Tag: Brad Holmes

Lions Dan Campbell aware of newfound praise and respect, but remembers those who didn’t like them 2 years ago

ALLEN PARK — In their third season, Lions coach Dan Campbell and GM Brad Holmes are getting praise heaped on them from around the NFL.

It’s got something to do with the Lions’ 5-1 start and climb to the top of the NFC North. It wasn’t like that the first two seasons when they started 0-10-1 in 2021 and 1-6 last season.

Still they stuck with their plan and, even with the 1-6 start last year, Campbell would routinely say loss after loss that he saw improvement. 

Campbell and Holmes have stayed true to themselves and stuck with their plan.

The coach is aware of the newfound respect and praise from other players and coaches, but said it doesn’t mean anything to him.

“I don’t mean that negatively. A lot of people didn’t like us two years ago. So we don’t forget those and we’re the same two people, we’re the same team. We’ve just gone about our business, we haven’t changed anything and so all we care about is what our players think, and the coaches, personnel and me and Brad, that’s it,’’ Campbell said on Friday. “We’ve got a job to do and we’re just going to keep doing it.’’

The Lions’ next big test is Sunday when they face the Ravens (4-2) at Baltimore.

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 GM Brad Holmes, coach Dan Campbell embrace high expectations

ALLEN PARK — Lions GM Brad Holmes’ expectations are “very high” that the Detroit Lions can win the NFC North this season.

He is not alone. All of a sudden the Lions are NFL darlings. The hype train has been rolling for months.

They will get their first test — a huge one — when they open the season on Thursday at the Kansas City Chiefs, the Super Bowl champs.

“I do think that we took our medicine in the past couple years. Me and Dan (Campbell) talk about it all the time,’’ Holmes said on Friday. “We’ve coached the Senior Bowl, we’ve done ‘Hard Knocks,’ we’ve done all of that. We’ve got through a lot of darkness to get to this point.

“That’s where the grit comes in place in terms of just not really wavering, put your head down or get discouraged. We put the focus on building the best roster we can,’’ Holmes added.

Last season ended on a good note when the Lions won eight of the last 10 to finish 9-8 and out of the playoffs. Then throw in a good draft and a few key free agent signings and the Lions look like possible contenders.

Holmes said the hype was a little surprising since they didn’t make the playoffs last year.

“I love how we ended the season, but I didn’t think it would lead to this magnitude. But regardless of how much positive news is coming out we’ll still keep the same mindset,’’ Holmes said. “We’ll always be the hunters.’’

Holmes explained he wasn’t just looking for the most talent but he and Campbell have a vision of the type of player they want.

“It starts with football players first. What’s a football player? Smart, passionate, instinctive, relentless, tough, gritty. We have football players with talent,’’ Holmes said. 

There’s that word grit again. Last year’s second half was all about toughness, resilience and, yes, grit.

“We won’t sacrifice our identity for anything. I think we’re a pretty resilient group. That’s where I believe it all starts,’’ coach Dan Campbell said on Friday. “For us and for anybody that’s been around this game. Look, we’re going to hit some hard times, it’s the teams that can come out of that the other way and they can come out the other end unscathed and I think that’s what this roster is built for.’’

Holmes said they are not afraid of the expectations.

“The expectations are earned through what we’ve built and what we’ve done up to this point in terms of how we finished the end of the season and our player acquisition process,’’ Holmes said. “Now we just have to prove them right.’’