LIONS HEAD COACH DAN CAMPBELL QUOTE SHEET (VIA ZOOM)


June 3, 2021

Opening Statement: “Hello. I know I’m a little muffled, but I figured I would start with this. I want to thank the Detroit Grand Prix for allowing me to be grand marshal on June 12 at Bell Isle. So, as you can see, I’m pretty excited about that. It gives me a chance to go out and see some of our fans who I know will be out there, but then just watch a good race, man, around some good people. I’m pretty excited about it.
“Now I’ll open it to questions.”
On if he’s a racing fan or has racing stories: “I don’t have a story. I wish I did. This will actually be my first race to go to. Well, that’s not true. I’ve been to a couple, they weren’t the Grand Prix, but I spent the time on the infield in a fifth-wheel trailer with some friends, barbequing and drinking a little beer. So, this will be a whole new experience here for me.”
On what he thinks he’s accomplished with OTAs: “I think the first week is really us, there again, getting together and being with one another, implementing the system face-to-face. Even though it was kind of on a walk-through basis, and then we ramped up just a little bit on the seven-on-seven. It was more introductory, if you will, ramping them up. This week, as of yesterday, this was our first one of Week 2. The guys, I thought, really responded. It was about, ‘Let’s make it a little more competitive, let’s get the juices flowing.’ We put in two seven-on-seven periods. We still are not doing contact, team stuff other than walk-through, but I tell you what; we were pleased. We were pleased. I thought they really showed up and we’re looking for the same thing today, because that was more what we were looking for. I mean, guys were competitive, they were getting after it. That’s how you get good.”
On if the NFL’s latest COVID-19 protocols have presented challenges to the offseason program to this point: “No, I mean, there again – most of the rules that have been in place, and now those that have been passed are things that these players are used to. I mean, we did it last year, so it’s been no issue at all.”
On the arrival of DL Michael Brockers to OTAs: “Look, there are a number of reasons of why we made the trade that we did for this guy. Aside from the fact that he’s a hell of a player, he just does things right. He handles his business, he’s a true pro. I mean, he walked right in the door and you could tell. He’s been honed in on the Zooms and his technique is like spot-on. There again, it’s walk-through for him. And then you see the fundamental work, which is a little more full-speed. But he’s just, he’s a pro. He’s a vet, he’s a pro that understands what it’s supposed to look like and he’s all business. Look, I knew he wasn’t going to be here last week. I didn’t mention anybody that wasn’t going to be here, but that wasn’t some like – I mean, he had things going on and he communicated that to me. That was nothing, so we’re happy to have him here.”
On if he is willing to share what percentage of the players have been vaccinated: “No. I would say this though, every day we get more.”
On the team’s interest in free agent RB Todd Gurley: “Yeah, look, we have interest in Todd. We do. We’re talking with him and his agent. We do, we have interest in him. But I would say this, just because we have interest in him that does not affect our feeling and our thoughts on both (D’Andre) Swift and Jamaal (Williams). It does not.”
On if the Gurley transaction may wait until the summer: “I think if we can do it sooner than later, we’d like to. But look, we’re not going to set a deadline on it, if you will. We do, we have interest in the guy. But that’s kind of where it is right now.”
On if he expects OL Tyrell Crosby to be here for minicamp next week: “Yes, yes we do.”
On how the team can help get the best out of DB Tracy Walker: “I think, look, I think it’s already begun. I think Aubrey Pleasant’s done a hell of job with him. I think just the emphasis that he puts on everything that Tracy does. Every little movement that he makes, every drill where he’s out there, just not letting him slip. Understand this about Tracy; this doesn’t have to do with, ‘Well, Tracy’s being lazy.’ It has nothing to do with that. It’s just a focus. That’s all it is. It’s just him training the brain, man. I’ve got to train myself one more time to cut it loose here. Just let yourself go and really trust what you’re being taught. Listen, he’s already made vast improvement. He really has. I thought yesterday he really did some good things. There were a number of guys who did really good things, on both sides of the ball. But that’s just, man, trusting himself, trusting a process, trust his coach and, man, he’ll get there. Because he is, he’s a talented player and, look, he’s hungry he wants to be good, you can tell.”
On the transformation of LB Jahlani Tavai and if other players had to transform their bodies for the scheme: “I don’t know. I just know this; we wanted to make sure that our ‘backers, man, particularly our inside ‘backers, could run. We did not want to put an emphasis on size, like, ‘How big can you be?’ That’s not what we want. I would rather have somebody that was 220 (pounds) and could freaking fly as an inside linebacker. That just fits what we’re doing. We’ve got the big boys up front. They’ll keep people off of you. That was something that we asked him to do. Look, Sean Payton told me a long time ago, he’s like, ‘You go in there and things haven’t been the way everybody wants them to, that’s why you’re walking into that situation. There will be some guys you move on from, but keep your eyes open. Just because somebody may not have played as good or up to standards doesn’t mean they can’t play. Give them a chance.’ And so, we’re trying to keep an open mind, and I can tell you this; we asked him to shed some weight and he did that, and he is moving better. Now, what does that turn into? I don’t know. But I know this; he’s putting the work in, and to me, his movement skills are better than they were last year at this point – or watching him on tape, that is.”
