LIONS HEAD COACH DAN CAMPBELL QUOTE SHEET
September 15, 2023
Opening Statement: “First things first, so (Lions DL Josh) Paschal had a little bit of an episode yesterday, injury-wise, so he won’t be going today and then (Lions T Taylor Decker) Deck, I would say he’s a little less than questionable. We’ll just see where he’s at tomorrow. He is getting better, so that’s all encouraging. And then the same thing with (Lions CB Emmanuel Moseley) E-Man. I don’t see him playing this week, but he is getting better as well.”
On if Lions T Taylor Decker being ‘less than questionable’ means there is a chance he can play: “I think there’s a chance. I think it’s more of an outside shot.”
On the potential of moving Lions G Halapoulivaati Vaitai to right tackle and Lions G Graham Glasgow to right guard in case Lions T Taylor Decker is unable to play this Sunday: “Yeah, we’ve actually worked a couple of different combinations and so we’ve really done three different things. We kept (Lions T Penei) Sewell over there and we’ve had Vaitai move. We’ve moved Sewell. We’ve had Vaitai out, Glasgow in, so we’re going to continue messing with that today and then we’ll see, but the beauty is we’ve got options. We feel pretty good about – certainly (Lions T Matt) Nelson’s involved in all that as well.”
On the severity of Lions DL Josh Paschal’s injury: “I don’t think serious, but I think there is a chance. We’ll know more today, but there is a chance he could be out for a little bit. But I don’t feel like this is something to be a season-ending type deal.”
On Lions DL Josh Paschal dealing with an injury after having a big game against Kansas City: “He did. Yeah, just an irritation. Well, here’s the good news, we’ve got some depth. We’ve got depth. We’ve got (Lions DL Isaiah) Buggs and we’ve got (Lions DL) Romeo (Okwara), so we’ve got options, which is good.”
On the philosophy behind stealing possessions with fakes and fourth-down attempts: “I mean certainly, that goes into any game if you feel like you can steal a possession, no matter who you’re playing, but that’s always – we’ll play into it. I think it’s also you feel like you’ll get a certain look. You also, look, I give a lot of credit to (Lions Special Teams Coordinator) Dave Fipp and those guys on the unit. I’ve got a lot of trust in that punt unit. It’s kind of a core group that, for the most part, has been together for a while. I’ve got a lot of trust in them. They’re pretty tough, smart guys, pretty aware. And (Lions LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin) Germ, Germ’s done a hell of a job. I mean it takes a PP, you’ve got to have a lot of trust and faith in your PP because he’s kind of guiding the ship there and when you have that and you rep things over and over and over, then you gain a lot of trust, so you feel like, when the right looks there, it’ll be time to do it and you trust that the guys would get it done.”
On emphasizing special teams despite the changes the NFL is making to the rulebook: “Yeah, I mean I think we preach it all the time here. We win with three units and we are not an offensive and defensive and special teams, it’s just a ‘don’t mess it up.’ We don’t believe in that here, I don’t and I never will. So, to me, that’s what – I think those type of guys are what make – that’s what this League’s about, in my opinion. I know where all the attention gets laid and I get all that, but man, if you just talk about – there’s a lot more of those guys, in general who, man, they may find a way, they make a living, they grind it out. They do the dirty work that nobody necessarily recognizes, and I always appreciate that and their teammates appreciate that. The more you show that, the more you use them and the more you – they believe they are a part of it, which they are. I think it makes you a stronger team.”
On the skillset needed to execute a fake punt while covering a position normally: “Well, first of all, you have to be smart. Everything that goes with the protection side of it, you have to be – there’s a number of looks that these punt return units can give you, so you’ve got to set the protection, you’ve got to know where you fill in, you’ve got to know where you’ve got to help and then you’ve got to be physical enough to take on a one-on-one, or block somebody one-on-one that’s coming in the A-gap to block a punt, so that’s two. And then three is with what we do, is man, to be able to, let me go back, to be able to cover, because that’s normally – if you’re not getting those rush looks, you can get out pretty quick, so a guy who has got some speed, is instinctive, a ball-guy, like (Lions LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin) Germ is, that goes a long way and then certainly, when you start talking about all the different things we can do from the fake-side of it, you put a lot on those guys and you just start giving little looks. Pretty soon it’s like, alright, what would you do here? What would you do here? What would you do here? And it’s just a matter of getting green-lighted. And if you don’t have a guy you can trust, or they don’t understand those looks, or you’re afraid, in crunch time, they make the wrong decision, you can’t do it, but I have a lot of faith and trust in those guys, in him, in particular, Germ. (Lions DB) C.J. (Gardner-Johnson) did a good job of it. We felt like (former Lions LB Justin Jackson) JJ could but it’s like man, everything happens for a reason and Germ may be the best of all of them. He’s perfect for it.”
On how he has seen Lions Offensive Coordinator Ben Johnson grow: “Yeah, I just think there’s so much – these little things always come up and it’s funny because he can identify it quickly, but they’ll be, you go in, you build a heck of a game plan, you’ve got a vision for how you want it go and they’ll be one little thing that’s come up where – ‘Man, I love this play versus this coverage’ and ,‘Oh man, I got hit.’ You may have gotten hit on a pressure that you’ve looked at all these pressure looks, but sometimes you – just little things come up and you get – the ball gets forced out of your hand quicker than you thought you were going to – just these little things that come up to where you learn it’s like, ‘It was a dumb call. I knew better than to do that, I shouldn’t have done that.’ And you learn from them, and it just takes time on task and so, he’s just, to me, he’s such a chess player and he can identify quickly things that, ‘Man, I know I’ve got to be better here. I won’t ever do that again. Man, if we play these guys again, this is exactly what I would do.’ He’s got an answer for all of it in real time and the more he memory banks, he just keeps getting better and better and growing and then even from the gameplan standpoint, putting players in the best position to have success. I think he does a great job of, and we put a lot of time and thought into, ‘Man, how do we get this guy his touches? How do we get this guy his touches? How do we get this play started for him?’ And that takes a lot of time and work. I’ve been, throughout this League, as a player and a coach, I’ve been around before where it’s you just run your system and you’re here, you’re here, you’re here and if the ball comes to you, great, or if this happens – and we’re not that way here and you can’t do that if you don’t have a coordinator that’s got vision, flexibility and belief in what he does, so Ben’s outstanding. He’s doing a hell of a job. He’s his own worst critic too. He’s harder on himself than anybody could be, so he’s driven that way.”
On if he is ready to see fans in blue ski masks this Sunday: “Well, I don’t know. Look, I told (Lions DB) C.J. (Gardner-Johnson) yesterday I’m like, ‘Alright, just remember we’ve got kids coming to this game, alright. Let’s let them have it and let’s enjoy it, man. It should be loud out there, but let’s remember man, there’s moms and dads with kids around, so let’s keep it somewhat friendly here.’ Anyway, it’s good.”
On whether he has heard that blue ski masks are back-ordered on Amazon: “Yeah, I heard. I heard. I heard.” | |
