Tag: Super Bowl

Detroit Lions Dan Campbell: We will live on hard work, not reputation

Winning the Super Bowl is the expectation as camp starts

ALLEN PARK —  On the Detroit Lions first day of training camp they were riding the line between Super Bowl expectations and not losing their gritty identity.

It’s uncharted waters for this bunch but coach Dan Campbell is not going to let the ship get off course.

Heck, he’s lived through what can happen. In 2000 as a tight end, his New York Giants went 12-4 and lost in the Super Bowl. The next season, with the exact same team, they fell to 7-9.

“That was a lesson learned for me. I will never forget that, ever,’’ Campbell said on Wednesday. “We are not going to lose our identity, that is the most important thing to me and I won’t sacrifice it for anyone or anything. I told the team that, they know that.’’

After going decades without a postseason win, the Lions lost in the NFC Championship game in January – they were one half away from making it to the Super Bowl

“We don’t live off reputation, we live off of work,’’ Campbell said. “That’s what’s gotten us where we’re at, it’s been a long hard road to get to where we’re at right now. There’s a price to be paid so we’ve got to pay it again. That’s the message that will always be the message.’’

The coach is resolute that this team will not lose its identity as a hard-working, physical and gritty group.

“At this point nobody cares what we did last year. It doesn’t matter. It has no bearing on the season moving forward. If anything, it’s going to make it harder for us,’’ left tackle Taylor Decker said. “We can’t take that for granted. It’s hard to have a great season then refocus and get back to doing things the right way.’’

He’s been through it too, winning a national championship at Ohio State in 2014 and then not living up to expectations in 2015.

Consistency is key, Decker said, for teams and individuals.

That 12-5 record from last season may be old news, but, without question, it provided confidence.

“Each year you get into that meeting room the first day, it’s like: What do you want to accomplish with the team? I can truthfully say this year it’s not even playoffs, it’s not No. 1 seed. It’s the Super Bowl and that’s for everybody in the room,’’ wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown said. 

“And it’s the first year I feel like truly as a team we all feel the same way. We all want to win the Super Bowl, we know we can win the Super Bowl, we’ve got the team, we’ve got the coaches, we have everything in this building we need to win a Super Bowl. That’s our goal, that’s our focus and everything we do from here on moving forward to get there.’’

Lions report for offseason workouts as defending division champs with higher expectations

ALLEN PARK — When the Lions reported for offseason workouts this week, it was as defending NFC North champs. While that’s something quite new, the goal remains the same.

They ended last season one win short of making it to the Super Bowl. Certainly that provides a different approach to the offseason.

“I think we all know what the goal is, it’s always been the goal. I don’t think it was not the goal last year,’’ quarterback Jared Goff said on Tuesday. “I think we got a chance to taste it last year so you get to see what it feels like but that’s the goal, and this year it’s absolutely the goal.’’

After winning two playoff games, ending a decades-long drought, many of the same players are back from a year ago. Expectations and standards will rise.

“Internally we’re going to do the same thing we’ve been doing: try to raise our internal expectations and standards. Even better, Dan (Campbell) put it great last year how much harder it’s going to be,’’ Goff said. “We know that it’s going to be harder, people are going to be gunning for us and it’s going to be at first to defend our division title that’s No. 1 and then see where we can go from there. Holding that trophy at the end of the year only one team gets to do it and that’s our goal.’’

Left tackle Taylor Decker, who has recovered from offseason foot/ankle surgery, said he couldn’t even watch the Super Bowl like he usually does.

“I think I watched a quarter, then I was disinterested. I felt like we matched up well with anybody we were going to play with. It definitely hurts and was a disappointment especially because as special of a year as it was to end and go home early,’’ Decker said on Tuesday.

“It was a bummer for sure, but stuff like that’s going to happen, you’re not going to win every single game in a blowout, I think we’ll be better for it and learn some things for it but I don’t think that’s going to define our approach,’’ Decker added.

The team is back for individual workouts this week with no coaching allowed. So they have not had a welcome-back speech from Campbell yet. So there’s been no outward talk about their goals, it’s mostly just understood.

