LIONS HEAD COACH DAN CAMPBELL QUOTE SHEET
October 1, 2024
Opening Statement: “I just reiterate the playing complementary football is big. We preach it all the time, all three units helping out. Ultimately, the offense had the hot hand yesterday and so it’s their job to pick up the slack just like the defense has the first three weeks. And ultimately, I just – the fact that when we needed one group, they showed up. We start that game out and really three-and-out on offense and defense gets a stop, we get back in a rhythm offensively and fizzled out on offense, then defense gets them off the field. Seattle scores and our offense scores. So, it was just a hell of a job. A number of guys stepped up. (Lions QB Jared) Goff obviously played an outstanding game. (Lions OL) Graham (Glasgow) at center, that was good to see, having him go in there and fill in. (Lions RB David Montgomery) D-Mo was big, (Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown) Saint, (Lions WR Jameson Williams) Jamo, a number of guys. Defensively, (Lions S) Kerby (Joseph) played outstanding, I thought (Lions CB) Carlton Davis (III) played outstanding. (Lions CB Khalil Dorsey) Dorse, (Lions CB Kindle) Vildor, big time on special teams, (Lions LB) Ben Niemann, so it was just good. It was a good win.”
On if there is more that the defense can do to crush the pocket and maximize their strategy: “Yeah, let me start here. I thought (Seahawks QB) Geno (Smith) played a hell of a game. I really did, I thought he played a hell of a game. He got rid of the ball fast, he’s mobile, I thought he was very patient too. That’s not always easy to do when you’re in a track meet like that. So, I’ll start there. But, no, we can be much better. We need to be much better. There were some things in there where we can close it better than we did. We can close the pocket, particularly on the ones where he is holding it longer than a three-step mentality. So, there’s things that we can do better. It was not our best performance, I don’t think anybody’s saying that. All I’m saying is the end-of-half situation was big, the takeaways, two takeaways, you end with a punt, you end them on downs and then you get an interception on defense after all that had taken place, that’s good. That’s what we talk about with resiliency. But no, there’s things that we can do better.”
On how Lions DL Josh Paschal played against the Seahawks: “I thought he played really well. I thought Paschal – I thought he played a really good game last week and I thought it was even better this week.”
On if four games are enough to self-scout over the bye week: “No, not really. You’ll gain – you’ll kind of gain a few things looking at yourself over four weeks, but you’ve kind of been in that mode. You’ve already been in that mode so there’s not a lot that we’re going to learn here. I think more importantly it’s – I told the coaches, I really want us to look at ourselves more than the players if that sounds – because of it’s so early in the season. I think it’s more about, let’s look at ourselves here individually as position coaches, coordinators and myself, head coach, and let’s say, ‘Where are we at? What are we doing well? What are we not doing well? How do we help these guys?’ And I think that’s really got to be the emphasis right now. I’m going to give them some time off, just so you know. Because we’re about to have a long push here so I’m giving – players are off and I’m about to give the coaches off some days and they can work from home.”
On if he thinks they got away from their identity in the Buccaneers game by passing too much: “No, honestly, I don’t because I think even if we do throw it 50-something times, there’s an identity to that, the nature of the way we play. Look, it was something that we felt like for that week, for that game, that’s what we wanted to do. Is it more than we want to throw it? Yeah, it is. You’d rather not go in and throw it that many times, but yet, there will be these games where we feel like – like Jacksonville, whenever that was, two years ago, we threw it quite a bit in that game and that’s kind of what we wanted to do at that time, and we had a lot of success. It went well for us and that was the game plan. So, every week’s different and I think more times than not, we want to be balanced. It serves us well. We have the backs, we have the O-line, but we also have a quarterback, and we have receivers that are explosive. We have playmakers so I think you take each week as it comes.”
On how much of a luxury this organization has been in the development of Lions WR Jameson Williams: “There’s a lot of people that are involved in that and everything starts with him first, by the way. He’s done an outstanding job of rehabbing, getting over the injury. He had to deal with what came with the gambling and the time off, and then he got hurt in camp before that happened and then he’s coming back. So, everything – he’s been so raw to it and just learning and working his way through it. He’s just matured so much. He’s matured and he’s worked and he’s grinded and he wants it. He wants to get the coaching. He wants to get better and so that’s a credit to him that he’s open and he’s coachable and he’s about the team. He’s about the team. Now, there’s a number of people, talking about development. (Lions Director of Player Engagement/Team Chaplain) Sean (Pugh) and (Lions Director of Player Engagement/Team Programs) Jessica (Gray), player engagement. They’ve worked hand-in-hand with him. We’ve talked about (former Lions QB) Teddy Bridgewater last year, but his teammates, (Lions WR) Amon-Ra St. Brown is big, (Lions WR Kalif Raymond) Leaf is – that whole room. (Lions Wide Receivers Coach Antwaan Randle-El) El is big for him. (Lions Offensive Coordinator) Ben (Johnson), there’s just – we have so many resources here that I think help guys develop not only certainly as players but as men and just trying to do things the right way, being a pro and everything that goes along with it. So, it’s been good. It’s been good to be able to do that and it doesn’t work that way everywhere. Not every place is set up the way that ours is set up.”
