| LIONS HEAD COACH DAN CAMPBELL QUOTE SHEET September 5, 2022 Opening Statement: “Really nothing to speak of on our end. Today was really get them back in, they had three days off, so get their legs back under them. We meet, kind of digest a little bit more of Philly. Get them a good lift, a good run, and that’s kind of it really today. They’ll be off, and then we come back Wednesday ready to go.” On if he feels like Lions Offensive Coordinator Ben Johnson is ready to call plays against the Eagles: “Yeah, but I think I am too. So, this is going to be good, it’ll be fun. And he’s done a great job.” On if he has decided who will call the plays against the Eagles: “Well, this is going to be interesting to find out. I’m excited to know too.” On if there is an advantage by waiting to name a play-caller for this Sunday: “Yeah, I mean maybe, maybe not. I don’t know. I’ll be honest with you, I’m just not quite there yet. I still have this eagerness to want to call it myself. And so, I’m just – man, it’s going to be – I don’t know. It’s going to be good.” On what jumped out right away to him about the Eagles on tape: “Yeah, listen their – well the first thing I turned on was their defense, their defensive tape. And so, just their – man, they’re disruptive upfront. I mean, this D-line now is the real deal and they’ve got enough juice off the edge right now with (Eagles LB Haason) Reddick, and then they still got (Eagles DT Fletcher) Cox to push the middle and among others. I mean, they’ve got a whole crew in there. So, that to me is the first thing that shows up. They’ve added (Eagles CB James) Bradberry on the edge, they’ve got (Eagles CB Darius) Slay, so they can certainly play on the perimeter. So, that’s the first thing that shows up for you. And then, certainly offense is running the ball. The ability to run the ball because if they can do that, (Eagles QB Jalen) Hurts is a very effective quarterback, he’s very dangerous. So, those two things really show up.” On how much he uses last year’s loss to the Eagles as motivation this week: “Yeah, look I think it’s – we haven’t hid from it. I mean, it was embarrassing. It was an embarrassing loss. They let us have it, they rubbed our nose in it, and that’s – listen man, they came in and did what they – everything that they wanted to do they did to us times 10. So, I think we’ve acknowledged that and we understand that that’s what they’re coming back for. If I’m them, I’m doing the same thing. We’re going to come back and attack you the same way and see if you’ve fixed any of your problems. Now, they’ll have a couple of tweaks here and there, but I mean, I would fully expect them to come in and see if we’ve fixed our problems. And so, we understand that that’s where we’ve got to be better at. And we understand the opponent that’s coming in. I mean, this isn’t some – this is a good football team that we’re getting ready to play.” On if he sees last year’s loss to the Eagles as a turning point for the team last season: “I do. I do think that was somewhat of a turning point last year, it did. It opened our eyes to some things and I think it forced us to really – well it forced us to have to make some changes on both sides of the ball. We had to do things differently because where we were going wasn’t going to get it cut. It wasn’t going to cut it. So yeah, I mean it’s somewhat a blessing in disguise, I guess. You make the most of something that’s a negative, you turn it into a positive and I felt like we did that to a certain extent. So, I totally agree with that.” On how Philadelphia’s run game with Eagles QB Jalen Hurts is similar to what they saw in the first preseason game against Atlanta: “Well, I would say there are similarities. But I knew going into that game with – just talking to (Falcons Head Coach) Arthur (Smith), they weren’t going to do a ton of true, let the quarterback pull it and run. Now, the illusion was there, but it wasn’t – they didn’t really just let them cut it loose. Now, you’ve still got the scramble on third down – you know the plays to where something breaks down, the quarterback takes off running. So, it’ll be the most similar we faced this preseason and that – look, that’ll be the challenge for us, is simulating their quarterback for our defense and just some of those – his ability to pull it and run in the run game. But also, third-down pass situations where man, he gets active with his feet. That’s always a challenge when you don’t – when you’re not facing that every day.” On how the team will prepare to face a mobile quarterback like Eagles QB Jalen Hurts Week 1: “We’ve got a couple of ideas.” On if they could use a player like Lions WR Tom Kennedy to simulate a mobile quarterback in practice: “Yeah, it could. Get somebody back there we feel like can run around a little bit and force our defense to have to play that position. And your angles and everything, man, the angles, the finish, the cover downfield. The – everything it’s – you’ve got to be able to rep it live and get a real feel of it because it will, it gets on you, it got on us in that first game. But, we’ll – look, it’ll