Tag: dan campbell

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.

Lions’ QB Jared Goff eases into the MVP conversation with dazzling stats

He earns NFC offensive player of week for win at Bucs

ALLEN PARK — It’s not all about the stats, but Lions quarterback Jared Goff has put up huge numbers in the last 16 games. In that stretch the Lions are 13-3.

So far this season, they are 5-1, in first place in the NFC North and prepping for another tough road game at Baltimore on Sunday.

Goff, the NFC offensive player of the week for the win at the Bucs, is easing into the NFL MVP discussion.

Here’s why:

In the last 16 games, Goff has thrown 37 touchdowns against just four interceptions, completing 65.46 percent of his passes for 4,152 yards. The team went 13-3 in that stretch.

This season in six games (5-1), he’s thrown 11 touchdowns, three interceptions completing 69.5 percent of his passes for 1,618 yards.

“I don’t know what MVP is or isn’t these days but I know this, he’s playing at a very high level, he’s making the throws that are there and seeing the field. He’s exactly what we need and he’s doing exactly what we’re asking him to do,’’ Lions coach Dan Campbell said on Wednesday. “I’ve said this before. He is an evolving quarterback, he’s developing, he’s been developing and he keeps getting a little bit better. ‘’

Tanner Engstrand, the Lions’ passing game coordinator, is more specific on Goff’s growth and sees him playing at a “very fast” level mentally.

“He’s seeing the defense pre-snap, he’s having an idea of what needs to happen, what he’s expecting. I think there’s a lot of diagnosis that’s going on pre-snap that’s putting him in the position to have that success post-snap,’’ Engstrand said. “And he’s throwing the heck out of the ball. The accuracy right now is really really good and the decision making process is at a high level.’’”

It helps that Goff, the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2016, had the same offensive coordinator Ben Johnson for two years and has been with Campbell for three. 

“It’s a lot of hard work, obviously. But typically, when the team’s playing well, it makes my job a hell of a lot easier and defense is giving us short fields, O-line’s protecting really well and I’ve got receivers downfield making plays,’’ Goff said Wednesday. “So, all that comes together, and I do my part and it makes it a lot easier for me.”

Campbell said it’s a credit to Goff and the coaches that he’s growing and playing so well in his seventh season as a starter.

“He’s in a good way, our line is protecting the heck out of him and you give him just a minute, he can see it, he can throw it and our receivers make the play,’’ the coach said.

NOTES: Campbell said the team has been through a meat grinder in recent weeks so instead of a typical practice on Wednesday, they had a walk-through and put emphasis on the mental part of the game. … Due to no practice, the injury report was estimated. RB Craig Reynolds (hamstring/toe), who carried the load Sunday, would not have practiced. With RB David Montgomery (ribs) out for Sunday, they will be thin at running back. However RB Jahmyr Gibbs (hamstring) and DB Brian Branch (ankle) — neither one played Sunday — were listed as limited participants. Campbell said on Monday both were trending in the right direction.

Detroit Lions prove to be road warriors; Dan Campbell says it’s a mindset

Franchise record for road wins is 6 set in 1961

No one has called the Detroit Lions “road warriors” for years, actually decades.

That appears to be changing this season. Already the Lions are 3-0 on the road — at Kansas City, Green Bay and Tampa. They stand at 5-1 overall as they prepare to head to Baltimore on Sunday. 

“I think every team that I’ve been a part of as a player and a coach, when – that has had success, that’s a winning team – first of all, you’ve got to be able to win on the road. I do think there’s a confidence about it, there’s a – and you have anticipation,’’ coach Dan Campbell said on Monday following the 20-6 win at Tampa Bay.

“You look forward to it and I think that’s what – kind of where we’re at. I think that going on the road and it’s just you against them, their crowd, the – I think we kind of thrive off of that and I think that’s a mindset and I think that’s where it starts,’’ the coach added. 

The most road wins for the franchise is six, which happpened in 1961, when they were 6-0-1 on the road and 2-5 at home. They did not make the playoffs that season.

The Lions have only won five road games in five seasons, going back to 1930 when they were the Portsmouth Spartans. They had five wins in 2017, in 2011 (made the playoffs with a 10-6 record), in 2000, in 1993 (made the playoffs with a 10-2 record) and in 1953 when they won the NFL Championship.

When Campbell was questioned about the road success on Monday, he said: “Well, first of all, they’re not really road games. That’s what it feels like anyway. We’ve got significant fan support on the road right now.’’

At Tampa Bay, estimates were that 20,000-25,000 Lions fans occupied the stands. They were loud and appreciative and stayed around after it was over.

Campbell spent three seasons playing for the Dallas Cowboys who have a fan base that travels well, but he said it was never like what he’s seeing from Lions fans.

“There’s kind of a takeover here. It feels that way. … You walk out and it’s a sea of blue. And then by the time the third quarter hits, you can hear them because we get up, we’re making plays and, I said this last night, their offense is out there and I swear they’re about to go to silent cadence at their own home because it’s loud,’’ Campbell said. “I’m like, I think I would tell our guys to go silent cadence if it was this loud. And man, that’s something else. I mean, seriously, this is pretty awesome.”

Of course, it isn’t just showing up that earns the Lions the road wins. They beat the Chiefs, the defending Super Bowl champs, and the division foe Packers before facing a tough Bucs bunch.

The defense is playing outstanding in the four straight wins and quarterback Jared Goff has led the banged-up offense to score at least 20 points in all six games so far.

“I just think there’s a mentality about it. I think our guys believe on the road you go out there that we should win, but they know they’ve got to earn it. … We’ve got to play a clean game. Usually what happens, you go out there and momentum shifts and you allow it to affect you and then you can’t ever get momentum back and then one thing leads to another, you turn the ball over, you’re getting stopped, you’re getting hit on explosives and we’re just not doing that,’’ Campbell said. “We’re not making these mistakes and the other teams are right now.”

The players love having such a Honolulu Blue presence on the road. They can hear them and certainly appreciate it. It’s reciprocal. Lions fans have been waiting for years to support a team with a vision, a team that has a bright future and, most importantly, wins games.

“I get texts all the time from friends, family and they refer to things – ‘Man, our receivers did a hell of a job today.’ It’s ‘our.’ And I feel like that’s where our fans are, ‘This is ours and our guys are doing this and our guys are –’ And that’s what it’s about,’’ Campbell said “That’s what it’s about.”

UP NEXT: Lions (5-1) at Baltimore Ravens (4-2) at 1 p.m. on Sunday. The Ravens are coming off a 24-16 win at the Titans on Sunday.