On how he helps rookie T Penei Sewell transition to right tackle: “Just reps. Reps, reps and more reps. That’s really the best thing that he can possibly have right now. It’s just the more that he does it and the more comfortable he gets in that stance and working on that side and flipping things in his head, the better he’ll get. And so, I have all confidence that he’ll be able to make that transition. Now, when does it come (and) how fast does it come? I don’t know. But look, there again, he’s already making improvement. It’s hard, it’s real hard right now, for the linemen because we’re not in pads, we’re not in contact. There’s things right now – until he gets a speed ball, a true speed ball from Romeo Okwara, then it’s kind of, ‘Eh, he doesn’t quite know yet.’ But he is improving and he’s working at it and it’s just reps, man. Day after day, one rep at a time. That’s the best solution for him right now.”
On if rookie T Penei Sewell was working at right tackle last year and if he had any reps to show on tape: “No, nothing like that. I know that he had said that at times he would do some things on his own where he was working the right side a little bit, but it was primarily left (tackle). I think he did a little bit, but there again, that’s not like you’re practicing it – as far as practices against an opponent – or playing on the right side. So, no. We know the type of athlete that he is, so we feel pretty confident that he’ll be able to get this in time.”
On how important position versatility is on the offensive line: “Well any time you have guys that can play multiple spots, it does help you because it gives you more flexibility on gameday, the gameday roster. Now, they helped us a little bit last year with some of those rules because you were allowed to bring in extra offensive linemen. But anytime you can do that, it helps, because now you can possibly bring another player that helps you on special teams or you get your best combination. Here’s the hard move; it’s like when you bring one and he only backs up a guard or a tackle – now, tackle is much more valuable. Let me say that. Well, sometimes you’re forced to have to make two moves to get what you want with one injury, where as if you’ve got a guy who has plenty of flexibility, somebody gets hurt, and he pops right in at that spot if he’s a guy that can play guard and tackle, or guard and center. You always want to be able to just make one move, one-for-one, something happens, somebody gets hurt, this guy slides in because he’s able to play multiple spots. Certainly, you’re always looking for guys that have versatility.”
On how QB Jared Goff is looking: “Look, I don’t want to get too far on this right now, but I’ll tell you what; yesterday, it was impressive. He made some throws yesterday that were – my gosh – they were outstanding. Just pinpoint, accurate throws. He was good on his reads – I felt like he had one bad throw yesterday, and it was really more he was late on the throw. I want to say he made about five throws that were just, ‘Wow. OK, that’s really good. Really good.’ Just pinpoint, back-shoulder, guy running up on a wheel and it’s back-shoulder right on the ear, or up the seam, or an out-route to (T.J.) Hockenson, threw it right by the defender where only he could get it. He looks like he – he didn’t look that way, he does – he’s got a lot of confidence right now and I think he’s getting a good grasp of the offense. It was impressive. It really was. We’re pretty happy right now. There again, we’re only four (practices) in and we’re not in team, but the seven-on-seven reps, pretty impressive.”
On what the focus is from QB Jared Goff and the offense without team drills: “Look, here’s what you don’t get; you don’t get run game stuff, and with that, you don’t get run action, the passing game that comes with the hard-run action. But what you do get is you can still get communication in the walk-through with your blitz between he and Frank (Ragnow), working pressures, because that’s a walk-through mode. But then you do, you get timing with your receivers (in) seven-on-seven. The other thing you get is you do get the chemistry. You get timing, you get chemistry, ‘Who can I rely on? Who can do this job for me? What can I ask him to do? How do I want him to run it inside the system that we’re trying to build here?’ And just for us as coaches, who are the guys we can say, ‘Man, when it comes down to it and we need one, who are the receivers, tight ends, backs we can count on? We’ve got to find a way to get them the ball because we can trust them.’ It’s like if you were going to give up one route and you’re going to say, ‘It’s either this guy loses or you’ve got nothing else,’ because you trust that guy, who are they? That’s what we’re trying to figure out a little bit right now. So, you can kind of get a little bit of that. You can kind of gage that right now because it’s all passing game stuff. Look, we’re getting work out of it. We are. We’ll take what we can get right now.”
On what he’s looking to take from OTAs to the mandatory mini-camp: “That to me is easy. That is; are guys making the corrections across the board? Or do we still have guys that are making the same mistakes again? That’s what I’m looking for because if that’s what the focus is, that means we are getting better and you’ll have a better finished product on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball, and special teams for that matter. So, that’s what I’m honing in on, and I have been. I’m just looking, ‘Is this guy making the same mistake, or is he learning from that?’ That’s what I’m looking for.”