On if he is happy with where the team is right now or if there are areas he is not happy with: “I am pleased with where we’re at right now because relative to here we are and – would I like to be 4-0, absolutely. Yes. But, relative to where we’re at, I feel like we’re beginning to find our stride. I don’t believe what we saw yesterday is our defense and I believe we’re finding our rhythm offensively and that makes me feel good. And I know that we’re just going to continue to get better and better and better. We have so many areas to improve in that we will, and we have. But where we’re at after four weeks, 3-1, the growth that we have had to this point, I feel pretty good.”
On if he was able to find a game ball for Lions QB Jared Goff: “Yeah, we did, we found one. Yes, we did. And look, normally what we do is, I’ll give out an immediate game ball afterward, and then normally we always have another one or two that show up when we do it here the day after the game, after a win. So that was an easy one to get him that one. It’s a great job. And (Lions Offensive Coordinator) Ben (Johnson) still got his, too.”
On Lions QB Jared Goff launching his touchdown reception ball into the stands: “Oh, I saw it, that was unbelievable, it was outstanding. It was a hell of a throw. I thought he was going to hit Roary at first.”
On not taking the penalty at the end of the first half to give Lions K Jake Bates a chance to attempt a long field goal: “Yeah, was trying to get him there, I was. We could’ve gotten three more yards. That’s probably a little much. If I thought we could’ve gotten to the minus-45, it might’ve been worth it just to see him swing at one. But yeah, I would’ve liked to see that too. I told (Lions Special Teams Coordinator Dave) Fipp today, I was like, ‘Man, it would’ve been nice just to get in – just to let him swing at one.’ But we couldn’t quite get there.”
On if field position was why they did not try to attempt a field goal at the end of the first half: “Yeah, it was just too far. And I think even there, man, he’s – yeah, it was too far for a Hail Mary and even there, if it’s a little low, that thing gets blocked and that’s too much of a risk.”
On Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs’s growth as a runner: “Yeah, he’s coming on. I felt like he and (Lions TE Sam) LaPorta both, yesterday, they looked like, ‘OK, here we go, man.’ They’ve got their legs back under them. I feel like they look as healthy as they’ve looked since the beginning of training camp, and they’re on the uptick. So, he continues to get better, and there were about probably three runs in there yesterday that are this close to going all the way, and it’s been like that every week, there’s been more and more of these that are this close. So, I would anticipate he’s about to really take off. He’s coming on.”
On if he found any commonalities in their successful red zone trips from yesterday: “Well, look, we knew for that defense, the way they played, we needed to be able to run the football, we had to be efficient running the football and that was really the key to that because that set up any of the boots, the play-passes. And then the one that fired me up the most was, we get a penalty, we’re first-and-20 at the 20, and we overcome that penalty. It was a good throw over there, it’s a hell of a play by (Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown) Saint toe-tapping in the endzone. That was big. You don’t ever want to put yourself in that position with penalties, yet to be able to overcome that, just like defensively we overcame two of those penalties to get the stop on fourth down at the end of that game. Those are – that’s a sign of a good team.”
On if he played baseball growing up: “I did until I was probably a sixth grader. Look, I think I told this story, it was a long story, but basically – I think I’ve told this before. Last time I ever played baseball, we’re in the playoffs, we’re in – I don’t even know you would call it, it’s not for my school, it’s league baseball, and it’s the classic, bases loaded, two strikes, the whole deal. I get out there, I hit a grand slam for the win, and right before I do I hear somebody behind me and they say, ‘Hold on, hold on.’ And I hit, I swing, I do, so I carry my bat to first base, give it to the first base coach, I go around. Well, their coach argues that I can’t carry the bat to first base, and the umpire agrees, and we lose the freaking game. So, I was like, I hate this sport. Anyway, last time I ever played. But I’m rooting for the Tigers.”
