Tag: Amon-ra St. Brown

Lions coach Dan Campbell: ‘We’re back to reality, back in the mud’

Coach hates losing but likes where his team is

ALLEN PARK — Despite a host of injuries and a disappointing overtime loss in the home opener, Lions coach Dan Campbell is not hanging his head. That’s not who he is.

The Lions (1-1) have got work to do with the Atlanta Falcons (2-0) coming to town on Sunday.

“I hate losing, but I love this. I just feel that this is what we’re all about. We’re back to reality, we’re back in the mud. It’s doom and gloom outside of this building and this world so let’s hunker down and go back to work,’’ Campbell said on Wednesday.

“Let’s get it back to what we do well. It’s going to take all of us to win – all three phases. I know our guys, I know our coaches, this is challenge accepted. I feel really good, I do,” the coach said. “If we don’t get back to our identity this team will take your soul so that’s the motivation.’’

Safely C.J. Gardner-Johnson (torn pec) and linebacker James Houston (fibula) are out but Campbell said there’s a chance — he was not guaranteeing anything — the two could be back by the end of the season. Both are on injured reserve.

Veteran Tracy Walker will step up at safety. 

“We’re fortunate to have depth in a number of areas and that’s one of them at that position,’’ Campbell said. “Having a guy like Tracy who’s got time on task, somebody we have a lot of faith in, trust in. That alleviates a lot of pressure and stress for us.’’

Running back workhorse David Montgomery (thigh) is day to day.

“We’re going to do what we do. Our focus is on how we’ attack this opponent more than the backs we have,’’ Campbell said.

Can rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs fill his shoes?
“We’ll see,’’ Campbell said.

The coach said his focus is on Sunday but when it comes down to making decisions on some players’ availability the Lions have a short week next week, playing at Green Bay on Thursday night, Sept. 28.

“There are a couple guys if it’s close enough, do you try to play them this week knowing that maybe if you do then they’re probably out for Green Bay anyway?’’ Campbell said without identifying those players.

Those who did not practice on Wednesday: St. Brown (toe), Montgomery (thigh), LT Taylor Decker (ankle), S Kerby Joseph (hip), CB Emmanuel Moseley (knee/hamstring) and G Halapoulivaati Vaitai (knee). Also, WR Joshy Reynolds (groin) was limited in practice.

“A lot of them are day to day. It’s going to feel that way for a little bit here. It’s business as usual,  back to work here,’’ Campbell said.

Detroit Lions make a statement, knocking off Chiefs, 21-20, in opener

After the Kansas City Chiefs raised their Super Bowl banner, they met the new version of the Detroit Lions which strongly resembles the team that won 8 of 10 games to end last season.

On Thursday, the Lions got key plays all-around as they edged the Chiefs, 21-20, at roaring Arrowhead Stadium.

“We expected to win this game. We came in here, we knew what we needed to do,’’ Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “We knew it wasn’t going to be easy. We did that. Really, what it means is, that’s one.’’

Running back David Montgomery’s 8-yard touchdown run with 7:06 left tied the game and Riley Patterson’s extra point put the Lions up 21-20. Then Detroit’s defense took over and shut down Patrick Mahomes and the offense, not allowing a Chiefs’ third down in the second half (0-7).

With 2 minutes left, the Lions offense got the ball back, and with 3 rushing plays got a first down. Then all quarterback Jared Goff had to do was take a knee to run out the clock.

“It’s something we talk about is closing games out. With our offensive line and what we have offensively we need to be able to do that. It’s something we worked a lot on – situational football,’’ Campbell said. “Everybody knows the strength of our offense and it’s the O-line.

“Defensively before that, they showed up in a big way. We talked at halftime about cleaning up some of our communication errors,’’ Campbell said. “We needed a takeaway and we needed to be much better on third downs. We did that and we got a takeaway to the house and we were 0-7 on third downs in the second half. Then to close it down on that last drive.’’

This is Year 3 for Campbell and GM Brad Holmes and on Thursday they saw their vision for the team come to life and, perhaps better yet, it was nationally televised. That hype train that’s been running for months? Turns out, it was not just hype.

“This is a total team win,’’ Holmes said during a TV interview afterward.

Five keys to the win:

1. One of the best offensive lines in the NFL did not disappoint. The five starters are healthy and what a difference it makes. They opened up lanes for running backs David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs, along with giving Jared Goff time to find his receivers. The line is the strength of the offense and it came up huge.

2. Goff handled the pressure and kept his streak of no interceptions intact. “All week I thought he looked confident, calm and steady … I thought he played very steady today,’’ Campbell said. “He did what we needed to do to win this thing.’’ Goff was 22 of 35 for 253 yards including a 9-yard touchdown pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown.

