LIONS HEAD COACH DAN CAMPBELL QUOTE SHEET
January 2, 2023
Opening Statement: “Really nothing new to speak of from last night. There again, we bounced back. I was proud of the guys. I was proud of these coaches like I mentioned, and this is great, going into the last week. It’s a good opponent, and we’ve got a chance to play for postseason.”
On the importance of playing meaningful games late in the season for a young team: “Just like what I said last night, I think it’s important to get used to being here because that’s what you – this is where you want to be. You want to be in the thick of it, and you always want to have a chance to get in or have gotten in, and now it’s about seeding, everything I’ve talked about last night, and so this has got to be where we’re at. And I do think it’s very important because to get to this point, now, especially for a young team overall, you understand the – I mean here we are going into Week 18 now. There’s 17 games in the season, and it’s a lot of football. There’s a lot of things that can happen. I mean you look at the ebbs and flows of this season and different teams including us, and man, all the hype one way or all the lows one way, and this team’s written off, and they’re back, this team is the greatest thing that’s happened in years, and now look at the slide they’re on – it’s natural. It’s been that way for years, and you’ve just got to be consistent, and just handle your business, go to work every week. You’ve got to have a little luck. You do, but you’ve got to be a resilient team, and I think that’s got to be part of your foundation, and that’s why we put this team together.”
On how he ensures the players do not get too high in the wake of a meaningful game: “We tell them the magnitude. This is big. That’s what we do. This is big, and it’s going to be fun, and let’s go. I mean the intensity is up, now. This is a playoff game, and they’re going to know that. And so that’s how we’re going into it.”
On how Lions S Ifeatu Melifonwu played in his second career start against the Bears: “He was better. He was better. I thought he answered the bell. I thought he came in. I think that some of the things that he was asked to do was a little different than last week, just the nature of the opponent. However, I did, I thought he answered the bell. I thought he was better. I thought he tried to play more aggressive. He had a pretty big fourth-down stop. That was good to see, so yeah, it was encouraging.”
On if Lions S DeShon Elliott is going to play against the Packers: “There again, look, he wants to go. He’s improving, and we’ll see what he looks like. Let him – hopefully, we’ll know a lot more tomorrow, but let him hit some sleds. See how the shoulder feels, and if that’s good, go into practice and see if he – just see how it goes, really. But I know he wants to go, and I know he’s improving, so.”
On how Lions LB James Houston is still making plays despite teams having more sacks on tape for opponents: “Look, a lot of that, you get doubled. You get doubled by a tight end. You’re working tackles, and yes, you’re getting chipped, and a lot of it is you just have to go through the process of it, is to learn how to defeat the first one in front of you before you get to the next one or – but I think it’s not only that, it’s also his teammates around him. I mean everybody’s got a job to do, and for you to have to work through that, then you’re getting pressed from the other side that’s getting a one-on-one, and so everybody’s kind of playing a hand in that. And for him, it’s just the matter of he’s pretty resilient. I mean he doesn’t quit. He goes hard, he is slippery, he’s strong, and then it’s just a matter of, ‘Alright, this is what I can get away with. This is what I’ve got to be careful for.’ So, he’s working through just kind of like (Lions DL Aidan Hutchinson) Hutch has had to too now. Hutch was getting doubled. He’s been getting doubled early or getting chipped, and people are paying attention to that. And I think it’s just time on task, but I know it certainly helps when you’re wired the right way, like he’s not going to be discouraged by getting chipped or hit. He wants to win, and you’ve got to have that when people notice or identify that you can be a problem as a rusher.”
On if Lions DL Aidan Hutchinson has done enough to be named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year: “That’s hard for me to say only because I don’t – relative to the rest of the League and the other rookies, I’m not sure about that. To answer that, I know as far as us picking him, for what we wanted him for, he’s everything we’ve wanted, man. I mean this guy’s a football player, and with the number two pick in the draft, we got a freaking – we got a football-playing dude, man, who’s high motor, and he’s versatile as hell. So, I don’t know what that is. If you’re asking me to cast a vote, yeah, I would cast a vote, but I don’t know all the ins-and-outs of everybody else, but for our value, absolutely.”
