Dan Campbell Preview Lions vs Vikings | Costa and Jansen

Dan Campbell Preview Lions vs Vikings | Costa and Jansen

Lions back from the buy. Good to have coach back on the show. Dan, are you actually able to take time away during a by-week or is your brain still obsessing about football? Uh, yeah. It’s I mean, it’s hard. It I it I can get away more than than normal mentally, but yet it never really goes away for a full day. So, it’s, you know, you’re always doing something. You’re always thinking about something. So, what were you thinking about over the bye-week in regards to football? What was the point of emphasis offensively or defensively? How do you want to see this team get better? Well, I I think it’s, you know, just how do we, you know, um how do we clean up a few areas to where we’re running a little more efficiently, you know, and uh whether that’s uh personnel, that’s uh coaching, that’s scheme, um you know, it’s it’s uh situations. Um so, man, really just looking at everything, man. I look at myself first and what can I do? what am I doing that uh is not good enough? You know, how do I help the staff? How do I help the players? Um and then work out from there. Um so, just man, there’s just a couple of things that I know we can be better at and really on everything that I said. Um you know, just working through some of the fundamentals, the technique, and then, you know, how we go about our business in each situation. I’m sure there was some evaluation obviously that went on over the bye-week. you get a chance to take a deeper dive into offense, defense, special teams, but also players. When you dug into some of the performances of the players from the guys that are back from last year’s team, who’s taken the biggest step forward? Who continues to show improvement over the course of of a lot of young careers? Yeah. Well, that’s that’s a really good question because there’s a number of guys that have taken big steps. I mean, probably one of the guys that the first one I think of is is Sam Laaporta. I feel like Sam has taken another step forward. And you know, sometimes what not everybody sees about Sam, he’s got to do everything. He’s got to pass protect, he’s got to run block, and then certainly as a as a receiver, um, you know, he he’s got his value there. The guy can do it all. And I feel like that’s where he’s taken his biggest jump is is in the run game and pass protection and continues to be a a threat in the pass game. I mean, I I’m I love where he’s at right now. Uh Tyler Roll’s done a great job with him and those guys. So, he’s one of the first ones I think of. And then certainly defensively, Derek Barnes is the other one over there, man. just I continues every week to get better and better and better for a couple of and they’re not young guys but they’re they’re you know man they’re they’re growing into their prime right with JO do you guys feel like you need to get him more involved or is this a non-issue like there’s one football we got enough mouths to feed no I listen there there’s going to those are going to come up and uh but that doesn’t mean that we don’t want to get him involved you know we want We want them all involved because that’s when we’re really running at a high level when we can get all of our weapons going. Uh get the first downs, get explosives, get touchdowns, and just keep going, man. Just just keep cycling through. So that that’s when we’re working at our best. We’re running at our best when we get all of those guys involved. So of course, he’s somebody that we would love to get some targets and get him going. No different than all of those guys. So that, you know, that’s something I think about as well. I I want to go back to your discussion about uh uh the defense and some of the guys that have really stepped up. Derek Barnes being one of them and we’ve seen a lot from Jack Campbell. Um Malcolm Rodriguez will be back sooner than later as it sounds. When he comes back, what does what does that allow you guys to do defensively and how important is it to get him back, especially mid-season? Well, it’s huge. You know, Rodriguez, oh man, he uh it was good to see him out there yesterday. He was he uh he was ready to go. Um but just getting him back, man, he’s a football player. So the guy uh you know, he brings us first and foremost, he brings his depth at at the linebacker position. He upgrades us on special teams. I mean, this guy is an outstanding special teams player. And then as he gets his feet back under him, then man, but once he proves that that uh man, he’s back, he’s good, he’s comfortable, feels good, then something tells me he’s going to find a way to find a niche on the football field. Um cuz that’s just Rodriguez, man. That’s that’s that’s how he’s wired. That’s how he plays. He takes care of business. So getting him back whenever that comes is going to be huge for us. Talking to Lions head coach Dan Campbell. Lions back off the buy. They’ll play the Minnesota Vikings this week. We didn’t talk to you after Tampa. Felt like there was some meat left on the bone offensively. Third downs, if you could try to pinpoint what’s been the issue on third downs this year, uh, what would you say it’s been? Well, I think it’s everything, right? It’s all-encompassing. Um, you know, I mean, you you go through it and it’s like I know that, um, you know, we’d like to have a call back here. Um, I know golf would like to be able to progress through on this one or um or you know, I wish I’d have done something a little different there. I know we’ve got a couple of linemen that wish they would have taken a better set. Uh, first step wasn’t good. Um, you know, tight ends the same way. The backs protection. Uh, man, I missed this. I had bad eyes on it. And it really became one of these ah it’s one guy here, it’s one guy there, it’s one guy there, it’s we don’t like to call here. Um, you know, I wish I would have set our guys up better myself. So, it really is I mean it and you wish it was just this, oh man, we’re not. It really is that. when you’re