Tag: Taylor Decker

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.

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Lions, Dan Campbell reflect on loss and what they can see for next season

ALLEN PARK —  And then it was Monday. 

The Detroit Lions cleaned out their lockers, said their goodbyes and, along with coach Dan Campbell, reflected on the 34-31 loss to the 49ers in Sunday’s NFC Championship game.

“Our guys eyes are open. This should be the ultimate motivation to push forward and it will be for us, it will be,’’ Campbell said. “We’ll learn and move on.’’

Of course they are not happy with the defeat, after watching a 17-point lead evaporate in the second half.

“This is what you hear about all the time in catastrophes — it doesn’t take one or two, it takes 12 things to go wrong and we did all 12 of those wrong in all three phases,’’ Campbell said on Monday. “And ultimately, where we’ve been so good when one area is struggling a little bit and the other two pick them up. That was the game in the second half where in all three phases we were not good and we continued to make mistake after mistake after mistake in all three phases.’’

Campbell wasn’t as emotional as immediately after the game — and maybe it was because he was exhausted — but he did seem drained on Monday. The players were still digesting the horrific loss but were also happy to look ahead.

The future could be bright. One betting service has the Lions’ odds to win the Super Bowl in 2025 at 7/1 – the only two better teams are Kansas City 12/1 and San Francisco 49ers at 6/1. So there’s that.

All season long, Campbell said the team was built for whatever challenge they faced. “We’re built for this,’’ the coach repeated over and over. He was right until the second half on Sunday when they surrendered a 17-point lead.

‘I think the whole point was to create a core that had certain standards. Obviously they’ve got to be good players and we have that. But they’ve got to be a certain way, there’s got to be a certain mindset, a certain identity and we have that in our core,’’ Campbell said.

Between free agency and the draft, the roster will be tweaked for next season. 

“And we’ve got to add pieces that are like-minded — we have to add more talent, more competition that thinks the same way that group of guys in the locker does,’’ Campbell said. “And it’s non-negotiable if it’s not. There’s no level of talent that’s worth bringing something that doesn’t fit what we’re about. That’s very important.’’

The players are all good with that – they saw the results in going 12-5, winning the NFC North title and a pair of playoff wins.

“They want guys that represent what this city is about. The cliche thing — blue collar, hard-working, resilient. That’s not lip service, that’s what we are,’’ left tackle Taylor Decker said. “There’s something to be said for those intangibles … Hopefully this is the tip of the iceberg for us and we’ll have some high standards going forward in the next few years.’’

Campbell, a master communicator, should guide them in the right direction just like he has for three seasons. He knows he has a foundation set.

“There’s things we won’t have to start all the way from scratch, but there’s got to be that hunger, there’s got to be that work, there’s got to be that attention to detail, there’s got to be that urgency,’’ Campbell said. “And in that regard, you’re starting all over again and if you don’t and you think you’re just going to walk out there because you went to the NFC Championship game you’ve got another thing coming. That’s how you become average in a hurry. They’ll know that, they understand that, as we get to next year that will be the message.’’