Dan Campball On What Lions Should Expect Going To Philly | Costa and Jansen

Dan Campball On What Lions Should Expect Going To Philly | Costa and Jansen

Dan, we got a special treat for you this week. Stony’s in for John. All right. What’s up, Stony? How you been? Good. I I I assume you were up late night uh scouting and taking notes just like we were. Uh, I was I was Yeah, I was kind of looking at what they’ve done up to this point and then just trying to look over my shoulder at the TV and and watch a little bit of that too while it was going on. So, when you when you watch those two teams play, uh, defenses looked really good, but offensive has had some problems. You more confidence going into next week’s game in Philly after watching the Eagles play? Uh, well, I mean, you got to you got to get all the information, you know? I mean, we got to we got to put this in with everything else and and kind of take it for what it is. Um, obviously, you just said it. Two very good teams, two very good defenses, and and both sides, the offenses, there’s, you know, there’s weaponry on both sides. You know, it was really, you know, both teams about the time you make a play or two here, then something negative happens. you know, you get a negative run or you get a a sack or a penalty or a a turnover or and you know, that kills you on offense when you’re you’re playing really good defenses, man. It it can’t in that kind of game, man. That’s that’s all it takes to to uh put you in a bad way. So, um, we got our hands full. You know, it was it’s always good to to see, uh, some of these teams, you know, to know what you’re getting ready for, to understand the the type of talent that’s over there. You know, these guys are have won a lot of football. Certainly, they’re champions, but it’s something our guys embrace, man. You know, we’re we’re embracing this. Uh, and we’re going to look forward to this big time. One of the unique challenges playing Philadelphia, the tush push. And I know you guys have been for keeping it in the game, but it’s just another thing you have to prepare for. And how it’s officiated, I know, has been a challenge this year, too, but what is it like to prepare for that play? Yeah, I mean, it there’s there’s there’s nothing easy about defending it. You know, it’s it’s hard. Uh the good news is it’s not they’re not hiding it. I mean, you you know it’s coming. Uh and then they’ve got a couple of wrinkles off of it. They’ll show it and then they they’ll hit the perimeter, you know, once you’re all crunched down in there, they’ll he’ll take it and either get hand it off or take it off around the perimeter on a run, you know, which is that’s a good curveball. Good change up for him. How do you how do you practice that defending it? Uh, well, it’s it’s difficult. I mean, you can’t you can’t really practice that uh per se full speed, you know, like we’re I’m not going to line our guys up and say, “All right, we’re going to go 100 miles an hour here, guys. snap the whistle on tush push, you know, eight times a day. So, it’s just more about the technique and the and and how you want to defend it, what you want to do. Um, you know, we’re fortunate here. We got we got some pretty good dudes that know how to play with leverage. Uh, you know, DJ Reer and Lopez and Mack and those guys. So, that’s where it all starts is, man, you you around the center in those two a gaps. Um, man, you you got to have a couple of stumps, you know? You got you got to have some stumps that have roots and it starts there and then everybody’s got to fill in. So, listen, that the tush push is the least my concerns. I know it’s going to show up and and it’s a good play for them, but uh we we got a lot of other things we got to defend before that. Speaking of the guys up front, you kind of praised Lopez yesterday for the way he played. So, I’d like to ask you how he’s improved. And on the on the flip side, Tique Williams didn’t have a lot of snaps on on Sunday. Is there something that he needs to do to uh get back more in the mix? No. Yeah. Well, Lopez, uh Lopez has just been really since he’s gotten here, he’s just he’s playing at a high level, man. It’s one of the reasons we wanted him here. Uh he’s an outstanding role player for us. When he comes in, we don’t miss a beat, man. Um he can he can lift the point of attack, man. He can, you know, he’s one of those guy, man. He plays with leverage. He’s stout. He’s strong. He’s explosive. But then he can run the line of scrimmage, too, now. So, you want to run wide zone on him. He can get knock back and run. I mean, that was evident the other day. I mean, he was in the back field two or three different times. He’s one of the reasons we had some of these TFLs. Um, and then he just he plays hard, man. He plays snap the whistle. He always does. And, uh, you know, that’s that’s him. And so he’s