be a point of emphasis, we’ve got a couple of ideas on how to do that. Could be TK, could be (Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown) Saint, could be (Lions WR Kalif Raymond) Leaf, could be a quarterback. I mean, so it could be a coach we’ve got here, we may just – but anyway we’ll do it. We have to work on it that’s for sure.” On what he is looking forward to with Lions CB Amani Oruwariye and Lions CB Jeff Okudah going against the Eagles’ wide receivers on Sunday: “It’ll be very good. It’ll be a very good matchup. Those are two very good receivers over there, and they’re both different by the way. They’re both very different, but I think that in regard to that so is Amani and Okudah. They’re very different and just the nature of the way that they are and how they play and what their game’s about. And so, that gives us some flexibility.” On what he has seen from Eagles CB Darius Slay on tape and why he is still a top corner in the League at his age: “Yeah, I think that – look, wherever – when you’re able to – you have ability and then, as you continue to develop through the years you’ve still got plenty of ability, but you’ve just gained knowledge of the game and how you play different receivers and what you can get away with, what you can’t, and that’s where you’ve seen him grow, and that’s why he’s still playing at a high level. I thought even – I mean, I went back and watched the playoff game last night, but there’s some things in there that – look, he’s still – he knows exactly who he is and what he is capable of. And we’re going to have to try to – we’re going to have to work. We’re going to have to work on both sides, but we’re going to have to work because you’ve got (Eagles CB James) Bradberry on the other side. Yeah, I know they feel real good about him over there and I can understand why.” On what excites him about this team and this season: “Yeah, I think that – well, because it’s here. I mean, it’s – the season is upon us now. We’ve got our – we have our players, we have our crew, we have the brotherhood if you will. And it’s the 53 with the 16-man vet squad or practice squad. And so, there’ll be a couple of little things that always come up throughout the year. But for the most part, this is our crew, man, and I told those guys this morning, I mean it doesn’t matter it’s – I mean there’s a reason why we’ve got (Lions WR Tom Kennedy) TK back, and we’ve got (Lions T Dan Skipper) Skip, and we’ve got (Lions CB) Saivion (Smith) and (Lions CB) A.J. Parker, and we were fortunate to get a lot of those guys, but they’re plug and play, (Lions LB Jarrad Davis) JD, I mean my gosh, we’ve got some guys here that you feel really good about if needed, man, you call them up and they’re ready to roll and that’s a comforting feeling. But just know that we’ve got – I feel like we have the right guys. It’s the right 53 and I feel like our strength is really exactly that. It’s the 53-plus, that 16-man practice squad. So, I think that is our strength, I don’t think you can just point at one thing, one player, and say this is who we are – no, we – and I think it’s kind of unique that way and I appreciate that. And I think our guys do, they know the strength of what we are is our team. And as long as we hold on to that I think we can – we’ll be more than competitive.” On his team’s demeanor and the look in their eyes as the regular season approaches: “Yeah, I think – well, I don’t think, I know they were focused. They were ready. And they knew we weren’t practicing today, so that’s always a good sign. I mean, they were all ready to go. I mean, I don’t ask them to be there five minutes before the meeting, and they were all – I mean, with two or three minutes to spare, everybody was sitting there ready to go, so that’s usually a good sign because that’s not – I just want them there before it hits zero, but they were ready, and you can just see it. I felt all their eyes, and they’re ready to go. They’re ready to go and that’s a good thing.” On where he has seen Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown improve the most from his rookie year: “Well, I mean what I would say is, from this point, like I take this – OK, relative to this time last year, but also alright, we’re as – from the time the season, in and out, he is consistent. And he became consistent at the end of the year, but that’s kind of what you’re looking for. That’s the biggest step he’s taken is, man, he’s kind of one those guys even at this point, he’s a second-year player and we’re getting in camp, and if he makes a mistake, we’re kind of, ‘Wait, Saint did that? What was –.’ It’s rare, and that’s a credit to him because he prides himself on being right and doing things right and his football knowledge, his finish, everything. And so that’s – man, when you’ve got a player in year two that came out of a pretty productive year, you just want to verify that’s for real and everything would be trending that way like, ‘OK, this kid’s all business.’ And he picked up right where he left off.” On if Lions QB Tim Boyle is returning to play on the practice squad: “Yes, he is.” |
