LIONS HEAD COACH DAN CAMPBELL QUOTE SHEETNovember 10, 2023 Opening Statement: “Friday, red zone. Had a good day yesterday. So, last little bit, get everything in gameplan wise and then we’ll go from there.”On how important Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown is to the team: “Yeah, I mean what you said, you don’t – he is so steady. I mean his production is always there. His reliability is always there. And so, we don’t ever want to take him for granted. He’s a guy that’s able to do multiple jobs, he can play multiple positions, he’s got a vast route tree, he’s tough, he’s a blocker, he’s got run after catch. So, the guy does everything for us and he’s one of the reasons that our offense is able to go. He’s one of the biggest pieces of it. He’s a self-made man. I mean he puts in the work every day at practice, every day pre-practice, post-practice. I mean he just – he does. He puts it in and he improves every day.”On if Lions WR Donovan Peoples-Jones’s rib injury happened in his last game with Cleveland: “Yeah, that was – he had a little something that came up there, but obviously we did the physical and everything and we felt like there was nothing that was severe. And we want to get him up to speed anyway with what we’re doing offensively. So, look, he’s been practicing, and he’s looked pretty good, and then we’ll make a decision on whether we bring him or not, or activate him or not I should say, over the next day or so.”On if there is anything specific he is looking for to make the decision on when to activate Lions WR Donovan Peoples-Jones: “I think more than anything it’ll be talk to him, talk to (Lions Wide Receivers Coach Antwaan Randle) El, talk to (Lions Offensive Coordinator) Ben (Johnson) and just kind of gather all the facts and see where we’re at. I want to make sure he’s comfortable too, I do. So, we have that luxury right now. We’re pretty good in the receiver room, so we’ll see.”On how close Lions G Halapoulivaati Vaitai is to contributing: “It’s hard to say, it’s hard to say. I don’t see him practicing today either, so we’ll see where he’s at and how he feels, but we have everybody – feels like we have everybody back. (Lions C) Frank (Ragnow) and (Lions G) Jonah (Jackson) both look good and obviously the other three are in a good spot, so we’re back to full strength right now.”On Chargers RB Austin Ekeler being tough to bring down and how to prepare for that: “Yeah, he is, he’s tough. He’s got a low center of gravity, he’s quick, he’s got strength, he’s a dangerous screen runner, route runner out of the backfield, his run after catch. So, I think he’s another one of those guys honestly, it’s population to the football. Man, the first guy arrives and if you can’t get him down, well you need to hold him up while the calvary shows up, so that’s really – guys like that, that are explosive, man, population to the football.”On where he has seen Lions T Penei Sewell grow in terms of production and becoming a more vocal leader: “Yeah, I think that. I think he’s gotten every year more comfortable. As you grow and you’re comfortable with not only your own abilities but where you fit in the team itself, they get a feel of you and you understand who they are. And I think if you’re a guy like him, your voice gets a little louder. You feel compelled to step up. And look, you said I named him (a captain), the team named him and that’s why. They voted him captain and so that – you can see that’s where he’s grown. He is much more comfortable, and he leads by the way that he plays, but also by the words that he speaks too. He’s very much – he’s kind of an energy guy for us. He brings attitude to what we are offensively. To me, collectively, man, you think of that O-line that we got with guys like him and then on the perimeter, guys like (Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown) Saint, I mean that’s who we are, that’s our attitude.”On the message to the team to stay focused coming off of the bye and into a cross-country trip: “Yeah, I think they’ll be good. Look, I think they’re going to enjoy this. They get to kick their feet up on the plane, it’ll be a nice trip, have fluids, take a nap, watch a movie, look at your playbook. So, I think that they’ll be good. I think we will have put in a good week of work. This will be a trip that I believe they’re looking forward to. And then you wake up at your leisure Sunday and we go play. So, I think we’ll be good.”On where he evaluates this team at this point in the season compared to the past two years: “I think a little bit of what I said last week, we’ve been able to earn six wins up to this point after eight games and now, we’re not guaranteed six more wins playing the way that we played on the first half. We have to get better, we have to. Say it every year, there’s teams that are jockeying for these spots and what happens, some of these teams that look pretty good right now begin to fall. And then some of these other teams, they’ll start rattling off some wins. So, we have to improve, and I believe we can. I said this, we still have not put a complete game together with all three phases in one game. We’ve complemented, but – so, that’s what we have to do.”On if there is another key beyond continual improvement that has allowed them to be a strong team in the second half of the season in his tenure: “No, I think it is that simple. It’s about improving. You’ve just got to improve. I’ve said this before, I mean we – 2017, New Orleans, we started the year 0-2 and we were written off for dead even after just two but – and what people didn’t understand is we knew we were getting better even though we had lost. And it was a little bit that way last year, yeah, we were losing, but every game, man, we were doing some things so much better, and we were so close. And so, it really is about improving, and so as long as you stay focused on that and you identify what you want to improve on and make sure it’s better the next week and the next week and the next week, then there again, you should be playing your best ball by the end of the year.”On what makes Chargers QB Justin Herbert challenging to defend: “Well, I’ll just start with this, any quarterback that’s had the consistency he’s had – number one, he’s got ability, he’s a smart guy, but man, he’s just – he’s got it. He’s wired right. He’s tough, he can read the field very well. I know they can put a lot on his plate, the runs, the checks, the audibles and he’s highly competitive. So, it’s – usually if you have all those traits, it’s hard not to be a pretty good player. Those aren’t easy to find. They’re not easy to find. I think that’s one of the reasons our guy’s been pretty good here. Man, he’s wired right, he’s pretty tough, he’s resilient, he’s smart, and usually that leads to pretty consistent play.”On wanting to see improvements in red zone performance on both sides of the ball today at practice: “Yeah, it’ll be important. Today will be important. It’s very much about the opponent and what we have in gameplan-wise to attack them, but ultimately, it’s about the way that we handle that, the way that we execute, the speed at which we do it, the precision, everything tightens down there. There’s not as much space and so the ball’s got to come out faster. You’ve got to get your eyes on it a lot quicker, you’ve got to make some fearless catches. And certainly, you’ve got to be able to run the ball, play-pass, things of that nature, that it really requires timing. And at the very least, just don’t shoot yourself in the foot. That’s at the very least. No sacks, no turnovers. Bill (Parcells) used to say, no sacks, no turnovers and no exotic snap counts, so. We may use exotic snap counts.”On if he is going to the Metallica concert at Ford Field tonight: “Don’t think I’m going to be able to make that.”On what it is about Metallica he likes: “I just – from the time I was young, I had a couple of cousins that they played the guitar, they’d come see us, I’m out in the middle of nowhere, dirt roads and here they come with the electric guitar and he – and they loved Metallica, and they played all of them back in the day. So, that’s where I began to really love them and then over time, they just stood the test of time, right? One of these bands that just – they always I guess reinvent themselves, right? They never get stale, they never get old, they just adapt, adjust and just keep putting out hits. And I love that. I respect that.”