3. Defensive end Aidan Hutchinson was everywhere. He’s credited with three quarterback hits and four tackles, but he pressured Patrick Mahomes early and often. It wasn’t all about Hutchinson, but that up-front pressure helped the secondary. Overall the defense was impressive. Mahomes is no slouch. He had never thrown an interception in an opening game. They were in his face and knocked him a bit off his game.

4. Rookies were a standout including nickel Brian Branch who intercepted Mahomes and then ran the ball back 50 yards a touchdown. On David Montgomer’s 8-yard touchdown run, rookie TE Sam Laporta made a key block; linebacker Jack Campbell made a diving pass breakup in the first half. And running back Jahmyr Gibbs carried seven times for 42 yards, including an 18-yard scamper, and caught 2 passes for 18 yards. It’s early but so far the draft class looks like a winner.

5. On the Lions’ second possession, Campbell called a fake punt on a fourth and 2 at Detroit’s 17-yard line. No one was expecting that, but Jalen Reeves-Maybin ran 3 yards up the gut to make it work. Gutsy call. This is not a stretch for Campbell who has fake punts in the team’s repertoire. This isn’t likely to be the only one this season. It’s another sign of how this team reflects Campbell’s aggressiveness, passion and grit. He said it’s just one win, but it looks like they’re just getting started. 

NEXT UP: Ford Field will be rocking when the Seattle Seahawks visit at 1 p.m. on Sept. 17.

Lions QB Jared Goff ready to roll against Chiefs in NFL opener

Streak of 324 passes without an INT on the line

ALLEN PARK — Jared Goff didn’t hesitate when he was asked if he’s enjoying life as he heads into his third season with the Detroit Lions.

“Yeah, it’s fun. It’s fun being here in the city with all this excitement and with that being said, it doesn’t mean anything if you don’t win and I think we all know that, I know that,’’ Goff said. “I’ve been on winning teams. I’ve been on losing teams. People will continue to be excited, if we continue to win. So, that’s kind of the fix to everything and winning fixes everything, as they say.’’

The fun starts on Thursday when the Lions play at the Kansas City Chiefs, the Super Bowl champs, at Arrowhead Stadium. It’s the only NFL stadium that Goff has not played in and he cannot wait.

Goff and the Lions finished last season winning 8 of their last 10 games.

The quarterback did not throw an interception in the last nine games. He’s thrown 324 passes without a pick. It’s an impressive and hefty number. 

Eventually that streak will snap – maybe against the Chiefs — maybe later. And coach Dan Campbell understands that.

“He’s very much a piece of the puzzle here. He’s not – it’s not the end-all be-all. ‘We don’t need you to be a Hall of Fame quarterback out there. We just need you to run the offense, be efficient, make the throws that are there, be accurate when you pass,’ – because that’s what he does well. Get us into the right play, that’s all you’ve got to do,” Campbell said.

“And so with that, ‘Hey, cut it loose.’ We don’t really talk in terms of, ‘Be smart, be smart,’ because I think you do – man, you can create a little fear if you’re not careful. So, for us, it’s, ‘Hey, the play’s there, you know what to do, we’ve repped it out here, now cut it loose. Play football,’’’ the coach added.

It will be Goff’s second straight season running coordinator Ben Johnson’s offense which finished fifth in the NFL overall in 2022.

The framework is set but the offensive continuously evolves.

“Ben’s always got ideas. Some of them he pulls from his time in Miami, some of them he gets from other coaches, some of them it’s from Dan (Campbell) and his time in New Orleans,’’ Goff said. “It all kind of comes from various different places, as well as I don’t think we’re above stealing from other teams, so it’s kind of how this League goes and I think he’s one of the most creative guys in the League.’’

Plus they have new key pieces in running backs David Montgomery (a veteran) and rookie Jahmyr Gibbs, plus rookie tight end Sam LaPorta and veteran wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr., who is making his return to Detroit.

“So just making sure I’ve gotten enough work with them, as we have through training camp and feeling good with them and Dan’s done a good job putting us in practice situations that simulate game-speed and game-atmosphere and coming to the sidelines, sitting down, coming back on, so we’ve done a lot of that. So, we feel great. Yeah, we feel comfortable,’’ Goff said.

The offense does bring back key components in wide receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown, Kalif Raymond and Josh Reynolds along with tight end Brock Wright and the front five.

The talent is there, no question. Ben Johnson has continued to grow as a coordinator too. No wonder Goff wears a big smile on his face.

“Excited to get back and hopefully continue what we were doing. It doesn’t happen – there isn’t some magic pill where we can take it and then we just keep rolling on the same hot streak we were on there at the end of the year,’’ Goff said. “So, it’s going to take a lot of work and getting on the same page through this week … I think it’s a League of runs. You get on winning streaks. You get on losing streaks and finding your way on a winning streak is the hard part and that’s something that we’re up for the challenge for.”