LIONS HEAD COACH DAN CAMPBELL QUOTE SHEET
November 22, 2024
On if Lions CB Terrion Arnold’s confidence is one of the things he likes most about him: “Well I think what – yeah, however you want to cut it, he’s pretty good about putting things behind him, negative plays behind him, going to the next one, and you have to be able to do that at the cornerback position. I think he can put it back, go to the next play, learn from what just happened and continue to play. I mean, that’s what we talk about all the time, just go in there and compete again. Compete for the next play and the next play, and he’s done that. For a young guy that’s important. Quarterback and cornerback you have to be able to do that probably more so than any of the positions. So, yeah and he’s getting better and better every week.”
On how he finds the balance between confidence and coachability when scouting defensive backs at the NFL Combine: “Most rookies when they come in, you don’t always know – look, they have to find their own way and we have to figure out how to communicate one way or another. I don’t think it’s all that easy. There again, you’re talking about 15 minutes, then you get a visit, so that’s cool. You get maybe an hour with them or a couple, but I think you do the best you can. The tape will always speak for itself. That’s going to tell you the most of anything and then you do your homework. (Lions Executive Vice President and General Manager) Brad (Holmes)’s got those scouts doing a great job of deep diving everything we can find on their background and anybody that’s had a relationship with them and kind of what they’re like, piece it together with the tape, and then sit down with them as much as you can and then draw your conclusions. So, now I’ll say just with our group in general, what helps your confidence is playing well and one guy plays well, the next guy plays well, all of a sudden, collectively, they’re playing pretty good football on the backend. They believe in each other, they’re trusting each other. You guys remember early in the year, we’re talking about (Lions CB Carlton Davis III) CD had a little something, (Lions CB) Amik (Robertson) had something, (Lions CB) Terrion (Arnold) was a rookie and then he had a little something banged up, and to get those guys where now, we’re getting the reps with those guys all playing together. And so now, they’re growing together and it’s paying dividends right now, so we continue to get better and then the confidence goes up. You play a little bit better and your confidence goes up even more and then you play even better. So, that’s where we’re at.”
On if part of being a great teacher is finding ways to be able to communicate with players and teach them effectively: “Absolutely. That is job number one for the coaches, for us as coaches, is we have to find a way to – ‘What is the best way for them to learn? What is the best way to motivate them?’ You don’t always know, you get a guy, he’s got a lot of talent, well why doesn’t it work out? If you really believe in the coaches you have and what you’re teaching and how you’re going about it, if they don’t make it, it’s too much pressure and they just can’t get over it, the anxiety of it for whatever reason, or they just – they don’t care enough about it. Most of the time that’s kind of what happens, it’s one or the other. This is a hard business. You’re around the best of the best and not everybody can do it no matter how talented you are and you see a slew of guys every year, the amount of talent and they just can’t get it. But us as coaches, we have to find a way to communicate and whatever it takes to do that.”
On what question means the most to him when talking to players during the draft process: “I don’t know if there’s a question. Look, let me go to the – (Lions Executive Vice President and General Manager) Brad (Holmes) does a hell of a job. There’s a lot of people involved, but I’m always going to tell you, I think Brad is a master evaluator and I just think – and it starts with him and then it just kind of permeates, obviously, because he’s the leader of that group throughout the scouts and personnel department. So, he’s got a real good way about him, about figuring guys out. But I also love – the tape speaks for itself. The tape is louder than anything else. It really is, and then you just kind of get around them a little bit, ask them a few things, but I can’t tell you that there’s one question that’s going to nail it or not nail it.”
On the plan to get Lions CB Emannuel Moseley back into the rotation: “Yeah, he’s been taking reps, he’s gotten better over the last three weeks. I think there’s a real good chance that he goes or doesn’t go for this game. Does that help? Yeah, he’s trending the right way, I’ll tell you I would love to get him up this game and I think we’ll see what today looks like. He’s continuing to get better and better. But we see him doing a little bit of everything, corner, nickel, safety. He’s help is what he is. He brings another piece for us that we can use.”
On how Lions TE Sam LaPorta has looked this week: “Yeah, he’s been good. Here we go, two days in and I feel like he’s trending the right way so he looks pretty good. He looks like he’s got fresh legs so that’s good.”
On if Lions CB Terrion Arnold will play Sunday: “Yeah, he should be good. This morning he went in, got treatment, everything looked like it’s pretty good, so we’ll see what he looks like at practice today. I’m not concerned right now, but we’ll see how this day goes.”
On if he expects Lions LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin to come back from Reserve/Injured in the regular season: “Yeah, we’re hopeful but that’s another one of those, as he’s on IR, we’re taking it kind of day-to-day, week-to-week. It’s just a matter of how quickly he recovers. We’re hopeful, but we really don’t know at this time.”
On the narrative that the team struggles against mobile quarterbacks and if that is the case with every team in the League: “Yeah, there’s nothing easy. It puts a major strain on any defense and this guy for sure, he’s unique because he’s – yeah he can run, he’s got speed, he’s big. I mean, he’s really a tight end. He’s like a tight end that’s got speed and strength and explosiveness as a runner, but he can throw and he’ll sit in the pocket with his eyes downfield and throw. It’s not like it’s not there, he just takes off and runs. So, he’s dangerous in both regards. Now, if you get him wrapped up, I talked about it the other day, you wrap him up around his shoulders, he’ll shrug you off, then he’ll take off and keep his eyes downfield. So, yeah it presents a challenge for us and there’s no easy way about it. And really, I think we’re going to have a really good plan. (Lions Defensive Coordinator Aaron Glenn) AG set it up really well. I think our guys, two days in, have done a nice job, but ultimately, there’s going to be things that come up and the way that you put out those fires is with effort and you just – we have to go all out every play and swarm the football, and that’ll alleviate any of these little errors that could pop up with all the styles of running that they do with this quarterback.”
On if there is an opportunity for the defense to take advantage of Colts QB Anthony Richardson’s low completion rate this season: “He’s gotten better every week he’s played as a passer. But yeah, I mean there’s – we have to make the most of our opportunities if we get our hands on a ball or something comes up or we get one out, sure.”
On the keys to winning on the road: “Well, I think our guys do a good job of honing in on the game in front of you and I do think there’s – I think we like being on the road too. We love home, you get your home crowd, and believe me, we’re all about that. But there’s also something about the challenge of going on the road and it’s just you. It’s just us and when you do something good, you don’t hear anything until our fans start going. But that’s kind of what you’re shooting for. ‘Man, let’s go make a play that shuts this whole place down and gets it quiet in here.’ So, I just think there’s a little bit of a mindset about it. We appreciate that and we like the challenge of it.”
On if the mindset of playing a road game is in the players’ DNA or if they were coached into it: “I think it’s all-encompassing, I think certainly it’s the guys we have and it’s why you go and get competitive guys. I would say most of our guys – when you get in these tight moments, two things happen. You either crack or you want it, you want every bit of it. You want the ball in your hand, you want to be, ‘Run this ball behind me, I’m a D-tackle, try to run it at me. I’m the corner, I got one-on-one, I hope you throw it out here my way.’ And I think we – that’s our guys. We embrace that.”