when you’re running at a high level, when when you’re um man, you are playing very efficient football offensively, you know, you you have manageable third downs and on those, man, you’re everybody’s uh really working at a high level than than uh everything just kind of cycles faster, you know? I think they process everything a lot faster. They know how to work together a lot faster. I think that the receivers are getting open faster. I think the there’s more strain up front. I think golf is hitting his back foot and the ball is out and and it just those are the things, man, that we can continue to get better at and we will. And all you got to do is get the first first down. Get, you know, you’re in third down, get the first first down, and then let’s just start going. Your confidence is up. You’re running at a high level. So, it really is one thing here, one thing there, but it’s all correctable. And uh we’re going to we’ll be much better for all this. Taylor Decker missed a couple of games and then obviously he came back to play against Tampa, but you could still see him, you know, at some of those plays where he’s moving the shoulder around trying to get comfortable. What’s the maintenance schedule for him look like? And in any games that he’s unable to go, I know Manu’s on IR and you’ve got skip that he goes in. What does depth look like at the tackle position with Taylor Decker working through injury issues? Well, yeah. I mean, if right now I’m saying Taylor is here and he is with us. So, when you ask about depth, we’re good. If if uh yeah, if Decker’s not around, then we we get a little bit thin, but we still, you know, uh we like Skip and we like Cochran who we’ve got on Vet Squad. So, you know, we still got some guys there. Uh certainly. Um but as far as Decker, you know, it’s just about dealing with with where it’s at. you know, it’s a it’s a shoulder. Um the good news is it was about getting strength back in. It doesn’t mean it’s going to feel good, but he does have strength in it. And uh so then it’s about, you know, him uh feeling good enough to go into the game. He’s gotten some reps. He’s been able to move. Uh but also not, you know, setting him back for for getting ready for the game. Uh and that’s that’s kind of the balance right now. So, he’s practiced the last two day or he practiced um on Monday, he did individual yesterday and then he’ll practice tomorrow. I guess the answer might just be whatever the nature of the injury is, but have you guys considered a prolonged you shut him down to get him right for the postseason or down the stretch of the regular season? Uh yeah, I don’t I don’t think we’ve we’ve looked at everything. We’ve looked at everything and it’s it’s there’s a balance there. And if if you could say that would guarantee it, that’s that’s great. we can’t guarantee any of it. So, it’s about, you know, um getting him through, making him feel good, and making sure the strength’s in it. And that’s really what the basis is. How is there strength in this shoulder? Good enough strength. And and right now, the answer is yes. Kirby Joseph, update on him coming out of the by-week. Uh yeah, look, he’s improving. Uh but he’s still got a little bit to go here, so we’ll know more of the next couple of days, but you know, he’s better than he was uh before we left for the buy. We were all excited to see Elen McNeel, and I think we got a chance to see a lot more of him than we anticipated. What is and I don’t know if there’s you can’t quantify it, but what’s the impact that Alen McNeel brings to the front and really the entire defense, especially when you’re trying to apply pressure to maybe protect the secondary? What did what was his impact that you saw against Tampa? Well, there was a it was a big impact. You know, he he did a lot for us. Uh, you know, probably the most noticeable because of what we put him in in on was passing downs and his ability to push the pocket, get an edge, and cause disruption. U was very noticeable. You know, it’s getting in the quarterback’s lap. Um, and that flushes your queue, you know, that that that doesn’t allow you to be able to step up and throw. And it pushes you one way or another, you know, it pushes you to Hutch, it pushes you to uh to Muhammad, those guys. and and then that elevates their game and then in return as they then then in return it elevates his game. You know, it’s funny. You you get one piece back and all of a sudden, man, everybody on that line gets better and better and they start playing off each other and and um and then we’re not even talking about the run game here. He makes our run game, our run defense even better as well and that’s been pretty dang good. So, um it he’s a sight for Sori. It’s great having him back. You know, I thought uh I I thought he would play well, but yet it’s your first game back and he was uh even better than that. So, uh he got through the game well. He feels good and he’s ready to go for for Minnesota. Dan, I think on Friday we’re going to see a lot of Dan Campbell Halloween costumes. What’s the key to pulling off a Dan Campbell Halloween costume? I don’t know. I don’t know why you would do that. I don’t know why anybody would do that, but uh I don’t I don’t know. Um I mean Cookies wants to know what he needs to do on Friday. You’re asking for a reason. So he wants to know what’s the key piece to the costume for Jim Costa to look like Dan Campbell. Hit the weight room a little. Hey, how about this? What is Dan Campbell’s favorite Halloween candy? What is my f Reese’s pieces? There you go. All right, Dan, we’ll talk to you next week. It’ll be a trade deadline, so I’m sure we’ll have some questions about that and how you guys play against the Vikings. But good luck this weekend. All right, have a good one. Appreciate it. All right, 971.

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell called into Costa and Jansen to talk the bye week and preview the team’s upcoming game vs the Minnesota Vikings. #lions #vikings #nfl

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