LIONS HEAD COACH DAN CAMPBELL TRAINING CAMP DAY 13 QUOTE SHEET
August 9, 2023
Opening Statement: “Good morning. It was great work today, great work yesterday. We will get another good day today. It was good to see. There’s a number of our guys, man you get that level of competition and man they take it up a notch, and there are guys you see that will practice and man they elevate again. It’s awesome. But this is great work for us. You get some unbelievable evaluation of your players. So, looking forward to another good day.”
On if they have a preseason play schedule for starters: “I’ve got an idea.”
On if he is willing to share any starters’ preseason play schedule: “No, not right now. Not right now. I’m sure you guys can guess some of them.”
On if today’s practice will match the intensity of yesterday’s practice: “Yeah, that’s kind of the point is to get really good work. Two days, high intensity, a lot of density you know in there as well. They hit us on some tempo offensively yesterday, which is great for our guys, and that gets on you. So really good work.”
On how Lions CB Starling Thomas V stepped up in yesterday’s practice: “Yeah, it was good to see, I think ultimately that’s what you want, you want to see growth. There again, you’re not looking for these massive jumps. You just want to know with different level of competition, and everything goes up, man they continue to grow and take another little step up. And I felt that out of some of our young guys, which is encouraging.”
On who specifically stood out in yesterday’s practice: “(Lions TE Sam) LaPorta, I thought LaPorta showed up. I thought (Lions RB Jahmyr) Gibbs showed up. (Lions DB Brian) Branch did some things. (Lions CB) Starling (Thomas V), I saw growth. Those are the guys that really stand out to me. (Lions WR Dylan) Drummond once again, out there making plays. We’ve got a lot of young guys that I feel like are growing.”
On Lions CB Starling Thomas V standing up to larger players and more experienced players: “Yeah, I mean I think it says a lot. Because without that, then it doesn’t matter. It will look as pretty as you want it. You do all this, but if you don’t have that, then you will never be a player in this League.”
On Lions WR Antoine Green’s development: “Yeah, I would say you know, inconsistent. Man, he does some things that really show, and then it just, you know it dips. And there again, he’s a young player. Does some things that really catch your eye, and then some things the opposite way. So just, he’s inconsistent right now. And the more that he can – you know those can – he lessens the inconsistency, the better off he is going to be. That’s part of what camp is for him.”
On how Lions LBs Alex Anzalone, Jack Campbell and Derrick Barnes are progressing: “Alex can play all the positions. And, it’s one of the reasons he’s a huge asset for us. But I think he is really naturally more WILL. He’s more that position, and I think it fits his skillset. And he was another player yesterday I thought played fast. He played fast. He took it up a notch and so I think he is right where he belongs right now. And what helps that is the fact that Barnes and Jack are coming on. And so, it’s good. Barnes had a good day yesterday. He showed up.”
On the competition at the gunner position: “Yeah, I would say that we’re still looking and we need some growth there. Now, we got a couple of ideas on getting a look at some other guys as we move along here that we haven’t put out there in a while, but certainly look, we know (Lions CB) Jerry (Jacobs) can do it and so that’s somebody that can be there. We may put (Lions CB) Will (Harris) out there a little bit and see where he goes, but that’s where we need growth from (Lions CC) Starling (Thomas V). We need (Lions WR Antoine) Green to come on, just see some of these receivers out there a little bit. They’ve got to be able to do that as well. This whole process is about that. Who can do some of these things, who do we think can continue to get better at them and then who do we need another look at or a look at in those positions.”
On how the intensity and talent level of joint practices compares to last year’s with the Colts: “I think it’s comparable, just overall. Look, that was a pretty good roster last year too now, and they had some injuries and I know they had a down season, but they created some issues for last year and the competition was good, particularly the second day. So, I would anticipate it’s going to go up again today. It’ll go up another notch. Those guys will come out and I think that’s what this about man. It’s a tug of war. You just keep competing and see who can get the best of who each day, so they got some good players over there and they gave us some great looks, just like I feel like we gave them some great looks.”
On what he likes from Lions DB C.J. Gardner-Johnson when he plays safety: “Well, he’s a highly instinctive player. I think sometimes this may get lost with C.J. He’s an excellent communicator as well, excellent communicator and so, you just kind of see the growth of he and (Lions S) Kerby (Joseph) together and I believe it’s elevating Kerby’s game as well, and so you potentially have a couple of dynamic safeties back there that have versatility, so that’s what we like about having him back there and knowing he can play nickel certainly.”
On Lions S Tracy Walker’s training camp so far: “Tracy’s competing. He’s very much in this thing as well.”
On Lions DL Aidan Hutchinson’s performance so far this offseason: “I feel like he’s got more in his toolbox and he was already a confident player, but you can just see has a ton of confidence. You see these tools coming out that have elevated his game, so he’s got a counter move, he’s got a spin, he’s got a bull. He’s violent shedding the run game. He sets an edge. He’s a big man. He’s got a high motor. He’s taken it up a notch. That’s what you want to see.”
On Lions DL Levi Onwuzurike: “He’s growing. He’s growing and that’s being able to just play football. This is the longest we’ve had him, I feel like consecutive practices. He’s doing well health-wise and now it’s just about man, just playing football, just getting used to it. I see growth. I see growth and I think we all see it, so he’s getting better and he’s in a good spot right now and we just keep going.”
On Lions legend Barry Sanders attending practice and getting a statue unveiled before the home opener: “Yeah, I mean look man, Barry, he’s the GOAT man. He’s unbelievable, and for somebody like me, I’ve said this before, but out in the middle of nowhere, Texas, dirt roads, and cattle everywhere and you’re watching Barry Sanders running around. And to be able to – now you’re standing with him and talking with him and he’s part of certainly the most noticeable face for the Detroit Lions, it’s awesome. It’s an honor and I think that’s great what they’re doing in the statue. But he is one of the most humble guys you could ever be around, and I think our guys noticed that. They appreciate him and it’s great having him around.”
On the plan for Lions LB James Houston this season: “Yeah, I would say very much what we did with him last year, in base, play him some at the SAM. Of course, he was doing a lot for us because (Lions DL) Charles (Harris) was out. Now Charles is back, and Charles is playing at a high level, and mentally he’s locked in. And so for Houston it’s really the mental man, we talked about (Lions WR Antoine) Green but the inconsistency, he’s got to get out of that. Because man he makes some plays and then it just kind of dips, they’ll be an error here or there, so it’s just something we’ve got to keep working with him. Keep working on his rush, keep developing other moves, and look he’s working at it, and it’s early. He’s another guy we expect him to continue to grow.”
On how Lions LB James Houston is dealing with a position battle this year after seeing success last year: “Yeah, I think he’s good. I don’t feel like there’s anything where he’s – I think he’s handling it well, I think he’s coming, he’s putting in the work. We’ve had discussions with him one-on-one about things, ‘Man here’s where we can really improve, here’s what we feel like you can do, here’s what I want you to think about,’ and he’s working on those. So, I think he’s handling it well and I think he understands he’s in a competition, no different than anybody else.”
On if he consciously coaches him team to have high energy: “No, I think that’s who they are. I’m who I am and that’s who they are, so I don’t feel like I have to preach high energy. I’m more, I want us to focus on the details of what we do and the discipline as much as possible and then let them go play. I feel like (Lions Executive Vice President and General Manager) Brad (Holmes) has done that with who he’s acquired and who we’ve acquired. You get the right guys you don’t have to preach energy, they come with their own.” |