really kind of been doing that anyway, but it it I just thought it really it showed up and and the nature of that game and what Washington was trying to do. It was just good to see and and uh and so I you know I love that room right now. He’s a big part of that. And no, Ty Leaf’s just a young guy continuing to get better, growing, you know, and and uh you know, there’s there’s just a little inconsistency at times, but that’s not out of the out of the norm. um you know he correct it, get a little bit better and move on. You know, the hard thing for him, which is a good thing for all of us, is Max’s playing good, Reer’s playing good, Lopez is playing good, you know. So, like, hey man, um you got some good players in front of you right now. And so, all he’s got to do is elevate his game and then he’ll be in front of them. Talking to Lions head coach Dan Campbell. Dan, you and your uh reading glasses were the talk of the city on Sunday. Calling plays. Is it like riding a bike? And is it something you plan on doing for the foreseeable future here? Well, um yeah, I joke him. In fact, I I swear I can see like an eagle from a mile away, but you put it about a foot in front of me and I might as well be blind. Um, I’m sure we can all can can relate to that. But, uh, some of it is, yeah, I mean, there’s there’s a feel to it. Look, it it um, it felt right. I, you know, it, um, there look, there’s things I got to clean up, but I I uh, yeah, it it felt I guess that’s the closest thing. There is a little bit like feels like it’s riding a bike. Um, which is a good thing. And it helps when you got good players, right? And it helps when you got a quarterback like mine. It helps when you have a staff like I have because they they make it all right. Uh they help the flow of everything. So that was big. And yeah, I mean I do I do I you know my plan is to keep calling this and uh I got to get better. We got to get better as a team. And uh we we got a big challenge this week. When you say it’s collaborative, if you could take people inside that world just a little bit without revealing too much, of course. You guys get a first down then what’s that input like? Who are you hearing from and what all needs to get juggled before you relay a play in? Well, I mean, look, so much of it there’s you’re always getting input on down a distance and hash. Even though you’re watching the game, you’re also uh you’re you’re on to the next play and the play after that to the next play after that. You know, you you have to stay you have to stay two or three plays ahead. Um, you know, and then in inside of that, you have to you also have to know the contingency of all right, I’m three plays ahead, but then what if it’s a what if there is a TFL? now you got to play three plays ahead of that. Uh if you get a loss or something happens or so you’re kind of trying to juggle that and play that and and so you’re always getting somebody gives you down in distance. You got to get personnel in. Um and then the same token depending on all right we just earned a first down. They’re telling you what your own stats are. Here’s what you’ve done. Here’s what the defense has done to you on the on the same situation for this game. Um, and so a lot of it is ingame while okay, these are the adjustments that are going on during the game. We have a good idea going in what they’re giving us, right? That’s why you build the plan the way you do. Um, and so there’s just all those little things. A lot of it is, man, you go, you go, and then, man, you start asking for input like you get somewhere. Okay, we’re, you know, we’re second. Hey, hey, Johnny, what do you got here? Um, you know, hey Hank, what do you got here? And then sometimes you just go with your gut between the two plays that were given to you, you know, and so or you already know the call of what you want to do. Speaking speaking of input, when you made the decision, was there any player uh in involvement like a players council? How many players came to you and said, uh, we think we need to make a change or was this just you on your own saying, this it’s time? Yeah. No, nothing like that happened. It was just me. What would you say? How would you describe your connection with Jared Goff? Because everybody focuses on play caller and quarterback and how important that relationship is. How in sync are you guys? Um it’s um I mean it it’s it’s very tight and it’s um you know it’s very strong. It’s very tight. I think we see the game very much the same way. Um, and you know, it’s it’s really good, man. You you guys and other uh, you know, offensive coordinators around the league. It’s it’s kind of a broad question, but a lot of times the first drive of games are are are scripted, so to speak. You know what you’re going to do. How come is there a way to script other portions of the game? Obviously, if you’re backed