“Obviously how the game ended was a disappointment for us especially because I think we showed throughout the season last year that we belonged in that position, it wasn’t a fluke,’’ Decker said. “They were a better team that day which was a disappointment for us. I don’t think that’s going to change our mindset or how we feel about ourselves that we came up short.. Moving forward we have bigger goals ahead of us, I don’t think that one moment is going to define how we move forward with our mindset and approach.’’

Tight end Brock Wright said they’ve been talking that the motto is “it takes more” and explains it as a holistic approach starting at the top with GM Brad Holmes and Campbell.

“So I think everybody will have to step up their game. (Last year) brings confidence, but I think everybody on our team should be confident knowing that we have the experience of being there and looking forward to carrying that over to next year,’’ Wright said.

One more thing: New Lions uniforms will be unveiled on Thursday night to season-ticket holders at Ford Field. Wright said he thinks they’re cool, but couldn’t share more info. Players are sworn to secrecy.

:

Detroit Lions GM Brad Holmes: Season was no fluke, it’s only going to get better

ALLEN PARK — Brad Holmes is tired of the Detroit Lions successful season being described as a “cute story.’’

That is because, in the mind of the Detroit Lions vice president and general manager, it was none of that. It was not a Cinderella, magical season. It was much more.

Yes, the Lions won their first playoff game in 30 years — and they won a pair of them — but it was not an accident. There was no magic dust involved and fans can expect more in the future.

“I want to tell our fans, look, it’s only going to get better. We’re only going to get better. … This is exactly what was supposed to happen,’’ Holmes said in his post-season press conference on Monday,

He understands the long-suffering fans’ line of thought, but would like them to shake that off and look at what has happened in the last three years since he and coach Dan Campbell arrived.

“Every move that me and Dan make has been made to sustain what we are building. Every single move we make and every single move we do not make, is to sustain what we have been building,” Holmes said. “It’s real. Look, it’s all to normalize what we’re doing.’’

The Lions finished 12-5 in the regular season, winning the NFC North along the way. They beat the Los Angeles Rams in the wildcard game and the Tampa Bay Bucs in the divisional round. They were one half away from earning a trip to the Super Bowl against the 49ers when they collapsed in the second half of the NFC Championship game and lost.

The Lions have improved from 3-13-1 in the first year of the Campbell-Holmes regime, to 9-8 and just missing the playoffs, to making a splash in 2023. 

“We love where we’re at, this is supposed to be expected, it’s the standard. We love the window that we’re in, we just got finished with Year 3,’’ Holmes said. “We’re still building, we’ll stick to our plan, we’ll continue to put all our effort into improve each year which we’ve done, in my opinion.’’

Holmes, who came out quite fiery, also had a warning for fans as free agency (March 13) and the NFL Draft (April 25-27) approach. 

He hasn’t always gotten good immediate feedback from the media on his draft picks. He can live with the criticism, but he wants fans to be patient and wait until December to judge, not in the spring.

“I want them to know that over the next few months, don’t get spooked this spring by speculation or negative talk or the entertainment news feed — don’t get spooked by that to not think we can’t build and sustain what we’ve been building,’’ Holmes said.

 “… The next few months there’s a lot of speculation and a lot of opinions, people don’t know what’s going to happen. I just hope that they know every year that we’ve been upfront and straight with everybody,’’ Holmes said.  “Every move we make is intentional and, again, every move we do not make is intentional.’’

This was a point he hammered over and over during his nearly 40 minutes behind the podium.

“I want to make sure the fans know what we always said, we draft, develop, sign our own and build through the draft,’’ Holmes said. 

Also he made clear that not everyone can play for the Detroit Lions who base their roster decisions not just on talent but on personal characteristics. “That’s just reality, the standard that has been set,’’ Holmes said.

“Look, I think we all know adversity will always come, but that’s why we’re built on grit,” he said. “We’ll be ready for adversity. It will come regardless. That’s why we’re always preaching grit, grit, grit.”