On why Lions CB Jeff Okudah has had a decreased workload after coming back from illness a few weeks ago: “No, I would say it was a couple of things last week we talked about. I thought he came out ready to work. It was always about getting (Lions CB) Mike Hughes more plays. I mean Mike earned his right to play now too. And Okudah took some gunner reps for us because Mike was going to play more on the outside than probably Jeff was, and so they both played. No, listen, Jeff’s good. He’s helping us, man. He’s contributing.”
On if it matters that the game may be at the same time as the Seahawks game on Sunday: “Yeah, I mean I can’t worry about that. We can’t worry about it. For us, it’s got to be a win, win either way. Either we’re playing to get in or we’re playing to be spoiler and that’s it. So, either way we win.”
On how valuable Lions DL John Cominsky is to the defense: “Yeah, he’s very important and really, I feel like – I said this earlier, when we lost him for that period of time, it did affect us because there’s a lot of things that he does that go unseen from the outside. I think there’s a number of things when it comes to our stunt games and setting up our rush patterns that he is kind of our point guy on a little bit if you will. He’s highly intelligent, certainly he’s high motor, he is aggressive, but I think he’s just – he’s a little bit of that glue for those guys up front. And so, he’s very important. He plays the run, I mean he’s as good as anybody we’ve got setting an edge in the run game. So, he’s – he’s kind of a vital part of what we are up front defensively.”
On what has changed for the Packers that has carried them down the stretch into playoff contention: “Yeah, I think that they’re just – they’re playing complementary football. They’ve got a good special teams unit, which you saw that yesterday that helped them out. Defensively, I feel like they’ve been playing good football all year and I know there’s arguments about the – when we played them, I mean, they’ve been playing good football. And (Packers Defensive Coordinator) Coach (Joe) Barry’s done a great job over there man. And so, we already know that defense is stiff and they’re talented, and they’re strong. And I don’t have to get into (Packers DL Kenny) Clark and those guys again. I mean, Clark’s – I think he’s a hell of a football player. But anyway, this defense is – it’s a good defense. It’s a very good defense, special teams man, they’re – you saw it, I mean they have the ability to make plays in their return game. And then, offensively they’re playing better. They are, and we talked about it as a staff, this is a better football team than we played the first time. And so, you’ve got (Packers QB) Aaron Rodgers who’s – we all know, I mean he’s one of the best, man. One of the best to ever play the game and whenever you’ve got that at the cornerback position with that running back and the offensive line, and they’ve got some young receivers that are coming on, so it’s potent man. But I think more than anything to get where they’re at, they are. All three phases are clicking together and they’re all just kind of boosting each other up and that’s why they’re a dangerous team right now.”
On how much better the team is this time around compared to when they last played the Packers: “Yeah, we’re better too. We’re better too. We’ve made a jump as well. So, we’re better too, there’s no question. But this win kind of started us in the right direction the last time we played them, and we really haven’t looked back. So, that’s why – I just think this is a – this is one of those games you just – you look forward to being a part of as a player, as a coach. The fans are going to love this. I just think it’s great. And you just – I don’t know if you could write it any better. It’s going to be great.”
On what a meaningful Week 18 game is like for the coaching staff: “It’s – it really, really gives you a lot of motivation. And this is the one – and look, every week you’re trying to give your guys the best plan you could possibly give them. That goes without saying, but this one you just – you want to make sure you don’t leave any stone unturned. You’re looking for every little nugget that’s out there potentially. Any way that you can find some type of advantage and make sure that you give your guys the very best opportunity to have success and maximize your roster versus their roster. So, it just – listen, I think it gives everybody a little bit of extra energy and juice if you will.”
On if the team deserves to be on Sunday Night Football: “What do you think? I do too. I do too. But that’s not up for me to decide. But I know we’ll put up a hell of a fight one way or another.”
On if he would rather play on Sunday night or in the afternoon: “Listen, I don’t care. I just want to play. So, it’s coming, and it’ll be down the wire and they’ll be there, we’ll be there. And it’s going to be fun. It’s going to be an exciting game.”
On if the team will wear pads in practice this week: “We’re done. We don’t have anymore. We used up the last one last week.”
On if teams get an extra week to wear pads in practice during the playoffs: “You do. You do. You can use them. So, we’ll probably just – we may just wear shorts and nothing else this week. Just change it up.”
