Manager) Brad (Holmes) and I had our eye on C.J. the whole time. We knew we had to get through the injury settlement period and then when we had the chance to get him back because he’s a huge – he’s a pivotal piece to our special teams first off. But he also understands the defense, he’s been a part of it. He’s a guy that – it means a lot to him, he cares, he’s a professional and a guys love him, man. He’s an energy guy.” On how he sees Lions CB Amani Oruwariye playing a part in the defense moving forward: “Yeah, I see Amani – look, he was a pro, man. He came in, he worked last week. He helped us on special teams, he’s ready on defense when needed and I see him just continuing to work and practice. I mean, at some point we’re going to need him again.” On how quick Bears QB Justin Fields running for 178 yards yesterday snapped him back into focus for this week: “Yeah, well it did last night when I saw it. So, I was already – with my feet up on the couch and I thought I was going to relax, but I saw that, so. But yeah, he’s a – listen, they’re doing a really good job with him. I haven’t gotten through all of it yet. Yeah, I did (have a beer last night). But I’ve watched a little bit and they’re doing a heck of a job just – they’ve built it around his strengths and what he’s able to do. And we all know he’s a hell of an athlete and he can hurt you with his legs and his arm. So, it’ll be a big test.” On the point of emphasis going against a mobile quarterback like Bears QB Justin Fields after struggling with mobile quarterbacks this season: “Well, maybe we won’t talk about running quarterbacks this week. We’ll just not even make an emphasis on it and see what happens.” On how Lions LB Malcolm Rodriguez’s arm is feeling after the game yesterday: “Yeah, we’re finding that out right now. He’s able to go back in and do a little bit. But I know he irritated it. We’ll see where he feels over the next few days.” On if Lions LB Malcolm Rodriguez will potentially miss some time: “Not sure.” On if Lions S Kerby Joseph is still in concussion protocol: “He’s in the protocol. But there again, we’re early in the process. We’re certainly hopeful. I feel like he falls in the same category as (Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown) Saint and (Lions TE) Brock Wright have over the last two weeks.” On the impact winning the challenge in the second quarter on a Packers’ incomplete pass had on momentum: “It was huge. It was just – it was good to get one. It was big and that’s a – it’s one of those where we’re looking it up in the booth and there was enough movement to throw the flag and it was a good call. That was.” On if the decision to challenge the Packers’ catch was cut and dry: “Well, I would say this I – (Lions Director of Football Compliance/Lead Football Counsel) Jon Dykema was upstairs, he’s the one – I was on with him asking him, ‘Is it a catch, no catch?’ And so, when he came back yelling, ‘Throw it,’ I knew it was 100 percent – it was definitely we were going to get it. So, it worked out good.” On where Lions RB D’Andre Swift is after coming back from injury: “Yeah, well we’re hopeful that what we gave him this week we didn’t feel like was – it was too much. We feel like there certainly wasn’t a setback and we gave him enough plays to where we feel like he could handle it, and yet, we could use the things that he does well. And so, we’re hopeful we can give him a little bit more this week.” On if he believes in having ‘Victory Mondays’ to give players rest after a win: “I do. I just – it’s a little early right now. But I do. Hopefully we can use those, that would be great. I would love to give them out.” Closing Statement: “The fans were outstanding. I mean, that place was booming, it was rocking. They were invested in it, and it helped us win – particularly on defense.” |