in at your own inside your own 10 yard line, you have to go off script. But is there ever a situation, all right, here’s what we’re going to do in the first drive. This is this script and then we have another script for for drive two. Does that ever happen or is it just you fly by the seat of your pants once the the game gets going after the first drive? Yeah, I think a lot of it is is you just go with the flow after that. Um, you know, I think that’s what you’re gathering your thoughts for the second, but you you know, when you go into those games, you’re walking through those plays here. Here’s guys, this is what we’re going to do. Yes, it is scripted for the most part. Now, if we get off if we get off of what you hope is is in the plan of what you’re doing. You know, we’re going to keep continue to gain yards. This is so these are the plays we’re going to play and blah blah blah. Um, and so you walk through those, but you don’t walk through another segment of them. um you know we we’ve done here I mean you know Ben used to script second half plays you know now we didn’t walk through those but they had those like all right when we come out second half here’s the here’s the six plays that we’re going seven plays um you know and that was that was back when we were having those struggles coming out at halftime two years ago so we started doing that and um a little bit and and so you you yes I mean look you can do it any way you want to do But um but I think it’s the big thing is you know it’s hard to even say okay guys we’re going to we’re going to go through these plays here. We’re going to walk through these opening. Okay, hey now after that in the second series all goes right. We’re going to walk through these play and then it’s at some point it’s like well wait we just that’s what all practice was about. We just went through all these plays man you know preparing for the game. So um but you can do it any way you want Stony you know. Mhm. Uh, you obviously played in Philly as a Cowboy and as a Giant and maybe even as as a Lion, but I don’t believe you’ve were a head coach there. I know the Lions haven’t played there. Uh, do you have any crazy Philly stories? Cuz uh the fans from my hometown are pretty uh pretty sick in certain ways. It’s a great place to play. I mean, it’s electric. It’s had batteries thrown at us, spit on. Um, you know, it’s just the classic stuff, man. it it’s uh it’s it’s probably the most hostile place to play. Um and then you know going into the stadium, leaving it uh during the game, you know, they things have backed off a lot now since uh back in the day like some of these things you can’t do anymore, but you know, um I remember Strahan in 99 we um or no, maybe it was it was 99 or 2000. Anyway, I think it was 99. Strahan, I think we were in overtime anyway. He he took a uh I think it was a fumble recovery uh all the way back to the house. We won the game because of that. So, we all go back there to meet him and I just see this it was like a 64 ouncez cup this guy had that was full of uh tobacco spit and just I’m running over there to celebrate. He just pours it on Strahan’s back while everybody’s running over there. Um I backed off at the last minute. Um yeah, good call. But, uh, you know, just just stuff like that. So, it’s a man, it it’s it’s a hostile environment. I mean, it gets you fired up and I’ll make sure our guys are prepared. They’re going to love this. They really are. Our guys are going to freaking embrace this. This is this is fun stuff. Now, that’s what I wanted to end with. We’re going to talk a lot about this game. It’s a big game. How are you going to talk to your team about it? Well, look, it it’s keep your poise. Keep your poise. understand. They’re going to know they’re they’re going I’m going to give them a very good snapshot of what this is going to be like. Uh keep your poise and then man, every play matters. Every play matters. Like this is a heavyweight this is a heavyweight match. Um and manuh one misstep can cost you this game. Now that shouldn’t make you tight. That shouldn’t make you u play conservative. Just understand, man, it’s going to take all three units and every play, man, you got to give it your full attention and lay it on the freaking line. Uh you can’t ask for anything better. Our guys are going to be so excited to play in this one. We’re our coaches are excited to coach in it. So, man, this is big-time football um on Sunday night. So, we’re we’re going to be fired up. We’re fired up. Sound it. Lions head coach Dan Campbell. Good stuff, Dan. Thanks, coach. All right. Have a good one. It’s 971.

Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell joined Costa and Jansen Tuesday morning to talk about the win over the Commanders and facing the Philadelphia Eagles. #lions #eagles

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