Tag: dan campbell

Lions excitement begins this week with focus on topping the Rams

Super Bowl talk takes backseat; winning division is the key

ALLEN PARK — Dan Campbell was so excited to get rolling with Week 1 of the new season, the Detroit Lions coach was seven minutes early for his Monday press conference. He was wearing a big smile and a  Lions’ “Anti-fragile” t-shirt.

“I told the team this morning, now let’s put our guys in position to go win and do what they do best. Let them go win the race for you,’’ Campbell said.

First up, it’s Sunday Night Football at Ford Field against Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams. Hard to top that for an opener to a season where the Lions are expected to at least be in the Super Bowl discussion.

They have not made a secret of that. Players, coaches and GM Brad Holmes have not been shy about their goal of winning the Super Bowl. 

Now it’s time to walk the walk.

So Campbell told the team let’s not talk about the Super Bowl any more.

“Now we’re to the point now that doesn’t matter any more. What does that do? It does nothing,’’ Campbell said. “Now it’s about the steps to get to there. The steps are you better win your division so you get a home game. Then once you get a  home game, now it’s about seeding. You win these head-to-heads  then all of a sudden you’re the three seed, you’re the two seed, maybe you’re the one seed.’’

The Lions proved they are legitimate when they came within one half of making it to the Super Bowl in February with a 34-31 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

From Campbell’s view the anticipation isn’t different.

“It’s hard to say. I always get excited for this time of year. There again, our core is the core and it’s been that way for a long period of time, you hope you build on top of that foundation that we’ve built here, you’ve helped, you’ve improved and everybody grows together. So with that, it’s a new team,’’ Campbell said. “But I think it’s the same type of anticipation.’’

Left tackle Taylor Decker said he never felt the Super Bowl was a big conversation topic in the building but it could come up here and there.

“But again we just need to take it week by week, or we’d be doing a disservice to each other,’’ Decker said on Monday. “If you look too far ahead then you might be 3-4 weeks into the season and then (wonder) what’s going on here. We’re not going to let that happen. We have the right mindset of guys.’’

That’s how linebacker Alex Anzalone sees it too.

“As a competitor it’s exciting, I think this is how it should be. This is the expectation you want as a competitor,’’ Anzalone said. “You don’t want to put one thing in front of the other. There’s a lot of outside noise and excitement outside of here. Dan (Campbell) said today the first goal is to win the division.’’

First up are the Rams who the Lions beat in the playoffs at Ford Field in January. The Super Bowl is so far down the road.

“So now it’s about setting yourself up for that. How do you do that? It starts with Game 1, an NFC opponent, a really good opponent, who I think is going to be staring at all of us in the playoffs at the end of this year too,’’ Campbell said. “That’s it, you find a way to win your division again.’’

INJURY UPDATE: Safety Ifeatu Melifonwu is the only Lion dealing with injury this week. Campbell said it’s a slow-moving injury and they want to get him moving around.

Detroit Lions face tough decisions when it comes to wide receivers with roster cuts looming

ALLEN PARK — With the roster cutdown deadline at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell and GM Brad Holmes still have work to do.

“A tough 48 hours coming up, but I really appreciate these guys,’’ Campbell said at noon on Monday.

One position where some tough decisions must be made is at wide receiver. The three locks are Amon Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams and Kalif Raymond. It’s uncertain how many they will keep.

Undrafted rookie Isaiah Williams, who wears 83,  appears to have earned a roster spot with a consistent, steady showing at training camp.

“You guys know what 83 is, it’s shown up – he’s made plays all camp. He’s really more that slot, he falls into the mode a little bit like Saint (St. Brown), Lif (Raymond) and Tom Kennedy. 

Donovan Peoples-Jones, entering his fifth NFL season, and rookie Daurice Fountain, entering his fourth, are also in the mix. Both are 6-feet-2. 

“They are big guys, they are big receivers, they’ve got length to them and for their size they can run pretty good,’’ Campbell said. “So there’s that element of that – can you play big-boy ball outside, redzone comes into play. So if you don’t have it (size) you do feel a little small. You feel it would be nice to have the size. You wish that would show up a lot more but that’s what those two  guys bring – that’s that type of flavor that we talk about all the time. We would love to have a little bit of everything – you’ve got speed, you’ve got quickness, you’ve got size, gadget.’’

Campbell said he and Holmes have many questions to weigh.

“Have we seen enough out of those guys to where we feel like we can use them or need to use them sooner than later. Or will they provide value depth or role players? The other thing is special teams, how much do they bring on special teams,’’ Campbell said. “I don’t know it’s tough to say. It will all come into play.’’

Detroit Lions Sam LaPorta preps for second-year after finding much success as a rookie

ALLEN PARK — For Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta, what a difference a year makes. 

The 2023 first-round draft pick excelled as a rookie and now he feels much more comfortable on the field less than a week into training camp.

“Personally when I showed up in the springtime (last year) you’re trying to take in as much information as possible. This year I come back in the springtime, I know a lot of the installs obviously so it was a great steppingstone to start off,’’ LaPorta said on Saturday. “Continuity, it’s great right now, we’re clicking right now, it’s early in camp but we have to keep building on it.’’

In LaPorta’s rookie season he had 86 receptions for 889 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also broke the NFL record for receptions by a rookie tight end, along with breaking Lions’ franchise records for receiving yards and touchdowns by a rookie tight end. 

Last season the Lions came up short in the NFC Championship game — one half away from the Super Bowl. While it’s a team game, the offense was key to the playoff run and the 12-5 season.

Quarterback Jared Goff signed a contract extension in the offseason, but not many changes were made to the offense which did lose WR Josh Reynolds.

Wide receiver Jameson Williams is stepping up and put on a show at training camp on Saturday.

“Fast, explosive, he’s getting in and out of his breaks really well. Memorizing his splits, all the little details are really coming along with Jamo and you see that,’’ LaPorta said.

For the tight end, he’s working to refine the details.

“There’s a bunch of guys coming off all-Pro seasons, the top 100 list is coming out, it’s awesome to see so many of our guys on it,’’ LaPorta said. “Just like everybody else, just kind of take small steps forward in a bunch of little aspects in my game. It’s truly what separates the good players from the great players in this league is small increments.’’

He spent a few days in Los Angeles working out with Goff before training camp. 

“It may not be actual results that you see on a day-to-day basis, but then when you look back for months and like a calendar year, like goodness this is how we were operating a year ago and this is where we are now just four days into training camp,’’ LaPorta said.

(UP NEXT: The Lions have Sunday off from training camp. On Monday they will wear pads for the first time since camp started on Wednesday.)